A real degree takes years of work. We make sure it keeps its value.
Education Fraud Check is a public-interest platform that documents fake degrees, unrecognised institutions and regulatory action in Indian education. We stand with the students who study honestly and the graduates who earned their qualifications.
Why we exist
Every fake degree has a victim. It may be a student who paid fees to an institution that had no right to run the course. It may be a graduate who lost a job or a visa to someone holding a purchased certificate. It may be an employer, a hospital or a court that relied on a qualification that was never earned.
Degree mills, backdated certificates and unauthorised study centres survive because the facts are hard to find. We bring those facts into one place: what the regulator said, what the university was allowed to offer, and what the official records show.
Who we stand for
Genuine students
Families who need to know, before paying fees, whether an institution and its courses are recognised, and who deserve a clear warning when they are not.
Real degree holders
Graduates whose years of classes and examinations should never have to compete with a certificate bought through an agent.
Employers and authorities
Recruiters, regulators and verification teams who need documented facts, not rumours, when a qualification is in question.
How we work
Our reporting is built on records that anyone can check.
- Official sources first. RTI replies, UGC and regulator notices, court orders and published police action.
- Evidence shown, not just described. Where we rely on a document, we publish it or cite it with its date and reference.
- Institutions, not gossip. We report what records establish and say so when a matter is still under inquiry.
- No degrees, no agents. We never help anyone obtain a qualification. Offers of "backdated" or "no-exam" degrees are exactly what we report.
Our public record
Figures reflect content published on this website. Readership is counted by the site since February 2022.
Before you enrol: five checks
- Confirm the university appears on the UGC list of recognised universities, and that it is not on UGC's list of fake universities.
- For distance or online programmes, confirm the specific course and academic year are approved by the UGC Distance Education Bureau.
- For professional courses, check the relevant council as well: AICTE for engineering and management, NCTE for teacher education, BCI for law, NMC for medicine.
- Check where classes are held. Private universities generally cannot run study centres outside their own state.
- Walk away from anyone offering a degree without attendance or examinations, or dated to an earlier year. That is not admission; it is fraud.
A letter we sent to UGC
Dear UGC,
On behalf of Education Fraud Check, we extend our appreciation for your decisive action in monitoring and addressing violations of the UGC Ph.D. Regulations by private universities.
Your decision to debar OPJS University, Sunrise University and Singhania University from enrolling Ph.D. students for five years is a commendable step towards safeguarding the integrity of higher education in India, and sends a clear message to all institutions about adhering to academic and regulatory standards.
By taking such corrective measures, you protect students and parents from fraudulent practices and ensure that only credible degrees are awarded. We hope this approach continues and inspires more stringent checks across the board.
Director, Education Fraud Check
Who runs Education Fraud Check
Education Fraud Check is an independent public-interest initiative run by Kamesh. The RTI applications published in our library are filed by him as an individual citizen under the Right to Information Act, 2005.
If you have information about a fake degree, an unrecognised course or an agent selling certificates, tell us. If you believe something we have published is wrong, write to us with documents and we will review it.