Fake degree scam comes to light

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, February 6

Another fake degree scam has come to light with Manav Bharti University (MBU) declaring that it has not issued any M Tech degree to Lekh Raj, working as head of the department of civil engineering at Indus International University, Una.

The scam was unfolded following reply by the university to the Himachal Pradesh Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission (HPPEIRC) that the student is not registered with it and no certificate has been issued.

The cat was out of bag after the HPPEIRC asked the university about the degree and the information was submitted. The response was delayed by two years. The State Information Commission had imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the university for not giving the information in reply to application filed by an RTI activist.

The reply has raised serious concern about the fake degree obtained by Lekh Raj, who is also serving as Dean, Students Welfare and an inquiry by the CBI or some other independent agency can bring out the truth.

What is ironical is that a person, whose M. Tech degree was not issued by the university, was working with Indus International University since 2014 and teaches all civil engineering subjects and also guides and teaches M. Tech subject and thesis.

Interestingly, when the issued was raised by a faculty member, Indus International University asked the person to verify the degree rather than verifying it from Manav Bharti University.

Secretary, Kartha Education Society running Indus International University, said the person had submitted an affidavit that his degree was original and they had also written to MBU but no response has been received. “We would take the necessary action after response from the MBU”, he added.

As per procedure, the employer gets the degree verified from the university. Taking affidavit from the teacher that his degree is original does not serve the purpose, said Chairman, HPPEIRC, K K Katoch.

The question arises how it was possible that a person was working with unregistered degree since 2014 without the knowledge and consent of Indus university administration.

This particular case was exposed by an RTI activist and it is unknown how many fake degrees are in circulation and how many such degree holders got jobs on the basis of fake degrees.

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