The University Grants Commission has declared 24 "self-styled" institutes fake and found two more in violation of norms, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday.
Pradhan made the statement in response to a written question in Lok Sabha.
Uttar Pradesh has the highest eight such fake universities -- Varanaseya Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya, Varanasi; Mahila Gram Vidyapith, Allahabad; Gandhi Hindi Vidyapith, Allahabad; National University of Electro Complex Homeopathy, Kanpur; Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Open University, Aligarh; Uttar Pradesh Vishwavidyalaya, Mathura; Maharana Pratap Shiksha Niketan Vishwavidyalaya, Pratapgarh and Indraprastha Shiksha Parishad, Noida.
"Besides, two more institutes namely Bhartiya Shiksha Parishad, Lucknow, and Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM) at Qutub Enclave in New Delhi are also found functioning in violation of the UGC Act, 1956. The matters of Bhartiya Shiksha Parishad, Lucknow and IIPM, New Delhi are sub-judice in the court," he added.
Delhi has seven such fake universities - Commercial University Ltd, United Nations University, Vocational University, ADR Centric Juridicial University, Indian Institution of Science and Engineering, Vishwakarma Open University for Self Employment and Adhyatmik Vishwavidyalaya (Spiritual University).
Odisha and West Bengal have two such universities each. These are: Indian Institute of Alternative Medicine, Kolkata and Institute of Alternative Medicine and Research, Kolkata as well as Nababharat Shiksha Parishad, Rourkela and North Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology.
Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Puducherry have one fake university each.