UNESCO to put up list of genuine and accredited universities on its website

In a novel step to check mushrooming of fake educational institutions, UNESCO has decided to include in its website names of genuine and accredited institutes of all countries.

About 30 countries, mostly Europeans nations, have already provided the list of their accredited institutes to UNESCO which has displayed them in its website, a UNESCO official said.

India has decided to provide its list of accredited institutes to the UNESCO by next month. HRD Ministry has entrusted the work to Education Consultancy India Ltd (EdCIL) to coordinate with the UNESCO in this venture.

The students can verify from the UNESCO list whether an institute is genuine or not.

"Now, we have given the list of genuine institutes of 30 countries. In next few months, accredited institutes from 60 countries, including those from India, will find their names in the list," the UNESCO official said.

The UNESCO is also preparing a set of criteria that can help students identify fake institutions.

The official said there is no accurate data about the number of fake institutions operating across the globe, offering higher education.

"But majority of them claim to be offering education in distant mode. Once our criteria are put in the website, students will be able to differentiate between genuine and fake institutions," he said.

The trend is very rampant in the US. About two lakh students are issued fake degrees by these institutions every year in the US alone, he said.

The fake institutes are duping a huge number of students in India every year, government sources said.