China’s official news agency Xinhua made it a point to remind readers that this is only the latest expose of fake universities by a Chinese university information website, which prior to this week had already exposed some 400 universities as fake since 2013. Over the last week, while in India the UGC has posted a public notice against 22 “self styled, unrecognized” institutions across different states, in China also 30 fake universities spread across 12 provinces have been named and shamed. Chinese institutions have been doing much better than Indian ones on the global higher education rankings but the fake universities problem is about something else: A demand-supply mismatch which both countries have in common. From the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh to the sale of Class XII mark sheets in Bihar, many students and parents have been actively participating in the fraud – instead of being just its innocent victims. Because the supply of higher education is just not keeping pace with demand.

Source: Times of India July 03, 2016 11:52 UTC