Fake universities in India: the 2026 UGC list, and what happens to students who join

The next part of our scams series. The UGC names 32 fake universities in India. A degree from one of them is worth nothing, and the money is hard to get back. The list is only the start, though: a recent case that reached the Supreme Court involved a place that isn't on it. Here is the full list, the traps that look like a real university, what happened to students, and six checks to make before you pay a fee.

• 32fake universities on the UGC list, up from 22 in October 2025
• 12closed since 2014, the only closure count given to Parliament
• 8names on the 1994 list that are still on it today
• Rs 1,000the maximum fine under the UGC Act for running a fake university

The UGC's list of fake universities

This is the list as the UGC publishes it, dated February 2026. It had not changed when we checked on 4 November 2026. UGC's archive shows how quickly it grew: ten names were added in four months.

The UGC says degrees from such places "shall neither be recognized nor valid" for higher education or jobs. Being on the list doesn't prove an institution still runs today. Being missing from it proves nothing either, as the Etah case below shows.

The traps that look like a real university

Most students don't sign up with a name from the list. They sign up with an agent who has an answer to every doubt.

The sources for these: the UGC Act, AICTE's October 2026 notice, the UGC's July 2025 notice on foreign tie-ups, its list of barred programmes, an Uttarakhand High Court ruling of April 2026, and the Pharmacy Council's notice of 2 November 2026.

Dygital.degreeDegrees that verify themselvesUniversities and colleges issue certificates in the NAD standard format, signed by the Registrar, Controller of Examinations and Vice-Chancellor and anchored on Hyperledger. A QR check confirms each one against the issuer’s own record.See Dygital.degree →

What happened to students

The damage is rarely just the fee. Students lose years, and sometimes the right to sit an exam.

The Etah institution was not on the UGC list when we checked. That is why a list alone isn't enough.

Jharkhand, reported September 2026A doctor with an all-India NEET rank of 270 joined a postgraduate course that turned out to be unrecognised, and lost two years. The High Court ordered the college to repay Rs 39.94 lakh in bond money and stipend, and pay Rs 7 lakh compensation. It called it "absolutely, immaterial" whether he had been told about the course's status.

What regulators and courts have done

The record is mixed, and it depends on the facts of each case.

• Punishment is small. The UGC Act's penalty is a fine of up to Rs 1,000. Police cases use other laws, such as those on cheating and forgery.
• Parliament got few numbers. Asked in March 2026 how many FIRs and notices had been issued, the Education Ministry's reply gave no count. Asked about relief for enrolled students in December 2025, the reply described none. It did say 12 fake universities had closed since 2014.
• The Supreme Court acted in October 2026. After the Etah report, it told regulators on 9 October to issue advisories asking people to verify institutions first. The Pharmacy Council did so on 2 November. We haven't yet seen advisories from the others.
• Refunds are slow even at real colleges. The UGC wrote on 7 October 2026 that "numerous complaints regarding non-refund of fees remain unresolved".
• Annulled degrees are the UGC's call. In February 2026 the Supreme Court said the UGC is the authority to consider what follows when illegal degrees are annulled.

Six checks before you pay

These follow the Pharmacy Council's advice, which works for almost any course. Tick each one as you do it.

If an institution looks unapproved, report it to the regulator and the local police. The UGC asks people to write to ugcampc@gmail.com. Keep every receipt and message.

Where TheRollNumber fits

We can't tell you which college to choose. We work on the other end of the problem: universities and colleges issue certificates on Dygital.degree in the NAD standard format, with a QR check against their own record, and employers check degrees with the issuer on Checkkbox. If you run a registrar's office, see how it works for universities.

Sources

1. UGC, state-wise list of fake universities as on February 2026, read on 4 November 2026
2. UGC, cumulative list of fake universities, 10 August 1994 to February 2026; the count of names still listed is our own comparison
3. UGC, letter to states with the March 2023 list, September 2023
4. Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 195, 3 February 2025
5. UGC, higher education institutions violating regulations
6. UGC, public notice, 1 August 2023
7. University Grants Commission Act, 1956, sections 22 to 24
8. AICTE, public notice on EdTech and grievances, October 2026
9. UGC, public notice on unrecognised collaborative agreements, 22 July 2025
10. UGC Distance Education Bureau, programmes prohibited under the 2020 regulations
11. LiveLaw, on the Uttarakhand High Court's degree and diploma ruling, April 2026
12. Pharmacy Council of India, public notice, 2 November 2026
13. Aaj Tak (Hindi), on the Etah fake medical college, September 2026
14. MedBound Times, on the Supreme Court and the UGC, October 2026
15. Careers360, on the Siliguri paramedical students, February 2026
16. RawLaw, on the Bombay High Court's order of September 2026
17. LiveLaw, on the Jharkhand High Court's compensation order, September 2026
18. Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 4957, 23 March 2026
19. Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 135, 1 December 2025
20. UGC, letter on non-compliance with its fee refund policy, 7 October 2026
21. LiveLaw, on the Supreme Court and annulled degrees, February 2026