Of late the number of people submitting fake degree certificates to secure jobs and apply for higher studies has been steadily rising in Kerala.
The aforesaid trend is causing a sort of value erosion of the entire higher education sector of the state. Onmanorama examined the issue in detail.
Several rogue agencies operate in Kerala offering fake degrees of universities from within as well as outside the state. While some of these agents have offices, others lure the ‘customers’ through social media.
People needing fake certificates would receive documents which are often indistinguishable from the original certificates of universities of repute; it is rare that the fraud is detected.
The few instances when the forgery is exposed are during an investigation or so, after a major complaint is raised or during a scrutiny by an employer or inspection at airports.
A curious request
For instance, a former student from Kozhikode approached the BTech section of Kerala University with a strange request. He said that he had a low-paying job in a Gulf country. His wedding took place recently. He had lied to his family as well as his wife’s that he had a degree in engineering. Meantime, his wife’s family was in the process of arranging a high-paying job which needed an engineering degree. So the man wanted the staff at the BTech section to tell his wife’s family that there were some technical problems in issuing the certificate.
The officials at the Kerala University checked the man’s academic records and found that he had not passed even the first semester. When the university officials informed the man that they could do nothing to help him, he went down on his knees to beg. Soon, his brother-in-law reached the BTech section. He was a syndicate member of another university. However, he only recommended to the Kerala University officials to hasten the process of issuing the degree certificate.
It is not known what happened next. Most likely, the man obtained a fake BTech certificate, gave it to his in-laws and might be leading a happy life as an engineer abroad.
BTech course was shifted from Kerala University to the newly constituted APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (formerly KTU) 10 years ago. Still six sections function at Kerala University for BTech. These sections are meant for students who have not cleared BTech even after a decade. It is not surprising that the highest number of fake certificates is issued for BTech.
An engineer in two months for Rs 4.25 lakh
‘Manorama’ correspondent dialed the number of an educational institution in Kollam which advertised that students who had failed in BTech could transfer credit to another university and get the degree. The correspondent posed as a student who had studied at a self-financing engineering college in Alappuzha district in the 2016-20 batch and was yet to clear 18 papers.
The person who answered the call said credit could be transferred to another university and that the student needed to take exams of only the failed papers. “After registering at the new university, all 18 exams could be cleared in six months,” the man said.
He also issued a word of caution. “Some people engage in fraud flaunting the names of unknown private universities in north India. However, we offer degrees from renowned universities – both government and private - in Tamil Nadu,” he said.
“You can use a BTech degree from a government university for PSC and UPSC tests and higher studies. Attestation will be given to the degree in foreign countries. But, a degree from a private university cannot be used for government purposes. It cannot be produced for higher studies in Kerala also. Attestation will not be available for countries such as Saudi Arabia and Canada and European countries,” said the man.
When the reporter said that he was in hurry to obtain the degree as he had received a job offer in Kuwait, the man said that a certificate from a private university was sufficient. “But, it would be safer to take a certificate from a government university as the countries abroad could change the rules anytime,” said the agent.
“The fee for certificates in private universities is Rs 2.60 lakh and in the government universities such as Anna and Annamalai, it is Rs 4.75 lakh and Rs 4.25 lakh, respectively,” he added.
The reporter said that he preferred Annamalai and the agent explained the procedures. “Exams will take place within three months after registration. Results would be announced two months after the exam. You can write all the failed subjects together. Will you be able to write all the 18 exams together in three months?” he asked.
The agent offered to help. “It is an online exam. We will take the exam for you. You will receive the certificate in 45-60 days after registration.
The certificate will be issued with a back date. Even though the candidate is taking the exam in 2023, the certificates will carry the dates from 2016 to 2020.
“We will arrange all certificates in the name of Annamalai University. They will show that you studied four years there. Certificates for each of the eight semesters will also be issued. But, you need not write any exam,” said the agent.
To convince the reporter, the agent sent the provisional certificate and mark-lists of a student who earned BTech with his help. All these documents turned out to be fake which rivaled the originals.
MA for Rs 42,000
A youth from Wayanad was looking to travel to the Gulf countries after his degree. Meanwhile, he had plans to obtain post-graduation also through distance-education mode in order to improve his chances of a job.
He received a call from an executive of Orion Edu Wings at Palarivattom in Kochi offering an MA (English) certificate from Annamalai University. The executive told the youth that he could write the exam from abroad as it was conducted online. The fee demanded was Rs 42,000. After the amount was paid in several instalments, the firm began to provide excuses for delay in conducting the exam. Soon, phone calls went unanswered. When the youth and his brother reached the office of Orion, they realised that the business had been wound up.
SFI former leader’s issue
Nikhil Thomas, a former leader of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), had been confident about his credentials before his fake BCom degree was exposed. He secured the certificate believing an agent's word that he was eligible for ‘credit transfer.’
Nikhil completed BCom at MSM College, Kayamkulam, in 2017-20 batch but failed in most of the papers. The agent, Abin C Raj, took Rs 2 lakh from Nikhil, promising credit transfer with Kalinga University. Nikhil was told that he needed to write only the failed papers.
Subsequently, Nikhil took a few papers at the centre of Orion Edu Wings in Kochi. He was told that the agency’s staff had written the remaining papers.
Nikhil soon received certificates from Kalinga University for the same period he studied at Kayamkulam. The certificates showed that he was a regular student at Kalinga and with them he joined for higher studies.
The pattern was similar to the promise of the agent in Kollam. However, when an investigation was launched, Kalinga University clarified that Nikhil’s certificates were all fakes.
This is the first of a five-part series over rising number of fake degree certificates issues in Kerala.