Fake degree certificates too are among hot-selling items online. A recent investigation in Kerala following a few scandals revealed numerous websites are being operated exclusively for issuing these forged documents. The internet-based rackets are making many people graduates or post-graduates within a few days after collecting a hefty sum per certificate. Forged certificates of leading universities in Kerala and other Indian states are available for those who order online.

The fraudsters play a safe game without making any direct contact with the applicants. All communications are made online and certificates are delivered to the given address by courier. The fraudsters are beyond the reach of the law as numerous cases and investigations reveal.

Are investigations into instances of fake certificates carried out with the seriousness they deserve? Hardly, it seems.

Fake educational qualification certificate cases transferred to the Crime Branch are handled casually, like the marijuana cases that are registered by the local police frequently in Kerala.

The probe seldom goes beyond registering a First Information Report (FIR) to record the case. In most cases, the investigators approach the universities concerned after a delay of two or three years. Meanwhile, several officials in the relevant section would have retired from service.

The investigating officers return after recording the statements of someone, mostly unrelated to the case. Eventually, the case will be closed, noting that the suspect was not found.

Incidentally, the universities, too, are not interested in taking such fake cases to their logical conclusion. The responsibility of the relevant section ends with informing the vice-chancellor about the fake certificate(s).

The police, meanwhile, said the universities seldom shared detailed information, including the address, other than a name, though they confirm what is fake or genuine.

Prized possession of con artists

The accused in some high-profile cases, including those on forgery and cheating, in Kerala possessed fake educational certificates. Monson Mavunkal, the arrested self-proclaimed antique dealer, had more than a dozen fake certificates on educational attainments and honours.

Mavunkal had displayed all these 'certificates' — all could be deemed fake at first look itself — prominently at his residence to win the trust of his potential victims.

Though the police investigated Mavunkal's cheating and fake antiques cases, the probe did not extend to the fake certificates. If properly probed, it might have unearthed a major fake certificate racket.

Swapna Suresh, an accused in the diplomatic channel gold-smuggling case, produced a B Com certificate from Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University in Loner, Maharashtra, to bag a job at the Space Park, with a pay-packet of more than Rs 3 lakh. It was later found that the certificate produced was fake. This university, too, confirmed that the certificate was forged, and added that it was not offering a B Com course. However, the probe into this forgery case, too, did not make much progress.

Blame it all on lack of close scrutiny

Currently, the Kannur University cross-checks only those certificates other universities or institutes in India or abroad forwards it for confirmation. A detailed examination is conducted only if there are major discrepancies or differences in the certificates of undergraduate or postgraduate students enrolled at various departments, centres, or colleges of the university. In short, if the fake certificate looks like the original, it will pass muster.

Though the university's original certificates have holograms, the facility to check their authenticity is available only at the varsity's head office. Fake holograms could be used to gain admission to centres that lack the facility to check their veracity.

Lack of will to confirm foul play

In fact, certificates could be cross-checked to confirm if they are original or fake within 24 hours. This was proved in a recent case involving former Students' Federation of India leader Nikhil Thomas. He gained admission to the M Com course at MSM College, Kayamkulam, by submitting a certificate purportedly from Kalinga University in Chhattisgarh. After his admission sparked a controversy, University of Kerala sent an email to Kalinga varsity authorities, seeking clarification on Nikhil's certificate. The registrar of the Kalinga University replied the very next day, stating the certificate was fake.

In Nikhil's case, however, even the scheme and syllabus were not attested by the Kalinga University registrar. This has to be get done by students applying for Equivalency Certificates for courses they had pursued in universities outside the state. The university issues the Equivalency Certificate if the syllabi of both varsities have a 75 percent match. Students seeking Equivalency Certificates are required to submit, along with their applications, the scheme and syllabus of their former universities, attested by the respective registrars.

The course that he mentioned — which he claimed to have pursued in Kalinga — while applying for M Com itself was wrong. A cursory look at the Kalinga University's website would have punched holes in Nikhil's claim.

Loopholes that the universities create too encourage the use of fake certificates. In Nikhil's case, the hurriedly convened Standing Council of the Kerala University decided to issue the Equivalency Certificate for the claimed B Com course. Normally, the Standing Council issues the Equivalency Certificate only if there is an emergency. But it had to be convened for Nikhil considering the expected delay in convening a meeting of the 169-member Academic Council. The Standing Council, on the other hand, comprises just the vice-chancellor and 12 deans.

Announcement remains on paper

After Nikhil's fake certificate was caught, the vice-chancellor of the University of Kerala announced a slew of measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. He said the university will make the colleges responsible for ensuring the authenticity of certificates, and principals should submit an affidavit saying the certificates were checked and found to be original.

Admissions to postgraduate courses are now underway. Kerala University has not made the affidavit mandatory in any of its affiliated colleges!

Apathy of university

Scrutiny of certificates at the University of Calicut had found seven fakes in 2021 alone. They were found when employers sent the certificates to the university for validation. However, the university did not complain to the police.

Since 2000 University of Calicut has been digitising certificates. Prior to that the details of certificates and marks were maintained in the tabulation register. In 2020, a controversy had erupted after the tabulation registers of three postgraduate courses went missing.

The university found the registers of the 1981-82 batch MSc Statistics, 1992-94 batch MA Psychology, and 1995-97 batch MA Psychology missing only after authorised agencies had applied for the authentication of certificates issued to a few students of these batches.

Though it was alleged that those linked to fake certificates were behind the disappearance of the registers, there were no follow-up probes.

CUSAT found four fakes

An inspection at the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) found four forged certificates in three years. All four were former students, who presented certificates saying they had cleared the exams to get jobs. The fakes were found when their employers applied for verification.

The university lodged a police complaint, but no serious probe was carried out. Meanwhile, two students successfully sat for supplementary exams. However, the university withheld their certificates since they had forged its certificates earlier.

Often students who fail in examinations resort to forging of certificates. Since the original register number is used to make the fake certificate, the forgery often goes unnoticed in the initial scrutiny. The student would studied at that university, but wouldn't have cleared the exams.

A year ago, a student produced a B.Tech certificate from William Carey University in Shillong, Meghalaya, to secure admission to CUSAT. The university dismissed the student after it later found the certificate was fake. The incident was reported to the police.

Fakes at Mahatma Gandhi University

The Mahatma Gandhi University found 16 fake certificates while considering the applications for verification from various agencies and institutions during the past two years. After the fakes were found, the university complained to the police.

(Reports: K Jayaprakash Babu, Vinod Gopi, Joji Simon, Firoz Ali, Jithin Jose, SP Sarath. Compilation: Ajish Muraleedharan).

This is the third of a five-part series on the fake degree menace in Kerala. Read Part 1: How fake degree certificate menace is wrecking Kerala’s higher education sector

Read Part 2: Pay and get fake degree certificate! How online rackets operate