I am quite impressed by US governments' mechanisms and efforts to catch and punish higher education institutions engaged in fraud. Here's an October 2013 report of California Attorney General suing a for-profit college company for deceptive practices, "Major For-Profit College Chain Systematically Deceived Students: Attorney General", http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/10/corinthian-colleges-for-profit-lawsuit_n_4081000.html.
Some small extracts and notes from the article:
'California's attorney general filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing a for-profit college company of misrepresenting job placement rates, false advertising and other deceptive practices to lure low-income residents to take out student loans to attend its schools.'
...
The article quoted Kamala Harris, Attorney General, of California, USA, saying, "Corinthian College was serving not as an educator but as a predator of some of the most vulnerable people in our community".
...
The college company which is reported to operate over 100 campuses in North America as well as a few online programs, disputes the charges of the Attorney General.
--- end extracts and notes ---
I have not heard of any lawsuits of this sort at all, in India. I think fake colleges in India can get away with anything, even offer fake PhD degrees, without anybody really punishing them. At the most, the college owners will close down the college (and perhaps open another one with a different name).
Who is there to protect Indian students and their parents from getting trapped by similar fake colleges in India? Not only do they lose money and precious years of youth - just imagine the shock and disappointment the young student will have when he/she realises that his/her education is almost worthless. Perhaps some youth may never recover from such a horrific psychological blow. [BTW there are many good educational institutions in India, and, of course, USA has world class educational institutions. But there are some fakes too - that seems to be the inescapable reality of higher education today.]
India should have similar laws/mechanisms to punish fake colleges, which are rigorously implemented.
Some small extracts and notes from the article:
'California's attorney general filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing a for-profit college company of misrepresenting job placement rates, false advertising and other deceptive practices to lure low-income residents to take out student loans to attend its schools.'
...
The article quoted Kamala Harris, Attorney General, of California, USA, saying, "Corinthian College was serving not as an educator but as a predator of some of the most vulnerable people in our community".
...
The college company which is reported to operate over 100 campuses in North America as well as a few online programs, disputes the charges of the Attorney General.
--- end extracts and notes ---
I have not heard of any lawsuits of this sort at all, in India. I think fake colleges in India can get away with anything, even offer fake PhD degrees, without anybody really punishing them. At the most, the college owners will close down the college (and perhaps open another one with a different name).
Who is there to protect Indian students and their parents from getting trapped by similar fake colleges in India? Not only do they lose money and precious years of youth - just imagine the shock and disappointment the young student will have when he/she realises that his/her education is almost worthless. Perhaps some youth may never recover from such a horrific psychological blow. [BTW there are many good educational institutions in India, and, of course, USA has world class educational institutions. But there are some fakes too - that seems to be the inescapable reality of higher education today.]
India should have similar laws/mechanisms to punish fake colleges, which are rigorously implemented.
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