Punish Fraudulent Academic Institutes

A recent investigative report revealed that more than two thousand Nepali students were duped by fraudulent academic institutes operating in the free zones of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A UAE Free Zone is a special economic area offering significant business advantages like 100 per cent foreign ownership, corporate and/or personal tax exemptions, and 100 per cent capital repatriation, designed especially to attract foreign investment and diversify the economy. 

Taking advantage of these facilities and exploiting the regulatory loopholes, a lot of fraudulent industries, especially academic institutes, are known to have been established in the free zones of various cities, including Dubai, Ajman, and Sharjah. Hundreds of Nepali students who fell prey to such predatory academic institutes have revealed that education consultancies in Nepal lure students by assuring them of international degrees along with flexible part-time jobs. 

Dubious academic institutes 

Notably, it has been known that the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) has issued No Objection Certificates (NOC) to the students for such dubious academic institutes without adequate background checks. After the complaint from hundreds of affected students, the government had vowed to initiate an investigation into such fraudulent institutes, but no substantial investigation has so far been done. The affected students have shown their dissatisfaction over the delay in the investigation. 

The MoEST and the Nepal Police’s Crime Investigation Bureau (CIB) have issued their standard response, stating that the investigation is ongoing.  On the other hand, it has been known that the UAE government has started taking action against fraudulent academic entities following numerous complaints from affected Nepali students. The UAE academic fraud scam hints that a section of our state machinery, especially associated with MoEST, is supporting the education consultancies, who in turn recruit students for fake predatory universities. 

With deteriorating academic standards within the country, many students aspire to get enrolled in world-class international universities. This is a worrying situation, as during the recently held convocation of Tribhuvan University, a large number of students who spoke with the media were not satisfied with our academic standards. Many students showed interest in going abroad for further academic endeavours, setting a perfect stage for the waiting academic predators to lure the frustrated students.

The UAE education scam is only the tip of the iceberg. There are similar academic frauds throughout the world that lure students from developing countries. On a personal note, I have encountered a lot of students in various German universities who were enrolled through fake academic transcripts from Nepal or India. A large and coordinated network supplying fake certificates to needy students seems to be in operation in Germany and other European countries. As the German academic system has thirteen years of schooling (10+3), the German universities generally do not accept school certificates with twelve years (10+2) of schooling.

Hence, the aspirant foreign student with twelve years of schooling has to undergo a one-year bridge course (Studienkolleg) to join the university. In addition, if the student has completed at least one year of bachelor's level, s/he might be considered by some of the universities. The fake certificate suppliers mostly contact the students who are not able to complete the Studienkolleg and offer them a fake bachelor's certificate from a Nepali university. This has become one of the flourishing businesses among the Nepali diaspora of late.

In addition, predatory pseudo-academic entities also exist in Germany and other European countries. These institutes are registered as private limited (GmbH) according to German company law, then receive affiliation from another pseudo-European academic institute, and advertise themselves as universities in Nepal and other countries. These institutes enrol students from various countries and charge a huge sum as tuition fees. 

Notably, the majority of higher education institutions in Germany are financed by the state. There are generally no fees for Bachelor's courses or most Master's courses at state higher education institutions. However, tuition fees may have to be paid for certain continuing education Master's programmes, but they are not particularly high compared to other countries. On the contrary, the predatory institutes claiming to be universities demand substantial tuition fees for their courses.

With deteriorating educational standards and due to political instability, Nepali academic institutes have lost credibility. Every year, the MoEST issues more than 100,000 NOCs to students aspiring to study abroad.  Over that, a large number of students enrol themselves to Indian Universities where NOC is not necessarily required. While many students gain admission to legitimate universities, a significant number fall prey to predatory academic institutions, resulting in severe financial losses and psychological distress. The government and subsequent concerned authorities should consider the issue of student migration seriously and work towards improving our academic standards. For that, the first and foremost step would be to alienate our universities from partisan politics. 

Value-based education 

Former Education Minister Mahabir Pun had expressed his vision of removing the Prime Minister from the role of university chancellor and instead appointing a distinguished academician to the position. This ground-breaking initiative should be the agenda of the new Minister of Education that will be a big step towards academic excellence. In addition, our school and university curricula should be revised, and a value-based education approach should be included. The students should be provided with behavioural and practical knowledge instead of classical classroom teaching. 

Internships and practical semesters should be integrated into the curriculum to provide students with first-hand, real-world experience of the professional environment.  We are on the verge of a new federal election, and whoever wins must prioritise strengthening our academic institutes by detaching them from partisan politics and incorporating contemporary, practical, knowledge-based curricula. If this goal is achieved, the number of students seeking to go abroad for quality education is likely to decrease, which in turn would reduce the number of students falling prey to predatory and fraudulent international academic institutions.

(The author is a senior scientist and an independent opinion maker based in Germany. pushpa.joshi@gmail.com)