Mumbai:
One small class, no professors, a small, 10-feet room that serves as the administration office; this is not what 200 graduate students had signed up for when they applied to the Zoroastrian College at Fort.
But, when the academic year began, the students found out that the college was only a front office that allegedly offered bogus degrees from foreign universities. Feeling cheated, the students protested outside its office in Fort on Friday, demanding an inquiry.
"After graduating with low marks, I was desperately seeking admission somewhere. An advertisement in the newspaper for the Zoroastrian College claimed that the college offered courses for students who had not scored well in their degree course," said student Maitri Shah.
However, when the academic year began, Shah was told that since the college building was under construction, classes will be delayed. Shah's worst fear was confirmed when he read in a regional newspaper that the college was offering fake degrees.
"We were misled by the administration. The college prospectus says that it is a 25-year-old institution and it has tie-ups with six foreign universities. But in reality, neither do they have faculty, nor campus," said student Pankaj Khanvilkar.
When contacted, Dr Meher, the president of the college, said that the college is a legitimate organisation that offers foreign degrees, and the students were told everything beforehand. But she declined to show any university approval or any official letter authenticating the college.
The students have now approached the Student Federation of India (SFI), which has given the management a week's time to come up with the necessary documents proving the authenticity of the college. "For any college to operate in Mumbai, they need a permission letter from the Mumbai University," said Pravin Manjalkar, the district head of SFI.
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