Andhra University’s affiliated colleges alerted over ‘fake Intermediate certificates’ submitted for Degree courses

Andhra University has issued a warning notice to 305 affiliated colleges in the north coastal districts including Visakhapatnam, Alluri Sitarama Raju, Anakapalli and Vizianagaram to scrutinise the mandatory certificates before granting admission to graduate courses.

Nearly 150-160 affiliated colleges of the total 305 offer Arts and Science degree programmes.

The university has taken this decision in the wake of several complaints, including from parents of students, that some candidates are allegedly getting admission in graduate programmes, mostly in Arts and Science-related courses, by submitting ‘fake intermediate’ certificates offered by the institutions in States such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh among others.

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The university has also given two more weeks to ensure that all the certificates of candidates already admitted to degree courses are genuine.

It has been alleged that some candidates who have come from other States or who have intermediate qualification certificates from other States are providing unauthorised (fake) certificates to get admission in graduate programmes facilitated by the affiliated colleges of Andhra University.

Some candidates come to the city for various reasons, including for employment at night (jobs). At such times, they like to clear some degree courses. In such cases, there is a possibility of submitting fake qualification certificates. Intermediate is the basic qualification to pursue graduate programmes at the next level.

People from Tamil Nadu come to the city for Bachelor of Law programmes, while candidates from neighbouring Odisha come to pursue Arts and Science courses available in the university’s affiliated colleges, according to the AU sources.

Prof. TV Krishna, Dean, College Development Council, Andhra University, said, “Yes, we have issued notices to all our 305 affiliated colleges to fully verify the authenticity of certificates of candidates admitted to degree programmes based on complaints received from the public. The college managements concerned are currently working on it. We are yet to receive a report on further progress, such as identifying candidates with fake intermediate certificates for admissions. We are taking precautions to ensure that fake certificates are not received by colleges. We also cautioned the students not to fall into the trap of fake institutions located anywhere in the country, and face legal complications if found.”

Speaking to The Hindu, AU Registrar Prof. EN Dhananjaya Rao said, “We will take strict action against colleges that admit students without properly checking the certificates. Affiliated colleges and colleges located within the campus should fully verify the authenticity of the educational background of the students in the process of verifying the certificates.”