Safety check

Is this college or university genuine? A five-minute check

A glossy campus and a confident counsellor prove nothing. A degree is only worth something if the right government body recognises it. Five checks on official websites, before you pay a single rupee.

By Anuj Arora · Last verified: 9 Nov 2026

The five checks

Five checks before paying an admission fee Step one: is the university on UGC's list of universities? If not, stop. Step two: is it on UGC's fake-university list? If yes, stop. Step three: is the course approved by its regulator, such as AICTE, NMC or the Bar Council? If not, stop. Step four: for online or distance study, is the programme on the UGC-DEB list for this session? If not, stop. Step five: check quality signals on NAAC and NIRF. Only then consider paying. 1. University on UGC's list?ugc.gov.in · state, central, deemed, private 2. Not on UGC's fake-university list?32 institutions as of February 2026 3. Course approved by its regulator?AICTE · NMC · Bar Council · NCTE and others 4. Online or distance? On the UGC-DEB list?deb.ugc.ac.in · for this session 5. Quality signalsNAAC grade · NIRF rank Now consider paying the fee Not listed? Stop. Listed? Stop. Not approved? Stop. Not on list? Stop.
Steps 1 to 4 decide whether the degree is valid. Step 5 only tells you how good it is.

Step 3: who approves which course

CourseRegulator to check
Engineering, management, BCA, BBAAICTE
MBBS and medical PGNational Medical Commission (NMC)
DentistryDental Council of India
NursingIndian Nursing Council
PharmacyPharmacy Council of India
AYUSH (BAMS, BHMS, BUMS)NCISM · National Commission for Homoeopathy
LawBar Council of India
B.Ed and teacher educationNational Council for Teacher Education
ArchitectureCouncil of Architecture
Veterinary scienceVeterinary Council of India

Online and distance degrees

A university may run online or distance programmes only if UGC's Distance Education Bureau lists it, for that programme and that session. UGC bars engineering, medical, law and nursing from online and distance mode, along with M.Phil and PhD. No university is allowed to run its programmes through franchised study centres.

Red flags that should end the conversation

  • A seat "guaranteed" without the entrance exam the course requires
  • Pressure to pay today, or in cash
  • A degree promised in less time than the course takes
  • A name that copies a famous university with one word changed
  • An agent rather than the institution taking your fee

Keep proof

Take screenshots of each official listing, with the date, before you pay. Pay only to the institution's own account and keep the receipt.

Comparing two or three colleges?

The college choice scorecard puts them side by side in five minutes.

Open the scorecard

Sources

  1. UGC fake-university list, February 2026: 32 institutions, 12 in Delhi; degrees not valid for higher education or jobs
  2. UGC advisory on online and distance programmes: DEB list, barred courses, no franchising
  3. Official sites: ugc.gov.in, deb.ugc.ac.in, aicte-india.org, nmc.org.in, dciindia.gov.in, indiannursingcouncil.org, pci.nic.in, ncismindia.org, nch.org.in, barcouncilofindia.org, ncte.gov.in, coa.gov.in, vci.dahd.gov.in, naac.gov.in, nirfindia.org