World is so small and every information is available at your mouse point. Changes are inevitable and educational sector is no exception. Dramatic changes are happening especially in countries like India. The conventional degrees are on decline and new generation courses have taken their place. The increasing demand of education raises the competition in the sector. Expenses related to pursuing a course/degree is soaring and touching new highs. Now for getting admission into the first standard the parents have to spend around Rs.14, 000-15,000/-. Then one can imagine the huge expense related to the professional degrees and higher education. Expensive educational course are tempting people to think about alternatives and thus emerged the popularity of distance education and online courses.

Spot the Fake???

But the increasing popularity of the online courses has led to many fake degrees or institutes spreading roots in India. We can see advertisements like degree within two days, one year PhD program, two years LLB, four years BBA+MBA, fully recognized and university approved programs etc. For many it seems like a jock, but unfortunately for some these advertisements are catchy. A mail degree or the degree delivered through email is the latest to this list of fake degrees.

A study on the fake degrees shows that the now an industry called fake degree industry exists and worth around Rs.12, 000crores. Our UGC keeps a list of fake universities but there is no reference about the online fakers. In India many reputed universities are offering online courses and deliver study material through mails. There is nothing wrong in that and on the contrary, these programs are a boon for working professionals and others who can’t afford to having a regular course..

All those aspirants of the distance or online mode need to take care about certain things. They have to make sure about the course granting authority, accreditation of the course, the work load, quality of the course/work, credit allocation, course evaluation and about the people giving you guideline etc.

Apostille- A treats for the Aspirants!!!!

There is a general belief among the common man that a fake degree from foreign country is legitimate in our country. Many of the fake degree providers take the advantage of these beliefs and also one more aspect, called Apostille. Though the world simply stands for the documentation but now it has become a dangerous term for the higher study aspirants.

According to Apostille, when comparing two public documents, one will only verify the signature and seal pasted on a public document from other country and not the content. Thus the Apostille helps fake degree providers. This allows the providers to take the copy of the certificate to these Apostille centers andauthority will only match the signature in the certificate with that in any other legal documents like passport or driving license etc. If they found the matching of the seal or signature it will be stamped and then the national agency will issue Apostille approval. In India the certificate is issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.  The great thing for the degree providers is that no authority will ever take an effort to read the content on the submitted documents.

The Apostille is a treat to the budding higher study aspirants since the content on the document will be like “Our program is fully accredited and affiliated to the University XYZ in United Nations as the document is attested by the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton”. There are so many aspirants of the higher education attracted in these names and go for the degree.

So you should be aware about such process and claims. The following are some tips which help the students to beware of the fake online degrees.

The Individual Accountability!!!!

Most of the measures can be takne by you as an individual. You need to protect your time and resource from such fake authorities. The important thing you can do is to collect the maximum information regarding such degrees. If you saw a quote called affiliated or accredited don’t make the judgment that it is authorized. The recent surveys show that there are many schools and universities existing in the world only by names. So go for the deep search about affiliation and about the University.

You can collect the contact address and the place of the head office of the mill program and explore the Google map for the conformation. You can also give a call to the center and by the conversation you will get some idea about the reality of such institutions. Since the course is availed through the website you can also search for the website ownership of the offered institute. If the institute is hiding such information, forget about the course. You can also go for the faculty details and management personals. If you are satisfied with their profile and feels that there are no confusing statements, you can go forward.

Seek for Help….

There are many consultancies and service organization which helps the aspirants on the information regarding such universities and mill degrees. They are operating both in the private and public sectors. If you want to make sure about the program and want a guarantee for your decision you can seek the help of such institutions.

The website called Diploma Mill News provides the needy a list of fake universities and schools in the field. There are many websites like this which helps you to take the right institute and colleges. There are so many books available in the market which also a great help for you in the searching process.

We are living in a country where the judicial system is praised for its consistency and diplomacy. People will get the certificate without attending or registering any courses, if they have financial power. When it comes to cyber media the crimes are little bit difficult to control since it is a globalized channel. The face of the education sector change from service to profit and the technology advancement expose the worst part of it. Nobody else is accountable for your time and career. It is you; you need to take care of it. When you choose for such online and mill degrees, it is not a bad idea to keep in mind, “All that Glitters is Not Gold”…