Invalid courses: Universal Business School in Karjat asked to repay fees to complainant students

Maharashtra's Universal Business School (UBS) has been ordered to refund fees to students after running BBA and BABM courses without permission. The education department has also fined the institute ₹5 lakh ($6,800). UBS had collaborated with Cardiff Metropolitan University in the UK for the courses, but students found their degrees were not equivalent when they applied for higher education. UBS has appealed the order, but students also want equivalency for their degrees from the apex body.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra higher and technical education department has issued an order instructing Universal Business School (UBS) in Karjat to repay the fees paid by students enrolled on Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and Bachelor of Arts in Business Management (BABM) courses after it found the courses were running without permission. The aggregate amount runs into several crores. The education department has also imposed a fine of ₹5 lakh on this institute.

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The institute, meanwhile, submitted an appeal to the secretary of higher education against the order of the state’s director of higher education, which is pending.

At UBS, BBA and BABM degree courses were being offered to the students in association with Cardiff Metropolitan University in the UK. However, when the students applied for higher education, they were told that their degrees were not equivalent. The students in September 2023, filed several complaints with the higher education department about the issue following which, the department conducted an inquiry and published a public notice last week.

As per the public notice, “UBS has not taken permission from the University Grants Commission (UGC) or any other apex body. It is found that the BBAand BABM courses offered at UBS were invalid and were provided without any official permission from the government of Maharashtra which is a gross violation of provisions of Maharashtra Unauthorised Institution and Unauthorised Practice Courses in Agriculture, Animal Science, Health Sciences, Higher and Technical and Vocational Education (Banning) Act, 2013 rule.”

The director of higher education ordered UBS to close BBA and BABM courses immediately. In addition, the public notice also appealed to students and parents to not seek admission to the said courses.

Meanwhile, the institute spokesperson, said, “UBS, suo motto, closed the BABM programme in September 2022 after UGC notified new regulations on Academic Collaboration between Indian and Foreign Higher Education institutions to offer twinning programmes, joint and dual degree programmes regulations 2022. The institute has already appealed against the DHE order to appellant authority which pertains to the matter nine years ago in 2014 when the student enrolled. The concerned matter is regulatory policy related and is sub-Judice.”

Students who were affected by this degree stated they needed equivalency for their BBA degree from the apex body. A student who graduated in 2019 and is now preparing for the further competitive exam, said, “I spent over ₹15 lakh on my programme. Refunding money is not the only solution to our problem. We need equivalency of our BBA degree from the apex body.”