State plans to route overseas universities’ admissions through ARA portal

The move follows several cases of students being duped by agents promising admissions to foreign universities. Under the proposal, the ARA website will feature a dedicated section providing verified information on the world’s top 500 universities, as ranked by the QS World University Rankings

MUMBAI: In a bid to curb fraud in overseas education admissions, the state’s Higher and Technical Education Department plans to launch a centralised system to guide students applying to top global universities through the Admissions Regulating Authority (ARA) portal.

State plans to route overseas universities’ admissions through ARA portal

The move follows several cases of students being duped by agents promising admissions to foreign universities. Under the proposal, the ARA website will feature a dedicated section providing verified information on the world’s top 500 universities, as ranked by the QS World University Rankings.

A senior official said the portal will offer end-to-end details, including course options, admission procedures, eligibility criteria and required documentation. “The idea is to create a single, reliable platform where students can access authentic information,” the official said.

Each year, around 70,000 students from Maharashtra apply for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes abroad. While private consultancies assist aspirants, officials noted that many promote lesser-known institutions that rank very low in international accreditation standards. It has also been noticed that there has been a rise in agents who provide misleading information, leading to financial losses and compromised academic prospects.

To address this, the department aims to enable students not only to access verified data but also to submit applications directly through the ARA platform.

“The proposal entails creating a specific tab on the ARA website. The objective is to utilize this portal to provide students with detailed information on courses offered by various universities, while also enabling them to submit their applications directly through the platform,” another official said.

The proposal was discussed at a recent inter-departmental meeting of the Higher and Technical Education Department, where officials were asked to prepare a detailed roadmap. The facility is expected to be rolled out as early as January and may be offered free of cost to students studying in Maharashtra.

Officials added that the platform would also help the government maintain a database of students pursuing education abroad. The absence of such data had created challenges during evacuation efforts in crises such as the Ukraine war and the recent Iran–US tensions.

“Having accurate, real-time data on students overseas will make it easier to reach out to them and coordinate assistance during emergencies,” the official said.