Notice to 450 Bengal BEd colleges over ‘cash for degree’ claims, major lapses flagged, says Minister Jagannath Chattopadhyay

The state government in West Bengal has issued show-cause notices to over 450 Bachelor of Education (BEd) colleges following allegations of 'cash-for-degrees' scams. Minister Jagannath Chattopadhyay stated that fake degrees were being sold at various BEd, polytechnic, ITI, and pharmacy colleges across the state. The higher education department conducted an inspection of all 602 BEd colleges throughout July and August.

Out of these, 53 colleges were found to be non-existent, with officials discovering that the premises were either used for other purposes or were locked. Additionally, 265 institutions were categorized as non-functional, being deemed fake, unqualified, or unaffiliated. In 17 cases, the No Objection Certificates (NOCs) were issued to residential addresses, indicating that the colleges were operating from residential buildings.

The inspection revealed that 121 colleges had dire infrastructure, while only 114 colleges scored above 30 on a 100-mark scale, with proper infrastructure, teacher attendance, and functional CCTVs. Chattopadhyay emphasized that over 62,000 BEd degrees are awarded annually in the state, and questioned how non-Bengali speakers could participate in Bengali-medium education.

The inspection was prompted by a letter from the Chief Secretary of a neighboring state alleging that students from other states were purchasing degrees from these institutions without attending classes. The government has given 21 days to the nearly 450 BEd colleges to respond with corrective measures, warning of de-affiliation if unsatisfied.

The higher education department also plans to publish a white paper on alleged education scams from the previous TMC-led government, to be submitted to the commission formed under Justice Biswajit Basu.