5 Biggest Education Scams in India

Education in India is more than just a sector; it's a foundation of hope, built on the aspirations of millions of students and the sacrifices of their families. This foundation of trust, however, has been shaken time and again by systemic scams and frauds of staggering proportions. These scandals go beyond individual cheating; they represent a deep-seated rot that has defrauded lakhs of people, shattered careers, and eroded public faith in the very systems designed to nurture talent.

These rackets have exposed vulnerabilities at every level—from school boards and entrance examinations to the highest regulatory bodies. Here is a look at five of the biggest education scams that have rocked the nation and left an indelible scar on its conscience.

Considered by many to be India's most sinister and complex education-cum-recruitment scandal, the Vyapam scam unravelled in Madhya Pradesh in 2013, though its roots trace back to the 1990s. The Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (Vyapam) was responsible for conducting entrance tests for medical colleges and recruitments for various government jobs. The scam involved a sophisticated, multi-layered racket to rig these exams. Modus operandi included:

The Vyapam scam was monumental in its scale, with investigations suggesting thousands of undeserving candidates secured medical seats and government jobs. The case turned particularly grim with the series of over 40 mysterious deaths of accused individuals, witnesses, and even journalists connected to the investigation. The scandal implicated a vast network of politicians, bureaucrats, middlemen, and officials, leading to thousands of arrests and a CBI probe that continues to this day.

This scam exposed the shocking level of corruption within a state school board. In 2016, media interviews with the Class 12 "toppers" of the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) went viral. Arts topper Ruby Rai famously pronounced "Political Science" as "Prodigal Science" and stated that the subject was about cooking. Similarly, the science topper was clueless about basic scientific concepts.

The interviews revealed a deeply entrenched "cash-for-ranks" system where school administrators, in collusion with board officials, would guarantee top marks and ranks for a hefty price. The investigation uncovered that answer sheets were either written by experts or replaced after the exam. The scandal led to national outrage, the arrest of the BSEB chairman, the principal of the infamous Vishun Roy College, and the toppers themselves. It forced a complete overhaul of the BSEB to restore some semblance of credibility.

Representing the widespread menace of fake universities, this scam involved a legitimate private university engaged in illegitimate activities on an industrial scale. Investigations beginning around 2020 revealed that the Himachal Pradesh-based Manav Bharti University had allegedly sold over 36,000 fake degrees over a decade. The university's promoters operated through a network of agents across the country, selling degrees in various disciplines for lakhs of rupees without the students ever attending a single class.

The scam invalidated the qualifications of thousands of individuals, putting their jobs and futures in jeopardy. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigated the money laundering aspect, estimating the proceeds of the crime to be over ₹387 crore. The case highlighted a massive regulatory failure in the monitoring of private universities and triggered a multi-state investigation to track down the holders of these fraudulent degrees.

The All-India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT), the precursor to NEET, was compromised in 2015 through a high-tech, organized operation. The racket involved providing candidates with special vests fitted with micro-SIMs and Bluetooth devices. The question paper was leaked from an exam centre, solved by a team of experts elsewhere, and the answers were then systematically relayed to the paying candidates inside the exam halls.

This breach affected the future of over 6.3 lakh medical aspirants. Recognizing that the sanctity of the exam was irretrievably compromised, the Supreme Court of India took the drastic step of cancelling the entire examination. It ordered the CBSE to conduct a fresh test nationwide within four weeks, causing immense mental anguish, logistical chaos, and financial strain for students and their families across the country.

This scam struck at the heart of the regulatory system. In 2009, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested the then-chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the apex body for regulating technical education in India. The charge was taking substantial bribes from private institutions in exchange for granting them official approval to run engineering and management courses.

This case was a glaring example of corruption at the highest echelons of educational governance. It revealed how substandard colleges, lacking the required faculty and infrastructure, could get an official stamp of approval, thereby deceiving thousands of students who enrolled based on this legitimacy. The scandal severely damaged the credibility of the AICTE and necessitated reforms to make the approval process more transparent.

These five scams, each unique in its method but similar in its betrayal of trust, underscore the deep-rooted vulnerabilities in India's education system. They serve as a stark reminder that from the local school board to the national regulatory body, the potential for corruption is ever-present. While legal action has been taken in these cases, the fight for a transparent, merit-based, and honest education system requires constant vigilance from all stakeholders.