Big action on fake degrees: 249 Karnataka guest lecturers lose jobs, face police cases
The department further directed college principals to lodge police complaints against the accused lecturers under the applicable provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
- Jul 24, 2026,
- Updated Jul 24, 2026 5:11 PM IST
In a major crackdown on recruitment fraud in higher education, the Karnataka Collegiate Education Department has ordered criminal cases against 249 guest lecturers who allegedly secured teaching positions in government first-grade colleges by submitting fake or invalid PhD certificates during the 2025-26 recruitment process. The department has also permanently blacklisted all 249 candidates, barring them from participating in future guest faculty recruitment.
The action follows a state-wide verification exercise carried out after the recruitment of nearly 10,000 guest lecturers through an online counselling process based on workload requirements in government degree colleges. As part of the verification, principals were directed to authenticate academic documents including postgraduate degree certificates, National Eligibility Test (NET), Karnataka State Eligibility Test (K-SET), MPhil and PhD certificates with the issuing universities, according to India Today.
READ THIS: 'Failure is okay, cheating is not': Sachin Tendulkar recalls father's lesson amid NEET agitation
According to the department, the universities confirmed that 249 PhD certificates were fake or invalid, prompting authorities to initiate disciplinary and criminal proceedings against the candidates.
The department further directed college principals to lodge police complaints against the accused lecturers under the applicable provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The official order added, "Since the guest lecturers listed allegedly submitted fake/invalid PhD certificates and attempted to deceive the government by furnishing false information/documents, instructions have been issued to register criminal cases against them at the concerned police stations under the applicable provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), submit a report to this office within one week, and upload the relevant information to the Department's EMIS portal," according to The Hindu.
ALSO READ: B'luru assistant professor sacked after 19 years with one-line notice; Tribunal rules in her favour
The verification exercise was conducted under a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) introduced by the department. College-level committees headed by principals initially scrutinised the documents, while candidates who challenged the findings were allowed to appeal. Their cases were subsequently reviewed by senior departmental committees before the final action was approved.
According to officials, the fraudulent appointments were detected through this mandatory post-recruitment verification system, which was introduced to strengthen transparency in the hiring of guest faculty. The 249 lecturers have been removed from service and are also excluded from the ongoing 2026-27 guest faculty recruitment process.
In a major crackdown on recruitment fraud in higher education, the Karnataka Collegiate Education Department has ordered criminal cases against 249 guest lecturers who allegedly secured teaching positions in government first-grade colleges by submitting fake or invalid PhD certificates during the 2025-26 recruitment process. The department has also permanently blacklisted all 249 candidates, barring them from participating in future guest faculty recruitment.
The action follows a state-wide verification exercise carried out after the recruitment of nearly 10,000 guest lecturers through an online counselling process based on workload requirements in government degree colleges. As part of the verification, principals were directed to authenticate academic documents including postgraduate degree certificates, National Eligibility Test (NET), Karnataka State Eligibility Test (K-SET), MPhil and PhD certificates with the issuing universities, according to India Today.
READ THIS: 'Failure is okay, cheating is not': Sachin Tendulkar recalls father's lesson amid NEET agitation
According to the department, the universities confirmed that 249 PhD certificates were fake or invalid, prompting authorities to initiate disciplinary and criminal proceedings against the candidates.
The department further directed college principals to lodge police complaints against the accused lecturers under the applicable provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The official order added, "Since the guest lecturers listed allegedly submitted fake/invalid PhD certificates and attempted to deceive the government by furnishing false information/documents, instructions have been issued to register criminal cases against them at the concerned police stations under the applicable provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), submit a report to this office within one week, and upload the relevant information to the Department's EMIS portal," according to The Hindu.
ALSO READ: B'luru assistant professor sacked after 19 years with one-line notice; Tribunal rules in her favour
The verification exercise was conducted under a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) introduced by the department. College-level committees headed by principals initially scrutinised the documents, while candidates who challenged the findings were allowed to appeal. Their cases were subsequently reviewed by senior departmental committees before the final action was approved.
According to officials, the fraudulent appointments were detected through this mandatory post-recruitment verification system, which was introduced to strengthen transparency in the hiring of guest faculty. The 249 lecturers have been removed from service and are also excluded from the ongoing 2026-27 guest faculty recruitment process.