A study conducted by College Vidya highlights that half of all prospective students express serious concerns about potential fraudulent practices in online education. College Vidhya is an online platform that helps students compare universities and courses.

According to the report by Moneycontrol, the comprehensive survey reveals that for every 10 students enquiring about online courses, five raise concerns about fraud. These worries primarily revolve around:

- Payment security

- Degree validity

- The authenticity of job placement claims

Data information

The data reveals:

- 50 per cent of students specifically check for University Grants Commission (UGC) approval before considering any online programme

- 30 per cent show significant hesitation in making payments without proper verification and

- 20 per cent of students question the accuracy of placement and career outcome claims made by online education providers

These findings align with recent warnings issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC) regarding fraudulent online programmes. According to UGC's official guidelines, several disciplines, including engineering, medical sciences, law, architecture, and pharmacy, are prohibited from being offered through online or open and distance learning (ODL) modes.

This restriction has been put in place to maintain educational standards and protect student interests.

Further, the survey data indicates a growing trend of careful decision-making among students in the online education space.

About 80 per cent of students now take the time to verify institutional recognition on the Distance Education Bureau's (DEB) website and carefully check if their chosen programme is allowed under UGC guidelines.

Additionally, there is an increasing emphasis on understanding fee structures and verifying placement records before making any commitments. A significant development in this direction is the new requirement that students enrolling in recognised ODL and online programmes must generate a UGC-DEB ID. Moneycontrol stated that this measure aims to add another layer of security and verification for students pursuing online education.