New Delhi, July 31: The Ministry of Human Resources and Development (HRD) has identified as many as 277 fake engineering colleges across the nation, with the maximum in the national capital region.

Delhi, with 66 such colleges, tops the list of states with the highest number of unapproved technical institutes. Telangana and West Bengal stand second and third with 35 and 27 fake polytechnic colleges, respectively.

The information was released by Minister of State for HRD, Satya Pal Singh, while speaking in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Singh said the Ministry has asked such institutes to seek approval from the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE). Those failing to obtain a certificate from the AICTE will be shut down at the earliest, he added.

The MoS said directions have been issued to the University Grants Commission (UGC) to reach out to the state governments under whose jurisdictions the fake institutes are thriving and seek action at the earliest. The Commission, on its website, has so far named 24 unapproved engineering colleges.

Fake Engineering Colleges: State-Wise Tally:

Here are the number of unapproved technical institutes running in states across the country.

Delhi- 66

Telangana- 35

West Bengal- 27

Karnataka- 23

Uttar Pradesh- 22

Himachal Pradesh- 18

Bihar- 17

Maharashtra- 16

Tamil Nadu- 11

Gujarat- 8

Andhra Pradesh- 7

Chandigarh- 7

Punjab- 5

Rajasthan- 3

Uttarakhand- 3

The information was disclosed by Singh days after Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar, while addressing a conference of vice-chancellors in Delhi, said constructive steps should be enacted at the earliest to improve the quality of education in India.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 31, 2018 10:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).