ANI sources have revealed that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a Look-Out Circular (LOC) from the Bureau of Immigration (BOI) against Byju Raveendran, founder and CEO of an embattled edtech company.
Earlier this month, the central agency requested that BOI issue a new LOC to ensure that Raveendran stays in the nation.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued a warning to edtech companies and institutions that offer degrees through joint ventures with unaffiliated foreign universities.
The UGC has warned students against enrolling in such courses and has emphasized that these degrees will be void.
Manish Joshi, the secretary of the UGC, stated: “It has been noted that numerous colleges and higher education institutions (HEIs) have collaborated with foreign-based educational institutions or providers that are not recognized by the Commission, and are awarding degrees to students from other countries while offering the necessary facilities to do so.” “The degrees issued following such collaboration arrangement are also not recognized by the Commission,” he declared, adding that “any such collaboration or arrangement is not recognized by the UGC.”
According to Joshi, the UGC has also learned that certain edtech businesses are advertising in print media, social media, and television, and they are providing online degree and certificate programs in association with a few international colleges and universities. “Such a franchise arrangement is not allowed, and any program or degree of that kind will not have UGC recognition,” stated Joshi. HEIs and edtech companies that default will be subject to action following applicable laws.”
The challenges facing Byju Raveendran, CEO of the well-known online edtech platform BYJU‘s, are increasing. Today, ED searched three of Raveendran’s locations.
Byju Raveendran’s three Bengaluru sites were raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday. These searches were carried out at three of Byju Raveendran’s businesses, Think and Learn Private Limited. ED has seized a large number of documents and digital material in this raid.
These raids by the ED were related to the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and were performed at the offices of Ravindran Byju and his business, Think and Learn Pvt Ltd. The ED has taken documents and digital data during the operations.
