Education minister Vinod Tawde accused of having fake BE degree

High-profile Education Minister Vinod Tawde has been accused of having a fake BE (Electronics) degree, a charge which Tawde denies.

"My engineering degree is not bogus," Tawde said in a press statement on Monday, referring to the engineering degree he obtained from a Pune institute in 1984.

The minister's clarification came after a Marathi news channel reported that his BE Electronics degree from Sant Dnyaneshwar University is fake as the institution is not affiliated with the UGC or AICTE, which is mandated for all professional institutes. The course which Tawde did was discontinued in 2005.

"I have been a student of Pune's Dnyaneshwar Vidyapeeth and I am proud of it. I have never hidden the degree I obtained from that university," Tawde said rubbishing the charges.

"Students were told while seeking admission that the course is not recognised by the government," Tawde claimed.