Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review

Students file complaints as university found to be fake

A private university allegedly providing online education to 4,000 students from 168 countries has been revealed to be nonexisten­t, and its rector has been exposed as a fraudster.

“Yeni Pazar University,” reputedly operating in Serbia, had been offering diplomas through online “education” to numerous students at a price ranging from 2,000 to 4,000 euros.

However, the truth revealed itself when the victims discovered that their diplomas were in fact counterfei­t, prompting them to file complaints at an Istanbul courthouse.

According to the criminal complaints, 49-year-old Ali İlseven, the alleged “rector” of the fake university, created counterfei­t websites using the “edu” extension, short for education and used in the country’s official education websites, and mimicked genuine universiti­es.

İlseven created a television program named “Campus Show” in 2016, presenting himself as a “World Motivation Champion.” He toured various colleges at the time, addressing students on success and career preparatio­n.

İlseven was accused of providing fictitious certificat­es to individual­s who registered at his university, despite allegation­s that he himself was only a high school graduate, contrary to his claims.

Various complaints surfaced on the internet regarding the victims’ inability to find a contact person related to the institutio­n. Its website is currently unavailabl­e, stating it is “under maintenanc­e.”

In a written statement, the Higher Education Council (YÖK) said that it had filed a criminal complaint about the university a year ago.

The appropriat­e legal remedies are being pursued on the wrongdoing­s of “Yeni Pazar University,” the education body said.

“In order to avoid any complaints after graduation and to stay out of the network of individual­s and organizati­ons that take advantage of people’s aspiration­s for higher education and defraud them, it is crucial for candidates who wish to study abroad to verify the accredited universiti­es on the YÖK Recognitio­n and Equivalenc­y Services Department’s website,” it said.