What does a publication do when the targets of its investigative journalism are the biggest advertisers in the sector? Mahesh Peri, who, as Publisher of Outlook, has grown the group from a single publication to a multi-magazine conglomerate, has been facing this problem.

   Mahesh has now set up his own publishing company though he continues as Publisher of the Outlook group anyway.

   Mahesh’s first publication on behalf of his Pathfinders group is called Careers 360 and is meant to appeal to students. It’s a good magazine and, unlike many others in the sector, does not engage in the usual suck-up journalism but does hard investigative stories.

   One such story was about Arindam Choudhary’s IIPM. We’ve all heard of IIPM, we’ve seen photos of Arindam and his pony-tail, we’ve seen  copies of the  many magazines he runs and most of all, we’ve seen the huge ads that Arindam’s operation takes in various publications. These include Arindam’s take on life and current events as well as ads encouraging students to join his institutions.

   Careers 360 took one such ad and closely examined the claims made in it.

   For instance, the ad offered students an MBA degree from IMI Belgium.  This sounds impressive. But Careers 360 checked with NVAO, the accreditation organization for Belgium.

   NVAO replied  “IMI Belgium is not a recognized higher education institution either in the Dutch or the French speaking part of Belgium. Since it is not recognized, it cannot award recognized degrees.”

   In that case, asked Careers 360, was IIPM offering an MBA degree that nobody would recognize?

   Then, IIPM claims, in its ads, to have links with the University of Virginia, Judge Business School at Cambridge and the University of California at Berkeley.

   This sounds very impressive.

   Careers 360 wrote to the Universities. The Darden School of Business in Virginia replied “Darden has no partnership agreement or tie-up with IIPM.”

   The Judge Business School at Cambridge replied “There are no university qualifications awarded from Cambridge University or Judge Business School” to IIPM students.

   Haas at Berkeley wrote “Berkeley’s Haas School of Business is in no way affiliated or connected to IIPM. I am told this institution has been known to claim associations with top universities without any basis.”

   So, if all  three institutions were so categorical, how was IIPM using their logos in its ads?

   Apparently, many business schools will allow companies or institutions to deliver brief programmes to their executives or students. IIPM has hired Judge to do a five day programme. Darden will do a week long programme. Haas will provide a 5-day programme.

   It is on this basis that IIPM uses  the logos of famous universities!

   The IIPM ad also talks about the great placements IIPM gives its students. Careers 360 talked to some students and found details of the terrible placements they had been given.

   It also spoke to some top employers, to verify claims that leading multi-nationals came to the IIPM campus to recruit students. Standard Chartered denied it had participated in any campus recruitment. So did Bardays in the UAE. So did Deutsche Bank.

   In a later issue, Careers 360 had more to say  about IIPM. This time the University of Buckingham had written back. An IIPM ad, carried by the Times and the HT, had announced that MBAs from Buckingham Business School would be awarded. But, said the University “the advertisements referred to were not published with the University’s consent and no such consent would be forthcoming…….”

   Lest you think, Careers 360 only focuses on IIPM, there has been an expose of ICFAI University, a revelation about Tripura EIILM University and more.

   Why do these stories matter? Well, because these institutes take Rs 10 to 12 lakh off students who can barely afford to pay (many take loans or use their parents’ savings) and then fob them off with bogus degrees and few job prospects.

   Worse still, these institutions get a bogus legitimacy because prestigious newspapers carry their ads. As far as the papers are concerned, the ads seem to be legitimate. It is up to the government to regulate. And the Education Ministry really couldn’t be bothered to bust the scams.

   It is not my case that IIPM is a fraud or that Arindam Choudhary is a shyster in a pony-tail. I am only reporting the Careers 360 stories and perhaps there is another side to the issue, no matter how compelling the evidence may seem.

   But I think what Mahesh Peri is doing is worthy of note because a) nobody else is bothering to protect our kids and b) because I have never heard of a sectoral publication that dares to take on big advertisers in its sector.

   It is a little shameful that the mainstream media have not followed up Career 360’s exposes but perhaps in this economic climate big advertisers have more clout than ever before.

   Meanwhile, more power to Mahesh and Careers 360.