University fined for false claims about rankings

ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has slapped penalty of Rs5 million on a private university for allegedly making false claims regarding its rankings.

The CCP passed an order for imposing penalty of Rs5 million on the university for making false claims regarding its ranking and accreditation in violation of Section 10 of the Competition Act, 2010. According to statement issued by CCP here on Tuesday, on receipt of information, CCP conducted an enquiry to ascertain whether the university has violated the Competition Law. The enquiry concluded that the university has made multiple deceptive claims in its prospectus and other promotional material regarding its ranking and accreditation just to make profits by luring new students into taking admission in the university.

These misleading and deceptive claims jeopardised the future of thousands of students and caused financial losses to their parents who make important decisions about their children’s education. The misleading claims could also harm the business interests of other undertakings.On the enquiry’s recommendations, a Show Cause Notice was issued to the university. During the hearings, the university could not substantiate these claims, tendered an unconditional apology, and made a commitment to discontinue the practice of making deceptive claims.

CCP’s Prosecutor who assisted the bench referred to a similar example from the United States of America where a federal judge finalized the $25 million settlement between President Trump and students of his now shuttered Trump University for making false claims regarding its status.

In view of the university’s commitment to compliance and unconditional apology, the bench imposed a penalty of Rs5 million and directed it to refrain from indulging in any form of deceptive marketing practices in the future. CCP is mandated under the Competition Act to ensure free competition in all spheres of commercial and economic activity, to ensure economic efficiency and to protect consumers from anti-competitive practices indulging deceptive marketing.