The SKM government is being haunted, and the ghost university they approved themselves
A university with no campus, no students, no teachers—just a ghost has come back to haunt Sikkim government. A ‘ghost university’ is shaking up Sikkim politics, and the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) government is right at the centre of the storm.
A university (Ghost University) that exists only on paper is now exposing cracks in the SKM government. This has raised serious questions like how does a university with zero activity still appear on the UGC list?
This seems to be Sikkim’s biggest academic mystery. A ghost university that never opened, but still issued degrees.
This has set Sikkim’s academic and political circles and on fire raising serious questions about the SKM government’s decision related to universities that is threatening students’ future and putting their careers at stake.
The State Education Department issued a rather unusual press release raising serious regulatory lapses about the Sikkim International University (SIU), Sribadam. According to the official release, the institution, established under The Sikkim International University Act, 2021, exists only on paper, with no campus, no faculty, no students, and no administrative bodies functioning within the state.
According to the government, SIU has never begun any academic or administrative activity, despite being legally created four years ago. Officials say the university has not set up a campus, statutory bodies, or even a legitimate admission system inside Sikkim. Yet, its website continues to project full-fledged operations, claims the Education Department describes as “misleading” and potentially harmful to the public.
What has raised deeper concerns is SIU’s continued presence on the UGC portal as a recognized institution, a listing the government now says is enabling the promoters to mislead students beyond the state’s borders. With the risk of misuse increasing, the state is preparing to repeal the 2021 Act and formally request SIU’s removal from UGC records.
The department has warned that any academic programme, online course, degree, diploma, or admission issued in SIU’s name from outside Sikkim will be considered unauthorized and invalid. Repeated attempts to contact the promoters have reportedly failed. Citizens have been advised not to enroll in any programme linked to the university.
The government’s release has given more ammo to the opposition parties, particularly to the Citizen Action Party, Sikkim (CAP), which has been raising questions about private universities operating without meeting UGC norms. The party is now saying that the government’s own announcement validates their earlier allegations. CAP had, in a press conference on November 13, accused SIU of issuing B.Sc (Radiology and Imaging Technology) degrees since 2023, something they argued blatantly violated UGC regulations.
CAP spokesperson Albert Gurung said the latest revelation “proves every point we raised,” adding that the Education Department’s own statement now serves as the evidence the ruling party previously demanded. He alleged that several other private universities in Sikkim also exist “only in legislation,” lacking infrastructure, academic credibility, or functioning campuses anywhere in India.
He further accused the SKM government of passing “multiple private university Acts with no real universities on ground,” and said the SIU episode exposes a deeper, systemic problem requiring urgent intervention.
As the controversy intensifies, the SKM government faces mounting pressure to explain how a legally established university came to operate like a phantom institution, and why it remained unregulated for so long. The ghost of SIU, it appears, is set to haunt Sikkim’s political corridors for some time.
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