The University Grants Commission (UGC) has ordered Delhi-based fashion and management institute, Pearl Academy, to shut all its institutes and stop awarding degrees in collaboration with Nottingham Trent University (NTU) of Britain. The institute has centres in Noida, Jaipur and Mumbai. The regulatory body issued notice to the institute following multiple complaints of collaborations between private institutes and foreign universities, which is illegal in India However, the CEO of Pearl Academy, Sharad Mehra, has denied doing anything against the existing rules. According to a senior UGC official, the academy can face legal action because only a university can offer degrees in India, not an institute. Only with prior approval, a foreign university can collaborate with an Indian university. In its reply to UGC's notice, the institute said that 4,100 students were receiving education at its four branches and the collaboration with the foreign university has been on since 1995. In a similar case, Mewar University's collaboration with Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI) was declared illegal that led to protests by hundreds of students.