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K L University, formerly Koneru Lakshmaiah Educational Foundation, is an Indian private Deemed University, located in Vaddeswaram, Andhra Pradesh, and Hyderabad, Telangana, India.[2] Founded in 1980 as Koneru Lakshmaiah College of Engineering, it consists of eight schools, offering academic programs at UG, PG, doctoral, and post-doctoral industry-focused courses.[3]

As of 2025, the university has been barred from NAAC accreditation for 5 years after reports of bribing the assessor team to receive favourable ranking.[2] Despite that, it is somehow ranked 35th among engineering colleges, 46th among overall universities, and 70th in Management by the NIRF 2025 Rankings.[4][5][6]

History

KLEF was established in 1980 at Vaddeswaram as K L College of Engineering (KLCE). It became autonomous in 2006 and was recognized as deemed to be university in 2009, known as K L University.[7] Following the University Grants Commission‘s warning to 123 deemed institutes, not to use “university” in the name[8] it was renamed Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation (KLEF). In 2019, it was renamed K L Deemed to be University.[9]

Location

Koneru Lakshmaiah Deemed to be University is situated in a 100-acre (40 ha) site adjacent to Buckingham Canal, and is about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from Vijayawada[10] in Krishna district and 33 kilometres (21 mi) from Guntur. The university is in Guntur district.

Schools

KLEF includes the following schools:[11]

  • K L College of Engineering
  • K L School of Science & Humanities
  • K L School of Architecture
  • K L School of Management
  • K L School of Fine Arts
  • K L School of Commerce
  • K L School of Pharmacy
  • K L School of Law
  • K L School of Agriculture
  • Center for Distance and Online Education

Rankings

In the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2024, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation has been ranked 40th overall in India,[12] 22nd among universities,[13] 79th in the management category,[14] and 35th in engineering.[15]

Controversies

NAAC rating bribery case

KL University became the center of a bribery investigation after the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested the chairman and six members of a National Assessment and Accreditation Council Inspection Committee on 1 February 2025. The arrests were made over allegations that bribes were paid to secure a favorable NAAC accreditation rating. The CBI conducted raids across 20 locations in India, including Chennai, Bangalore, and New Delhi, recovering ₹3,700,000 (US$44,000) in cash, gold, mobile phones, and laptops.[17]

The alleged bribery was traced back to office bearers of KL University, leading to the arrest of several key individuals linked to the institution, including:[18]

  • G P Saradhi Varma – Vice-Chancellor, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation (KLEF), Guntur
  • Koneru Raja Hareen – Vice-President, KLEF
  • A Ramakrishna – Director, KL University, Hyderabad campus

Land fraud case

In February 2025, a complaint was registered against University Chairman Koneru Satyanarayana and his relative Nagalingeswara Rao for fraudulently registering an individual’s 1.10-acre land in their name. They were summoned by the police in connection with the case. A court directed the police to investigate.[19]

Incident involving fake degrees

In June 2025, Indian authorities at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport intercepted individuals using fake Bachelor of Technology degrees purportedly from Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation (among other institutions). One case involved a student from Guntur who allegedly paid ₹40,000 (US$470) to an agent for a fabricated KL University degree to support a US visa application. While this points more to a broader fake certificate racket using the university’s name, it has been associated with KL University in media reports.[20]

Campus deaths

In December 2025, a first-year engineering student, Vari Suresh Reddy was found dead in a university hostel in mysterious circumstances. This incident prompted protests and demands for a thorough investigation.[21] Also, this incident follows a previous, separate case on the KLU campus in February 2024, where a third-year engineering student, Vamshi Sai Krishna, was found dead.[22]

References

  1. ^ a b “Leadership”. klef.edu.in. KL Deemed to be University. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b “Week after CBI arrested 10 in NAAC ‘bribery scam’, Andhra university at centre of row barred from accreditation for 5 years”. The Indian Express. 8 February 2025. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  3. ^ “Welcome to KLEF Deemed to be University”. www.kluniversity.in. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  4. ^ “India Rankings 2025: Engineering”. National Institutional Ranking Framework. Ministry of Education, Government of India. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
  5. ^ “India Rankings 2025: University”. National Institutional Ranking Framework. Ministry of Education, Government of India. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
  6. ^ “India Rankings 2025: Management”. National Institutional Ranking Framework. Ministry of Education, Government of India. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
  7. ^ “Inception & History”. klef.edu.in. KL Deemed to be University. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  8. ^ Pandey, Neelam (29 November 2017). “UGC warning to institutes: Drop ‘university’ from name or lose ‘deemed’ status”. Hindustan Times. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  9. ^ “UGC Issued Warning Against Deemed Universities: Use of word ‘University’ Prohibited, Check List of 127 Deemed Universities Recognised by UGC”. Jagranjosh.com. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2021..
  10. ^ “K L UNIVERSITY · Vaddeswaram, Andhra Pradesh 522303, India”. K L UNIVERSITY · Vaddeswaram, Andhra Pradesh 522303, India. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  11. ^ “Schools A-Z”. klef.edu.in. KL Deemed to be University. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  12. ^ “NIRF INDIA 2024”.
  13. ^ “university ranking 2024”.
  14. ^ “management rankings 2024”.
  15. ^ “NIRF India Rankings 2024: Engineering”.
  16. ^ “National Institutional Ranking Framework 2024 (Engineering)”. National Institutional Ranking Framework. Ministry of Education. 12 August 2024.
  17. ^ Srinivas, Rajulapudi (2 February 2025). “KLEF management charged with colluding with NAAC team to get good ranking”. The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  18. ^ Service, Express News (2 February 2025). “KLEF top brass arrested in NAAC bribery case”. The New Indian Express. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  19. ^ Rasala, Madhu (2 February 2025). “KL University chairman summoned by cops in land fraud case”. The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  20. ^ Buddi, Mahesh (22 June 2025). “Academic fraud: Students with fake degrees clear US, UK visa interviews; caught at Hyderabad airport”. The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  21. ^ Srinivas, Rajulapudi (2 December 2025). “Engineering student found dead in KLU hostel”. The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  22. ^ Srinivas, Rajulapudi (11 February 2024). “Engineering student found dead on KLU campus in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh”. The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 15 April 2026.