Mere pretence in place of academic knowledge (6)
I believe the answer is:
facade
'mere pretence' is the definition.
'facade' can be an answer for 'pretence' (I've seen this before). I am not certain of the 'mere' bit.
'place of academic knowledge' is the wordplay.
'FACADE' is hidden in amongst the letters.
However, I am unsure how the hidden word is indicated.
'in' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for facade that I've seen before include "Deceptive outward appearance" , "External surface" , "Front of building or outer appearance" , "Outside of a building" , "False front" .)