Breather for varsities imparting distance edu
Kolkata: The state universities associated with imparting education in distance mode have heaved a sigh of relief with University Grants Commission (UGC) allowing institutions with NAAC grade over 3.01 to continue with its distance education mode.
UGC's new regulation that had come into effect in 2018 had stated that only institutions with NAAC grade A plus (score of 3.26 or above on a scale
of 4) would be permitted to
offer programmes in distance mode.
"The law has been amended for this year. Now the Distance Education Bureau (DEB) will surely come out with a notification about opening up a portal so that the varsities can apply with requisite documents for the necessary nod to go forward with admission for students in distance mode. Once they give us the nod, we will be able to start the admission process. The process will take some time," said Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury, Vice-Chancellor of Rabindra Bharati University (RBU).
RBU accounts for the highest number of distance education students in eastern India with over 20,000 seeking admission every year. The other universities in the state that offers distance education level in post graduate level are Burdwan University, North Bengal University and Kalyani University.
The admission calendar followed in case of distance education by the state universities is from July to June. However, the UGC has stated that universities below 3.26 score will not be allowed to admit students after June 2021. The accreditation parameters for the universities imparting distance education have become more stringent in the recent past with NAAC grading the varsities based on their teaching learning method, implementation of Choice
Based Credit System (CBCS), collaborative research initiatives etc.
Uncertainty still prevails over holding of terminal examinations for students pursuing distance education with DEB yet to come up with any directive regarding this. "We will discuss with open universities like IGNOU and Netaji Subhas Open University (NSOU) and decide about holding examinations," said a senior official of Burdwan University.
