Kolkata: The three universities in Bengal which have been allowed by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to admit students to the distance education course are in a spot of bother with the deadline set for the admission.
The UGC on Wednesday had given nod to three out of four universities in the state whose distance mode education was de-recognised by them in the month of August.
It has, however, set October 20 as the deadline for completing the admission process for the academic year 2018-19.
The Puja mood has already set in and the universities will be closed for Durga Puja after the 13th of this month. "I am writing to the UGC seeking extension of the admission dates," said RBU Vice-Chancellor Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury.
Rabindra Bharati University (RBU), Kalyani University (KU) and Vidyasagar University (VU) can now continue with their distance mode education while North Bengal University has not yet received the UGC nod. According to a senior RBU official, though the admission in all the 11 distance mode courses are online but during the Pujas there is every possibility for the students to overlook the advertisement in this regard.
"Durga Puja is that time of the year when people spend time enjoying and visit places of interest. Hence, financially also they may face difficulty," the official added.
It may be mentioned that RBU has as many as 44 study centres in the state from Alipurduar in North Bengal to the Sunderbans in South 24-Parganas. Every year, nearly 20,000 students seek admission in distance mode. According to sources in the state Higher Education department, KU and VU will also write to the UGC for extending the admission deadline. The UGC had derecognized four varsities in August as it was dissatisfied with the number of teachers in these universities when it came to offering distance-mode education. The universities were allowed to make a fresh representation for recognition within a month.
All the four varsities had reverted within the stipulated time and three of them were given the nod to continue with their distance education. VU has been allowed to teach seven out of 15 subjects that they used to teach under the distance mode.