A day after the University Grants Commission did not recognise the Bharathiar University as one fit to offer distance education programmes in its list of recognised higher education institutions (HEI), the latter renewed its attempt at re-introducing a few such programmes.
The UGC on August 9, 2018 released a list of recognised HEIs across India and in Tamil Nadu only the University of Madras, Anna University and Tamil Nadu Open University find a place in the list.
A day after, on August 10, the university convened the Syndicate Sub-Committee on Distance Education to explore the possibility of offering a few courses through the distance education mode.
This has come in for criticism from academics and college managements, who say that given the rather inglorious track record of the university, it will do well to first get the UGC’s nod for starting distance education programmes.
The first reason that the UGC did not include the university in the list of recognised HEIs is that its NAAC score at 3.11 is well below the 3.25 required for offering distance education programmes.
The second is that the university has the inglorious track record of bending every rule in the rule book to offer distance education programmes – offering optometry, forensic science, etc. and that too at centres that hardly resemble classrooms and in partnership with institutions whose target was at making profit, says an academic.
The third reason is that the university offered the distance education programmes well beyond its jurisdiction and had a centre in Dubai and a few North-Eastern States as well, when the Distance Education Bureau of the UGC clearly says that HEIs cannot offer courses outside their jurisdiction.
Sources, who attended the Syndicate Sub-Committee meeting, say that the university attempted to bring back the franchisee model of distance education – where private institutions will offer courses on behalf of the University – and that was shot down at the meeting.
Pointing to entry four in the agenda for the meeting, the sources say that when the UGC clearly says that HEIs cannot operate outside their jurisdiction, the BU is once again attempting to break the rules.
The fourth item on the agenda reads: To consider the list of approved arts and science colleges identified in the border areas within Tamilnadu and invite EoI (express of interest)to cater to other districts outside the jurisdiction of Bharathiar University within Tamilnadu for admissions/PCP/Theory/Practical Examinations.”
The sources, who shot down the proposals, say that the university is also violating the UGC guidelines by offering lab-based courses like B.Sc. Physics, Visual Communication, Chemistry, etc. when the guidelines say that only non-lab courses are to be offered.
‘Improve standards’
Commenting on the developments, retired professor and member, Association of University Teachers,C. Pichandy, says that the university should get its act together, make amends, improve its standards, get UGC approval and then offer distance education programmes.
If it were to go ahead as it had done in the past, it is only putting students’ career and future at risk as the distance education degree programmes will have no value.
University Registrar B. Vanitha says that it is only acting as per law as it has obtained a stay on the UGC’s regulations on distance education.