In pursuance to the announcement of 100 days agenda of HRD of ministry by Hon’ble Human Sources improvement Minister, a New Policy on Distance Studying In Higher Education Sector was drafted.
BACKGROUND
1. In Barnet nursery of Entry 66 of List 1 of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India, Parliament is competent to make laws for the coordination and determination of standards in institutions for higher education for research, and scientific and technical institutions. Parliament has enacted laws for discharging this responsibility through: the University Grants Commission (UGC) for general Larger Education, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for Technical Education and other Statutory bodies for other disciplines. As regards larger education, via the distance mode, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) Act, 1985 was enacted with the following two prime objectives, among other folks: (a) To supply opportunities for higher education to a huge segment of population, specifically disadvantaged groups living in remote and rural places, adults, housewives and working people and (b) to encourage Open University and Distance Education Systems in the educational pattern of the nation and to coordinate and establish the requirements in such systems.
2. The history of distance studying or education by way of distance mode in India, goes way back when the universities started providing education by means of distance mode in the name of Correspondence Courses by means of their Directorate/College of Correspondence Education. In these days, the courses in humanities and/or in commerce had been provided by means of correspondence and taken by those, who, owing to a variety of causes, which includes restricted quantity of seats in standard courses, employability, difficulties of access to the institutions of greater finding out etc., could not get themselves enrolled in the conventional `face-to-face’ mode `in-class’ programmes.
3. In the recent previous, the demand for greater education has enhanced enormously all through the nation because of awareness about the significance of larger education, whereas the technique of greater education could not accommodate this ever increasing demand.
4. Beneath the situations, a number of institutions including deemed universities, private universities, public (Government) universities and even other institutions, which are not empowered to award degrees, have began cashing on the situation by offering distance education programmes in a significant number of disciplines, ranging from humanities to engineering and management etc., and at unique levels (certificate to below-graduate and post-graduate degrees). There is normally a danger that some of these institutions may well come to be `degree mills’ offering sub- typical/poor top quality education, consequently eroding the credibility of degrees and other qualifications awarded by way of the distance mode. This calls for a far higher degree of coordination among the concerned statutory authorities, mainly, UGC, AICTE and IGNOU and its authority – the Distance Education Council (DEC).
five. Government of India had clarified its position in respect of recognition of degrees, earned via the distance mode, for employment beneath it vide Gazette Notification No. 44 dated 1.three.1995.
6. Despite the dangers referred to in para four above, the significance of distance education in providing high quality education and training can’t be ignored. Distance Mode of education has an crucial role for:
(i)giving opportunity of mastering to those, who do not have direct access to face to face teaching, working persons, home-wives and so forth.
(ii)giving chance to working pros to update their understanding, enabling them to switchover to new disciplines and professions and enhancing their qualifications for career advancement.
(iii)exploiting the prospective of Data and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the teaching and mastering process and
(iv)achieving the target of 15% of GER by the end of 11th Strategy and 20% by the end of 12th five year Plan.
7. In order to discharge the Constitutional responsibility of determination and maintenance of the standards in Larger Education, by ensuring coordination amongst many statutory regulatory authorities as also to ensure the promotion of open and distance education program in the nation to meet the aspirations of all cross-sections of persons for greater education, the following policy in respect of distance finding out is laid down:
(a) In order to assure suitable coordination in regulation of requirements of greater education in diverse disciplines by way of various modes [i.e. face to face and distance] as also to make sure credibility of degrees/diploma and certificates awarded by Indian Universities and other Education Institutes, an apex physique, namely, National Commission for Larger Education and Investigation shall be established in line with the recommendations of Prof. Yash Pal Committee/National Understanding Commission. A Standing Committee on Open and Distance
Education of the said Commission, shall undertake the job of coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of education by way of the distance mode. Pending establishment of this physique:
(i) Only those programmes, which do not involve substantial sensible course work, shall be permissible by means of the distance mode.
(ii) Universities / institutions shall frame ordinances / regulations / rules, as the case may perhaps be, spelling out the outline of the programmes to be presented via the distance mode indicating the quantity of necessary credits, list of courses with assigned credits, reading references in addition to self finding out material, hours of study, speak to classes at study centres, assignments, examination and evaluation method, grading and so forth.
(iii) DEC of IGNOU shall only assess the competence of university/institute in respect of conducting distance education programmes by a team of experts, whose report shall be placed before the Council of DEC for consideration.
(iv) The approval shall be given only after consideration by Council of DEC and not by Chairperson, DEC. For the purpose, minimum number of mandatory meetings of DEC may well be prescribed.
(v) AICTE would be directed below section 20 (1) of AICTE Act 1987 to guarantee accreditation of the programmes in Laptop Sciences, Information and facts Technology and Management purposed to be provided by an institute/university by way of the distance mode, by National Board of Accreditation (NBA).
(vi) UGC and AICTE would be directed beneath section 20 (1) of their respective Acts to frame detailed regulations prescribing standards for different programmes/courses, provided by means of the distance mode below their mandate,