Journalism of Courage
A proposal by Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning (SCDL) for deemed university status is stuck in red tape. The Distance Education Council (DEC),the body that recognises distance learning institutes,has not yet got the independent statutory status to accredit such institutes and recommend them to the UGC for deemed status.
The SCDL,with 2 lakh students,had tabled a proposal for being accorded deemed university status for its distance-learning institute. The proposal is stuck owing to legal lacunae,as the DEC,unlike the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC),does not have the independent statutory status to grant accreditation to institutes. The Union government is planning to introduce a bill that will give the DEC independent statutory status. But till then no private distance-learning institute in the city can get deemed university status, said S B Mujumdar,chancellor of Symbiosis International University.
Though the government is understood to be inclined towards recognising the DEC as an independent statutory authority,the present open universities are allegedly not in favour of the idea. Private institutes are already attracting more enrolment than the state open universities. If deemed university status comes through,the gap will widen. As in most of the private institutes,use of technology has made the process of distance learning more user-friendly, said Mujumdar.
The UGC had set up a committee to draft fresh guidelines for giving deemed status to private distance learning institutes. But nothing has happened on this front.
