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Journalism of Courage
With the Supreme Court’s recent order on the suspension of degrees awarded through distance mode by four deemed universities, nearly 30,000 engineers will have to appear for an examination to ensure that their degrees remain “valid”.
Last week, the University Grants Commission (UGC) had suspended engineering degrees awarded by four deemed-to-be-universities — JRN Rajasthan Vidyapeeth, Institute of Advanced Studies in Education (IASE), Rajasthan, Allahabad Agricultural Institute (AAI) and Vinayaka Mission’s Research Foundation, Tamil Nadu, through distance mode.
Last month, the apex court had restrained universities from continuing any distance learning courses from 2018-19, without prior approval of regulatory authorities. The court had also ordered a CBI probe into granting of retrospective approvals to four of them. As per a senior official, “Nearly 30,000 students are expected to be affected by the move and are likely to register for the exam which will be conducted in May or June. The candidates have time till January 15 to register for the same and this will be their only chance to retain validity of their degrees.”
The Supreme Court also directed the universities to return the tuition fee and other expenditure taken from the students. The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) rules mandate that engineering degrees cannot be offered through distance education mode.
