UGC asks varsities to share online degree roadmap
Top colleges in the country may start offering digital degree courses from Jan 2021
Top colleges and universities in India may offer full-fledged online degree programmes beginning January 2021, with the University Grants Commission (UGC) initiating a process for the same. The move aims to bridge the physical-digital divide in tertiary education. In a notification on Thursday, UGC asked academic institutions to provide roadmaps to introduce online courses, which is a “mode of providing flexible learning opportunities by overcoming the separation of teacher and learner using the internet, e-learning materials and full-fledged programme delivery through the internet using technology-assisted mechanism and resources”.
According to UGC, “higher educational institutions having an accreditation score of 3.26 (in a scale of 4) and above, or having a rank in top 100 best university category of National Institutional Ranking Framework shall be permitted to start online programmes without prior approval.” Mint has seen a copy of the notification. It says a university must be in the top 100 NIRF list at least twice in three preceding cycles at the time of application.
The move comes five months after the Union government indicated plans for online degree programmes in May. Later in his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi too had touched upon the subject. India’s large higher education sector comprising over 50,000 colleges and universities continues to remain disrupted due to the coronavirus pandemic. The push for online education has since got momentum, and the government is now keen on full-fledged online education.
In the notification, UGC said eligible universities can start a maximum of three programmes in Under Graduate (UG) level, and 10 programmes in the Post Graduate (PG) level with the approval of statutory authorities and in strict compliance with the regulatory provisions.
UGC also said colleges and universities “may also apply for offering programmes through the online mode, provided they are in existence for at least three years and has been accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with a minimum score of 3.01 on a 4-point scale.” However, this will be done not through the automatic route, but after proper invigilation and review by the regulator.
An institution can offer only those online degree programmes at UG, PG and PG Diploma level, which it has already been offering in classroom teaching or in open and distance learning mode, and from which at least one batch has passed out. Programmes requiring practical or laboratory work shall be prohibited through online mode, except in cases where the practical component is limited to programming and coding. To authenticate students, UGC has asked institutions to seed their admissions either through Aadhaar or any other government ID. Foreign learners need to seed passport details.
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First Published:25 Sep 2020, 06:44 AM IST
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