Universities Under Scrutiny, SC Cancels Engineering Degrees Awarded Through Distance Learning

The three universities under scrutiny are the JRN Rajasthan Vidhyapeeth University, Udaipur; Vinayaka Mission Research Foundation, Salem, Tamil Nadu and IASE Deemed University, Rajasthan.

The above mentioned universities have been conducting distance learning programmes without taking any prior approval from any of the authorities including the University Grants Commission(UGC) or the ALL India Council for Technical Education(AICTE).

The verdict by the apex court comes as a result of a petition filed where in questions regarding the validity of these degrees awarded by the said universities, were asked.

The Court has also asked the UGC to conduct an inquiry regarding the status enjoyed by these particular universities.

The bench also specified that, “all deemed-to-be universities to carry on any courses in distance education mode from the academic session 2018-2019 onwards unless and until it is permissible to conduct such courses in distance education mode and specific permissions are granted by the concerned statutory/regulatory authorities in respect of each of those courses and unless the off-campus centres/study centres are individually inspected and found adequate by the concerned statutory authorities”.