UGC cautions students against taking ODL admission in prohibited programmes

NEW DELHI: The University Grants Commission (UGC) cautions students against taking admission in prohibited programmes offered in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode. Nearly 20 programmes, including engineering, architecture, medicine, law, have been unapproved by the UGC to be offered in online mode.

The commission has also asked students and parents to ensure that the university applying for is recognised by the UGC. It has advised students to take certain precautions before applying for the ODL courses.

Ensuring status of institute - As per the UGC latest notice, students are required to check if the institute is put under ‘no admission category’ in specific online programmes for the July - August 2022 academic session (revised to September 2022). The list of higher educational institutes debarred from offering online courses is available on the official website, deb.ugc.ac.in.

Checking the details on the HEIs’ website -All documents submitted by the HEIs such as application, Affidavit, Regulatory Authority Approval and additional information have been uploaded on the UGC website. The learners are advised to verify all details as claimed by the HEI on its official website by cross-checking it on the UGC website.

Adherence to duration of academic session - The academic session beginning July-August 2022 has been revised to September 2022. The Last date of admission for ODL and Online Programmes for the academic session September 2022 (revised from July — August 2022) will be October 31, 2022.

Eligibility for undergraduate admission is Class 12 and students must have bachelor’s degree for postgraduate admission, as per the UGC guidelines.

Also read | UGC drafts guidelines to hire industry experts as ‘professor of practice’ in universities

Programmes prohibited to be offered on ODL mode

Programmes that are prohibited to be offered under ODL and online learning mode by the UGC are given below.

• Engineering
• Medical
• Physiotherapy
• Occupational Therapy arid other Para-Medical disciplines
• Pharmacy
• Nursing
• Dental
• Architecture
• Law
• Agriculture
• Horticulture
• Hotel Management
• Catering Technology
• Culinary Sciences
• Aircraft Maintenance
• Visual Arts and Sports
• any other programme not permitted to be offered through Open and Distance Learning mode and/or Online mode by any concerned statutory or regulatory body or council. Accordingly, aviation programmes and tourism and hospitality management programmes at UG and PG level are not permitted in ODL mode or in online mode.

MPhil and PhD programmes in all disciplines through open and distance learning and online mode are also prohibited.