UGC: New regulations to make launching online programs easier

NEW DELHI: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has formulated regulations related to distance and online education in the country. As per the new regulations, the top 100 universities in the country will be permitted to start distance learning and online programmes without prior permission.

The new regulations will be an integrated model of education of distance and online mode. Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ making the announcement about the new ODL regulations tweeted: “The integrated regulations are student-centric. Many quality provisions have been made to ensure mobility, equivalence among different modes of education, complaint handling mechanism, etc.”

Pokhriyal further stated that the integrated distance and online regulations are compliant to budget and Aatma Nirbhar Bharat announcements. Under which top 100 universities in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) or having minimum 3.26 grade from NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) will be permitted to start online programmes without prior permission but with compliance to the regulations.

Earlier, in May this year, Nirmala Sitharaman, minister of finance and corporate affairs, during her fifth press conference on economic measures while launching the PM e-Vidya Programme for multi-mode access to digital education announced that the government will allow the top 100 universities to offer online degree programmes from May 30, 2020.

The UGC was supposed to come up with the regulations in June thus allowing universities to commence the process of admission.

As per the new regulations, more universities have been made eligible to start ODL and online programmes with new eligibility benchmarks. “These regulations have a core focus on maintaining the quality of education and providing quality-centric autonomy to the universities,” Pokhriyal tweeted.

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• Allow provisional admission to UG, PG courses: UGC to universities
  

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