Digitalization is in the air! UCG approves institutes to offer higher education online
New Delhi, May 25: Changing the whole scenario of an educational system in the country, the education department has brought in many reforms. In this regard, the University Grants Commission on Wednesday approved regulations that will allow educational institutions to offer graduate, postgraduate and diploma programmes online.
Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar hailed it as a “landmark reform”. The universities can offer online programmes only in disciplines in which they already run regular courses, Javadekar said. This availability will also be helpful for students outside India can learn from Indian universities in online mode. The best Indian institutions can reach out to students anywhere in the country and abroad.
Any educational institution can apply for permission to offer online programmes under the UGC (Online Courses) Regulations, 2018, if it has been in existence for at least five years and is accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, with a minimum score of 3.26 out of 4 to maintain the quality. Online Programmes requiring the online learning shall have minimum four quadrants: video lectures, e-content, and self-assessment and discussion forum to clarify doubts.
Online degrees are permitted in all disciplines except engineering, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, architecture, and physiotherapy. Practical or Laboratory Courses as a curricular requirement shall not be permitted.
Aadhaar and Passport shall be used to authenticate the Indian and foreign students respectively for all online interactions including teaching-learning and examinations. Overall Regulations provide enabling provisions for maintaining the sanctity of admissions, teaching-learning, examination, the authenticity of the learner and mandatory disclosure of Programme-wise information such as duration, start & end dates, fee, number of students, the name of students with an identifier, results, on HEI website/public domain.
These regulations will be made applicable from the academic session 2018-19. This initiative is a big step towards attaining the targeted GER of 30% by the year 2020.