With private universities flouting all norms of higher education across the country in setting up their study centres beyond territorial jurisdiction, the Centre is likely to act tough now.
An independent authority to regulate the standards of higher education called the Distance Education Council of India (DECI) would be established through an act of Parliament.
The HRD Ministry had set up a committee to draft rules on distance education which suggested setting up of an independent authority to put a check on the mushrooming business of the private universities in the name of awarding degrees through distance education.
HRD Ministry has already disbanded DEC (Distance Education Council) after reports and indication of irregularities reported in the last few months which also involved the racket of awarding PhDs to a large number of undeserving ones by CJM University. Some of them were named in violating the terms and references of DEC which was functioning as a nodal agency of IGNOU before it was put under the legality of UGC in June 2013.
Once the systems are in position, DECI and UGC may start the recognition of open and distance learning institutions according to the newly developed system and enforce norms and standards laid by it in the recognised institutions, it suggested. The committee was set up under the chairmanship of N R Madhava Menon against the backdrop of the distance education council coming under the purview of UGC from IGNOU through an execute order of the government.
The DECI could subsume with the pending Higher Education and Research Bill (HERB) when it is passed, however, as the enactment of the legislation could take some time, DECI could be set up as an interim body through necessary directions.
"First of all, the interim authority shall evolve systems related to development of programme specific quality benchmarks in respect of all relevant parameters, system for on line application and processing, and disclosure of relevant information on the website of the institution and development of quality self learning material etc," said a HRD Ministry official.
The draft reports says that DECI should also evolve a credible system of counseling, evaluation of assignments and examination. Contribution of open distance learning to Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education is about 22 per cent at present.