Accreditation to become mandatory for distance edu centres

There is good news for all those who wish to enrol for distance education courses of open universities or open and distance learning institutes (ODL) of universities. To enhance recognition and value of distance learning programs, the centre has proposed mandatory accreditation for all ODL centres and open universities in the country.

The proposal was tabled at the conference of vice chancellors of open universities in Delhi on June 26 by ministry of human resources and development (MHRD).

Prof Hari Chandan, director, Institute of Distance and Open Learning (IDOL) of University of Mumbai, who attended the conference, told dna: "With accreditation system in place, MHRD aims to upgrade the value of distance education."

It would enable institutions to raise their profiles, promote academic programmes, enhance faculty and learner strength, and grow in substantial ways while keeping a check on the standard of learning, he added.

Currently, distance programmes are being offered to more than 2.5m learners, who constitute nearly 25% of the total students in higher education. However, there are no checks and balances on the quality of education or infrastructure due to absence of an accreditation system.

Most established open varsities abroad such as UK Open University (UKOU) and Hong Kong Open University ((HKOU)) have well-established systems of accreditation.

Accreditation has been mandatory for formal higher education institutions in India for a decade now. Going a step ahead, these institutes are now going for course-wise accreditation as mandated by the UGC a year ago.