The University Grants Commission (UGC) allowed four more universities to offer full-fledged online degree programmes. Earlier, UGC has approved and released a list of 38 universities that will now offer online degree courses. The four new universities added to the list are– Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Tamil Nadu, Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute, West Bengal and Bharathiyar University, Tamil Nadu.
These 38 universities, which include 15 Deemed-to-be universities, 13 state universities, three central universities, and three private universities, do not need to get prior approval from University Grants Commission from the same.
According to the list issued by the University Grants Commission in June 2021, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) will be offering MA (Education) and MA (Public Administration). Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) will offer MA (Sanskrit), while Mizoram University will offer four online degree programmes. The University of Jammu will offer MA (English) and MCom in online mode.
Institutions like Kuvempu University and the University of Mysore, both in Karnataka, and Alagappa University in Tamil Nadu will offer as many as 12 online degree courses each, the highest number on the list.
Institutes such as Narsee Monjee Institute Of Management Studies will offer Bachelor Of Commerce And Bachelor Of Business Administration; Symbiosis International will offer Bachelor Of Business Administration-Finance And Accounts And Bachelor Of Science (Honours) Economics.
CHECK OUT THE LIST OF 38 UNIVERSITIES
The Universities can offer these programmes as long as they comply with the NAAC or NIRF ranking requirements as per UGC regulations. UGC had earlier invited applicants from higher education institutions willing to offer online programmes for the academic session 2020-21.
The statement issued by UGC said, “Online applications had been invited from all entitled HEls willing to offer programmes under online mode for the year 2020-21. Each HEI was required to submit an affidavit for ensuring compliance to all the provisions of the University Grants Commission (Open and Distance Learning Programmes and Online Programmes) Regulations, 2020.”
On July 29, the government informed the parliament that 42 new universities (online mode) were allowed to offer various programmes to make up for loss due to the lockdown period. The commission in a meeting held on July 1, 2021, decided that “the academic session July 2021 shall be changed to November 2021, with the last date of admission being December 15, 2021, under exceptional circumstances”.
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