Distance education mode: UGC denies permission to four universities of state

MP | Kolkata: Thousands of students pursuing education in distance mode in the state will be suffering as University Grants Commission (UGC) has excluded four universities from the list of varsities offering distance-mode education. 

Rabindra Bharati University, North Bengal University, Vidyasagar University and Kalyani University do not feature on the UGC list. 

The only two varsities in the state that appear in the list includes Burdwan University and Netaji Subhas Open University.

"We are completely in the dark about why the UGC has excluded us. We have not received any written communication from the UGC. We have as many as 44 study centres in the state from Alipurduar in North Bengal to the Sunderbans in South 24-Parganas. Every year, nearly 20,000 students seek admission in distance mode," said Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury, Vice-Chancellor of Rabindra Bharati University (RBU). 

RBU V-C has personally spoken with state Education minister Partha Chatterjee and informed him the matter.

"I will act as per instructions of the Higher Education department," he added. 

According to sources, the UGC has been dissatisfied with the teachers of the universities when it comes to offering distance-mode education. "We have already given the undertaking that we are recruiting teachers. So, the UGC's stand has come as a surprise," Basu Ray Chaudhury said.

All the four universities have already started recruiting teachers and expect to complete it in less than a month. 

"The UGC has given us a month's time in which we can present a fresh representation for recognition. We will revert to the UGC within a month," a senior official of Vidyasagar University (VU) said. 

VU has been offering education in distance mode for a period of 25 years. 

The universities will now abstain from bringing out any notification regarding admission which would have otherwise started from this month itself.