No disparity in jobs for open varsity students: Minister

NT Correspondent

The state government will ensure that there is no disparity in employment opportunities for those who have studied in open universities, said Higher Education Minister Dr C.N. Ashwath Narayana.

In his Inaugural address at a seminar on ‘Qualitative Reforms in Regulatory Framework to Promote Online Digital Learning (ODL) and OL (Online Learning) Education in the wake of Pandemic and NEP-2020’ in the All India Open Universities Vice-Chancellors’ Meet organised by Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) here on Monday, he said the government will not allow any ‘apartheid’ towards students who study in open universities.

He said Prof. Vidyashankar, Vice-Chancellor, KSOU, had apprised the Minister that during the recent recruitment by KMF, there was a clause mentioning ineligibility of candidates who had studied in open universities. There should be equal scope for degrees of UGC recognised open universities similar to other universities. Any confusion regarding this will be resolved by discussing it with the CM, he added.

The UGC should make certain relaxations to allow open universities offer online education. Further, Open Universities must introduce new courses in undergraduate and post-graduate courses in order to offer education to more people. Educational institutions should work in such a way to earn credibility in the public domain. It is necessary to promote online education if the goal of 50% Gross Enrolment Ratio needs to be realized in higher education, Dr Ashwath Narayana said.

It is a challenging task for Open Universities to update the syllabus on a regular basis and it involves greater investment to set up the needed infrastructure. Considering this, UGC should release the developmental grant for Open Varsities on a yearly basis. Further, Open Universities have not been able to fulfill NAAC criteria due to the pandemic since their activities are hampered for 2-3 years and UGC should look into this issue, he added.

Dr.Avichal Kapoor, Joint Secretary, UGC, said, at present learning 40% content of the syllabus through online learning is permitted as compared to the earlier 20%.

Prof.S.Vidyashankar, Vice-Chancellor, KSOU, Prof.K.Seetharam Rao, Dr B.R. Ambedkar Open University, Hyderabad, Prof.V, Upadhyaya, Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar University, Ahmadabad, Prof.Nrupendra Narayana Sarma, Krishnakanta University, Prof. Arkakumar Das Mohapatra, Odisha Open University, Prof.K.Parthasarathi of Tamil Nadu Open University and Prof.Karanajeet Singh of Punjab Open University were present.