New Delhi: Higher education institutions with top National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) ratings will offer three-year degree programmes through open and distance learning (ODL) mode.
These degrees will be treated at par with regular courses.
This was resolved at the 65th meeting of Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) on higher education. The meeting also decided to make efforts to increase the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) to 30% in next five years.
Minister for Human Resource Development, PrakashJavadekar said that the rules and guidelines for the same would be notified by February 2018. Universities with NAAC grade of A+ and A++ will be able to offer the programmes on ODL mode and these will be delivered online. "Nearly 15% institutions in the country with top NAAC score of A+ and A++ will be able to offer three-year degree programmes through online mode," said Javadekar after the meeting.
He said those institutions offering online courses but have poor NAAC rating will have to discontinue the programmes if they don't improve the ratings within two years.
"Currently there are few universities which are offering online courses but there are no set norms. Post the notification of the guidelines if any university which does not meet the NAAC grade requirement will be given a two-year period to either improve its NAAC grading or close down the course," said Javadekar.
"The universities will be free to decide their curriculum and set their question papers be it multiple choice questions or subjective questions but there will be certain norms that will be universally applicable to all of them," the minister added.