GUWAHATI: It’s not very good news for students studying in the Institute of Distance Learning (IDOL) that operates from the premises of Gauhati University and is a distance education arm of the revered university. The careers of more than 74,000 students hang in balance. These are students who have taken admission into different streams of the Institute of Distance Learning (IDOL) as many of the courses have not been approved by University Grants Commission (UGC), a CAG report pointed out.
It has come to the fore that without the approval of UGC and All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), IDOL has introduced 21 courses. The same has put a question mark on the academic careers of thousands of students.
According to Comptroller and General Audit (CAG), IDOL authorities have collected more than Rs 39.06 crores from the students for enrolling in different distance learning certificate courses. Not only IDOL, the higher authorities of Gauhati University are also involved in the whole mess.
According to UGC, no course can be commenced without the approval of the commission but higher authorities of Gauhati University had given a written submission that IDOL won’t start any course without the approval of UGC, a CAG report which was submitted in Assam Assembly pointed it out.
In the report it was said that till 2012-13, IDOL was allowed to start only eight courses after it got recognition in 2010. The subjects were MA (English), MA (Assamese), MA (Bodo), MA (Bengali), MA (Economics), MA (History), MA (MSC), (IT) MCG (Modular).
UGC, in a further notification, said that these courses should be allowed to run till 2017 and approval should be sought for further continuance. But overlooking that order the IDOL authorities started 21 courses which enrolled 73,219 students.
So CAG has pointed out that since these courses were not approved by UGC degrees or certificates received by the students will be invalid.
A student who has obtained a certificate under IDOL which has not been recognised will not be considered by the government for employment as it is not a valid degree or certificate.