The Modi government’s mark on distance and online education was defined by an overreach of government intervention and too many regulations, tying the hands of universities. In a time when India needs to discover alternatives to make higher education accessible, impactful and employable, the policy should not limit innovation or alternatives that provide access at lower costs.
Two separate regulations— one for ODL (Open and Distance learning) and another for online programs is too many as they both have little or no differentiation. The frontiers between the ODL and online formats of education are blurring in the minds of the learner as the courses are marked by demand, are available on-the-go, and are modular. The regulator should evaluate the case of a single regulation that sets the benchmarks, creates a framework for self-governance and permit HEIs to launch their own offerings in the area of their specialization.
Perhaps the greatest disruption to higher education’s brick-and-mortar hegemony has been the proliferation of online learning and competency-based education. More students are turning to online education to pursue degrees that may have been otherwise geographically or financially out of reach. However, UGC’s newfound approach to control quality (only universities with NAAC 3.26 and NIRF Top 100 can apply for the license) smacks of arrogance, places more red tape in the way of online learning options and is counter-intuitive for the expansion of GER in the country.
A similar strategy by the medical regulator produces only 45000 doctors a year — one lakh less than what it actually needs. Parameters of quality should apply to all formats of education and not only to online — denying this opportunity to new-age innovative universities thwarts the cause of apprenticeships in the country, something that can be the game-changer for fixing the crucial industry-academia linkage.
Universities are allowed to launch only those courses which are being taught currently and have one batch of graduated students. Universities would do better with guidelines provided by the regulator with an eye on providing autonomy and promoting innovation! The future of work is uncertain, and universities would need to work closely with the industry to innovate. Universities will need to get ready to not only handle the fresh students but also experienced professionals.
The regulations are micromanaging universities by defining the number of sta a university must have before they can launch online programs. Looking at the advancements in technology, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and bot-based services, universities would do well by using their existing schools as the academic home for their distance and online courses and their existing administration teams to manage the online students, thus providing standard levels of service to all students irrespective of their mode of learning.
Courtesy: deccanherald