All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has said the B.Tech degrees and Diploma in Engineering and Technology awarded by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) through distance learning up to 2011-2012 academic session will be treated as valid.
The open central university discontinued the two courses after 2011-12 academic sessions following the University Grants Commission (UGC) directive they are in violation of norms and that the technical courses cannot be offered through distance learning mode.
“The AICTE has no objection for B.Tech degree and Diploma in Engineering awarded by IGNOU to the students who were enrolled up to academic year 2011-12 as per Supreme Court judgement and hence are treated as valid as a special case but cannot be taken as precedence and not for post 2012,” the technical education regulator said.
The Policy and Academic Planning Bureau of the technical education regulator said, “IGNOU was conducting the above two courses through distance learning mode and litigation were going on in various courts regarding the validity of these courses.”
“In 2018, the Supreme Court recognised the validity of Diploma and B.Tech degrees awarded by the open university to candidates who were enrolled up to the academic year 2009-10,” the regulator said.
The regulator said the apex court has now granted some relief to petitioners from the 2010-11 and 2011-12 academic sessions since there is no distance education course in the above-said subject in IGNOU after these years and these are the last batches who will be granted the reliefs.
Courtesy: Livemint
