Governor wants distance education offered by conventional varsities examined

Mysuru: In a move that is likely to have far-reaching implications in the distance education sector across Karnataka, governor Vajubhai Vala has directed the authorities of the state’s higher education department to examine the practices of government universities offering correspondence programmes. In a missive to the Karnataka higher education department on July 20, accessed by TOI, Vala has asked the officials concerned to review the existing system.
Sources in the Raj Bhavan hinted that Vala is of the belief that state universities that offer traditional in-house programmes must not foray into distance education.He has reportedly directed the Karnataka higher education department to assess this merits of the proposal.
Officials in the higher education department pointed out that offering distance education courses helped supplement the varsity’s revenue. Among others, the University of Mysore (UoM) offers correspondence education programmes. Should the government direct state varsities to discontinue distance education programmes, it is likely to have a huge impact in the domain.
Academicians and officials in the administration of varsities are of the opinion that, if the government decides to bar varsities from offering correspondence courses, those who would be affected the most would the students.
Former vice-chancellor of Bangalore University MS Thimmappa said that the proposal was impractical. “This is not a feasible policy. If Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) ends up becoming the only varsity to offer correspondence courses, those living in districts extremely far from Mysuru will have a hard time,” Thimmappa said.