Date:24/03/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/03/24/stories/2008032453550400.htm

Tamil Nadu

Accreditation process for distance education programme

Shastry V. Mallady

VIRUDHUNAGAR: The entire distance education network in the country is being brought under the purview of accreditation through a specially created national level body to put quality-checks in place.

All conventional and open universities offering distance education programmes can go for accreditation, a mechanism prepared jointly by the Distance Education Council (DEC), New Delhi, and the Indira Gandhi National Open University.

Speaking to The Hindu here on Sunday, V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Chairman, DEC, said a separate accreditation body was now being set up since the distance education system was growing in a big way and becoming so varied that a rigorous assessment was found essential.

“It will be a body comprising all stakeholders in higher education-government, eminent academicians and industry too. There is a feeling that distance education quality is not up to the mark in certain places. That will be corrected now,” he said.

Prof. Pillai, who is also the IGNOU Vice-Chancellor, said an internationally accepted accreditation model would be ready soon and the distance education wings of all varsities can go for assessment.

Preliminary interaction

“We already had a preliminary interaction with Vice-Chancellors of various universities. The accreditation process would cover all aspects including curriculum and examination system,” he said.

According to him, a prescription of standards would be circulated to universities offering correspondence courses.

The issue of varsities not having adequate full-time faculty in its distance education wings was also taken note of.

Latha Pillai, Pro-Vice Chancellor, IGNOU, said the objective of proposed system was to remove difference in quality between formal education and distance learning.

“Each university has its own system for study material despatch/delivery, curriculum design, examination pattern and so on. We are trying to bring about some commonality and uniformity,” Dr. Pillai, who was here in connection with the graduation day of a women’s college, said.