National

Are open varsity, traditional PG degrees equal?

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will examine whether postgraduate degrees awarded by open universities in distance education to students who did not have the basic three-year degree can be treated on a par with PG degrees obtained after regular study from a recognised university.

A Bench consisting of Justices S.B. Sinha and L.S. Panta, by an interim order, stayed the operation of a February 4 Madras High Court judgment invalidating Annamalai University PG degrees conferred on distance education students.

The Bench, while issuing notice to the Centre, the University Grants Commission and the Tamil Nadu government, asked Solicitor-General G.E. Vahanvati to assist the court in this case. As important questions of law of public importance were involved, the Bench granted counsel the liberty of making a mention for expediting the hearing.

In its Special Leave Petition, Annamalai University said it had been offering various courses since 1991, in line with the system followed by Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi. Under this system, anyone who completed the higher secondary (Plus-Two) examination or underwent a preparatory course was eligible to join an undergraduate programme. Similarly those who underwent the preparatory course and took a written test and completed 21 years were eligible to join PG courses, and degrees were awarded till 2004.

But when the UGC said PG courses without the basic graduate degree qualification should be discontinued, the master’s programme was stopped from 2004-2005. However, by a communication in November 2004, the UGC made it clear that PG degrees awarded by open universities should be treated on a par with those given by traditional universities.

The SLP said the impugned judgment would have far-reaching ramifications as such courses were offered by not only Annamalai University but also other universities. From 1991-1992 to 2003-2004, over 2.5 lakh students who obtained such degrees were appointed to various posts.

The questions of law involved in the SLP were whether persons who had already secured PG degrees and on the strength of which they were selected for public employment could face the consequences retrospectively; and whether it would be open to the UGC to turn around and get the degrees declared invalid by the court. Irreparable loss and hardship would be caused to not only the appellant university but also the innumerable persons who were awarded distance education PG degrees, the SLP said.

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