Criterion laid down for validity of Distance Mode degrees
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, May 16: In a decision of far reaching consequences, the State Government has accepted the recommendations of Chief Secretary, Madhav Lal, headed committee on streamlining of education system, bringing transparency in the recruitment process and validity of degrees obtained through distance mode of education.
Authoritative sources told EXCELSIOR after the State Government declared 146 institutions unauthorized last year while exercising powers conferred under Jammu and Kashmir Private Colleges Rules, 2005, the recruiting agencies stopped accepting the forms of the students receiving degrees in Distance Mode from such institutions and this led to number of litigations against the Higher education Department as well as recruiting agencies.
Separately, a number of representations started pouring in from different quarters mentioning that those students who get degrees from private colleges/ universities though recognized by the UGC get higher merit than those of the State Universities thereby putting them in disadvantageous position at the time of recruitment as the recruiting agencies give weightage to the merit in academic qualification.
Since a number of issues across various departments were involved, Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, constituted a Committee headed by Chief Secretary, Madhav Lal, for examining the issues relating to streamlining the education system in the State besides bringing transparency in the recruitment system and for introduction of State Eligibility Test for various recruitments on the pattern of NET/SLET/SET in the State.
The Committee, in its very first meeting, decided to constitute a Sub-Committee comprising Administrative Secretaries of General Administration Department, Higher Education Department and Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Department to examine the issue from legal point of view before taking a final decision, sources said, adding as desired by the Sub-Committee, a team of officers of Higher Education Department visited Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana and obtained the mechanism adopted by these States.
Later, the Committee headed by Chief Secretary endorsed the recommendations of the Sub-Committee and placed the report before the State Cabinet, which gave its nod today. The Cabinet has also accorded approval to carry out necessary changes in the Recruitment Rules to be affected by all the Departments.
“The present system of screening for the purpose of short listing being adopted by the recruiting agencies wherein recruitment is made by giving weightage to the performance in the academic examinations should be dispensed with and Service Selection Board or any other authority including Public Service Commission should hold a uniform written test for all the eligible aspirants for advertised posts”, the recommendations of the Committee said.
“The marks obtained in the written examination should be taken into account for making selections. Where the response to an advertisement notice is enormous, the recruiting agencies should go in for a uniform screening test to shortlist the candidates for the written examination and subsequently make the selections”, the committee said, adding “the candidates having qualified NET/SLET or having acquired PhD should be exempted from appearing in screening test and written test where qualification prescribed is NET/SLET or PhD”.
The Committee has also suggested that the recommendations should be incorporated in the relevant recruitment rules by the administrative department and the examination rules by the PSC/ other recruiting agencies, adding “the changes in the Recruitment Rules will obviate the possibility of litigations”.
“For the purpose of granting promotions to the in-service candidates on the basis of additional qualifications acquired through distance mode of education, the Administrative Departments should put in place a mechanism to assess the standards of the degrees so obtained in order to treat them equivalent to the degrees awarded by the Universities through regular mode of education”, the Committee said, adding “the mechanism can be akin to the written test that has been decided to be conducted by the recruiting agencies in respect of eligible aspirants to the advertised posts”.
The Committee has recommended that degrees obtained through distance education mode from off-campuses, which have been established by the State Universities beyond their territorial jurisdiction, should not be recognized. However, the degrees obtained through distance education mode, which have been approved by the Distance Education Council and awarded from their headquarters by UGC recognized Universities, established by an Act of State Legislature, may be recognized for the purpose of employment as it is the prerogative of the employer to prescribe the eligibility for any post or service, the Committee added.
It has also recommended that the degree awarded through Distance Mode by the Central Universities, established under the Act of Parliament and having jurisdiction to extend their activities in the entire country may also be recognized.
Referring to the Sub-Rule (3) of the Rule 20 of the Rules notified Vide-SRO 339 of 2005, the Committee has mentioned that all those who had acquired their degrees prior to coming into force of the rules and those allowed to continue their studies till the conclusion of their academic session should be considered for being recognized with necessary amendments in the law.
The M Phill and PhD degrees obtained through distance mode should not be recognized as equivalent to the regular M Phill and PhD degrees awarded by any of the Universities as has been prescribed by the UGC vide its notifications issued from time to time, the Committee said, adding the degrees awarded by the Universities, whether situated within or outside the State through distance mode in the subjects falling in Science Stream, where practicals are part of the curriculum, should not considered as equivalent to the corresponding degrees awarded through regular mode by the State Universities.
However, the degrees in such of the DEC approved Science subjects where practicals are part of the curriculum and are conducted from within the respective campuses of the UGC recognized universities, established by an Act of the Parliament or the State Legislature, may be recognized.
“The courses in the streams of Information Technology, Computer Sciences and Management, which are approved by the Distance Education Council and AICTE and Degrees are awarded by the UGC recognized Universities, established by an Act of Parliament from within the territorial jurisdiction of these Universities may also be recognized”, the Committee said.
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