Kozhikode: Calicut Universityhas decided to repay the license renewal fee collected from around 156 closed down counselling centres and programme centres under the school of distance education(SDE) for the year 2015- 16.
The varsity will repay the Rs 10,000 renewal fee paid by the centres for the year 2015- 16.
The varsity had in October 2015 closed down all the counselling/ programme centres after the UGC withdrew the recognition for the varsity’s School of Distance Education (SDE) citing violation of rules governing Open and Distance Learning (ODL) programmes.
The recognition was withdrawn when the admission for UG degree courses under the school of distance education (SDE) of the Calicut University for the year 2015- 16 was underway with over 20000 students already getting enrolled for various courses.
Also the registration of the students was changed to private registration.
The varsity had been nursing hopes of regaining the UGC recognition for the SDE courses which was cancelled by the apex higher education regulator, but the efforts of the varsity has so far been in vain.The varsity had earlier granted private educational agencies the status of counselling centres and programme centres under the SDE.
The centres offering conventional courses were categorised as counselling centres and those which needed practical training and coaching and those offering job oriented courses were granted the status of programme centres.
“Many erstwhile counselling centres were asking for the repayment of the deposit amount of Rs One lakh and the renewal fee of Rs 10000 from the varsity following the closing down of the centres.
The varsity has now decided to repay the renewal fee but a decision of paying back the deposit amount of Rs One lakh will be taken later,” K M Nazeer, convenor of the syndicate standing committee on distance education said.
[Source:-TOI]
