KOZHIKODE: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has reinstated the recognition of the School of Distance Education (SDE) of University of Calicut based on the report submitted by the expert team which recently visited the varsity. The recognition is for all the 26 distant education courses for the academic years 2017-18 and 2018-19. New courses can also be started subject to the UGC’s prior permission. It was in September, 2015, the UGC derecognised the distance education courses which thousands of students were pursuing after allegations arose on the conduct of the distance education centres ran by private agencies outside the jurisdiction of the university.
The UGC had made it clear that no university has the power to allow distance education centres outside its jurisdiction but the university opened centres across the country and abroad. These centres were later forced to shut down following the UGC’s action. After hearing the university’s version, the UGC sent an expert committee for a three-day visit earlier this month to review the status.
