The Gulbarga University has decided to once again try its luck in getting an approval, to start the Distance Education Centre.
The University had made an attempt to start the Distance Education Centre in 2006-07, but it did not take off as the then Chancellor and Governor of Karnataka T N Chaturvedi turned down the proposal.
In anticipation of the Chancellor’s approval, the University had even started the Centre and had admitted about 200 students. However, it had to return the fees collected from the students, following rejection. In fact, there was no justification, whatsoever, for the objection to start the Distance Education Centre, since most of the Universities already have them. It is autonomous for any University to have correspondence courses of its own, as it caters to the needs of people and also fetches revenue.
Sheltered
Ironically, Gulbarga University has been sheltering the KSOU Regional Centre at its campus, by extending all the facilities and infrastructure free of cost, for the last few years. It has given five acres of land to the KSOU for its campus. The KSOU has enrolled hundreds of students for correspondence courses.
Also, the University has sheltered the Study Centre of the Indira Gandhi National Open University too.
Other Universities have also stepped in Gulbarga, to tap the potential available in distance education. Kuvempu University - much junior to Gulbarga University - has also poached in, apart from Bangalore University.
Inamdar College for Correspondence Education which acts as an examination centre for both the Universities has enrolled over 300 candidates for various courses, besides the traditional degree and PG courses. Inamdar College Principal Asha Mahesh says, there is a good response for the correspondence courses as most of the candidates are government servants, who want to complete the courses for their promotional opportunities.
Revenue
Siddartha Law College, affiliated to Gulbarga University has been successfully running Distance Education Study Centre of the Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, AP, for the last three years. It offers PG course in Law in the branches of Constitutional and Administrative Law; Labour Law; Torts and Crimes; and Corporate Law.
According Prof Upendra Acharya of the College, the Centre started with 35 students, now had 65 candidates of whom nearly 40 per cent are women. The courses are useful for aspiring lawyers, he added. The college also generates revenue and an applause from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council. A majority of opportunities in the field of distance education would have gone to Gulbarga University, had it started the facility long back. Nevertheless, it has not given up hope.
It has once again revived the proposal by preparing a fresh statute for the Distance Education Centre to which, the Academic Council has given its approval recently. If all goes well, the Gulbarga University will also have a Distance Education Centre, albeit belatedly, from the ensuing academic year.