KSOU row: document verification process on, says UGC chief

University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Ved Prakash said, the documents submitted by the Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) are being verified and the de-recognition of its courses would be revoked soon.

Speaking to reporters, here, on Thursday, he said, an UGC committee has submitted a report after inspecting the ground realities on the campus of the KSOU.

“Following an ‘action taken’ report submitted by the KSOU, in response to the UGC’s guidelines as a corrective measure to get the de-recognition revoked, the UGC had raised a few doubts. The KSOU has submitted a few supporting documents as a reply to some queries. The documents are being verified under the Open and Distant Learning guidelines. If they are found satisfactory, the de-recognition would be revoked,” he said.

The courses offered by the KSOU, from the academic year 2012-13 have been derecognised, citing violations of the UGC guidelines, on June 16, 2015. The KSOU, bifurcated from the University of Mysore, was established in June 1996 and was considered as a reputed institution among the open learning institutions in the country.

It was alleged that the KSOU, in collaboration with private institutions, entities, and coaching centres, spread all over the country and even abroad, was offering programmes through distance learning mode by flouting the norms, guidelines and directives of the UGC and the erstwhile Distance Education Council (DEC) of Indira Gandhi National Open University.

The de-recognition came after a long process after a show-cause notice was issued to the KSOU on June 10, 2011, and after considering its response, including personal hearing of the officials of the university.

Meanwhile the KSOU had continued to offer programmes through distance learning mode in violation of the UGC policy on territorial jurisdiction as mentioned in the UGC public notice dated June 27, 2013.

KSOU was also offering professional and technical programmes in violation of the norms of the regulatory bodies concerned and without their approval. The university was also offering online programmes, which were not recognised by the UGC.