Recognition issue: HC directs KSOU to admit students directly

 The High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday directed the Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) officials to meet University Grants Commission (UGC) officials on November 27 in Delhi and put forward their requests and clarification regarding recognition of the university for the academic year 2017-18.

Justice B V   Nagarathna while hearing a petition by the KSOU, also directed the petitioner that students should be admitted directly by the university.

The KSOU has moved the court seeking directions to the UGC to grant recognition for the academic year 2017-18 in respect of the in-house courses and programmes directly offered by the university under the provision of the UGC Act. The petitioner has also asked to exclude the issue related to Academic Collaborative Institutions in this regard.

The KSOU's recognition was cancelled in 2013 as the university was found to have opened centres outside Karnataka in violation of UGC norms, signed MoUs with private institutions and was offering technical courses. The withdrawal of recognition jeopardised the future of hundreds of students and drove the university to a financial crisis as its only source of income, which was tuition fees had dried up.

The KSOU has been offering a two-tier system of distance education since 2011. The petition states that the university has not been able to make direct admissions of students to its in-house programmes from the academic year 2015-16 due to de-recognition of its courses though there was no violation of conditions laid down by the UGC. This has caused a lot of hardship to the university .

The matter was adjourned for two weeks from Tuesday.