All is not well with J&K Distance learning

 dont want to replace the existing system and some
The recent decision of J&K government over thewho are not in the system are favoring the immediate
issue of study centres of several external universitieslegislations,replacement and amendments in the existing
operational in the state has created a flutter inlaws. There is a crisis in the field and overregulation of
academic circles.the open and distance education. The country is
 lacking regulated colleges and universities located in
                 These universities aresmall suburbs or hamlet.If private colleges are providing
having several centres imparting higher education ina poor quality of education, who is to be held
field of IT and Management in every nook and cornerresponsible? Multiple regulatory agencies exist for
of Jammu Kashmir and some centres are admittingdifferent streams of education in the country.
students to courses like M.Phil and Ph.D without muchUGC by virtue of the notice to public that the
needed infrastructure.universities cannot have any study centers beyond
 their concerned states so all their Study Centers in
                The fate of Thousands ofstate of Jammu & Kashmir automatically become
Students who have enrolled themselves in courses runillegal. It is important mention that these universities are
by Study centers of private University now hangs inhaving several centers imparting Higher Education in
doldrums.field of IT and Management in every nook and corner
 of state and some centers are admitting students to
                 One may getcourses like M.Phil and Ph.D without much needed
disappointed and sometimes confused over the wayinfrastructure.
the regulation system operates. The regulation bodiesUGC has further advised students and Parents to go
are being set up, legislation being enacted, plan beingthrough the website carefully before taking admission
envisaged day by day.in any of the above
  
                We should'nt oppose the 
same but the question remain; why day and afer theIronically, Some of the varsities have opened study
Government of India is doing so. Monitoring mechanismcentres which are run by private individuals without the
of the institutions of higher learning especially open andapproval of UGC, and some of these institutions have
distance learning remained a major concern forstarted technical courses in engineering, medical and
government for effective functioning,quality assurancepara-medical through distance mode, the Commission
and decentralisation in accreditation procedures. Thesaid, adding this has created a lot of confusion among
things being planned at central level by the perspectivestudents.
governments remained all along undecided and proved 
unbiased and non scholarly as the decisions and                  The NKC agrees. The
legislations being made were not enacted in action.NKC working groups also comment on the reasons
 for this. the regulatory framework evolved over many
               There is no unanimousyears presents a number of procedural hurdles.
legislation on educational monitoring. The accreditationPermissions and approvals are needed from the
system is absurdly poor. A license permit raj by theUniversity that an institution wishes to be attached to,
statutory bodies without teeths prevailed in the subthe government of the state where it will be located
continent without knowing the needs and proceduresand regulatory bodies like the AICTE and MCI. The
of the institutions and stakeholders. I am not opposingeducational bureaucracy itself can be typically
here the All India Council for technical education whichnegotiated only with political influence, as is reflected in
is likely to be scrapped by the Government of India. Mythe large number of politicians associated with or
point is that why the whole system of monitoring,promoting educational trusts.
accreditation and regulation is poor. I am speaking of 
the apex organisations like National Knowledge                 I apt to ask that if we
Commission (NKC) New Delhi, HRD Ministry, Councilsare living a knowledge based economy and are not
and commissions at national level like UGC, NCTE,having any regulation system on several modes of
DEC and many other.education at higher level. I wander why this happens? I
 am in fear why not the accountability in the system
             Why regulations are beingbesides several policies and paper work done by the
changed day and after ? why not the ministry ofpolicy making bodies and the successive governments.
education is formulating its legislations at once in handIs education at higher level being commercialized ? or is
to maintain the standard and quality ? Is this legislationthis really a License raj being perpetuated by the
which is being envisaged every week ? Why day byaccreditation agencies ? This question needs to
day alterations ? Is there not a unanimous declarationanswer immediately the people at the helm of affairs.
of all the people in the system ? Why not an                At this moment,
independent body which is acceptable to all at once.Privatisation of higher education is rapidly progressing in
Of late, On the one week the Ministry is grantingthe country and the Planning Commission reports that
powers to Distance Education Council (DEC) toin the period 2002-2007, the share of private institutions
monitor and regulate the system of open learning andin higher education increased from a third to over half
on the same issue the ministry is planning to set upof all enrolment. And this trend, by all accounts, will
national level Distance education regulator in thecontinue into the future. but the sorry state of affairs is
country to maintain and monitor the standards of openoverregulation in the system.
and distance learning in the country.                 Furthermore, the 11th Plan
 objectives of the HRD ministry are aimed at increasing
             Similarly, recommendations onthe gross enrolment ratio (GER) in higher education
the part of National Knowledge Commission onfrom the present 10 per cent to 15 per cent by 2012
scrapping of AICTE and formulation of Independentby esteblishing several institutions of excellence. For
Regulatory Authority on Higher Education (IRAHE).reaching the target we must change the accreditation
Secondly, the union cabinet very recently referredprocess and decentralise the procedure of
HRD ministrys proposed legislation (distance educationaccreditation viz a viz monitoring.
bill) to set up Independent regulatory body at national 
level. The proposed legislation was opposed by              Suggesting a solution is rather
maximum people in governance like commerce andan impossible task, for a person of my stature at least.
Industry Minister Kamal Nath besides others. If theBut, I definitely feel that the new Single regulation body
ministry or government at central level is deciding tois need of the hour to guage the system rather then
replace the traditional atmosphere then why too late ?day by day legislation by the perspective governments.
              Infact, there is a mismatchOnly an independent regulation authority be manadated
among the countrys policy makers and other people infor monitoring and regulation otherwise owing to
governance to regulate the whole system. Someroutine exercise the uthopia we search for will remain
people who are in governance but not in the systemillusive.....!