Examine If Sree Narayanaguru Open University Has UGC

Nod for Distance Education Courses: High Court to

Kerala
Education is very important for a human being as it makes a person a literate
human who knows how to behave and act with others in a certain age. Our first
learning always starts at home, the first teachers are always our parents who
teach us to walk and talk. There is a famous saying that education is not limited to
the four walls of your room, therefore schools and colleges are the mediums for
students for grasping education from the root level, and school is considered as
the beginning of our lives, as in schools the students learn from the basics. After
completing schools there comes a hard choice to make what to study? Whether
go for college overseas or in our country?

Nowadays, there has been a rise of distant education due to the pandemic that
spread all over the world. Corona virus led to the stop of all the activities which
were going on as it was spreading at a very high speed, however to fight this,
online i.e. distant learning where started as education is very important and we
cannot sacrifice the education. Distant education was there from the starting but
it became popular after the pandemic. Distance Education is a means through
which students can pursue the desired course even though they are not physically
present in the classroom of the college/ university offering the course. Enrolling
for a course offered in the distance education mode is an ideal option for a
student if they – are pressed for time, do not have the required resources or have
some geographical limitations. After the pandemic, the students even the adults
became habitual of the online mode of learning/work from home. They felt it very
easy and time saving as we do not have to go anywhere for education.

Universities or colleges have certain guidelines to follow as not all courses are
distant courses and the colleges have to take the permission from the (UGC)
University Grants Commission. Kerala High Court has directed the state
government to check whether Sree Narayanaguru Open University has got
recognition from the University Grants Commission (UGC) or not for conducting
the distance education courses and if yes, for what all courses. 

The high court's directives to the Secretary, Higher Education, came on a couple
of petitions by students challenging a state government order of June 9 which
virtually injuncted all other varsities in the state, except the open university, from
conducting distance education programmes. The students wish to be allowed to
enroll in the distance education courses that will be conducted in other
universities across the state. They had contended that the varsity in question does
not have the requisite approvals from UGC and due to this on June 9 the
government and other universities were forbidden from offering such courses.