UGC Fully Empowered For Territorial Restrictions In Distance Education: Madras HC

Challenging writ petitions filed by various universities of the south: University of Madras, Bharatidasan University, Bharathiar University and Periyar University have been dismissed by the Madras High Court. It was filed against UGC territorial restrictions for distance education. 

The high court has upheld the importance and right of the University Grants Commission to force restrictions to conduct distance education courses by educational institutions established by the deemed to be universities and state government. 

A bench of K. Kumaresh Babu and R. Subramanian rejected the writ petitions of several universities in the year 2015 and 2016 challenging the powers of territorial restrictions imposed by the University Grants Commission in conducting distance programs in several specializations and streams. 

The High Court of Madras said in its statement that once the universities make the regulations and guidelines according to their powers under section 26 of the UGC act, the same will remain constant in order to prevent the State Authorities and other administrations from operating their education outside the state jurisdiction. 

On the matter of states, the High Court said that the universities that are established with various state jurisdictions allowed to operate within a particular area of jurisdiction would have to limit their operations and functions only to that area of the university. The bench further said that the court doesn’t deny the rights of the students to enroll from outside the state, but the activities can’t span or are supposed to be regulated outside the state. 

The judges ordered that the students who have already obtained degrees in the last few years on the basis of interim orders shall not be affected by this judgment. He pointed out that the existing stand-off between various universities and UGC started in 2012 when territorial restrictions were imposed for the first time. 

Such guidelines and enactments of the UGC are necessary if the attempt made by such universities is made to commercialize the education system. The court also added that some universities are running franchisee agreements with unauthenticated parties and persons who don’t have the expertise to offer quality education for a profitable education. It's very surprising for all of us that even state-funded universities have engaged in unethical practices.