DISTANCE EDUCATION COUNCIL
INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY
MAIDAN GARHI, NEW DELHI – 110068
Recognition of Distance Education Institutions & Their Programmes
Public Notice
It has come to the Notice of the DEC that many Universities/Institutions are giving misleading advertisements in Newspapers stating that their programmes are recognised by the Distance Education Council.
In this context it is notified that in exercise of powers conferred by Clause 4(a) of Statutes 28 read with Section 16 and Section 4 and 5 of IGNOU Act 1985 (No. 50 of 1985), passed by the Parliament, the Distance Education Council (DEC) has prescribed the guidelines for determination of standards for the Distance Education systems in the country. It is therefore, necessary for all Centres /Institutions /Directorates imparting education through distance mode to get their Degrees/Diplomas/Certificates (Programmes) recognized and approved by the Distance Education Council (DEC).
The Dept. of Education, Ministry of Human Resources Development, Govt. of India notified vide the Notification No. 44 dated 01-03-1995 published on Saturday, April 8th, 1995 in the Gazette of India that:
..“on the recommendation of the Board of Assessment for Educational Qualification, the Government of India has decided that all the qualifications awarded through Distance Education by the Universities established by an Act of Parliament or State Legislature, Institutions Deemed to be Universities under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956 and Institutions of National Importance declared under an Act of Parliament stand automatically recognized for the purpose of employment to posts and services under the Central Government, provided it has been approved by Distance Education Council, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi – 110068….”
In view of the aforesaid directive of the Government of India, it is mandatory for all the Centres/Institutions/Directorates offering programmes through distance mode to apply to the DEC and obtain prior approval before starting a new Centre/ Institution/ Directorate or Programme. In case an institution is already running distance education programmes it must apply to the Distance Education Council for recognition of the institution and programme-wise approval.
Further, it is the responsibility of the institution to strictly adhere to the norms prescribed by concerned statutory authorities for offering professional and technical programmes.
And, further it is in the public interest and in the interest of maintaining standards in the open and distance learning system, that the study centers of an institution are not franchised and run by the institution itself. Also admissions, examinations and evaluations are directly managed by the institution.
Further, those Universities/ Institutions which have been approved by the DEC for the academic year 2009-10 onwards will clearly mention the names of the programmes for which approval has been granted to them in their advertisements.
The institution violating these above mentioned norms would be liable to be de-recognized by the DEC. It is also informed that any degree/diploma/certificate offered through distance mode not recognized by the DEC shall not be accepted for employment in Government Services.
For obtaining recognition of their institutions and programmes Universities/Institutions should submit their applications to the DEC, within a month’s time from the date of publication of this notice in the prescribed proforma available on the DEC website: http://www.dec.ac.in.
Director
Distance Education Council
www.dec.ac.in
