Open univ degrees not equivalent to regular ones, says SC

New Delhi: This ruling of the Supreme Court could deal a body blow to the flourishing trade of conferring degrees through distance education by private universities, which generally offer such courses without taking mandatory approval of the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Making a clear distinction between regular and open university degrees, a Bench comprising Justices S B Sinha and M K Sharma came down heavily on the manner in which the HRD ministry had winked at the UGC provisions allowing private open universities to thrive unregulated.
‘‘Was the alternative system envisaged under Open University Act in substitution of the formal system,’’ was the question posed by the Bench. Answering this self-posed question, the Bench emphatically said, ‘‘In our opinion, in the matter of ensuring the standards of education, it is not.’’ This means, a degree obtained after attending regular classes would stand at a higher footing than that got through distance education in courses offered through open university system.