Online Skill-Based Courses Could Need New UGC Regulations

As online and skill-based education courses are becoming widespread, there is a rising need for updated UGC regulations. Experts that NDTV Profit spoke to say current standards, set in 2020, do not fit modern learning needs.

Even the Bombay High Court recently supported a skill based university in a case against the UGC. The high court ruled in favour of Symbiosis Skills and Professional University, allowing it to offer online and distance learning programs without NAAC accreditation. The court noted that the 2020 UGC regulations were outdated for skill-based universities.

These regulations require universities to meet high accreditation standards and offer programs in traditional classrooms. This approach does not fit the needs of online and skill-based courses, the court observed.

In the current accreditation process, there is no difference between a skill and a traditional university.

UGC regulations are not wholly receptive to today’s Online Learning and Distance Learning Programmes, said Jasmine Damkewala, advocate on record at the Supreme Court of India.

But why are the regulations not adequate?

It is because the UGC norms require tools such as academic infrastructure, including libraries, laboratories, and workshops. However, in certain skilled current higher education landscape, this is irrelevant to online and Open Distance Learning, Damkewala explained.

Those courses require different kinds of toolsets and a university that is unable to offer the physical infrastructure is not essentially unequipped to offer skilled education, especially when the same is in Online and Distance Education mode, she added.

In this particular case, the university challenged these regulations, arguing that they were unfair, especially for skill-based universities. It was argued that skill universities should not be judged by the same standards as traditional universities because their focus and methods are different. The high court agreed with this argument, recognising that the existing accreditation criteria might not be appropriate for assessing skill-based courses in universities.

More education centers could seek court intervention if they face challenges with current accreditation standards, according to Damkewala. Until new norms are established, legal disputes will continue, she said.

However, Aarushi Jain of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas noted that learning needs and patterns evolve quickly and are influenced by industry demands. New universities and institutions often offer modern courses, but they may not always meet the same criteria as established ones, she said.

It should be noted that the 2020 regulations are a more modern manifestation of the 2018 regulations, expanding opportunities for online and distance learning degree programs in India

Regulations should be reviewed to allow exceptions for young institutions with proven credentials, according to Jain.

UGC’s rules for online and distance learning have faced court challenges before. In 2023, the Madras High Court ruled that state universities can't enroll students from outside their state for distance courses, but allowed existing students to continue.

The UGC has appealed the part of the ruling allowing existing students to continue, and the case is now with the Supreme Court. A similar case in Rajasthan also favoured the UGC.

As per Nilesh Tribhuvann, managing partner at White and Brief Advocates and Solicitors, as India advances educational reforms and digital learning, these issues will persist unless the regulatory body updates its standards to match the evolving landscape.