Crisis on IGNOU degree: UGC’s new guidelines increase tension, will your hard work go in vain? Big update on NET-JRF also

News India Live, Digital Desk: A shocking news is coming to the fore for lakhs of students pursuing degrees from the country’s largest open university, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). The new distance learning and online education guidelines of the University Grants Commission (UGC) have raised question marks on the validity of IGNOU degrees. The biggest shock has been suffered by those students who had prepared for UGC-NET and JRF after passing MA. According to the new rules, now some degrees obtained through distance education cannot be considered valid for higher education and fellowships.

UGC’s new ‘scissors’: A sword hanging over the eligibility of distance degree holders

The new rules of UGC have created a stir among the students studying through distance mode. The guidelines clearly indicate that some degrees obtained through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) will not be considered at par with regular degrees, especially in terms of research and eligibility to become a professor. This decision will have a direct impact on thousands of students who were doing PG (Post Graduation) from IGNOU along with job and wanted to make a career through NET-JRF in future.

Will you not get JRF even after passing MA? huge anger among students

According to the new rules, if a student’s degree does not meet the new UGC parameters, he or she may be disqualified from appearing for the UGC NET exam or getting JRF fellowship. Students say that this is playing with their future. Keeping the degree of a prestigious institute like IGNOU in such a doubtful category can create obstacles not only in private but also in government jobs. Student organizations across the country have started raising their voice against this ‘degree discrimination’.

Trouble between IGNOU and UGC: What will happen next?

At present, clarification is going on between IGNOU administration and UGC regarding this issue. Experts believe that if UGC remains firm on its decision, then IGNOU will have to make major changes in its course structure. Students are being advised to check the status of their degree and read the clauses of the new rules carefully. This controversy has now reached the threshold of the Education Ministry, where the hopes of lakhs of distance learners are pinned on whether they will be able to get back the status equal to regular students.