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Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) of Rohatak has been asked to close 11,000 of its centres in state of Haryana and outside, putting the future of 150,000 students in jeopardy.
A Bill passed in Haryana State Assembly last month, amending the MDU Act 1975, resulted in closing down the study centres of its Directorate of Distance Education (DDE). The university has its only campus in Rohtak but its distance education study centres are spread all over Haryana and also other states.
Actually the closure of the university was already imminent as the University Grants Commission (UGC) following Supreme Court directions and asking all states to ensure that their universities stop all off-campus study centres outside the academic jurisdiction of these institutions.
According to official data, MDU had been running over 11,000 study centres. Of these, 1,168 centres were set up directly by the university, while nearly 10,000 were opened through its 10 global study centres across the nation.
Since distance education is the major source of income for the university, the closure of distance education courses means a huge loss to the university.
The government’s order has come as a shock for the many students in the middle of their courses. Every day, a large number of students visit the DDE office to ask about the university’s plan for them but university authorities are not in capacity to do much.
“The government should either roll back its decision or allow the enrolled students to complete their courses,” the students are demanding.
However the DDE was waiting for further directive from the government side regarding the fate of already enrolled students as the position of these students was not made clear in the recent amendment of the act, an official said.
The courses offered range from one-year postgraduate diplomas to three- year courses like a BCA. Some courses like MA and MBA are for two years. The fee structure varies – ranging from minimum Rs.5,000 per year for conventional courses to Rs.15,000 for professional ones. The study centres offer at least 24 conventional and professional courses.