Mangalore University to move court against notification on ODL courses

Mangalore University has decided to challenge in court a recent notification of the State government which offered the exclusive right of conducting Open and Distance Learning (ODL) courses to Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) in Mysuru.

The decision has been taken as otherwise with the government’s notification Mangalore University will be forced to wound up its Centre of Distance Education which offers distance education courses.

Vice-Chancellor of the university P.S. Yadapadithaya told

The Hindu that the issue was discussed in detail in the meeting of the Syndicate, the highest decision making body of the university, on Monday and it was decided to approach court in the matter seeking remedy.

Kuvempu University, which also offered distance education courses, has already moved court. Mangalore University too will follow suit.

The Centre of Distance Education at Mangalore University now offers BA, B.Com and BBA courses under the distance education mode. In addition, it offers post-graduate courses in Economics, History, Political Science, Sociology, English, Kannada, Hindi, Commerce and Tourism Administration.

The Vice-Chancellor said that if Mangalore University wounded up its distance education courses, it would lose an annual revenue of about ₹ 6 crore. The university has permission from the Distance Education Bureau under the University Grants Commission (UGC) to offer distance education courses till 2020-21.

Director of Centre of Distance Education at the university Y. Sangappa said that with the new development, the university has not yet issued any notification inviting applications to its distance education courses for 2020-21.

The State government issued a Gazette notification granting the exclusive right of offering ODL courses to KSOU last month after amending the Karnataka State Universities and Certain Other Law (second amendment) Act 2020.

Announcing the government’s notification, Minister for Higher Education C.N. Ashwath Narayan tweeted on January 2: “With COVID-19, there has been an increased demand for quality distance education from across the State. This move (granting exclusive rights to KSOU) will help us streamline and upgrade all Open and Distance Learning (ODL) courses making them accessible, effective and engaging for our students.”