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| Wednesday, July 18, 2007
A policy that will result in revenue loss to Bharathidasan University
Tiruchi: The State Government’s steadfast adherence to
its policy not to permit territorial universities to offer M.Phil.
programmes through correspondence from the current academic
year would reflect in a substantial revenue loss to Bharathidasan
University.
The University’s Centre for Distance Education had as
many as 13,000 M.Phil candidates on its rolls last year, according
to official sources. There was a surge in enrolment as the Government
had stated at the start of the academic year that the universities
could go ahead with their M.Phil correspondence programmes for
the last time, in deference to the requests made by the universities.
Another reason for the high enrolment last year was the decision
of University Grants Commission (UGC) to equate M.Phil with
a pass in National Eligibility Test / State Level Eligibility
Test for the purpose of lectureship.
The Government’s contention has been that the quality
of M.Phil programmes offered through correspondence is poor.
The Government is also believed to have put forth a stipulation
that candidates considered for teaching vacancies in Government
and Government aided colleges should have necessarily undergone
M.Phil through regular study.
This has put paid to the hopes of those who might have nursed
the idea of pursing M.Phil offered through correspondence by
universities outside the State.
Such a situation has come as a blessing in disguise for affiliated
colleges, where M.Phil programmes were losing patronage till
a year ago. Now, the institutions are certain that they would
be able to pick and choose the candidates in accordance with
their potential.
University sources said several colleges had applied for increasing
the strength in existing programmes and/or starting programmes
anew.
Incidentally, the Bharathidasan University took timely steps
to increase the course contents for the regular M.Phil programmes,
to tone up the quality, in the wake of the UGC’s decision
to qualify M.Phil candidates for lectureship.
The UGC’s idea of permitting autonomous colleges to conduct
the M.Phil programmes in the Eleventh Plan period would also
contribute a lot to shore up patronage.
Courtesy: The Hindu
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