Admission to 13 distance courses barred

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 28

Chaudhary Devi Lal (CDL) University, Sirsa, has been barred from admitting students to 13 out of 14 courses it is offering under the distance education mode.

Sources say the University Grants Commission (UGC) has barred the CDL University from inducting new students this year in all courses except for BA in its University Centre for Distance Learning (UCDL) as the university does not have enough teachers and staff to run these courses.

So far, CDL University had been running postgraduate courses in MCA, MSc (Computer Science), MBA (General Semester System), MA (Education), MA (English) and MA (Mass Communication); PG Diploma courses in Mass Communication, Business Management and Computer Applications and undergraduate courses in BCA, BA (Mass Communication), BCom, BA and Diploma in Computer Science and Technology through the distance mode.

“It is great loss to those from Sirsa and Fatehabad districts who pursue studies through the distance mode while doing a job or business. By pursuing courses through the university, they had the advantage of attending personal contact programmes within their district,” said Surinder Singh, a Sirsa resident who was to enrol for MA (Mass Communication) through the distance mode this year.

Dr Vijay Kayat, Vice Chancellor, said that the university was trying to remove the shortcomings pointed out by the UGC.

He said that the university would make another representation before the UGC requesting it to reconsider its decision.

“Even otherwise, we have been barred from admitting students to first years of these courses only, but not to the second and final years,” Dr Kayat added.