Aadhaar may be mandatory for e-courses soon
Many an eyebrows have raised with the central government making Aadhar mandatory for tax regime. But an undeterred Centre is moving ahead with more.
Now, Aadhaar may be made mandatory for pursuing all online courses. Only those universities which have been in existence for at least five years will be allowed to offer such courses, according to the draft UGC rules.
The draft of University Grants Commission (Online education) Regulations, 2017 says there will be continuous assessment even in online courses. The regulatory authority has invited feedback and comments on the draft by August 18.
WHY AADHAR FOR ONLINE COURSES
For ‘quality’ and ‘accountability’, institutions offering online courses will have to undergo third party audit every two years. Moreover, only those courses which are on offer through regular classroom teaching mode will be allowed to be offered as online courses. Also there has to be one teaching assistant if the number of learners in a course crosses the 500 mark. This is apart from a full-time director, registrar, assistant registrar and other academic staff.
The aim is to make the process technology-intensive. Thus right from content development using graphics, animation and webinars to e-learning modules and live virtual classroom sessions – even the evaluation and assessment process will require the HEIs to have a robust computer-based testing system. This is for conducting ‘proctored online examinations’ with features like integration with Aadhaar for learner authentication, screen and webcam recording for live invigilation.
WHAT’S IN FOR STUDENTS
A student will get three additional years to complete the programme. So for a three-yeardegree course, a student will be allowed six years. Institutions intending to offer online programmes will have to pass through two stages of approval. The first stage will comprise audit assessment for the academic/technical/ infrastructural/HR compliance.
