A Syndicate sub-committee of the University of Calicut is learnt to be exploring the options to resume distance education courses.
The university had cut down the number of such courses after the setting up of the Sree Narayana Guru Open University (SNGOU). Later, they were stopped completely. According to certain provisions in the Act governing the SNGOU, only the open university has the right to run distance education courses.
Members of the sub-committee met on August 12 (Monday) to discuss the demand to resume the courses. Sources said the university would express its willingness through its standing counsel to the Kerala High Court to run undergraduate and postgraduate programmes recognised by the University Grants Commission. The case in the court is related to a demand to allow the university to run distance education courses. The university will inform the court that it is ready to run three-year UG programmes that are not offered by the SNGOU. The sub-committee members, P. Sushanth, P. Rasheed Ahammed, C.P. Hamsa, A.K. Anuraj, and L.G. Lijeesh, and Centre for Distance and Online Education Director Ravikumar also met Vice-Chancellor P. Raveendran.