Skip to main content

Hyderabad Urdu varsity chancellor protests UGC 'blocking' distance learning course

By A Representative 
Known to be close to BJP and dubbed Modi man, Firoz Bakht Ahmed, chancellor, Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU), Hyderabad, has strongly protested against the University Grants Commission (UGC), a Government of India body responsible for coordinating, determining and maintaining of standards of higher education, for blocking MAANU’s Directorate of Distance Education (DDE) from applying for the recognition of its courses.
In a letter to UGC, Ahmed said, “DDE at MANUU is the flagship department of the university and was created at the time of the inception of the university after its blue print was given by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee -- the doyen of communal concord”, adding, “The university is recognised through this particular unit which has always been catering to thousands of students in remote areas all over the country.”
Ahmed said, as per the UGC notification dated September 04, 2020, open distance learning (ODL) courses require a minimum National Assessment And Accreditation Council (NAAC) rating of 3.01 to run the distance education courses. “MANUU had secured a decent grade of 3.09 when it was accredited by NAAC in 2016 which was based on its good performance in the previous five years corresponding to the 2010-15 phase in particular. As per the new parameters, this score is sufficient to run the ODL courses”, Ahmed said.
Asking UGC to allow MANUU to apply for recognition of ODL courses “for the sake of the cause of the nation and education and the well-being of the university” for 2021-22 “so that the main stakeholders, the students do not face any hardship or loss of time in their academic schedule and career in life” Ahmed said, “The institution caters to students from the humbler cross sections of our social strata”. He added, if the recognition is not granted, “it might mean devastation and disaster for thousands of lives of the budding citizens of India.”
Ahmed happens to be grand nephew of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, well-known freedom fighter close to Gandhi and Nehru and India’s first education minister. He was appointed MANUU chancellor under controversial circumstances in 2018.

Comments

Post a Comment

NOTE: While there is no bar on viewpoint, comments containing hateful or abusive language will not be published and will be marked spam. -- Editor

TRENDING

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.
Post a Comment
»

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

​ By Syed Ali Mujtaba*  ​The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.
Post a Comment
»

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”
Post a Comment
»