Institutes Should Not Offer Technical Education through Correspondence: Supreme Court

On November 3, 2017, the Supreme Court of India has clarified that higher learning institutes, technical education institutes and universities across the country cannot offer engineering and other technical courses in correspondence or distance mode. The court ruled out the decision of HC of Odisha, which favoured engineering courses in correspondence mode.

The apex court of India further hailed the decision of Haryana and Punjab High Court, which did not favour engineering courses in correspondence or distance mode. Two years back, Punjab and Haryana HC ruled out degrees in Computer Science through correspondence and distance education. In its order, the HC stated that there is a lot of difference between a person holding an engineering degree in regular mode and distance mode.

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Engineering course in distance mode is not possible, as the subject involves a lot of practical based learning apart from the theory. One can become a complete engineering professional only if he/she attends the theory, as well as, practical classes regularly. Therefore the SC said that institutes must not offer these courses in correspondence mode. Also, higher education regulators like UGC and AICTE have been asked to discouraged engineering courses in distance mode.

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Today, the number of engineering students is more and the rate of employability is going down and many of the students are unable to find a relevant job with an attractive package. On the other hand, many engineering graduates lack necessary skills to become a software professional. Considering all these aspects, AICTE has come up with measures to improve engineering education standards .