The Delhi High Court has warned against the "unbridled proliferation" of unlicensed offshore educational establishments, claiming that they are fueling a market for poor education by depriving students of access to excellent education.
According to Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, such establishments devalue academic qualifications and harm the hopes of students who invest their time and energy in pursuing education legally, reports PTI.
The observations were made by the court while hearing a petition from a student who was denied admission to a PG course by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) on the grounds that his bachelor's degree, obtained from an off-campus centre of Sikkim Manipal University (SMU) in Noida, was not acceptable for academic purposes.
The petition was dismissed by the court, which ruled that the petitioner could not be admitted to the IGNOU course because he completed his education in a manner that was neither prescribed nor recognised as legal.
"This court is also of the considered opinion that an untrammelled proliferation of offshore study centres, without the requisite approvals from the concerned authorities, would lead to devaluation of academic credentials," said the court in its recent order.
It further stated, "An even-handed assessment of potential consequences of such a phenomenon would suggest that it would adversely impact the aspirations of students who invest their time and resources into pursuing education through legitimate means.”
Thus, the court observed that it would be unwise to allow the expansion of such study centres, as they could lead to a market of substandard education and consequently deprive countless individuals from seeking quality education.
The court stated in the judgement that SMU was a private university founded by a State Law, and the Supreme Court has always held that state universities established by state legislatures must not operate outside the territorial bounds of the state concerned.
It was also noted that the Supreme Court has stated in a case that, at best, offshore centres may petition for affiliation with any other university that has jurisdiction over their respective locations of operation.
"It is, therefore, explicitly clear that the concerned regulations governing the institution from which the petitioner had obtained his BCA programme degree through distance education, categorically restrain SMU in clear and unambiguous terms from conducting the said courses outside the periphery of the state of Sikkim," the high court recorded.
"Considering the foregoing, the petitioner might have an anticipation for securing admission in the PGDMS course, however, the same would not yield a crystallised or an indefeasible right on the part of the petitioner against the admission in the said course without fulfilling the prescribed eligibility," the court said.
