Bhuvana Iyer, January 17, 2022
The University Grant Commission and the All India Council for Technical Education have ordered the educational institutes to cut ties with edtech companies and have warned them of derecognition after Cracking down on educational institutes that join hands with edtech companies to offer online or conventional programmes.
In a red-letter notice issued on Sunday, both the bodies asked higher education institutes (HEIs) to annul agreements with edtech companies. Officials said the higher education secretary had flagged advertisements offering educational degrees through edtech firms.
“Some edtech companies are giving advertisements in newspapers/social media/TV, etc, that they are offering degree and diploma programmes in ODL/online modes in association with some universities/institutions. Such a franchise arrangement is not permissible and action will be taken against defaulting edtech companies as well as HEIs under applicable laws/ rules,” said the notice.
A senior official explained that universities were outsourcing content creation to edtech players, with some asking professors those companies taught, and certain edtech companies also awarding degrees. ” Some universities and institutes run programs through educational technology companies. Using a particular platform or learning management system is different, but many higher education institutes in India are outsourcing the execution of their online courses to education technology companies. That kind of outsourcing or franchising is definitely not allowed,” said an AICTE official.
“We don’t want edtech players to advertise that they offer MBAs or BMS. They don’t have permission to do that. How do we control quality?” a UGC officer asked. The Jan. 16 notice also warned students against such arrangements, saying they should verify a program’s entitlement/entitlement status before enrolling in it.
This is not the first time that stern warnings have been issued against the edtech space. Three weeks ago, the Indian Ministry of Education issued an advisory about edtech platforms, saying that some companies were targeting families by signing the electronic funds transfer (EFT) mandate or activating the automatic debit feature. The ministry advised parents to turn off the automatic debit option for subscription fee payment in ‘freemium’ models.
Experts feel the notice is a death knell for edtech firms. “Most edtech firms derive their authenticity and recognition because of their partnership with recognised and well-known universities. With that kind of arrangement being questioned, will students still sign up at dotcom universities?” asked a retired UGC chairman.
