Mysuru: The Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) is at last likely to get recognition for all its courses for the academic year 2018-19.

The University Grants Commission (UGC), in a letter dated June 6, has stated that it is likely to consider the application of KSOU regarding recognition of the courses starting from this academic year 2018-19. It may be recalled that even the High Court of Karnataka had ordered the UGC to grant recognition at the earliest to the KSOU in this academic year itself (2018-19).

KSOU Vice-Chancellor Prof. D.Shivalingaiah, speaking to Star of Mysore here this morning, said that a team from UGC is visiting the University and all the documents have been kept ready for them.

“We are asking for recognition to 32 courses we are offering including four undergraduate courses and the remaining courses in post graduation, after following all the UGC guidelines,” he said.

A 16-member Joint Parliamentary Standing Committee had recently visited Mysuru and the issue was brought before the committee. “I had made a power point presentation to the Joint Committee where the UGC Joint Secretary was also present. He agreed to grant recognition in front of the Committee, headed by Chairman Dr. Satyanarayan Jatiyaji,” he said.

In a letter to the Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee dated June 2, 2018, Prof. Shivalingaiah had stated that even though all in-house admissions were made in accordance with UGC norms, the UGC had issued a public notice dated 16.06.2015 informing the students not to get the admissions in KSOU since it is de-recognised with retrospective effect from the academic year 2013-2014.

“However, by the time UGC issued a public notice all in-house admissions for the  year 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 were completed and the statistics for admission for the year 2013-14 was 49,675 and for 2014-15, 46,178 totalling 95,853,” he had stated in the letter.

Prof. Shivalingaiah hoped that the three zero years (2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18), that KSOU faced would be thing of the past and from this academic year lakhs of students who are suffering will be benefited to pursue their higher education through distance mode again.