UGC authorizes MANUU to run 5 additional courses through distance education mode

In a major development that is expected to benefit thousands of aspiring students, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has authorized Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) to offer five programmes—B.A.; B.Sc. (Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics); B.Sc. (Chemistry, Botany and Zoology) and M.A in Urdu, English, History and Islamic Studies through distance education mode.

The UGC, responding to persistent follow up by Dr. Mohammad Aslam Parvaiz, Vice-Chancellor, MANUU, also said that the University could start B.Ed. programme prospectively after receiving approval from National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) during 2015-2016.

The UGC in its letter to MANUU said that the new courses are in addition to the ones that have been allotted by it to the University for the academic session 2015-2016 earlier. They are: M.A., Urdu; MA, English; Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication; Diploma in Teaching English; Certificate Course in Proficiency in Urdu through English and; Certificate Course in Functional English.

The letter also stated that the Distance Education Committee of UGC which met in November last considered that the programmes which were recommended by the Expert Committee in September 2011 but did not receive approval as those programmes were not being offered through regular mode. “Now, the University has informed that these programmes are being offered through regular mode,” therefore, it has accorded permission to run the courses.

The Directorate of Distance Education of MANUU has about 50,000 students, most of them girls and women, on its roll. MANUU’s distance education programme is considered one of the most popular programmes in the country.