Govt cashing in on distance education

NEW DELHI: The proposal is at an advanced stage of consideration, Minister of State for Human Resource Development D Purandeshwari said in reply to questions in the Lok Sabha.

 

She said the proposed statutory body will work for promotion, coordination, determination and regulation of standards in the open and distance education system, which includes on-line education.

 

It will also be empowered to regulate the entry and operation of foreign distance education providers, she said.

 

HRD Minister Arjun Singh said the government is considering a proposal to introduce a scheme for providing interest subsidy on educational loans taken by students having lower than a specified parental income for pursuing professional education in India under the revised Model Educational Loan Scheme.

 

The subsidy will be applicable during the moratorium period covering the duration of the professional course plus one year or six months from the date of employment, whichever is earlier, he said.

 

To a question, Purandeshwari said there are 101 'Deemed-to-be' universities in the country and there is stipulation for reservation.

 

Complaints of discrepancies with regard to reservation are looked into by a committee set up to come out with better regulations to make the guidelines more stringent, she said.

 

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