oppn parties Higher Education Institutes Not Allowed To Tie-Up With EdTech Companies

News Snippets

  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
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Higher Education Institutes Not Allowed To Tie-Up With EdTech Companies

By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2022-01-17 06:38:17

The Universities Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) have issued a red-letter notice to higher education institutes (HEIs) and asked them to stop offering online or conventional courses or programmes in association with edtech companies. Both the bodies have warned HEIs that any contravention of this would lead to derecognition.

UGC and AICTE have been forced to act after it was found that most edtech companies, who develop unregulated curriculum and content and advertise that they offer higher education diplomas and degrees (in ODL/online modes) that are recognized by universities regulated and recognized by UGC and AICTE for grant of such diplomas and degrees. It was also found that several recognized HEIs have started outsourcing their content to these edtech companies.

Since these edtech companies are neither licensed nor recognized by either UGC or AICTE, these regulatory bodies have no control over the kind of curriculum or content that they are teaching. Hence, it is not correct for HEIs to tie-up with these institutes and allow them to offer such diplomas and degrees.

A certain minimum standard of teaching, as mandated by UGC and AICTE is expected in HEIs. The appointment of teachers and professors in HEIs is also as per guidelines prescribed by these two bodies. Hence it is obvious that if the edtech institutes are not regulated, they are not complying with these standards. In such a scenario, it is not correct to allow recognized HEIs to tie-up with them. These edtech institutes cannot be allowed to issue degrees and diplomas that are not recognized by UGC and AICTE and reconized HEIs cannot be allowed to act as facilitators. 

Further, only HEIs have the trained staff that conforms to UGC and AICTE standards and only they should be allowed to develop content to be used for study. Outsourcing of such content, however attractive and well-presented, should not be allowed. UGC and AICTE have also warned students and parents to verify the credentials of all institutes before enrolment.