Aadhaar likely to be made mandatory for e-courses

New Delhi: Aadhaar card is likely to be made compulsory for pursuing all online courses. Also, only those universities which have been existing for at least five years will be permitted to offer online courses, says the draft of University Grants Commission (Online education) Regulations, 2017.

According to the draft rules, continuous assessment will be conducted in online courses. The UGC regulatory body has invited comments and feedback on the draft by August 18.

The courses will be as per UGC's guidelines on choice-based credit system scheme for conventional colleges or universities, reported the Times of India.

The commission has mandated all the institutions offering online courses to undergo third party audit every two years. The university must also be recognised to the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with a valid minimum score of 3.25 on 4 point scale.

Besides, only those courses which are also offered through regular classroom teachings, will be allowed to be provided. A student will get three additional years to complete the course in case he is unable to clear as per the regular scheduled year-span.

Reportedly, a committee consisting experts will examine the effectiveness of the courses on offer. There has to be a teaching assistant other than a full-time director, registrar, assistant registrar and other academic staff if the number of students in any course exceeds 500.