New Delhi: University Grants Commission (UGC) has started sending notices to universities asking them to stop distance learning courses in physiotherapy. UGC has issued the notification based on Delhi High Court order, banning such courses through distance mode.
On Monday i.e. on June 7, 2010, UGC official has issued a statement, according to which, they are notifying the universities conducting distance courses in physiotherapy as per the high court's orders. The official also added that the courses were being run without proper training facilities. The High Court has instructed to stop the courses being run without approval from the corresponding council.
The UGC is a state body that provides funds and overlooks maintenance of standards in institutions of higher education in India. The high court has ordered a ban on all distance education courses in physiotherapy running without approval or prior consent of the approved statutory bodies.
Indian Association of Physiotherapists (IAP), which grants practicing licenses to physiotherapists and oversees education and training for physiotherapy, had opposed the course stating that distance education in physiotherapy was not possible, since it involved a lot of practical training. IAP member Nilesh Bansal has said that how could you have distance learning in the subjects with a large component of practical teaching.
As per sources, a case was also filed by IAP in 2004 against Allahabad Agricultural University, Allahabad, Janardan Rai Nagar University, Udaipur and Sikkim Manipal University, Sikkim for offering courses in physiotherapy through distance education.
