By IANS,
New Delhi : Following a Delhi High Court order banning distance learning courses in physiotherapy, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has started sending notices to universities asking them to stop such courses.
“We are notifying the universities conducting distance courses in physiotherapy as per the high court’s orders,” a UGC official said Monday.
The UGC is a state body that provides funds and overlooks maintenance of standards in institutions of higher education in India.
“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 official told IANS.
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 practising licences 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.
“How can you have distance learning in the subjects with a large component of practical teaching,” IAP member Nilesh Bansal said.
A case was 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.