Why was NMIMS University Banned from Offering Online and Distance Learning Programs by UGC until Feb 2024 session?

The UGC advised students against enrolling in any online, open, or distance learning courses.

The Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) has been prohibited by the University Grants Commission (UGC) from providing open, distant learning, and online programs for the January–February 2023, July–August 2023, and January–February 2024 sessions, the organization stated on Tuesday, April 18.

The Commission has advised students not to enroll in any online, open, or distance learning courses.

According to an official notification from the UGC in May 2021, NMIMS University in Maharashtra was found to be in violation of UGC regulations regarding its Centre for Internal Quality Assurance, the quality of its Self Learning Material and e-Learning Material, and the nomenclature of its Centre for Distance and Online Learning. As a result of these violations, the university has been banned from offering online and distance learning programs until the February 2024 session.

The institute was not adhering to the UGC’s fee return policy. Multiple complaints about the same were made to the statutory authority by different stakeholders.

From July through August 2024, the school will be able to provide open, distance learning, and online courses “pursuant to an inspection/on-site visit by the UGC and after obtaining necessary approvals from the UGC.”