The NCTE, the apex body governing institutes offering courses in teacher education, has rejected the university's application for its failure to meet the criteria stipulated. The Yashwantrao Chavan Open University at Nashik is the only other university in Maharashtra offering a distance education course in teacher education. Admissions for a bachelor's degree (BEd) opened only this year.

NCTE regional director (Bhopal) Prem Ahuja told Express Newsline that he had received the university's application dated June 10, 1999, for the new course. ``However the form was sent without any self-learning printed course material. Also the NCTE stipulates that five teachers (one professor/head,two readers and two lecturers) must oversee the MEd distance education course whereas the university has only three teachers to oversee all its distance education courses,'' he said.

Confirming that the university's application had been turned down, Vice-Chancellor Dr Snehalata Deshmukh, however, refused to comment. Denying that the decision was prompted by inadequate staff strength, she only said: ``It is the same reason that prompted the NCTE to close the BEd part-time courses.'' The NCTE had discontinued all part-time courses in the state last year as it had found the infrastructure inadequate. At the time, Maharashtra was the only state in the western region whose universities were still offering such courses.

Professor-cum-Director, Institute of Distance Education (IDE), Surendra Tanna, declined to comment on the rejection of the university's application for the MEd course. University sources, however, confide that the university had not recruited adequate staff to run the course before submittingits application simply because ``it feels it is not accountable to its students''. Of the three teachers manning the distance education courses, only one holds the rank of Reader.

Sources also say the university is not aware of the requirements for starting an MEd course though Ahuja says a copy of the rules is appended to the application forms dispatched by the NCTE. ``Besides, we make it a point to inform the universities every time we change the guidelines. That apart, there are other ways to keep abreast of the changing rules like the Gazette of India published by the central government,'' he says.

Despite its application to start the MEd course being rejected, the university can however apply to the NCTE once again by the year-end. ``Distance education courses do not have a fixed time for commencement. Our visiting team will be sent for an inspection to the university this month. We shall take a fresh perspective following submission of their report,'' Ahuja said.