IGNOU Degrees cannot be treated as inferior

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is not an ordinary institution. It is India’s largest university and one of the country’s most significant educational achievements. Established with the vision of democratising higher education, IGNOU has empowered millions of students across India, particularly those who were denied access to conventional universities due to economic, social, geographical, or professional constraints. Its degrees are recognised nationwide, and its contribution to expanding educational opportunities is beyond question.
It is therefore shocking and unacceptable that students holding IGNOU degrees are allegedly being denied fair academic opportunities at Manipur University merely because their education was obtained through the distance learning system.
The controversy has emerged from the Department of Education, Manipur University — ironically, a department that should stand for academic inclusivity and educational justice. In September 2025, Manipur University advertised applications for Pre-PhD coursework across departments, including Education. A re-notification followed in October due to a shortage of applicants in some departments.
In accordance with the university’s own rules and regulations, the Department of Education shortlisted 48 candidates in December 2025. Several among them had completed their MA in Education from IGNOU. The candidates were preparing for the final presentation process when, suddenly, the process was postponed citing “unavoidable circumstances.”
What followed raises serious concerns about transparency and fairness. Attempts were reportedly made by the Department of Education and the School of Education to introduce an additional eligibility condition requiring candidates to possess a BA in Education. Such a move not only contradicts the spirit of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which promotes multidisciplinary and flexible education, but also appears discriminatory against students from diverse academic backgrounds. Importantly, the proposed criterion was reportedly rejected by a competent committee and was never approved by the Academic Council.
Yet, amid the administrative vacuum following the retirement of the then Vice-Chancellor, N. Lokendra Singh, the Department allegedly proceeded to issue a revised shortlist containing only 27 candidates on May 11, 2026. Many students were reportedly excluded on flimsy grounds such as possessing an IGNOU degree or not having a BA in Education. Shockingly, the final presentation and admission process were completed the very next day in what appears to have been a hurried and questionable exercise.
The affected students, humiliated and deeply aggrieved, approached the university authorities seeking justice. However, the silence of the administration has only intensified suspicion and public concern.
The larger issue here is not merely about one admission process. It concerns the dangerous mindset that treats students from open and distance learning institutions as academically inferior. Such an attitude is regressive, elitist, and entirely inconsistent with the principles of modern higher education.
Can Manipur University selectively disregard degrees awarded by IGNOU while simultaneously hosting IGNOU study centres within its own campus? If IGNOU qualifications are truly considered unfit for higher studies, then the university authorities must publicly clarify their position and explain on what legal or academic basis such discrimination is being justified.
The matter also points to a worrying tendency within certain academic circles to monopolise research opportunities in the field of Education by discouraging students from other academic pathways. Reports of similar attitudes emerging in Dhanamanjuri University make the situation even more alarming.
Distance education is not an inferior form of education. It is recognised by the University Grants Commission and accepted across India. Thousands of civil servants, teachers, professionals, and researchers have earned degrees through IGNOU and contributed meaningfully to society. To discredit such qualifications without transparent and legally valid justification is not only unfair but an insult to the very idea of inclusive education.
Manipur University must answer the questions being raised. Academic institutions cannot function on arbitrary decisions, hidden agendas, or selective exclusion. If universities begin to discriminate against recognised qualifications, they risk destroying public trust in the integrity of higher education itself.
Leader Writer:  Sh Ajit