It is very disheartening to note that UGC has barred the 14 open universities to conduct research programmes.

There are several instances where Open University students have excelled in many competitive examinations. The Open universities provides an opportunity to those students who can not otherwise satisfy their educational and research aspirations due to a variety of reasons. 

Instead of closing this opportunity, UGC can insist on certain norms and guidelines which need to be implemented strictly, if the Open Universities want to continue their research programmes. This will ensure quality and also help the serious learners who want to pursue research.