New Delhi, Nov. 7: India’s largest open university is facing questions from both the human resource development ministry and its own faculty over the legitimacy of at least 10 classroom courses allegedly started without necessary authorisation.

The ministry is concerned that the Indira Gandhi National Open University started these courses without the approval of key government regulators, government officials confirmed to The Telegraph.

Senior faculty members at the university have also alleged that the courses were started without required approval from internal statutory bodies of Ignou — which would amount to violation of university statutes.

The courses include at least seven MBA programmes with different privately managed bodies without approval from the All India Council of Technical Education, the country’s apex regulator for technical education.

The courses under a cloud also include at least three BA programmes — in 3D animation, culinary arts and international hospitality — allegedly started without the approval of internal academic bodies.

While central universities are free under laws governing them to start their own courses, they are not allowed to start collaborative courses with private firms without approval from the concerned regulator, HRD ministry sources said.

The ministry has written to Ignou communicating its concerns on the launch of the courses in collaboration with private partners without the approval of regulators like the AICTE, the sources said.

But the university has largely chosen to “ignore” the concerns, the sources added.

Vice-chancellor V.N. Rajasekaran Pillai, however, claimed that the university had “responded to all queries sent by the HRD ministry”.

Pillai argued that the courses were “100 per cent” Ignou courses, rather than collaborative projects, and the university was merely using the infrastructure of private partners.

“These are 100 per cent Ignou courses. We are also completely open to the AICTE coming and examining the standards of these courses now,” Pillai said.

But documents available with this newspaper suggest that in the case of at least some of the courses started with private bodies, these bodies are allowed to draft even the course content.

Faculty at several Ignou schools — responsible for different streams — are also alleging that the university violated its own statutes in starting courses without the approval of the school board concerned.

University statutes mandate approval from school boards before any new academic programme can be started.

The teachers say that at least the seven MBA courses and three BA courses under a cloud were started without the approval of the relevant school board.

“In violation of statutes, the university administration has advertised and started courses without the approval of the relevant school board. These courses are illegal,” said Dr C.B. Sharma, president of the Ignou teachers’ association.

Pillai, however, claimed that relevant school boards had approved each course started by the university.

“I can assure you… not a single course has been started without the approval of the relevant school board,” Pillai said.

The Ignou teachers’ association has, however, demanded an inquiry by the Visitor — the President of India — into these courses. A senior faculty member who requested anonymity accused Pillai of “lying” by claiming that the school boards had approved these courses.