New Delhi: The Chairman, Distance Education Council (DEC) and Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) Vice Chancellor, Professor V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai cautioned universities and institutions giving misleading advertisements in newspapers, stating that their programmes are recognized by the Council.

"DEC has prescribed the guidelines for determination of the standards for distance education systems in the country. It is therefore mandatory for all institutions, centres and directorates offering programmes through the distance education mode to get their degrees, diplomas and certificate programmes recognized and approved by the DEC," said an official press release.

In case an institution is already running distance education programmes, it must apply to DEC for recognition of the institution and its programmes. It is also the responsibility of the institution to strictly adhere to the norms prescribed by the concerned statutory authorities for offering professional and technical programmes.

Further, those universities which have been approved by DEC for the academic year 2009-10 onwards, were also asked in their advertisements to clearly mention the names of the programmes for which approval has been granted to them.

"The institutions violating these norms would be liable to be de-recognized by the DEC. It was also informed to the institutions offering education through distance mode that any degree/ diploma/ certificate being offered by them through distance mode not recognized by DEC, shall not be accepted for employment in government service," added the press release.

The institutions/ universities are directed to submit their applications to the DEC within a month's time, in the prescribed performa available on the DEC website for obtaining recognition for themselves and their programmes.