new delhi they are commercial ventures not study centres perturbed at the rising number of universities offering distance mode courses through franchises the distance education council and the university grants commission ugc have decided to crack the whip on themthe franchisee in most cases is a private enterprise which has got nothing to do with the university in the name of collaboration the universities are just entering into moneymaking deals the apex bodies of higher education feel while in some cases it is the franchisee which conducts the examination in other cases the universities claim to conduct it themselveswe are not against banning of private enterprises but if a university wants to collaborate with one then they should seek the permission of the ugc said indira gandhi national open university ignou pro vicechancellor s c garg the distance education council is headed by the ignou vicechancellorin a joint letter that ugc and dec propose to send to universities across the country they have laid down several conditions the universities also need to inform dec which shall assess the resources and the state of the infrastructure of the franchises garg added the letter cites a warning as well in case the universities continue flouting this regulation then the degrees given by them will not be recognised garg saidthe universities are offering courses ranging from bsc internet sciences bsc in information systems bachelors in computer application and management msc in information technology software masters in ecommerce and a wide array of postgraduate diplomas