New initiatives in IGNOU

The Indira Gandhi National Open University's (IGNOU's) Vice Chancellor, Prof. V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai numbered a list of initiatives, still at a nascent stage, that could be undertaken in the years to come to enhance the growth and reach of the university.

For both the enrolment of fresh learners as well as for the retention of the old ones he plans special onsite admission campaigns; assigning districts to a designated faculty member who volunteers to adopt the district for promotion of IGNOU activities with predefined objectives and accountability parameters; enhancing the learning support mechanisms, establishing contact points for learners, thus increasing more contact mediums.

"In India there are over 2,50,000 public educational and training institutions, all of which can become skill-development centres without affecting the formal teaching and other activities during class hours. These can be harnessed to provide skills to the untrained youth of the country. IGNOU with its country-wide network of Study centres has the greatest potential in the country to address the issue of skill deficit in Indian youth," said Prof. Pillai.

In the skill development sector the following measures were suggested: Access and equity to the stakeholders in general and in the Educationally Backwards Districts (EBDs) in particular; facilitation of an interface among faculty members and the grass-root level craftpersons and workers active in EBDs; implementation of the models of integrated education and equip students face the challenges of global world.

Addressing to the question ‘How' can that be possible, he said that, "The regional and study centres can network with local educational and training institutions for providing modular skills in different trades and vocations. Linking with the activities of the local micro, small and medium enterprises and grassroots-level civil society organizations, skill upgradation initiatives are being taken up by the Community College Centres, through the two-year Associate Degree programme by a credit accumulation process. Vertically integrated engineering programme, assessment and certification of prior learning and the telecentre movement for skill- upgradation, the village knowledge and resource centres and the collaboration with the rural NGOs are the recent IGNOU interventions in the skill development sectors."

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Date: 19th April, 2011