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IGNOU turns the spotlight on education of children in war-torn Palestine “The UN Refugee Welfare and Advocacy (UNRWA) run schools encourage children to attend school 365 days a week”, stated Prof M.B. Menon, its Chief (Education) at Jordon. This, he said, keeps them away from the clutches of the religious fundamentalists. He was delivering a lecture on “Educating Children in a Fragile Environment- Palestine Context”, at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) Maidan Garhi campus. It was chaired by Prof. KR Srivathsan, Pro Vice Chancellor, IGNOU and organized by School of Education of IGNOU. Speaking on his own personal experience in Palestine , Prof Menon said,” Palestinian children are extremely motivated about education. They think that education will provide them a way out of the mess and get them to US and a better life. The major problem facing the UNRWA is Coverage and Quality of education. Children with special needs, with stress and trauma are not being covered through the education programmes. Arabic and mathematics remain problems for children. Another big problem is the issue of violence in schools.” Prof. Menon’s main focus , as the manager of the UNRWA project in
education, is using education as a Recovery Programme for Palestinian children.
UNRWA is providing Elementary education till 10 th standard in the region,
with a strong emphasis on vocational/ Technical programmes. The UNRWA was started by the United Nations to take care of problems related to refugees, 60 years back. The lecture –presentation was followed by a discussion.
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| Abolish Manual Scavenging: Dr Bezwada Wilson, Safai Karamchari Sanghatana Indira Gandhi National Open University’s (IGNOU) organized a lecture on “Inhuman Practices of Manual Scavenging: Cleaning up shit” in the IGNOU’s Main Campus today. The lecture was delivered by Dr Berzada Wilson, President, Safai Karamchari Sanghatana(SKA). The lecture was followed by screening of Documentary on” Lesser Humans”. Dr Wilson is involved in a movement to eradicate manual scavenging since 1986,which was later formalized as the SKA in 1996. The lecture was coordinated by IGNOU’s ‘Dr Ambedkar Chair on Social Change and Development’, a part of the School of Social Science and convened by Prof Vimal Thorat, IGNOU. The lecture emphasized the social basis behind the practice of manual Scavenging in the country, the reality of the life of a manual scavenger and the response by SKA. Dr Wilson remarked that manual scavengers fall at the very lowest category
of sanitation workers in the country, after sweepers, sewerage workers and
septic tank cleaners. There are 6.76 lakh manual safai karamcharis (manual
scavengers) in India, though unofficial figures put the figure at 13 lakhs,
he said. Delineating the ideological basis of this inhuman practice, Dr Wilson said,” Manual scavenging is considered one of the lowest, polluted and most degrading occupations. The caste system dictates that those born into particular Dalit sub-castes should enagage in manual scavenging , and should remain doing so throughout their lives.” Dr Wilson was born into a Dalit community in Karnataka. His family was engaged in traditional manual scavenging. He is a post graduate in Political Science and was elected in alternative ‘25 people who will never make it to the power list’ by Outlook magazine . He was also elected as Ashoka Senior Fellow in the Year 2009 from India. Some of the other main achievements of Dr Wilson’s SKA include a PIL petition filed by it in 2003, which resulted in the Supreme Court demanding affidavits from various states. Most states were in denial mode about manual scavenging , but SKA proved the existence of dry latrines with video and photographic evidence , and they were later forced to demolish them. Dr Wilson is dedicated to total eradication of manual scavenging from India. SKA has made a planning call ’Action 2010’ for the purpose to eradicate manual scavenging by 31st December, 2010.
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Abolish Manual Scavenging: Dr Bezwada Wilson, Safai Karamchari Sanghatana Indira Gandhi National Open University’s (IGNOU) organized a lecture on “Inhuman Practices of Manual Scavenging: Cleaning up shit” in the IGNOU’s Main Campus today. The lecture was delivered by Dr Berzada Wilson, President, Safai Karamchari Sanghatana(SKA). The lecture was followed by screening of Documentary on” Lesser Humans”. Dr Wilson is involved in a movement to eradicate manual scavenging since 1986,which was later formalized as the SKA in 1996. The lecture was coordinated by IGNOU’s ‘Dr Ambedkar Chair on Social Change and Development’, a part of the School of Social Science and convened by Prof Vimal Thorat, IGNOU. The lecture emphasized the social basis behind the practice of manual Scavenging in the country, the reality of the life of a manual scavenger and the response by SKA. Dr Wilson remarked that manual scavengers fall at the very lowest category
of sanitation workers in the country, after sweepers, sewerage workers and
septic tank cleaners. There are 6.76 lakh manual safai karamcharis (manual
scavengers) in India, though unofficial figures put the figure at 13 lakhs,
he said. Delineating the ideological basis of this inhuman practice, Dr Wilson said,” Manual scavenging is considered one of the lowest, polluted and most degrading occupations. The caste system dictates that those born into particular Dalit sub-castes should enagage in manual scavenging , and should remain doing so throughout their lives.” Dr Wilson was born into a Dalit community in Karnataka. His family was engaged in traditional manual scavenging. He is a post graduate in Political Science and was elected in alternative ‘25 people who will never make it to the power list’ by Outlook magazine . He was also elected as Ashoka Senior Fellow in the Year 2009 from India. Some of the other main achievements of Dr Wilson’s SKA include a PIL petition filed by it in 2003, which resulted in the Supreme Court demanding affidavits from various states. Most states were in denial mode about manual scavenging , but SKA proved the existence of dry latrines with video and photographic evidence , and they were later forced to demolish them. Dr Wilson is dedicated to total eradication of manual scavenging from India. SKA has made a planning call ’Action 2010’ for the purpose to eradicate manual scavenging by 31st December, 2010.
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IGNOU announces Entrance tests for Openmat –XXVII & Openden-II Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is conducting Entrance tests for Management Programmes (Openmat-XXVII) and Openden-II, for Post Graduate Certificate in Oral Implantology and Post Graduate Certificate in Endodontics on Sunday, 7th February, 2010, between 10 am to 1pm. The entrance test is for the academic session starting July 2010. The Entrance Test is being organized in 131 examination centres , accommodating 18,061(16,712+1,349)candidates for Management (Openmat-XXVII) and Openden-II programmes. All candidates are advised to report at the Examination centre 45 minutes before commencement of the Entrance test. The Hall tickets have already been dispatched to the candidates by IGNOU. The particulars of Hall tickets are also available on the IGNOU website, www.ignou.ac.in. In case of non-receipt of Hall ticket by any candidate, it can be downloaded from the University website by entering Name and Date of Birth of the candidate. In case candidates are unable to download the Hall ticket, they can contact the Regional Centre and obtain the information of Examination Centre allocated and report to the Examination Centre with proof of submission of Entrance test application form, along with a recent passport size photograph. In this case, they have to submit an undertaking at the Examination Centre stating that if the information furnished by them is found to be incorrect, their candidature will be cancelled. IGNOU has deputed Central observers in all the 131examination centres to ensure smooth conduct of the entrance test.
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IGNOU Students Placed with Package of Lakhs Six students enrolled in Indira Gandhi National Open University’s(IGNOU) Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Safety, Health and Environment Management -PGDM(ISHE) have been selected for the post of Safety officers in leading cement plants across India at a package of 5.5 lac/annum. The students will be paid a stipend of Rs. 29,000/pm for the first 6 months. The students were selected during campus placement held on 22 January 2010 at the Institute of Industrial Management for Safety, Health and Environment (IIMSHE) Bhopal,a partner of IGNOU. Out of a batch size of 45 students, 32 students have already been placed. The next campus interview is slated for 10th February 2010 in the IIMSHE campus and the left-over students are also expected to be placed successfully. The PGDM (ISHE) is being offered by IGNOU’s School of Engineering Technology(SOET).
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IGNOU taking Soft-skill training to BPL Youth
Indira Gandhi National Open University(IGNOU) is set to educate & train Below Poverty Line (BPL) youth in six states of UP, Bihar, Assam, West Bengal, Orissa and Tamil Nadu, announced IGNOU Vice Chancellor Professor VN Rajasekharan Pillai. Five vocational training and educational programmes have been identified for online delivery. These are Certificate programmes in Computer Basics, Advanced Computing, Job Training and Interview Etiquette, along with a Diploma in Advanced Computing. The proposed programmes will be offered online from application to certification stages. The programmes will be conducted through a Common Service Centre (CSC) in each village panchayat office at the six selected states of Assam, Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar , UP and Tamil Nadu. IGNOU has signed a Memorandum of Agreement with SREI Sahaj e-village Ltd., a Kolkata based company which is implementing the CSC project in six short-listed states. Sahaj is setting up one ICT enabled centre per 10,000 of rural population. They have already obtained a mandate from the Department of Information Technology (DIT) to set up over 27,000 CSCs at these states at the village panchayat level, within the current fiscal year. Teachers from nearby areas are being hired to teach and guide the IGNOU students in every village panchayat. The concept of CSCs is especially helpful to women and children of the villages and the BPL families who for various socio-economic reasons can’t travel far for attending schools or training institutes. The IGNOU Certificate programmes are for six months each, while the Diploma programme will be for a year. After clearing the certificate or the diploma programme, the successfull candidates will be given employment. The students will also be given opportunities to enroll for the programmes of IGNOU on a flexi-mode of learning system. According to Prof. Pandav Nayak, the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) for the Regional Institute of Vocational Education and Training-East Zone (RIVET-EZ) project, “ RIVET is a part of IGNOU initiatives to provide education at the grassroots. For the eight states in the North-East, a RIVET type IGNOU Institute of Vocational Education and Training (IIVET) has already been made functional at Shillong, Meghalaya. Four more RIVETS will be set up soon for other zones of the country. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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IGNOU gears up to plug the Skill Deficit “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 2,500 Study centres has the greatest potential in the country to address the issue of skill deficit in Indian youth,” said IGNOU Vice Chancellor Professor VN Rajasekharan Pillai, in the forthcoming issue of IGNOU’s OpenLetter. He further remarked that these 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,” the VC said. It is estimated that India has the capacity to create 500 million certified technicians and skilled workers by 2020. In this context, 2010-2020 has been declared as the ‘Decade of Innovation’ by the Government. Speaking on the skill deficit among Indian youth, Prof. Pillai stated “Creating opportunities for our youth to become the largest pool of skilled and technically trained human resource is the greatest challenge before us in this decade. This would enhance the Gross enrollment ratio, along with providing opportunities to our young population and large number of school drop-outs. As an Open University with flexible and innovative educational, training and skill-building capabilities, we need to lay more emphasis on these objectives of the National Skills Mission,” Prof. Pillai remarked.
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Security Forces need Legal Provisions to function effectively in J & K- Lt General Mukesh Sabharwal Lt. General Mukesh Sabharwal, Adjutant General, Indian Army today outlined internal security arrangements in Jammu and Kashmir. He was delivering a lecture on “Internal Security in Jammu and Kashmir: Historical Perspective and Emerging Scenario”, as a part of the Indira Gandhi National Open University’s (IGNOU) Silver Jubilee Lecture today in the IGNOU Maidan Garhi campus. Remarking on the role of the security forces in the future, Gen Sabharwal said,“In order to operate effectively, security forces need necessary legal provisions to permit them to function/operate. Any dilution of protective laws for security forces could thus be damaging. Such laws are the only safeguard for security forces, and give them the requisite legal framework which permits them to conduct proactive operations against terrorists”. He further remarked that internal security is a reality and cannot be wished away. For internal security, there is a need to strengthen the local first responders. This involves capacity building of the State police forces, to include training of State police and the Central Reserve Police Force. The importance of leadership of the Paramilitary Forces also cannot be overemphasized, he said. “All first responders need to be empowered. First responders need to foresee, rehearse and train for eventualities. Thereafter, we gradually need to reduce the Army’s visibility, especially in cities/along roads, “General Sabharwal added. General Sabharwal stated that there is an urgent need to reduce the Army’s visibility, especially in cities and along roads. There is a requirement of having enough security forces, suitably trained, armed and deployed so as to operate where required within a timeframe, which enables their being effective. The form of mobility chosen could vary from vehicle based mobility to mobility on foot, combining speed with surprise. Excellent communications are essential to enable security forces to operate effectively within their given areas. In turn, for these to be effective, intelligence is a must. This is best gathered through the populace, which in Jammu and Kashmir has been largely won over, convinced of the just cause of the Nation. Another important issue, which must be given due significance in the valley, according to Gen. Sabharwal, is governance and development. “It would be desirable for more industries to mushroom in Jammu and Kashmir, and for the national media to proliferate to an ever greater degree. Development of the state is perhaps single most important factor, essential for bringing lasting peace to the state. While there is no gainsaying the fact that the levels of development in Jammu and Kashmir out-distance the levels of development in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and the Northern Areas, increasing levels of development can help the greater cause of restoring normalcy to the State,” declared Lt. General Mukesh Sabharwal. The IGNOU Silver Jubilee Lecture was chaired by IGNOU Vice Chancellor Professor VN Rajasekharan Pillai. The Lecture was coordinated by Dr. Latha Pillai, Pro Vice Chancellor,IGNOU and it was attended by eminent guests, academics , students and staff of IGNOU. Prof. Salil Misra, School of Social Sciences, IGNOU, presented the Discussant’s Remarks after the lecture. The lecture was followed by an open discussion. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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IGNOU World’s Largest University- UNESCO “IGNOU is the largest University in the world’,according to the UNESCO website: www.unesco.org. “Enrollments of nearly three million students and networks across the country making the best use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) – IGNOU’s accomplishments are recognised worldwide”, declared Ms Irina Bokova, Director General UNESCO. “Almost three million students in India and 33 other countries study at IGNOU which is also India’s National Resource Centre for Open and Distance Learning and a world leader in distance education. Through its 21 schools of study, 59 regional centres, 2300 learner support centres and some 52 overseas centres, the university offers certificate, diploma, degree and doctoral programmes, comprising around 1500 courses, the university provides access to sustainable and learner-centred education and training to all through quality, innovative and needs-based programmes at affordable costs, thus reaching out to the disadvantaged. It promotes, coordinates and regulates the standards of education offered through open and distance learning in India,”quoted the UNESCO Website. The website further announced that,” IGNOU’s staff consist of 380 faculty members and academic staff in headquarters and regional centres while some 36,000 counsellors from conventional institutions of higher learning and professionals from different spheres. With the launch of EduSat (a satellite dedicated only to education) in 2004, and the establishment of the Inter-University Consortium, IGNOU has ushered in a new era of technology-enabled education.” “Today, there are 134 active video-conferencing centres; all regional, sub-regional and high enrolment study centres have been connected, and exchanges using interactive digital content are possible. Emphasis is currently on developing interactive multimedia and online learning. Using these innovative technologies and methodologies, IGNOU ensures the convergence of existing systems to achieve the goal of ensuring access to Education for All, providing continual professional development and training and promoting integrated national development and global understanding,” according to the UNESCO website.
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IGNOU and TERI to hold Conference on Digital Libraries Indira Gandhi National Open University(IGNOU) and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) are jointly organizing the International Conference on Digital Libraries (ICDL) 2010 as part of IGNOU’s Silver Jubilee Year celebrations. ICDL 2010 is proposed to be organized during 23-26 February 2010 in New Delhi. The theme of the three-day conference is ‘Digital Libraries: Shaping the Information Paradigm’ and the focus is on the strengths and potential of digital libraries and their role in education, cultural, social and economic development. ICDL 2010 is the third conference in TERI’s ‘International Conference on Digital Libraries’ series. Apart from the other aspects, this conference has special focus on web-based methodologies. IGNOU’s participation in the event would help it strengthen its arena of ICT, Web-based methodologies and digitization for promoting seamless access to all. Nepal and Sri Lanka. The Speakers in the conference would be Prof. Michael Seadle ,Director, Berlin School of Library and Information Science, Prof. Dr Erich J Neuhold The Conference will include Tutorials, in which leading researchers and practitioners will present the tutorials to familiarize participants with the new and innovative tools and techniques DL development, Workshops with international experts,Business sessions, Exhibitors and Valedictory sessions.
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UNESCO collaborates with IGNOU Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) today signed an Agreement of Cooperation (AoC) for identifying special programmes and activities of IGNOU for Co- branding and the development of strategic cooperation through academic exchange and collaboration for advancement of quality education and training. Her Excellency Ms. Irina G. Bokova, Director General, UNESCO who delivered the IGNOU Silver Jubilee Special Lecture on “Building Inclusive Knowledge Societies in a Globalised World: Opportunities and Risks”, in the IGNOU campus, signed the AoC with IGNOU Vice Chancellor, Prof. VN Rajasekharan Pillai, today. Under the AoC, IGNOU and UNESCO have decided to collaborate in promoting an integrated system of research, training, demonstration, knowledge management and documentation activities in the fields of journalism and media studies, science education, teacher training and ICT-enhanced distance learning through effective and innovative use of new communication technologies, particularly in the rural, urban and semi urban areas, both in the country and in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The collaboration is also expected to enhance interdisciplinary research, strengthen local and indigenous knowledge systems and developing methods for evaluating and applying science and technology with a view to the development of sustainable practices for human resource development. Stating that this will be a year to build bridges between cultures and people, Ms Bokova also announced the launch of the International Year of Rapprochement between Cultures, for which UNESCO is the lead agency. “As part of it, we shall be setting up an interdisciplinary programme around the works of three great poets, three resoundingly human and universal voices: Rabindranath Tagore, the Chilean Pablo Neruda and Aimé Césaire from Martinique”, she added. Speaking about the other future endeavours of UNESCO in the Special Lecture, the Director General said, “Here in India, our General Conference approved the creation of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Peace and Sustainable Development, which I am confident will contribute to shaping more inclusive knowledge societies”. The UNESCO Director General further said that UNESCO will be inaugurating the 2010 edition of the ‘Education for All’ Global Monitoring Report, which will focus on deep inequalities within societies, next week at the United Nations, along with the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The report addresses the scale of deprivation and its underlying causes. It has developed a new tool for measuring marginalization that will help identify the key characteristics of those who are being left behind. The results highlight the powerful influence of social circumstances – being born in a poor household, living in a rural area, speaking a minority language – on life chances. There are also plans to create a High Level Panel on Peace and Dialogue among cultures composed of eminent persons from all fields and a similar panel on science which will advise UNESCO on the most effective policies to alleviate poverty and promote sustainable development. The function was presided over by Smt. D. Purandeswari, Honorable Minister of State, Human Resource Development and chaired by IGNOU VC, Professor VN Rajasekharan Pillai. Mr A. Parsuramen, Director UNESCO(India) was also present. In her presidential address, Smt. Purandeswari said, “India’s demographic advantage can only be realized if opportunities to the youth expand through education. Education is a powerful driver for socio-economic change and the expansion, inclusion and quality improvement of higher education through more spending and partnerships with private institutions, is the goal of the Indian Government.” | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Research Vacancies in IGNOU Consequent upon recent World Bank Project of over Rs. 1 crore to Indira Gandhi National Open University(IGNOU), temporary vacancies of Research Associates (RA) and Senior Research Fellows(SRF) have been created in the University. Details about the number of posts , applications, terms and conditions are given in IGNOU’s website: www.ignou.ac.in/adv/appointment.htm. The detailed bio-data including name and address, date of birth, qualifications , experience etc. may be sent to the Principal Investigator, School of Agriculture, IGNOU, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110068. It can also be e-mailed to baljitsingh45@yahoo.co.in, Ph-011-29533166,Fax-29533167, latest by 25.1.2010. IGNOU’s School of Agriculture has got the research grant of Rs. 1.04 Crores to undertake the prestigious project on ”Innovations in Technology Mediated Learning”-under ICAR-NAIP Project(Indian Council of Agricultural Research –National Agriculture Innovation Project). The vision of the project is to create a community of National Agricultural Educators and Researchers who will teach and add the latest learning material, contributing to sustainable agriculture and poverty reduction. This collaborative approach to education offers the chance to link research and learning into a coherent framework which focuses on problems of small farmers and generates more agricultural entrepreneurs. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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NEW YEAR MESSAGE FROM IGNOU VC Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) shall pay more attention in addressing the issue of meaningful employment to its graduates this year, announced Vice Chancellor Prof. V N Rajasekharan Pillai, in his New Year message, today. Initiating its series of campus recruitments, IGNOU is making arrangements with multi-national corporations and IT companies for placement of its students in the areas of Information Technology and Communication services. Interested students and companies may get in touch with the IGNOU Placement Cell. IGNOU has undertaken an ambitious and relevant study to understand the extent and level of EMPLOYABLE SKILLS that IGNOU students have been exposed to. The honest and quick response of students is being solicited on this issue through a specifically designed questionnaire that will reflect the desired outcome. Students can fill up an on-line questionnaire (www.ignou.ac.in and click on Campus Placement) and submit. They may also inform and encourage their classmates to do so. IGNOU will be happy to share the results and acknowledge their contribution in this exercise. Addressing the academics and administrative officials of IGNOU, Prof. Pillai emphasized that IGNOU’s Distance education system has proved itself to be an effective education and skill development model for highly populated countries all over the world. “We are also trying to enhance the quality of our services to the ever- increasing student population. Innovative and flexible use of different strategies of teaching and learning needs to be adapted in all our activities”, Prof. Pillai added. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Last date of admission form for Management Programme – OPENMAT-XXVII, Post Graduate Certificate in Oral Implantology and Post Graduate Certificate in Endodontics- OPENDEN-II The Last date for submission of admission form for Management Programme – OPENMAT-XXVII, Post Graduate Certificate in Oral Implantology and Post Graduate Certificate in Endodontics- OPENDEN-II of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is 10th January 2010. Student Handbook & Prospectus for Management Programme’ can be obtained from the registrar (SRD), IGNOU, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-68 and from all the Regional Centres of IGNOU by sending a sum of Rs. 550/- through a Demand draft/IPO in favour of IGNOU payable at New Delhi/ city of concerned Regional Centre or by paying Rs500/- in cash at the respective sale counters. The application and Prospectus can also be downloaded from IGNOU website www.ignou.ac.in. The entrance test “OPENMAT-XXVII” will be held on Sunday , 7th February’2010 all over the country. There will also be an Entrance Test for Post Graduate Certificate in Oral Implantology and Post Graduate Certificate in Endodontics- OPENDEN-II. Filled in form for Entrance Test “OPENMAT-XXVII”/ OPENDEN-II must reach, the Registrar (SED), IGNOU, Maidan Garhi New Delhi-68 by Registered Post/ Speed Post on or before 10th January,2010.
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IGNOU and NHRC to sensitize police in Human Rights
Indira Gandhi National Open University(IGNOU) and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC ) are developing sensitization programmes in Human Rights for Police officers. These programmes are expected to benefit the police constables and sub inspectors in India. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)was signed between the IGNOU and NHRC today for the launch of these programmes at three different levels, that is, a Basic course for constables/sub-inspectors, Advanced course for middle level police officers and ‘Training of Trainers’ Programmes. IGNOU Vice Chancellor, Professor VN Rajsekharan Pillai said,”This will be the first effort of NHRC along with IGNOU to incorporate Human Rights culture among the Indian Police, to develop people –friendly practices.” The First training programme under the partnership will be formally launched soon for Police Constables through the Haryana Police Academy at Madhuban. ”This training programme will be later followed in other states, in association with NHRC”, said Dr Srikrishna Deva Rao, Director, School of Law, IGNOU The programmes will be offered in both Distance Education and online modes, followed by interactive workshops. To this effect, IGNOU has developed a “ Human Rights Training Portal” along with interactive self-instructional materials . E-Gyankosh and School of Law, IGNOU, will provide technical online support and develop interactive self-instructional materials as well as participate in the instruction and training of the participants. NHRC will help in the development of the courses in the initial period in the form of resource support and funding the development of course materials, its printing, development of audio-visual materials and video lectures. The Basic course will have modules on: introduction to Human Rights, Protection of Human Rights, Police and Human Rights, Custodial Justice, Best Human Rights practices in policing and Case Studies.
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IGNOU City Centre in Connaught Place
A new IGNOU City Centre has been set up at the YMCA Tourist Hostel, Connaught Place, New Delhi to facilitate easy access to information about the University and its various academic programmes. The City Centre has been established to meet the information needs of aspiring learners and of the public besides helping learners –on –rolls in depositing and collecting documents like registration forms , exam applications and others. The Centre is taking efforts to organize counseling sessions and to set up help desks at places frequented by the public. It shall provide support services to prospective learners/ guardians and general public including the press personnel. The Centre proposes to set up Tele - Conferencing facilities for the benefit of students.
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Dr. Kasturirangan New ISRO Chair in IGNOU
Eminent Space Scientist and Member, Planning Commission, Dr K. Kasturirangan is the new ISRO Chair for Satellite Communication Education in Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). This Chair has been established in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to promote excellence in Research, Applications and Satellite Communications for Education. Visualising that satellite communications will play a critical role in the growth of Open and Distance Learning system in the country, the thrust of the Chair will be to define national level programmes that will be able to tap the potential of this technology and play a critical role in improving access as well as the quality of education at all levels. Dr Kasturirangan steered India’s Space research programme as Chairman of the (ISRO) for nine years. Under his able stewardship,the programme witnessed several major milestones including the successful launch and operationisation of the Polar Satellite Launch vehicle and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle. These efforts have catapulted India as a pre-eminent space- faring nation among the six countries that have major space programmes. Dr Kasturirangan is the recipient of a number of awards from the Government of India, including the Padma Vibhushan in 2000.He has also been the Member of Rajya Sabha. In 2002, France honoured him with its highest civilian award, ‘Officer of the Legion d’honneur’. Satellite based communication plays an important role in distance education. It is particularly effective in reaching out to disperse populations spread over vast geographical dimensions. With convergence of information and communication technologies , it can be used in a variety of ways for online and offline provision of learning resources. Satellites can also be used for carrying a rich mix of multi media materials and provide access to large databases at very low cost.
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IGNOU Announces new Programme in Financial Markets Practice
Indira Gandhi National Open University’s (IGNOU) School of Management Studies (SOMS) is offering a new Post Graduate Diploma programme in Financial Markets Practice, in collaboration with the Financial Technologies Knowledge Management Company(FTKMC),Mumbai, from January 2010 session . The programme uses standard IGNOU multi-media design and technology- aided delivery systems. The programe is open to Graduates of a recognized University. The duration of the programme is one year and the Programme fee is Rs. 10,000/-. Student Handbook & Prospectus 2010 for this programme can be obtained from Registrar, Student Registration Division, IGNOU, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi, or from any IGNOU Regional Centres, whose addresses are given in the University website. The cost of the handbook is Rs. 500/-. The application can also be downloaded from IGNOU website www.ignou.ac.in and submitted along with a DD/IPO for Rs. 500/- in addition to the Programme fee. The Last Date to submit the filled-in application forms at the concerned Regional Centre is 31st December, 2009.
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TRANSEXUALS TO HAVE A SEPARATE IDENTITY – CEC
While launching the course material for Indira Gandhi National Open Univerity's (IGNOU) BA (Philosophy) programme today, Shri Navin B. Chawla, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) announced separate identity for eunuchs or transsexuals on electoral rolls. The CEC was speaking at the 2nd Annual Mother Teresa Memorial Lecture on “Electoral Democracy in India” organized by the IGNOU and Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) at IGNOU campus, Maidan Garhi. The CEC said “In the last few months, I have addressed students at a number of campuses, when some of them suggested that the eunuchs or transsexuals should have an independent identity on the electoral rolls. Till now, they had to register either as male or female. I believed the request to be quite legitimate and it also related to the issue of individual freedom and a human rights issue”. “We examined the request in depth and permitted the transgenders to register as “Other” or “O”, if they wanted so to a follow-up, the Commission has revised the format of the electoral rolls, modifying the column head to indicate their sex as ‘Other’ where they do not want to be described as male or female. Besides relevant forms used by the Commission wherein there is a provisions of indication of sex of the elector, IT based formats and website, have been suitably amended. Necessary instructions have been issued to all the concerned electoral registration authorities in the country to give effect to the above decision of the Commission” he added. The speech focused primarily on the special efforts made by the Election Commission to make the electoral system more inclusive and socially sensitive.The Election commissioner elucidated on the steps taken so that Women, youth and socio-economically deprived sections could get their due place in the election process. He further added that The Commission is striving to realize this goal as their active participation is a necessity to strengthen democracy.. The Most Rev. Dr. Thomas Menamparampil, Chairman, CBCI, Commission for Education was the Guest of Honour, Dr. Thomas d’Aquino Seqeira, Deputy Secretary General, CBCI paid tribute to the Blessed Mother Teresa. The function was presided by Vice Chancellor, IGNOU, Prof. V N Rajasekharan Pillai. Dr. D.K. Chaudhary PVC IGNOU and Prof. Gracious Thomas, Coordinator, CBCI Chair IGNOU also addressed the gathering. The program also included a special screening of a Documentary on Mother Teresa and interaction of the CEC with students and audience.
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IGNOU holds Lecture on Narrative of Marginalization
Indira Gandhi National Open University’s (IGNOU) held the Silver Jubilee Lecture on ‘Aphasia, Amnesia and Inequalities: Narrative of Marginalization” by Dr. G.N. Devy, a prominent cultural activist and Human Rights campaigner, today. Dr Devy’s Community Development work in western India is spread over 1,200 villages. He is a founder of several institutions like Bhasha Research and Publication Centre for Conservation of Adivasi languages, the Adivasi Academy devoted to education and Development, the Denotified and Nomadic Rights Action Group, a Human Rights Action Group , Human Rights campaign and Himlok, an institute for the study of Himalayan Communities and Culture. The lecture offered a comment on the construction of ‘Knowledge’ during the colonial period leading to a loss of correspondence between ‘production of Knowledge’ and the cultural context within which the knowledge thus produced came to be situated. Dr. Devy narrated how several inappropriate descriptive categories came to be employed for social narratives adding to an already fractured society’s new processes of fragmentation in terms of ‘tribal’ and ‘notified’ communities. The lecture also analyzed the complex spectrum of linguistic diversity in India. Dr Devy commented on how the lack of access to higher education results out of these three legacies. By implication, he suggested ways of overcoming the challenges before higher education in India at the present juncture of a profound epistemic shift. The Silver Jubilee Lecture was presided by the IGNOU Vice Chancellor, Prof. VN Rajasekharan Pillai, and was attended by academics and students of the University, besides invited audience. The IGNOU Silver Jubilee Lecture Series is coordinated by Pro Vice Chancellor Dr. Latha Pillai and Dr. Babu P. Remesh from the School of Interdisciplinary and Trans- Disciplinary Studies, IGNOU , is the Convenor. It is a monthly event which is being organized as a part of the celebrations during IGNOU’s Silver Jubilee Year. Renowned experts and practitioners from different fields and academic disciplines will be invited to deliver talks. It is also planned that towards the end of this lecture series, a book containing the text of the various talks will be published. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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IGNOU’s INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH Over 28,000 students have been registered from 35 countries so far, to the various academic programmes of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and the number is ever increasing, announced Prof. V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, VC today. Female students are approximately 38 % and the programmes preferred are BCA, MCA, MBA, B.Ed and Bachelor’s Degree Programmes. Under the, pan African e-Network Project all 53 African countries Universities will be partnered with IGNOU. Afterwards IGNOU shall provide tele-education to SAARC countries for different professional programmes he added. Says Mr. N.M. Hedayathullah – “I was the first student to enroll with IGNOU in Saudi Arabia for the MBA programme. It have been great Honor and privilege to be part of one of the largest University in the world.” IGNOU has an assortment of partners. In Gulf countries the higher education is mostly in the private hands and therefore in UAE, Kuwait, Doha, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Singapore, Kenya, Mauritius, Nepal and Afganistan private institutions are our partners. In the Republic of Oman, an administrative body that manages all the Indian Schools with CBSE affiliation coordinates programme delivery. Mr.Ghemeri Raju Deepak Kumar, Food & Beverage Manager, Hotel de l’Annapurna Kathmandu, Nepal, declares – “Choosing IGNOU for my Masters in Tourism Management (MTM) has been one of the best decisions in my life. The knowledge and the skills I have obtained so far has helped me in my job.” In Maldives, the partnership is governed by a tripartite agreement , which includes Government of Republic of Maldives , IGNOU and Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India. A similar tripartite agreement involving Govt. of Seychelles, Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and IGNOU takes care of the higher education requirement of students at Seychelles. In Mauritius, IGNOU has an agreement with Mauritius College of Air, an autonomous body under Govt. of Mauritius. For Ms. Archana Kabra (MBA), Pulkit International Chief Administrator- “The credit for my present success goes to ICA from where I obtained an IGNOU BA degree,Iam currently pursuing my MBA from ICA. I am sure new avenues will open up. In Vietnam and Myanmar the tie-up is with Distance Learning institutions – Hanoi Open University in Vietnam and University of Distance Education, Myanmar respectively. IGNOU has kept its option open with the choice of partners and the emphasis is on the experience and the quality of the education provider. Ms. Sajida Fakhri, IGNOU student and Gold Medalist 2008 emphasizes - I joined the Masters in English course with IGNOU with some trepidation at my own ability to complete such a demanding course after such a long sabbatical. However the constant support of the IGNOU staff and the extraordinary study material helped immensely. In Sri Lanka the partnership is with Ministry of Higher Education through Distance Education Moderanization Projects to offer distance education capacity building programme. Under MoU with International Institute of Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA) and with Commonwealth of Learning (COL), IGNOU is offering programmes in Ethiopia, Gambia, Liberia, Ghana, Swaziland, Malawi, Nigeria, Jamaica, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Samoa, and Lesotho. Mr. Mohammed Baleegh Uzzaman Siddiqui, States the B.Com courses at IGNOU has given me the balance between practical know-how and management experience what I was looking for. My degree is very broad, offering me wide range of options. On the other hand the course was quite structured, which helps me to keep focused in the commerce field. With the help of IGNOU’s degree certificate I got job in Accounts & Finance Department of world class organization Islamic Development Bank and then I took admission in MBA at, Sikkim Manipal University and completed it. IGNOU acted as seeding for my masters.” Other collaborative venture of IGNOU in the international education arena relate to provision of training in open learning system and distance education methodologies to personnel of the open universities in developing countries and licensing of IGNOU’s course materials to open universities outside India. Academics and administrators from open universities in South Asia and Africa visit IGNOU either to familiarize themselves with the functioning of IGNOU or to undergo specific training in the development of self-learning materials and various aspects of media production. The USP of IGNOU is its course materials, much sought after by open universities in Tanzania, Kenya, Mauritius, Guyana, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka with the provision that the University can adopt the courses in its entirety to modify the courses to suit their needs. The Coordinator of the Center for Open and Distance Education, a Partner Institution of IGNOU in Kenya, Mr. J.M.Mbuthia says “ Our students include professionals, managers and other staff from public and private sector organizations who simply don’t have the time to attend a regular class, we give them an opportunity to get quality education in a flexible way. Dr. Silima Nanda, Director, International Division IGNOU. Says “IGNOU has also started its online programs in many subjects facilitating learners in any part of the globe to pursue their education. The open source ware of digitized study materials and videos of lectures and films through the You Tube are accessible to students. The research programs have also attracted a large group of learners and professionals globally.” | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sri Navin B. Chawla, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India shall deliver 2nd Annual Mother Teresa Memorial Lecture on “Electoral Democracy in India” and release a Book on Monday 21st December’09 at IGNOU campus. It is being organized by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI). Most Rev. Dr. Thomas Menamparampil, Chairman, CBCI, Commission for Education shall be the Guest of Honour. Dr. Thomas d’Aquino Seqeira, Deputy Secretary General, CBCI shall pay tribute to Blessed Mother Teresa. Prof. V N Rajasekharan Pillai, VC IGNOU shall preside over the function. The program shall include screening of a documentary on Mother Teresa and interaction of CEC with students and audience.
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Universities must again become hubs of research
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IGNOU sculpts Dream Flights Indira Gandhi National Open University has added yet another top-end course to its bouquet of pioneering frontline academic programmes. Tying up with CIAL (Cochin International Airport Ltd) Academy, IGNOU now offers MBA and other courses in aviation and airport infrastructure technology and management. It was on September 25 that Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan dedicated the CIAL Academy to the nation. The first batch of classes has also just begun. Built at a cost of around Rs. 6 crore, CIAL Academy is situated close to the airport, opposite the state of the art Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility which is fast nearing completion. PROGRAMMES The programmes that are being offered include a two-year MBA programme, and a one-year Advanced Diploma Courses in: (a) Airport Operations Management, and, (b) Air Cargo Management; and six-month Certificate Courses in: (a) Airport Ramp Handling, (b) Rescue and Fire Fighting, and (c) Security and Intelligence. Besides imparting knowledge in aviation management and aviation technology,
CIAL Academy aims to become a centre of excellence and help promote
professional and industry-oriented education by collaborating with specialised
institutions.
The academy is unique in more ways than one because the teaching faculty includes professionals purely from the aviation industry. Over 90 percent of the faculty come from within CIAL, experts who handle various departments of the airport. T.S. Gopi, the Academy’s Director, says, “There may be other institutes offering such courses, but they can only give theoretical exposure. The students here will, from Day One, have on-the-job classroom training and get the feel of working out of an airport.” CIAL Academy considered various options and felt that IGNOU was the best bet for more reasons than one. The most important — as it aimed to offer top-line management programmes, it felt IGNOU had the requisite expertise. Dr. K.S. Divakaran Nair, regional director of IGNOU in Kerala, said the university’s role is crucial to the success of the courses. “We monitor everything from the conduct of the entrance examination, to the interview and then the actual classes. Academic delivery is another area we monitor and we interact with students to find out about the quality of the lectures,” said Nair, adding that IGNOU sets the question papers and also evaluates them. Gopi is also excited about opportunities on offer for students. “A placement cell is being set up and we have already made contact with potential employers, including airports and airlines, even though hiring would happen only two years from now,” he says. All major Indian airports are evaluating capacity building. “Over 35 new airports in non-metro cities have been given the green signal. By the time they are complete, no less than 500 professionals would be required to operate them. And this is where our students would win hands down because they will already be exposed to all facets of an airport’s functions,” says Gopi. A.C.K. Nair, Airport Director, CIAL, who has close to two decades experience
of working in various airports in the country, says that trained and
qualified manpower is a lacunae when it comes to airport operations
and that the new academy will produce quality professionals. “The
structure of the academy has been well “There is no doubt that the quality of teaching would be the best anyone can offer because we have selected the cream from the airport here. Only 10 per cent of the faculty would be drawn from outside the aviation industry and they would handle non-aviation subjects,” the CIAL official adds. Hands-on, real-time “It was way back in 2000 when I reached the crowded Paris airport that I felt that the aviation industry certainly lacks top professionals.” “I thought, why not look for a management career in the aviation industry. In the United States, I lived near Miami airport, something which fuelled my passion for airports. Acquiring a management degree in aviation thus became my dream,” says Varghese. “While in the United States, I looked at various options for a professional career in aviation. Soon I heard that this academy, located close to my hometown, was being launched and I decided that my wait was over. I lost no time in taking the written and other tests,” Varghese adds. The students sit in smart classrooms with facilities that match those
of any international educational institute. In view of the academy’s
potential, the Kerala Government has recently allotted an “We know quite well that we cannot relax just yet though we do not have any competition at the moment. We know very well that other airports will build on our idea. But by then we would like to reach a position few can match in terms of the quality of the courses we would offer,” says Nair. In 1999, CIAL created history when it became the first greenfield airport in India formed under the public-private partnership mode. It is India’s fourth-busiest airport and hosts 10 domestic and 16 international airlines. Last fiscal, a record 3.5 million passenger used the airport. Fasten Your Seat Belt Programmes Specialty Seats Fee
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Cost of Indian Higher Education is 1/10th the cost of Higher Education in Europe - Dr Shashi Tharoor
Hon’ble Minister of State for External Affairs, Dr. Shashi Tharoor said, “ Despite India being a Developing country, there is a great depth and diversity of education pool available here. The cost of higher education in India is 1/10 th the cost of Higher education in a European country.” Dr Tharoor was speaking at an Education Summit organized jointly by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and the Institute of Marketing and Management (IMM) on “Marketing of India’s Higher Education Worldwide: Revisited”. The Ho’ble Minister further added that India also has institutes of repute like the IITs and the IIMs. And all that is needed is the proper marketing of India’s Higher education abroad. There is also a ‘Domestic’ demand for Higher education and the marketing of education abroad should not be at the cost of Indian students. Foreign education can take place if additional educational facilities are generated. This will also stem the exodus of Indian students going abroad for studies, he added. Dr Tharoor hoped that Public- Private Partnerships, like the one between IGNOU and IMM, would make Indian education more attractive worldwide. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Narendra Jadhav, Hon’ble Member (Education), Planning Commission, said, “Indian Universities should set up campuses abroad. This will give them a Global name and Indian teachers will get more exposure.” Summing up the major themes that emerged during the day long Summit , Dr. Latha Pillai, Pro-Vice Chancellor, IGNOU said ,” There is a need to develop Special hubs of Higher education, increasing the number of scholarships for foreign students, providing better infrastructure and introducing credit system to attract more students from abroad.” She further added that IGNOU is already marketing Indian Higher education abroad through its Pan –African network. Hon’ble Minister of State for External Affairs, Dr. Shashi Tharoor was the Chief Guest and Dr. Narendra Jadhav, Hon’ble Member (Education), Planning Commission was the Guest of Honour for the Summit , organized in the Capital. It was convened by Dr. Jagjit Singh, Executive President, IMM . The Co-Coordinators for the programme were Dr. Latha Pillai, Pro-Vice Chancellor, IGNOU and Dr. Pramod Kumar, Director, IMM. The Summit focused on opportunities available in the fields of Engineering
& Technology; IT & Management; Tourism & Hospitality and
Agriculture to students from South Asia, Central Asia, Middle-East,
Africa and Central America, at an affordable cost, right here in India.
The Subject experts in the Summit were drawn from both the Academia and the Industry. They spoke on the challenges faced by Higher education and deliberated on how Indian Higher education can be marketed to students abroad, so the number of foreign students coming to India for Higher studies can be increased. There are currently just 25,000 foreign students studying in India. The specialized sectors of Higher education such as Engineering and
Technology, IT & Management, Agriculture & Tourism & Hospitality
were taken for panel discussion with special emphasis to market them
in the Middle-East, Africa, South Asia and Central America. The Seminar
was divided into four Technical Sessions, each focusing on one of the
sectors in Higher Education.
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IGNOU to Train Academics of Sri Lanka Indira Gandhi National Open University(IGNOU) School of Education (SOE) is holding a Training Workshop for a group of academics from the National Institute of Education(NIE), Sri Lanka. The workshop will focus on “Curriculum Design, Development and Evaluation and will be held from 14th- 23rd December, 2009. The workshop aims to provide the participants with the theoretical underpinnings of curriculum and the major issues related to it. It will also give relevant hands-on experience, keeping in mind the demands of the 21st century. In addition, participants will also learn the know-how of development and transaction of curriculum through the electronic media and online delivery techniques. Field visits to schools and national organizations like NCERT and NEUPA have been scheduled to provide an enriching experience. IGNOU and WWF to Jointly offer PG Diploma in Environmental Law Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Centre for Environmental Law (CEL), World Wide Fund –India (WWF-India), to jointly run Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Law. The programme will be offered in the July 2010 session through the School of Law (SOL), IGNOU. On the anvil is a Masters programme in Environmental Law. The event was presided over by IGNOU Vice Chancellor, Professor VN Rajasekharan Pillai and attended by the faculty and staff of IGNOU and WWF. Speaking on the occasion, Professor Pillai said,” There is a wrong perspective that Development can only happen if we compromise with the environment. Real Development, on the other hand, will happen only if the environment is sustained. I hope that the new programme will present the right perspective of development to the students”. He further added that IGNOU would be interested in introducing programmes in conservation of Species and Biodiversity. IGNOU could also offer the programme to other Universities, he said. Hoping that the programme would spread knowledge and awareness about enviro-legal matters to a wider audience, Mr. Ravi Singh , Secretary General and CEO, WWF-India said, ”IGNOU’s expertise in long-distance education will be beneficial for many students and researchers in pursuing this highly specialized programme.” He added that the main issue facing environmentalists today was the dearth of knowledge among the common people about the repercussions of climate change and dwindling species. CEL is already offering the Diploma programme in Environment Law in the online mode and has trained 500 students. The collaboration with IGNOU is expected to increase the reach of the programme to a wider section of society and is expected to develop Environment lawyers and supporting professionals in India.
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First On –Campus, Term- end Exams for Face-to-Face Programmes at IGNOU
The first On- Campus, Term- end Examinations for Face-to-Face Programmes of Indira Gandhi National Open University(IGNOU) shall commence tomorrow and will conclude on 21st January, 2010. The exams will be held for MA Social Work, MSc Chemistry, MA Journalism and Mass Communications, amongst others. The University has established Examination Centres at the New Classroom Block between Block 6 and 9 at IGNOU campus, Maidan Garhi. On this occasion, IGNOU Vice Chancellor, Professor VN Rajasekharan Pillai said,” IGNOU is now looking forward to working on the Right to Education, Skill Development, strengthening the large number of study centres and consolidating the existing programmes.” With the availability of Educational Satellite(Edusat), the University is poised to take giant steps towards Information and Communications technology, web and satellite based education across the globe and pursue flexible and blended learning further. The VC emphasised that the IGNOU system can be an effective model for education communities all over the world. The Open and Distance Learning system has brought into its fold a large number of students, who have got transformed into a useful human resource for promoting integrated national development and global understanding. Although the primary aim of Open and Distance education has been to improve the Gross Enrollment Ratio, this is not to take place in isolation. The quality of teaching-learning processes needs to be improved. Technology capacitated distance education has enabled the university to improve the quality of distance education classrooms as well as to enhance the reach of education. IGNOU is continuously modifying and adapting the nature and mode of education delivery. The enthusiasm of the journey has equally been supported by the Government with adequate outlay for higher education to achieve the target of increasing the participation rate in higher education, he added.
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Signs of the Future Indira Gandhi National Open University’s (IGNOU) Bachelor of Arts programme in Applied Sign Langauge, the first of its kind in the world, is preparing hearing-impaired students for higher education. Twenty-year-old Sheena Kaul sits in the first row of her undergraduate
class, a notebook in hand with ‘Jammu and Kashmir’ written
over it. Animated and ever-smiling, Kaul, who hails from Kashmir, dreams
of becoming a filmmaker after graduation. But with a difference: She
wants to make films for people who have hearing and speech impairment
— the community she Wearing a printed, yellow kurta, she gestures with her hands and tries to say something, unsuccessfully though, as one of her instructors explains something to her in sign language. Some of her classmates try to speak without uttering a word — to tell the stories of how they have come from distant homes in search of education and success. This is the scene in a classroom where 30 hearing-impaired students are pursuing a novel Bachelor of Arts programme in Applied Sign Language at Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). Launched in collaboration with University of Central Lancashire (UcLAN) of Britain, the programme, experts believe, is the first of its kind in the world. Launching the programme, Vice Chancellor V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai said, “IGNOU is aiming to create through the programme sign language teachers and professionals to support the hearing-impaired. Teaching assistants and interpreter trainers in the field are in short supply in India. “According to an estimate, only 5 percent of hearing-impaired children attend schools in India. Even where special schools for the hearing-impaired exist, they do not have adequate technical and teaching staff. We must create qualified professionals in the field.” Kaul’s classmate is 22-year-old Renu Ahuja from Mumbai. She wants to teach in a school for the hearing-impaired after completing her higher education. She has one demand, though. “No one has ever interviewed us. You are the first one — do publish it in a newspaper and we will show it to our parents who were not very supportive and caring,” she said, as an interpreter translated that into English. “My dream is to study more, graduate from here and then get a
Master’s and a Ph.D. After that, I shall teach in a school for
the hearing-impaired and help improve their condition,” she said
in an emotional tone, while ‘speaking’ to one of her teachers.
“It’s really great to ‘graduate’ in our own
“The programme will help the hearing-impaired better their life, both socially and financially,” said Prof. P.R. Ramanujam, Director of IGNOU’s Staff Training and Research Institute of Distance Education (STRIDE). “The larger impact, however, will be their contribution to hundreds of schools for the hearing-impaired across the country ,which are suffering for want of qualified and trained teachers,” said Sibaji Panda, course leader and a lecturer at the UcLAN. Panda, who himself is hearing-impaired, not only helped design the course after toiling for nearly two years but also arranged scholarships for 10 of the students from a Netherlands-based voluntary organisation. “Why only India, all Third World countries will benefit from this course,” Panda said. Agreed Mohammad Kakuja, a student from Uganda. “The education scenario for hearing-impaired students in my country is not good and here in India it is great. I came to know about this course while surfing the internet and am indebted to IGNOU for it.” “After completing four years of study here, I will go back to my country and start teaching in a school for the hearing-impaired. What I am learning must go back to people like me who have been suffering,” added the 26-year-old Kakuja. Guan Xeunsong, a student from the Henan province of China, was enthusiastic about his arrival in India. “I want to learn about the culture of the hearing-impaired. About Indian sign language and many other aspects of such a unique course,” he said. He used to teach in a school for the hearing-impaired and plans to resume teaching after completing his education here in Delhi. But for Babloo Kumar, a student from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, the aim is slightly different. “People and governments have neglected us. They humiliate us in a restaurant, at bus stations, in a ration shop or while travelling in train. After we become well-educated, we can confront them with confidence and ask the government to listen to our demands — for equal opportunity in both education and employment.” “Please treat us as equals. We can do everything other people can do. This education will empower us to be where we belong,” said the spirited 18-year-old who also wants to become a teacher. Added Rabindra Nath Sarkar: “Both my parents are deaf. One of their siblings is deaf too. Only my sister is normal. By getting educated, I want to improve the condition of my community back home in Kolkata.” Prof. Panda said the course would make every student a bilingual expert— both in sign language and in English. “It will teach them both the languages. Besides theory classes, they will do practicals, both at the university and at schools for the hearing-impaired. They will also learn computers, which will assist them in learning and teaching. The course is unique and I can say this with confidence,” he added. Gitanjali Nair, who translates for both Prof. Panda and his students, is equally optimistic. “Forgetting every problem, these students want to study hard, make friends and know each other’s cultures. When they pass out from this university, they will be assets for their communities,” Nair said, smiling and encouraging students in a language understood by her pupils. The signs are eloquent! A box item to go with the story: SIGN UP NOW! Programme Unique feature Fee Admission
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IGNOU-IMM Provide Fillip to Management Education
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is organizing Education Summit-II on “Marketing of India’s Higher Education Worldwide : Revisited” in collaboration with Institute of Marketing and Management (IMM). Hon’ble Minister of State for External Affairs,Dr. Shashi Tharoor will be the Chief Guest. The other special invitees at the Summit include Dr. Narendra Jadhav, Member (Education), Planning Commission and Prof. P. J. Kurien, Hon'ble Member of Parliament - Rajya Sabha & National President, IMM. The Summit is being organised on Saturday, December 12, 2009 at IMM Convention Centre, Marketing Tower , Qutab Institutional Area. The objective of the Summit is to focus on opportunities available in the sector of Higher Education in India especially in the fields of Engineering & Technology; IT & Management; Tourism & Hospitality and Agriculture and how these opportunities can be harnessed by students of South Asia, Central Asia, Middle-East, Africa and Central America to their benefit, at an affordable cost in comparison to the rest of the world. It would also highlight how IGNOU is spreading education through distance mode, not only in India, but also to the world outside as per convenience of the students, irrespective of boundaries, social, political and economic. The Summit will be chaired by Professor V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice Chancellor,IGNOU. Dr. Jagjit Singh, Executive President, IMM will be the Convenor of the Summit. The Co-Coordinators for the programme are Dr. Latha Pillai, Pro-Vice Chancellor, IGNOU and Dr. Pramod Kumar, Director, IMM.
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IGNOU provides free access to Knowledge with FlexiLearn
Prospective students can now log on to Indira Gandhi National Open University’s (IGNOU) FlexiLearn at www.ignouflexilearn.ac, to pick the subject of their choice and gain education absolutely free. Flexilearn provides free and easy access to IGNOU’s courses. It integrates free learning resources with learning management systems for anyone who wants to learn, whatever their educational needs and experience. The platform provides an alternate way of awarding degrees and diplomas. The student can pay the fee later and get a Certificate. FlexiLearn offers courses in a completely open and flexible environment with a number of unique features, like, a visitor to the FlexiLearn site has the option to register for any particular course or for a full length programme. A modular approach is followed wherein a learner can combine course credits to obtain a degree or diploma of their choice. In addition, the platform provides a self-learning environment with a list of Academic Advisors/ Course guides to act as mentors. The Personal Learning Environment (PLE) will also have interactive tools like Discussion Boards, Blogs, Wikis, podcasting, RSS Feeds etc. Each course also has the option for both online as well as offline assessment, as per the choice of the learner, who can take exams ‘on demand’. A complete tracking mechanism is integrated into the FlexiLearn platform through e-portfolios of individual learners. The E-portfolio will keep a formal record of all formal and informal studies carried out by the registered learner. Certification of the courses will be based on stipulated time spent on a course and completion of all learning activities identified by the faculty. The FlexiLearn platform provides an opportunity for prospective learners to sample a course before enrolling and also help them in choosing courses and programmes of study. Course-wise registration facilities will also offer topic specific continuing education programmes. This platform also provides a flexible framework for Schools of Studies to identify and combine different courses already available, for offering tailor-made, need-based programmes. In the long run, this unique initiative will help in achieving IGNOU’s objective of democratization of education by taking it to the doorsteps of the learners and providing high-quality education to anyone who seeks it. For further information on this press Release Please contact Dr. Uma Kanjilal, # 9810488895.
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IGNOU Students can now avail on- Demand Exams Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has brought a more flexible and learner- friendly scheme of “On – Demand Examination”. In this scheme of examination, students who have completed the period of minimum study hours and submitted all their assignments can now choose the date of examination as per their convenience and preparation, and do not need to wait for six months for term end examinations. On student’s demand, IGNOU has also kept the fees for this examination at par with the term end examination. The Scheme is a boon for those who have failed or could not appear in any paper for some reason. It will also benefit those students who could not find time to appear in all the courses of a programme in the term end examination, in one go. Another important feature of the scheme is that the result of On-Demand Examination will be announced within two weeks of appearing in the examination. This will help the students whose maximum period of study is about to expire or those who need immediate results for the progress of their career. Students, however, have to ensure that they fulfill the eligibility criteria as set for the term end examination for that course or programme.for availing this facility. On-Demand Examination scheme is expected to improve results and stop malpractices, as the entire process of registration, paper generation and result preparation is computer based and examination is carried under camera surveillance. In addition to the six monthly term -end examination, IGNOU also provides the facility of On-Demand Examination in all courses of Bachelor Preparatory Programme (BPP), Certificate in Guidance (CIG), Certificate in Teaching of English (CTE) and Certificate in Organic Farming (COF). Many more programmes will be added under this scheme very soon. The registration for the On-Demand Examination can be done only on-line
through IGNOU website. If exam fees is paid by credit card, the Hall
Ticket is generated instantaneously and the student can take its printout.
Registration fee can also be paid through bank challan and bank draft
in favour of IGNOU. In that case an acknowledgement receipt is generated
immediately and the student is required to submit the original bank
challan or bank draft along with a copy of the acknowledgement receipt
at the concerned Regional Centre. As soon as the bank challan or bank draft is received at the Regional Centre, the registration will be confirmed and its information will automatically be sent to the student’s account, which can be accessed by him/her using his/her registration number, allotted at the time of on-line registration. To begin with, the On-Demand examination was being conducted only at the two Regional Centres of Delhi, but now it is being extended to the Jaipur Regional Centre as well. For appearing in the examination, the student will have to come to the exam centre on the date and time selected by him/her. He/She must have their Hall Ticket issued at the time of registration and original identity card issued by the university. Students desirous of going for On-Demand Examination can visit the
IGNOU website www.ignou.ac.in,
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Management Summit to Attract Foreign Students Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is organizing an Education Summit in collaboration with the Institute of Marketing and Management (IMM), focusing on opportunities available to students from South Asia, Central Asia, Middle-East, Africa and Central America, at an affordable cost, right here in India. India is expected to become the Education hub of the world with 20 new IITs and IIMs, and the setting up of numerous new private universities. This will attract students seeking quality Higher education to the country. The topic of the Education Summit-II is “Marketing of India’s Higher Education Worldwide:Revisited”. Hon’ble Minister of State for External Affairs, Dr. Shashi Tharoor will be the Chief Guest. The Summit is being held on Saturday, December 12, 2009 at IMM Convention Centre, Marketing Tower, Qutab Institutional Area. The Summit will have technical sessions in Enginering and Technology, IT and Management, Tourism and Hospitality, Agriculture followed by a Special Session which will include addresses by Dr. Shashi Tharoor, IGNOU Vice Chancellor, Professor VN Rajsekharan Pillai, Dr. Narendra Jadhav, Member (Education), Planning Commission and Prof. P. J. Kurien, Hon'ble Member of Parliament - Rajya Sabha & National President, IMM. The objective of the Summit is to focus on opportunities available
in the sector of Higher Education in India especially in the fields
of Engineering & Technology; IT & Management; Tourism &
Hospitality and Agriculture and how these opportunities can be harnessed
by students. It would also highlight how IGNOU is spreading education
through distance mode, not only in India, but also to the world outside
as per convenience of the students, irrespective of boundaries, social,
political and economic. The Summit will be chaired by Professor V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice Chancellor,IGNOU. Dr. Jagjit Singh, Executive President, IMM will be the Convenor of the Summit. The Co-Coordinators for the programme are Dr. Latha Pillai, Pro-Vice Chancellor, IGNOU and Dr. Pramod Kumar, Director, IMM. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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IGNOU Institutes Raman Chair for Science Education Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) Vice Chancellor, Professor VN Rajasekharan Pillai today announced the establishment of Raman Chair in the University. Prof. P T Manoharan, has joined as Raman Chair Professor in IGNOU. Prof. Manoharan is currently Ramanna Fellow, Department of Science & Technology and an Honorary Professor (JNCASR, Bangalore) at IIT, Madras. He is the Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, the Indian Academy of Sciences, the Third World Academy of Sciences and the World Innovation Foundation. Raman Chair, an integral part of IGNOU’s School of Science (SOS), is created to promote interdisciplinary research and teaching involving all four branches of basic sciences, particularly in the context of the eroding attraction and declining participation of youngsters towards science, scientific research and development. Professor Pillai said,” It is gratifying to witness a growing realization that basic scientific research is the real key to technological development without which a nation like India cannot evolve into a global economic power and sustain the tempo of its increasing need and thirst for new and sophisticated technology.” He further added that the health of a nation is dependant on the health of its scientific base which will in turn propel new technology. A manifold increase in the country’s investment in science education and scientific research can be seen as evidence for a keenness to develop our scientific base taking cognizance of the globally competitive scenario. The initiatives and objectives of this Chair will include coordinating the promotion of integrated science teaching and multidisciplinary research activities, conceiving, initiating, coordinating and propelling academic and research activities and planning and execution of integrated Master’s level degrees. Its aim also encompasses inviting expert teachers and scholars from all branches, including mathematics, to come together in an attempt to create a convergence between the modalities of IGNOU and science institutions of repute, such as Indian Institute of Science, Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research. The Chair will also work towards creating projects to develop curricula and syllabi for new courses at all levels—degrees, diploma and certificates. It will innovate new methods of science- education through the use of modern communication technology and promotional activities in the field of educational and training materials such as writing of books and multimedia materials for different modes of learning needs. Developing courses in multidisciplinary subjects such as nanoscience, green chemistry, business mathematics will also be an objective of the Chair. It will identify bright young talent in the final years of schools from all sections of society and regions to participate in the development of science through seminars, with the help of scholars from all over India. Last and not the least, Raman Chair will work with national policy making bodies to map out strategies for science promotion at all levels. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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IGNOU receives IDRC research support grant to host the Global Secretariat for telecentre.org Academy International Development
Research Centre (IDRC), a Crown Corporation and an agency of the Government
of Canada has entered into a collaboration agreement with the Indira
Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) to host the Global Secretariat
of the telecentre.org Academy. With a research support grant of INR
34 lakhs, this activity will help incubate the Secretariat develop its
work plan, build and formalise the partnerships with key stakeholders
and develop its long term business plan and strategic directions. The
Global Secretariat will be advised by a Global Governance Committee
which will be drawn in from the expertise and leadership from the telecentre
movement. The world of telecentres encompasses over one million grassroots level knowledge workers, over 10,000 policy makers, over a 1000 network leaders, promoters and advocates and over a billion community members. Telecentres are public places where people use computers, Internet, and other electronic technologies to bring knowledge economy at their doorstep. These stakeholders come together in a network to focus on inclusive development reaching the poor and marginalised using new information and communication technologies (ICTs). The telecentre.org Academy is a global network of people and organisations committed to making a difference in development by empowering people in communities around the world. The telecentre.org Academy will be establishing appropriate skills development programmes to promote livelihoods and knowledge based practices among the grassroots communities. Lead Organisations steering the Academy at a global level include the International Development Research Centre, Canada; Indira Gandhi National Open University, India, telecentre.org Foundation, Manila, Philippines; and a consortium of national telecentre.org academies from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, East Africa, Egypt, India, Malaysia, Peru, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Philippines. University Partners who have formed a consortium to deliver bench-marked international standard courses include University of Brasilia, Brazil; University of La Frontera, Chile; IGNOU, India; Open University, Malaysia; University of Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique; Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Peru; University of Philippines Open University, Philippines; University of Colombo, Sri Lanka; Sukothai Thammarthirat Open University, Thailand; and Kyambogo University, Uganda. The strength of these partnerships is evident by the Curriculum Commons website that acts as a repository of the knowledge and training content to encourage use, re-use, translation, and adaptation around the world. Readers are encouraged to visit the website www.telecentreacademy.org and www.ignou.ac.in to learn more about various innovative initiatives. The Honorable President of India, Smt Pratibha Devisingh Patil, in her address to the joint session of Parliament on June 4, 2009 called for “the extension of the National Scheme of Common Service Centres or e-kiosks to be suitably repositioned to be a network of Panchayat level Bharat Nirman Common Service Centres to provide government services to citizens in rural areas”. With infrastructure like broadband connectivity in every panchayat coming up in the next three years, the focus on building capacities of staff in the 240,000 Panchayats will be a key input that IGNOU will extend through customized training programmes for e-kiosk operators and managers under this international collaboration.
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IGNOU Inaugurates First Sanskrit Seminar Indira Gandhi National Open University’s (IGNOU) School of Interdisciplinary and Trans-Disciplinary Studies (SOITS) inaugurated a One-day Sanskrit Seminar in the Convention Centre, IGNOU. The occasion also marked the formal launch of Online certificate programme in Sanskrit, jointly offered by IGNOU and Chinmaya International Foundation(CIF). The Chief Guests for the function were Shri KN Shrivastava, Director General, Archaeological Survey of India and Acharya Bhadant Gayan Jagat. Several distinguished Sanskrit scholars delivered lectures during the Seminar. Dr Vandita Arora from IP College, Delhi University (DU) delivered a lecture on Veda and Vedanta and Dr Didhiti Chakraborti, Head, Deptt of Sanskrit, elaborated on ‘The concept of education as reflected in ancient Sanskrit texts’. Delivering the inaugural speech, IGNOU Vice Chancellor, Professor VN Rajasekharan Pillai said,” IGNOU has plans to launch several advanced programmes in Indology and Vedanta as well as Certificate programmes in other Indian languages.” He further said that there is a need to revamp Sanskrit education and Sanskrit scholars should learn English to make the spread of the language easier. Speaking on the occasion, Shri Shrivastava said that ‘Sanskriti’ and Sanskrit are inter-linked. Without an understanding of Sanskrit, it is not possible to understand Indian culture and Ayurveda. He also stressed on the relevance of preserving our heritage and culture for economic development of the country.
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IGNOU Ranking The Indira Gandhi
National Open University (IGNOU), has been ranked 15th in India in terms
of its visibility on the Internet and scholarly papers on the World
Wide Web, announced IGNOU VC V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai. Globally, the ranking for the premier distance education institution has jumped 477 places over the past year, says Cybermetric Lab, the largest public research institution in Spain that conducts the ranking among 15,000 universities The ranking is based on the number of pages recovered from four search engines — Google, Yahoo, Live Search and Exalead — the number of unique external links received, and the number of papers and citations for each academic domain. “As a university in the open and distance learning space, it is important for an institution like IGNOU to harness technology and use the latest communication tools to reach out to students,” said IGNOU Vice Chancellor V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai. “At IGNOU, our web presence is very important to us,” Prof. Pillai added. IGNOU offers state-of-the-art education not only through face-to-face classes, but also via webcasts, telecasts and video conferencing. The objective of the ranking is to promote Web publication, with the primary purpose of supporting open access initiatives of these institutions as also to encourage electronic availability of scientific and other academic material, the web performance of in institution is below expected positions according to their web policy, promoting substantial increases in the volume and quality of thir electronic publications.
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IGNOU - UNESCO Join Hands for Quality Media Education UNESCO will certify IGNOU media programmes New Delhi, 21, November: UNESCO will jointly certify the MA Programme in Journalism being taught on campus by IGNOU’s School of Journalism and New Media Studies(SOJNMS) as an ideal model for media education in the developing world. The UNESCO curriculum has been adapted for this programme. Mr. Armoogum Parsuramen, Director UNESCO South Asia stated this while inaugurating the two day national symposium was organised by the School of Journalism and New Media Studies IGNOU in collaboration with UNESCO on the ‘Challenges and Opportunities of Media Education in India.’ Prof. Shambhu Nath Singh, Director SOJNMS promised the extension of virtual classroom facility to the South Asian nations. He was responding to the popular demand for support raised by the participants from the SAARC countries. The design, development, implementation and upgradation of the UNESCO Curricula will be aided by SOJNMS, IGNOU. The school will act as a helping and monitoring agency to develop standard media education in the sub continental region. Ms. Iskra Panevska, Communication and Information Advisor for South Asia, UNESCO reinforced the need for future collaborations with IGNOU and expressed the willingness to train media educators in the South Asian region. Prof. Singh said that SOJNMS in collaborations with UNESCO will institutionalize media congress every year to share the experiences of media educators and practitioners across the globe. Mr. Parsuramen said that with this symposium UNESCO-IGNOU can further create a platform to address various issues in the filed of education such as training of teachers, journalists and developing innovative academic programmes in the area of preserving cultural heritage. The function was presided by Prof. V.N.Rajasekharan Pillai, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, IGNOU. He announced the inception of a new ISRO Chair for developing next generation communication technology for mass education through EDUSAT. This initiative would help millions of people of the country to have access to education. Dr. R Sreedhar Director CEMCA, one of the partner institutes for the symposium says he looks forward to further fruitful collaborations with SOJNMS. In the two day debate over the standards and varied dimensions of media education, the stalwarts from industry and academia raised the case for a strong collaboration between the two spheres to train the emerging workforce. B.P. Sanjay, former Director, IIMC and Vice Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Central University, Professor JS Yadav, former Director IIMC and Chariman IMS, Suneet Tandon, Director IIMC Delhi, Asghar Wazahat, Director MCRC, Ifthikhar Ahmed, former Director MCRC and Dean(Television) FTII, Pune, Prof. Rohan Samarjiva, renowned media academician, Prof. Biswajit Das, Director Cater for Cultural Media and Governance JMI, Prof. Pushpesh Pant, JNU, Prof. Anand Kumar, renowned sociologist from JNU, Prof Ashok Ogra, Director APJ institute of Mass Communication, Prof. Vinod Pavarala, Dean S.N. School Univ. of Hyderabad, Dr. Vibodh Pathasarathy, Dr. Meera Desai, SNDT University, Mumbai and the likes advocated the need for strong technical and educational hold in academics. Siddharth Varadhrajan, Chief of National Bureau, The Hindu, Pankaj Pachauri, Managing Editor, NDTV and Vice President of Broadcast Editors Association of India and Shravan Garg, Dainik Bhaskar stressed upon the need to improve the research activities in media education. Mr. Pankaj Pachaury invited media institutes to initiate collective research efforts to support media industry in the country. Mr. Sunit Tandon in response to this call said that the premiere media institutions with the proper support of the industry can initiate such research activities to upgrade the quality of contemporary media practices and content. Media educators from across the globe came forth to deliberate upon the strong emerging needs to train professionals for the market. Dr. Arvind Singhal from the Center of Communication Studies University of Texas talked of using media for community development. Resource persons from Finland, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives and various Indian states shared their experiences in running media programmes in their respective countries.
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IGNOU Kickstarts ‘Student Satisfaction Survey’ In line with
international trends and specifically UK Universities, Indira Gandhi
National Open University (IGNOU) Vice Chancellor Professor VN Rajasekharan
Pillai today launched ‘Student Satisfaction Survey’
for the benefit of its students. This is one of the initiatives
started by the University in its Silver Jubilee year. The survey tries to quantify students’ basic understanding of concepts related to their chosen subjects and whether the learning materials and academic counseling provided by IGNOU is able to clarify these concepts. It aims to assess student satisfaction levels specifically in the following areas: quality of printed learning materials and supplementary study materials like video/audio, the organization of academic sessions, performance of academic councilors and IGNOU staff in the Regional Centres and whether learning materials are received by students in time. Students can send in their feedback by clicking on the link ‘Student Satisfaction Survey’ displayed prominently on the Home page of the IGNOU website: www.ignou.ac.in. IGNOU plans to take corrective actions, based on the feedback received.
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Guidelines for IGNOU Community Colleges Introduction
Need AnalysisPrior to launching programmes the agency should have done a need analysis of the local job requirements and opportunities and incorporate these findings into the curriculum. It should have active linkages with rural, agricultural, industrial and commercial organizations of the locality for empanelling part-time instructors providing on the job training to students and provide job placement to successful students. Organizational StructureThe college will constitute the following bodies to facilitate smooth functioning of its academic and administrative activities: 1. Community College Board: will be the executive body of the college. The Board will manage the academic matters of the college relating to appointment of faculty, approval of programmes leading to award of Certificate/Diploma/Associate Degree, and regulate the finances of the college. It shall consist of the following members:
The term of membership will be 2 years and the Board will meet at least twice a year.2. Academic Committee will be the principal academic body of the college responsible for the maintenance of standards of instruction, examination and linkages with the industry/community. The Academic Council will:
It shall consist of the following members:
The term of membership will be two years and the Committee will meet at least thrice a year. 3. Examination Committee: will be responsible for the smooth conduct of internal assessments, mid-term examination and term-end examinations. It will be the custodian of processes related to evaluation such as question paper setting, answer script evaluation, moderation, timely announcement of results and handling of examination related grievances. The composition of the committee will be as follows:
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IGNOU
Programmes for Social leadership Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and the International Centre for Sign Languages and Deaf Studies (iSLanDS Centre) at the University of Central Lancashire, UK have launched an unprecedented new sign language programme to benefit the professional education of deaf students throughout India and internationally. The iSLanDS Centre is an international hub for sign language research in Preston, UK, and mainly works with partners in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East. The Indian programme includes the first-ever BA degree in Applied Sign Linguistics in India and a one-year preparatory course, targeted at deaf signers. Students will earn both Indian and UK degrees upon graduation. Prof. V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice-Chancellor, IGNOU informed that in July this year, the first group of deaf students will begin a preparatory year of studies at IGNOU, the largest distance education provider in India and the national apex body for quality assurance in distance education. The one-year preparatory course will lead up to the BA Applied Sign Linguistics degree, which is due to start in 2010. This course aims at producing language teachers competent to teach literacy and sign language to children, adults, interpreters, parents of the deaf, and teachers for India’s 550+ deaf schools, as well as internationally. This activity is one of the flagship programmes of IGNOU through the Staff Training and Research Institute in Distance Education (STRIDE), IGNOU headed by Prof. P.R. Ramanujam who is also the coordinator of this programme. Course leader Sibaji Panda, MA, said: “Currently in India, most sign language tutors have no formal university qualifications and most teachers in deaf schools have no sign language qualifications. To address this substantial gap, we aim to admit 40 students annually onto the course, which is a dual-award degree programme accredited in both the UK and India. We are holding student recruitment events in May at Kolkata, Chennai, Bangaluru, Baroda, and Mumbai.” Sibaji Panda is the first deaf Indian to study for a PhD in sign language linguistics, and is one of the founding trustees of the Ishara Foundation.Professor Ulrike Zeshan, director of the iSLanDS Centre, said: "We are very keen for the BA programme to be international right from the beginning. Therefore, we are offering a number of scholarships for both Indian and international students through the Deaf Empowerment Foundation. Applications are already coming in from countries such as Uganda, Mongolia, Thailand, and Zambia."She added: "Through this BA programme, deaf students will gain professional qualifications at university level. For the first time, deaf communities will be able to speak with a voice of authority on matters that concern them, empowering their communities in a sustainable way.” This programme also adds real social and economic benefits by providing access to education for neglected parts of society. As the Indian economy grows, marginalised populations are increasingly able to take up educational opportunities. This kind of course provision is a huge step towards resource development in a previously marginalised sector.”The iSLanDS Centre has also worked alongside Mumbai’s Ishara Foundation to set up a literacy programme to teach English to deaf people through sign language. As not all deaf students may be ready for education at BA level, the Ishara Foundation is holding pre-university English literacy support classes to get students ready to enter the BA programme. This is part of a wider English literacy programme founded by the Ishara Foundation and academically supported the iSLanDS Centre, in which deaf students learn English through sign language. This programme is central to the Ishara Foundation’s aim of improving deaf achievement and providing tertiary education streams for deaf students. Noorin enrolled on the Ishara Foundation’s literacy course after being taught by a hearing teacher who used oral communication and no sign language. She said: “I never understood my teacher fully. After I passed my exams, my mother urged me to join a vocational course in garment fashion designing, but later I dropped out because I was not interested. I then stayed home doing nothing, until my uncle and mother found out about Ishara Foundation and I was admitted to the English course. There were deaf students and the most surprising part was that the teacher was deaf and signing. I started to learn and I became fascinated. I told my mother that I wanted to continue learning English.”Another successful student and intern, Shalaka, said: “I was brought up in an oral school for the deaf, but I never understood my teacher’s verbal instructions and I could not read English newspapers. I joined the English course after a deaf friend told me about it. I became more skilled at English grammar with the help of sign language instruction, and got very interested and active in my learning. I began to understand simple English in the newspapers and TV subtitles. Later I got an internship opportunity under Ishara Foundation’s school project, and started teaching English through sign language to young deaf pupils. I would love to work as teacher for the deaf.”For the purpose of teaching English literacy through sign language, the iSLanDS Centre has been developing an online learning platform as part of a research project funded by the UK-India Education and Research initiative. This project, which is implemented together with the Indian partners at IGNOU and Ishara Foundation, and the British Deaf Association as UK partner, will bring English literacy right to the doorstep of deaf learners. Project leader on the Indian side is the director of IGNOU’s Centre for Staff Training and Research in Distance Education (STRIDE), Professor Ramanujam, and his Centre also hosts the new BA.Across India, the Ishara Foundation runs a number of study centres and sends out the best of its own students and schools for the deaf in order to teach English literacy through sign language. The number of beneficiaries has grown quickly to over 400, and some of them will certainly be able to eventually join the BA programme at IGNOU. The iSLanDS Centre, IGNOU and Ishara Foundation together are developing a vision for a complete Deaf College, where Indian and international deaf students could study a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in a sign language using environment that is fully accessible to them. |
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IGNOU
starts courses on Professional practices in In a step towards addressing the growing needs of the financial markets, the School of Management Studies of IGNOU in collaboration with Financial Technologies (India) Ltd., Mumbai is launching a series of short-term and long-term programmes in the areas of equity, derivative, currency and bond markets and professional practices in Financial Markets. A one-year Post-Graduate Diploma in Financial Markets Practice will be launched as the first step from July 2009 onwards. The programme which is heavily practice-oriented will be on a modular pattern consisting of several independent stand-alone modules and can be upgraded to a Masters in Financial Administration (MBA) after undergoing one more year of study in various advanced specialisations.Financial Technologies Knowledge Management Company (FTKMC), a constituent of the Financial Technologies Group, is a leading provider of knowledge solutions and skills in the financial industry. Knowledge for Markets is a major initiative of FTKMC, under which it conducts numerous activities in the realm of financial education and certification, consultancy, research and advisory, reports and studies covering various asset class markets, including equities, commodities, currencies, debt, banking and financial services, etc. The Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Markets Practice, is a unique initiative in developing education and knowledge on financial markets, providing reach and access to students and professionals across the country. In the background of the growing needs and importance of superior skills required in the financial markets industry, the course is designed to provide greater thrust and focus on practice perspectives on the financial markets, which could enhance the scope for greater opportunities for employment as also entrepreneurship.The academic content for the programme is designed by experts drawn from academia and industry as also experts from IGNOU and FTKMC. The expert group that designed the course curriculum consists of the following members:
The Programme has five courses: (i) Equities Markets (ii) Derivatives Markets (iii) Commodities Markets (iv) Currency and Debt Markets (v) Financial Markets ProfessionalWhile the first four courses will provide the students a comprehensive knowledge on the entire range of financial markets, the fifth course is designed to provide professionals skills and expertise in various roles and job opportunities available in these markets. Thus, the programme combines market knowledge with practice and professional opportunities that make it unique as also immensely useful to the students.The MOU was signed in Mumbai by Mr. U S Tolia, Registrar, IGNOU and Dr. Jignesh Shah, Chairman and Group CEO, Financial Technologies Ltd.V. N Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice-Chancellor, IGNOU, said, “IGNOU is pleased to collaborate with the Financial Technologies Group to spread education and knowledge on financial markets through our nationwide network. The coming together of the two institutions will mark a major step in expanding the reach and access of the education and knowledge on financial markets to scores of students and professionals across the country in an effective and affordable manner. Given the rapid growth of the financial sector in India, this endeavour would be of great significance in developing expertise and skill-sets that would further strengthen and sustain its pace of growth.”Jignesh Shaw, Chairman and Group CEO, Financial Technologies (India) Limited, said, “The Financial Technologies Group has strong commitment to develop education and knowledge on financial markets nationwide and provide easy and affordable access to students and professionals across the country. In this endeavour, we are happy and privileged to partner with IGNOU, which enjoys the unique distinction of being a pioneering facility for distance education in the world.” Commenting on FTKMC’s partnership with IGNOU, Joseph Massey, Director, MCX Stock Exchange, said, “The collaboration will harness the synergies of MCX-SX in providing rich and insightful inputs to the students in the practice of financial markets. |
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IGNOU enrolling project handlers If
you plan to construct something, you need to organise yourself
about how to go for it. There are certain definite ideas about
the shape of things which would follow soon as you start working
to translate the plan into action. Here comes the need for training
of how successfully a plan or project can be managed. Come July,
Indira Gandhi National Open University will start its fresh campaign
for creating world-class managers of projects. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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IGNOU Community Colleges likely to start from July
Eminent
social workers from some NGOs, vice Chancellors of state level open
universities, UGC member Fr. Xavier Alphonse, representatives of
leading organisations in the movement like Young Mens Christian
Association and All India Women Conference attended the conference | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Download the Calendar for the year 2009-10 Stride Training Calendar for the year 2009-10 The Staff Training and Research Institute of Distance Education (STRIDE) has brought out its calendar for the year 2009-10. The organisations of all types -- government and semi-government, private, partner institutes whichever need their staff be trained -- will now be able to apply for their turn for teachers training at IGNOU. The calendar covers wide range of training schedules in various disciplines. The training programmes are short-term and of various types of academic, technical, professional, non-academic and administrative domains. The target groups are staff of IGNOU, state open universities, correspondence course institutes, and other agencies and organisations in India and overseas. Following IGNOU mission, STRIDE also identifies training needs of different target groups in ODL, builds up a resource base of up to date information and training materials, courses and expertise, develops training strategies and materials, organises and conducts staff development activities, promotes research in ODL, and also offers degree programmes leading to M.Phil and Ph.D degrees. STRIDE is an IGNOU wing, which aims to develop capacities among resource persons engaged in the Open and Distance Learning pedagogy. Training of teachers being the key to assure quality education in Open and Distance Learning mode of pedagogy, STRIDE conducts various training programmes for faculty, administrative and support staff engaged in the ODL in India and abroad. Imparting staff training for over two decades thus, STRIDE has been internationally acclaimed. It has served the distance education training needs of Asian, African and the Caribbean countries. Indeed in areas of staff development, training, research and publications, STRIDE has made its presence felt in the ODL of 45 countries. According to Prof PP Ramanujam, Director of STRIDE, A slew of interests from more nations -- such as from the North and South Americas and Europe -- have been received at IGNOU headquarters. This training programme for the year 2009-10 are indicative of the range and depth of issues handled by STRIDE.On the concept of STRIDE, Vice Chancellor Prof V N Rajasekharan Pillai says, It has a special role in promoting quality education through various training programmes. We are considering more autonomy to STRIDE training activities, which is likely to increase enormously in near future. Apart from training
of resource persons, STRIDE also offers consultancy on programme
and course development of the ODL. In the past it offered its services
to Department of Post and Telecommunication, Indian Army, Bhutan,
SOUs and CCIs in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Africa. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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MS Swaminathan calls for Jal Swaraj, as IGNOU launches water harvesting courses Indira Gandhi National Open University today launched through teleconferencing a Certificate programme in Water Harvesting and Management (CWHM). The university also made all its 60 Regional Centres the Special Programme Centres (SPCs) for this programme. The learning package will be supported by audio video CDS and cassettes made available at SPCs and Regional Centres. IGNOU Regional Directors have been asked to identify experts in their regions who are working in areas of water harvesting, management and conservation to be the Programme Incharges of CWHM. Addressing the campus audience comprising IGNOU scientists, directors of schools, academics, executives and nationwide audience at Regional Centres, their resource persons and learners gathered there, Vice Chancellor Professor V N Rajasekharan Pillai advised, Do not look for university professors or academics for teaching and training this certificate programme. Identify a person in each RC as Programme Incharge who is working credibly in water harvesting and water management areas. They will do local case studies, contextualise programmes ideas, and train learners.Lauding the launch of CWHM courses for learners, particularly when monsoon is near, IGNOU Chair for Sustainable Development and Father of Green Revolution Professor MS Swaminathan said, I am quite excited about the programme. It is a need-based demand for a Jal Swaraj Movement. 60% of agriculture in India is rain-fed. Rainfall is different at different places of the country, somewhere like Ladakh and Leh it is 100 mm in average, whereas at some places like Cherrapunji it is 1200 mm. Doing quality water management and harvesting means ensuring food security for life systems. There is need to do water harvesting in urban areas, educating construction workers and all of us. At Chennai, there is a Rain Centre which provides all information about rain, harvesting, costs, in a single window system of delivering knowledge. We need to do many similar things throughout the country. Indeed harvesting of rainwater and sunlight is a part of modern-day architecture. In rural India, under the Panchayati Raj Institutions, the workers should be given training about water harvesting and management which would effectively support the national rural employment guarantee schemes. Indeed it is very timely, that we should launch a Jal Swaraj Movement in the country to ensure water harvesting and management.Only 4% of world fresh water reserves are available in India for supporting 16% population of the world. Mismanagement of water resources results in recurring floods and droughts. Elaborating challenges India faces, Professor Pillai said, Considerable efforts were made since Independence to increase irrigation potential for food security from 22.6 million hectare in 1951 to 102.77 million hectare in 2007. Most of utilizable irrigation potential has been fully exploited. There is no further scope of its enhancement. In order to meet ever increasing demands for water in various sectors, both rural and urban, rainwater harvesting is of utmost importance today. This Certificate programme will impart necessary skills and expertise to understand water harvesting techniques. The learners will be able to become trainers and organisers themselves at households and community levels for efficient water management in terms of its usage and conservation.The CWHM aims to sensitize people to augment water resources, train students about necessary skills to understand the water harvesting techniques, create trainers and organisers from the learners who would train others and organise households and community people for efficient water management in terns of use cum conservation of water. The CWHM will comprise four courses. These are Introduction to Water harvesting, Basics of Hydrology, Water Harvesting, Conservation and Utilization, and Practical Training at a Water Harvesting Agency.The programme has been made open to everybody, as all other IGNOU programmes are. However, the School of Agriculture (SoA), which has developed the programme and will coordinate with learners about its day-to-day running, targets class 10th pass-outs and bachelor of Preparatory Programme students at study centres. The SoA also identifies job opportunities. Says its director Professor BS Hansra, There will be jobs in government and non-government organisations such as Urban Housing Boards, Real Estate Builders, Soil Conservation and Ground Water Boards as Water Harvesting Assistants. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Two day National Seminar on “Emerging Issues in Disability Studies in India” The National Centre for Disability Studies (NCDS)of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is organizing a 2 day National Seminar on “Emerging Issues in Disability Studies in India” on 5 – 6th March, 2009 at Convention Centre, IGNOU, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi 110068.The seminar will provide an opportunity to interact with the eminent experts/scholars and the stakeholders from the disability sector and give an insight for the future .The seminar will help in various ways:The objectives of this seminar are :1. To identify the focus areas for developing educational, vocational and awareness-generation programme for persons with disabilities, their parents and family members, professionals providing services in the disability sector.2. To develop Innovative approaches and policies for education and training of the persons with disabilities through distance education.3. To identify the appropriate information and communication technologies and software for education and training in the area of disability. 4. To share expertise with other universities/ institutions in the country.Under the main theme of the seminar the focus will be on the following sub-themes :-
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20th
Convocation of IGNOU Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has opened a City Centre in the heart of Delhi, an additional Regional Centre in Delhi and yet another at NOIDA to ensure better student support in the Capital region. This was announced by Prof. V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai, VC, IGNOU at the Convocation today. Seven more regional centres have been opened at Goa, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Nagpur, Vijayawada, Thiruvananthapuram and Jorhat. These apart, 300 new learners support centres (LSCs) have also been started in the country to ensure better outreach, he added.The Chief Guest of the Convocation was Professor R. Natarajan, Former Chairman of AICTE and Former Director IIT Madras. Stressing the utility of information and technologies (ICTs) for dissemination of education and acquire knowledge, the celebrated educationist said,” these are leading towards the evolution of a hybrid teaching environment where the lectures and lab facilities of traditional curricula are combined with online lectures or sessions and online accessible lab facilities. This type of scheme is referred to as flexible education.”VC, IGNOU explained how the university handled new challenges throughout the year of 2008 to create new paradigms and benchmarking. As many as five initiatives were taken for development in 2008 with a view to taking education to the doorsteps of learners. These are by initiating Convergence Scheme and Research and Teaching Assistantships (RTAs), starting new think-tank Centres, ensuring Enhanced Technological Access and instituting novel admission systems. The Convergence Scheme projected the targets of the 11th Plan to access higher education by making optimal use of both conventional and ODL systems. As many as 10,000 learners in 359 conventional institutions have responded till December 2008. Students undergoing courses in conventional education were allowed to enrol also for vocational courses of IGNOU and have been made eligible to get degrees or diplomas from both the systems, in the year. That way their innate skills have been honed and their prospect of livelihood was brightened. The infrastructure of the conventional institutions were used at idle hours to effectively run the Convergence Scheme. The RTA initiative has twin objectives : Furthering systemic and discipline-based research and grooming up future generation ODL teachers. In all 126 RTAs have been selected, on a substantial stipend, to undertake discipline-based research and teaching at different locations across the country.Six new centres of learning have been created during the year under report to streamline dynamic ODL systems for capacity-building of professional of various disciplines. These centres are : Advanced Centre for Informatics and Innovative Learning (ACIIL), Centre for Corporate Education, Training and Consultancy (CCETC), IGNOU Institute for Vocational Education and Training (IIVET), North East Centre for Research and Development (NECRAD), IGNOU Institute for Professional Competency Advancement of Teachers (IIPCAT) through ODL, and IGNOU Centre for ODL in Research and Training (ICORTA).For effective ODL functioning, 48 mbps bandwidth connectivity for webcasting Gyan Vani and Gyan Darshan programmes has been made. Online programmes like Cyber Law and MLIS (Masters in Library Science) have been made possible by a gateway, IGNOU ONLINE. IGNOU was honoured with ‘Manthan’ award. A new paradigm was created as SMS Alerts through Mobile Telephony for dissemination of some specified educational information. An integrated tool for dissemination of database of information known as ODLSoft has been created. Besides, students now can take admission anytime and online. Systems have been made flexible to accommodate on-demand examination also. The university is in an advanced stage of developing a number of academic programmes, some high on demand are MA in Mass Communication, PG Certificate in Bangla-Hindi Translation and Bachelor of Vocational Education and Training programmes. Flexibility being the hall mark of IGNOU’s success, a slew of initiatives have been proposed this year. These initiatives are : setting up of 200 Community Colleges offering two-year tertiary education and associate degrees, education of corporates through consultancy services, accreditation of ODL institutions, and credit transfer systems to facilitate learners mobility scopes across institutions. At this Convocation Prof. Ram Reddy Memorial Gold Medal for the highest marks in any Masters’ Degree Programme in Social Sciences was awarded to Ritu Kataria, Prof. Grover award (Cash award) for the best among the physically Handicapped Meritorious students in B. Com was awarded to Sreeshan Mukhand. The CEMCA cash award of Rs. 10,000 for the best IGNOU female student in any degree programme pertaining to technology was awarded to Namita Bajaj and Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam cash award of Rs. 10,000 for the Gold Medalist in BSW was awarded to Mr. Mithun Sharma. 1,34,762 Degrees/ Diplomas including 63 gold medals were awarded to eligible students at this convocation. This convocation was simultaneously held through Tele Conferencing via satellite at the Regional Centres of the University. The country wide telecast of this programme was available through Gyan Darshan and Webcast at www.ignou.ac.in. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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IGNOU launches courses to groom entrepreneurs New Delhi: India has a special breed of class which emerges from drawing-room gossips. The class is called entrepreneurs. Two things are common to them – luxury of gossiping supported by familial affluence and connection to source working capital. One thing is natural to them – going sick soon after having started, because most of them succumb to the lure of high-life. Addressing this fundamental lacunae, the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Industries (MoMSMI) has come forward with ideas of quality empowerment through knowledge and a fat bag full of money to sustain ideas.The MoMSMI recently came up to the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) with ideas to discipline and groom the enterprising talents in the country into a vibrating entrepreneurial force – so that they produce enough to contribute to the national economy. Indeed, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) were contributing about 8% to the national GDP till 2007, before the meltdown. IGNOU tied up with NOIDA-based Alliance College of Management and Technology (ACMT) at an MoU signing ceremony to launch two academic training programmes – Certificate in Entrepreneurship & Skill Development and Diploma in Entrepreneurship & Skill Development. What is most interesting is the fact that the concept of such a tie-up dawned in an IGNOU Director of Patna Regional Centre, Dr Ram Chandra, hailing as he did from a state which often draws flak for non-development.This tie-up with an industrial biggy was the sixth by IGNOU School of Vocational Education and Training (SOVET) shepherded by Professor CG Naidu, its director. The five earlier ones were with Accenture (for BPO training), Security Skills Council of India (for security men's training), CII (for industrial training), Apollo (for paramedical training) and Pearl Academy of Fashion (for training in fashion designing). A slew of other vocational training tie-ups are on cards. Set up in 1991, the ACMT today has become a front-runner in providing vocational training in north India. It earned professional reputation in skill development training for industries like printing and publishing, information technology, retail chain management and garment. Education is it new effort as it signs up with IGNOU for prospective programmes for skill development and entrepreneurship training. Even the |