The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), established by an Act of Parliament in 1985, has continuously striven to build an inclusive knowledge society through inclusive education. It has tried to increase the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) by offering high-quality teaching through the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode.

The University began by offering two academic programmes in 1987, i.e., Diploma in Management and Diploma in Distance Education, with a strength of 4,528 students.

Today, it serves the educational aspirations of over 3 million students in India and other countries through 21 Schools of Studies and a network of 67 Regional Centres, around 2,000 Learner Support Centres and 20 overseas institutions. The University offers about 200 certificate, diploma, degree and doctoral programmes, with a strength of nearly 250 faculty members and 230 academic staff at the headquarters and regional centres and over 35,000 academic counsellors from conventional institutions of higher learning, professional organisations, and industry among others.

The mandate of the University is to:

  • Provide access to higher education to all segments of the society.
  • Offer high-quality, innovative and need-based programmes at different levels, to all those who require them.
  • Reach out to the disadvantaged by offering programmes in all parts of the country at affordable costs.
  • Promote, coordinate and regulate the standards of education offered through open and distance learning in the country.
  • To achieve the twin objectives of widening access for all sections of society and providing continual professional development and training to all sectors of the economy, the University uses a variety of media and latest technology in imparting education. This is reflected in the formulated vision of IGNOU, keeping its objectives in focus, which reads:

The Indira Gandhi National Open University, the National Resource Centre for Open and Distance Learning, with international recognition and presence, shall provide seamless access to sustainable and learner-centric quality education, skill upgradation and training to all by using innovative technologies and methodologies and ensuring convergence of existing systems for large-scale human resource development, required for promoting integrated national development and global understanding.

The University has made a significant mark in the areas of higher education, community education and continual professional development. The University has been networking with reputed public institutions and private enterprises for enhancing the educational opportunities being offered by it. As a world leader in distance education, it has been conferred with awards of excellence by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), Canada.

The University is committed to quality in teaching, research, training and extension activities, and acts as a national resource centre for expertise and infrastructure in the ODL system. The University has established the National Centre for Disability Studies and National Centre for Innovation in Distance Education, to focus on specific learner groups and enrich the distance learning system.

With the launch of EduSat (a satellite dedicated only to education) on 20th September, 2004, and the establishment of the Inter-University Consortium, the University has ushered in a new era of technology-enabled education in the country. All the regional centres and high enrollment Learners Support have been provided with active two-way video-conferencing network connectivity, which has made it possible to transact interactive digital content.

Emphasis is now being laid on developing interactive multimedia and online learning, and adding value to the traditional distance education delivery mode with modern technology-enabled education within the framework of integrated distance and online learning.

Over the years, IGNOU has lived up to the country’s expectations of providing education to the marginalised sections of society. Free of cost education is being provided to all jail inmates across the country. A large number of SC/ST students have been admitted to various programmes of the University, also efforts have been made to reach onto persons working in the Armed and Security Forces of the Country.

Vision and Mission of the University – 2030

In the context of contemporary developments, the changing needs of society and the challenges and opportunities offered by new technologies, there are areas where the University has to venture to keep pace with the demands of the new age learners and make the University a world-class institution of higher education and research.

VISION

“To be a premier Open and Online University of the country with national and international recognition for its technology-driven quality higher education catering to the needs of learners and society guided by the core values of openness, flexibility, affordability, inclusiveness, lifelong learning and excellence”.

MISSION

  • Expanding the reach of the University to achieve the targeted GER and include the unserved target groups including the SEDGs into the fold of higher education
  • Strengthening the University’s international presence
  • Rethinking the processes of designing, developing and delivering an enhanced learning experience through technology-enabled teaching-learning methods
  • Offering market-driven professional programmes of global standards for preparing the youth for global competitiveness and employability
  • Promoting the development of holistic and multidisciplinary programmes and courses embedded with skills in all degree programmes to enhance environment sensitivity, human values, professional ethics, and employability quotient of the youth
  • Developing academic programmes catering to the need of neglected regions and communities and engaging them in socially productive activities
  • Strengthening industry-institution interaction for design and development of curricula relevant to the higher education ecosystem for the mutual benefit and growth of industries and the University
  • Fostering collaboration with the government/non-governmental organizations/research institutions to strengthen the learners’ engagement with community development, research, skill development, employability, etc.
  • Updating and globalizing the curriculum to keep pace with the changing requirements and relevance in global scenario; Monitoring and maintaining strict schedules in the development, delivery and revision of programmes
  • Enabling mechanism for lateral entry and flexible exit options in the majority of the UG/PG programmes
  • Providing a high quality teaching-learning environment to independent learners capable of using online technologies with the required skills and competencies of a knowledge society
  • Increasing the output of graduates with employable skills in both research and professional fields
  • Incentivizing research both academic and systemic for quality improvement and better academic visibility
  • Enhancing the quality of academic and sponsored research by promoting applied research, innovation, incubation and entrepreneurship; Redesigning of learner support services at all levels and strengthening online support services to learners
  • Introducing e-Office management and automation of human resource and financial management in the University to reduce human intervention
  • Providing continuous professional development and self-empowerment of academic and non-academic staff by inculcating motivation, teamwork and leadership
  • Sensitizing and engaging the academic and non-academic staff with issues such as gender, environment and sustainability, social cohesion, national integration, human values and professional ethics, etc.
  • Attracting and retaining qualified and competent teachers, academics and non-academic staff and boosting their morale to provide better services
  • Institutionalizing quality assurance through monitoring and review the functioning of the University to promote outcome-based practices
  • Encouraging alumni for contributing/giving back to the institution
  • and Developing international visibility and recognition by increasing the University’s ranking at the global level