‘IGNOU at par with international institutions’

NEW DELHI - The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is at par with other national and international institutions of higher learning, Vice-Chancellor V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai said Saturday.

Pillai said that IGNOU has established itself as a national resource centre and a provider of quality education through its high-quality self-learning material and innovative programmes.

“Since 1985, the university has come a long way by contributing significantly to the development of higher education in the country through the Open and Distance Learning mode,” Pillai said in a statement.

The university offers 473 study programmes through over 3,500 courses to cumulative student strength of over three million students.

“Education is disseminated in conventional, as well as emerging inter-disciplinary areas, such as consumer protection, disaster management, environment, human rights, women empowerment and child development, resettlement and rehabilitation, among others,” Pillai added.

According to the varsity officials, the university develops its academic programmes through 21 schools of study and has established a network of 61 regional centres and over 3,000 study centres all over the country to provide easy access and effective support services to the learners.

IGNOU has entered into bilateral and multilateral alliances with several countries like Australia, United Kingdom, France, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Ethiopia, Madagascar, and Liberia.

The university has facilities for audio, video, radio, television, interactive radio and video counselling, as well as tele-conferencing.

“IGNOU has also been identified as the nodal agency for running a 24-hour educational TV channel- Gyan Darshan - in collaboration with other institutions of higher learning,” Pillai added.