Learning unlimited at Indira Gandhi National Open University

NEW DELHI: For an institution its size—current enrolment is over 30 lakh—Indira Gandhi National Open University (Ignou) is progressing at a surprising clip. It launched over a dozen new programmes last year; its massive network of centres is widening at home and abroad. And it is probably the only university in the country to boast a "Satellite Earth Station" .

The university's decentralization policy, implemented over 2007-08 , and advances in communication technology have helped it wean off the postal department though the India Post office on Ignou's Maidan Garhi campus still exists. Part of the responsibility of admissions and course material distribution has been transferred to the regional centres and learning centres . Ashok Kumar, registrar, Material Production and Distribution Division (MPDD), says they now send books from Delhi to regional centres by truck. Earlier, packets were mailed to students. Since the quantity that could be sent was limited, it sometimes took as long as six months to cover all of Andaman Islands that's the entire duration between two admission cycles (January and July).

Ignou courses are designed by the schools in consultation with experts. Once ready, MPDD reformats the "manuscript" into the standard A4-size Ignou format. The proof is checked and the final copy is handed over for printing. Paper is bought by Ignou and handed to printers as per requirement. The printed material is then stored at one of two warehouses where it is gathered into 'sets' , stacked and bundled. The student is either sent material from resource or learning centres, or can collect it. "The learning centre is where the student meets Ignou," says vice-chancellor M Aslam. Over 50,000 "counsellors" , invited from other institutions, clarify doubts at the centres which are also equipped with technology allowing interaction with Delhi-based faculty-members .

Technology has enabled Arvind Dubey of the School of Tourism to lecture half a dozen students in Cameroon on tourism management from a studio in Ignou's Electronic Media Production Centre. K Ravi Kanth, director, EMPC, says multimedia content at Ignou has matured from audio-video cassettes to content delivered using fibre-optic links, servers and satellites. Lectures delivered at the Maidan Garhi studios are transmitted by one satellite(Edusat) to 182 learning centres in India, broadcast by another (Insat-3 C) on two TV channels and one radio channel. Programmes are transmitted to Africa by optic-fibre , webcast from a server and also accessed through a digital repository. Questions can be asked and answered in real time. A large production studio is being upgraded with high-definition television (HDTV) equipment by the NHK, Japan , under a Japanese grant-in-aid programme. The Japanese had helped set up the EMPC with the first lot of equipment. "We got the Japanese grant a third time, following a rigorous evaluation of the utilization of the previous grant-in-aid equipment. I guess they were impressed with how we used the equipment meant for only production to even broadcast as the MHRD's Gyan Darshan and Gyan Vani initiatives were launched later," says Kanth. The CDs, DVDs and material on eGyanKosh will be of HD quality soon. But Ignou will have to wait for the rest to catch up. Most Indian viewers still need full HD TV sets and more Indian channels are to start transmitting in HD before Ignou does.

It's from Ignou's Satellite Earth Station that all content for the channels Gyan Darshan-1 , Gyan Darshan-2 , UGC's Vyas and IIT's Eklavya is uplinked. GD-1 has recorded lectures and enrichment programmes ; GD-2 airs live lectures; Eklavya—meant for engineering students—generally features strings of numbers. The 21 schools of Ignou submit their requirements and a month's schedule for recording is created. Often, lectures are by guests from other universities.

The examination and evaluation process at Ignou is a mammoth exercise. Over eight lakh students write exams annually. Answer scripts have to be moved from exam centres—there are 700-900—to seven evaluation centres. "The location of evaluation centres is confidential," says registrar, Student Evaluation Division , Pushplata Tripathi.

Marks are collated with scores from assignments and practicals graded at regional centres—and sent to students. Assignments are uploaded online or included in the packet; they are submitted at learning centres. Online exams are only for a few courses. However, a store just outside the Maidan Garhi campus promises "solved Ignou assignments for Rs 20."

The university is now bent on "reaching the unreachable" as registrar, Student Registration Division, Pankaj Khare puts it. Over the last decade, it has added centres in 'difficult' areas such as Dantewada and Malkangiri. There are nine in the northeastern states and a separate division for them. A "sub-regional centre" is planned for Jagdalpur ( Chhattisgarh).

The number of scheduled caste students has doubled since 2008. There are centres at 75 central, state and district jails. "We have a policy to open centres at all central and district jails," says Srikant Mohapatra of the Regional Services Division. Aslam has asked all his regional directors to advertise courses on posters and banners and organized pre admission counselling sessions to draw still more students. He's going for the world title. "We want to be number one in the world," he says. Ignou has already made considerable headway in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. Next stop: the West.