Foundation day celebrated at IGNOU on 19 November 14

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) celebrated its 29th Foundation Day on 19th November 2014 at the Convention Centre, IGNOU Campus, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi.

The Foundation Day Lecture was delivered by Prof. Yogendra Singh, Professor Emeritus JNU, New Delhi on "Challenges of Social Change in Contemporary India".

Delivering the Foundation day lecture, Prof. Yogendra Singh, Professor Emeritus JNU, stressed the need for facing the challenges by India viz infrastructure problem, quality and inequality prevelant, dependence on agriculture sector which is 57% which need to be shifted to manufacturing sector so that capital grows.
India also faces challenge of illiteracy in the country with particular reference to gender inequality viz girl education and reaching the far flung and remote areas of the country. Another crucial challenge is of caste system which determines economic and social life he added.

The social change in India had two ideological streams viz national movement and Colonial experience. India was earlier compared to China for the national development and social change.

The general perception was that India should follow China and we had to convince military as well as academics not to draw parallels between the two countries since India is unique, its traditions are different.

Prof Singh stressed that whatever happens in the world is bound to affect India and ultimately the work culture that emerge will supersede all other factors.

Prof. Singh emphasized that India had supremacy of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) rather than manufacturing sector and is, urban based.. Hence India must concentrate on manufacturing sector besides an agricultural sector.

Prof. M.Aslam , VC, IGNOU in his inaugural address said IGNOU was the first University in the country that has made study centres and appreciable education interventions in 58 Jails across the country. IGNOU provides free education to all Jail inmates.

IGNOU has currently 228 academic programmes on offer through 67 Regional Centres spread across the country ably supported by 2667 Learner Support Centres at the cutting edge level. IGNOU currently a cumulative student strength of over 3 million. There are 33212 academic counselors interacting with our learners on a part time basis he added.

Besides, the Foundation lecture, variety of activities were organized throughout the day and the programme was webcast live. IGNOU, the world’s largest university, was established by an Act of Parliament in 1985’ To advance and disseminate learning and knowledge by a diversity of means, including the use of any communication technology, to provide opportunities for higher education to a large segment of the population and to promote the educational well being of the community generally, to encourage the Open University and distance education systems in the educational pattern of the country and to coordinate and determine the standards in such system’.