Indian Gandhi National Open University

The IGNOU designed, developed and delivered high quality academic programmes in the Humanities, Sciences and Social Sciences as well as in professional areas like Computer Applications, Education, Engineering, Management, Nursing and Tourism. The University has currently -101 programmes comprising 900 courses to offer. Most of the University’s programmes are structured on modular pattern, leading to the award of certificates, diplomas and degrees.



The enrolment in the university has been rising rapidly. From less than 4,000 students in 1987, the enrolment rose to over 1,60,000 in 1998 and is currently about 13,11,145 The University has a vastly heterogeneous student body: demo-graphically diverse (age, gender, region, social background, etc.); educationally dis-advantaged (most of them without the traditional qualifications for entering into higher education and who have had no other opportunities to make up for the lost time); and economically weak (large majority belonging to low and lower middle income groups). Most of these students are in the lower rungs of their career looking for opportunities to improve their qualifications, professional competence and/or in acquiring new skills.



The University has demonstrated that modern communication technologies can be effectively harnessed in providing access to educational opportunities and that high technology need not necessarily be a high cost medium. The University has, at its inception, set up Audio-Video production facilities with the generous support provided by the Governments of UK and Japan. These facilities were substantially augmented with a major grant given by the Government of Japan. The current Electronic Media Production Centre is a state-of-the-art technological facility that significantly enriches the university’s learning packages. The media packages of the university are transmitted on the nation-wide television network as well as through selected radio stations. A dedicated, satellite-based teleconferencing network is being developed on an experimental basis in cooperation with the Indian Space Research Organisation for providing interactive teaching- learning support to distance education programmes offered by open universities in India.



EDUSAT the first Indian satellite built exclusively for serving the educational sector. is a collaborative project of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Indira Gandhi National Open University(IGNOU), Department of Space Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). It is mainly intended to meet the demand for an interactive satellite based distance education system for the country. It strongly reflects India’s commitment to use space technology for national development, especially for the development of the population in remote and rural locations.



For the delivery of various services to its students, the IGNOU has developed a nation-wide network of 48 Regional Centres 6 Sub-Regional Centres and over 1,271 Study Centres, all over India.The Study Centres and Work Centres are located generally with existing educational or training institutions who have made their facilities and services available to the IGNOU students.


satish .......... 16 July