Although contemporary India boasts an impressive number of 400 universities and 18,000 colleges, the plain truth is that by global — especially western and Chinese —standards, they are small and infirm institutions, heavily regulated by the Central and state governments. Consequently they are unable to expand capacity quickly to meet the rising demand for tertiary education.

Therefore a mere 9 percent of youth of India’s college-going age group of 17-24 is in tertiary education — a percentage way below the US (83 percent), UK (60 percent) and China (20 percent). Against this dismal backdrop a recent initiative of the Delhi-based Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU estb. 1985) to improve student access in higher education shows promise.

The novel initiative tentatively titled ‘Convergence of conventional education and open and distance learning (ODL) systems’ and jointly conceived by IGNOU, the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), was approved by the Union ministry of human resource development in March. This initiative which will become operational from the start of this academic year, proposes to blend the best of university education and distance learning by sharing human resources and infrastructure.

To action this promising initiative, IGNOU has signed collaboration agreements with 160 universities and colleges across the country, under which students will be able to access IGNOU’s enhanced access study programmes from their college premises. Under the agreements each participating institution will receive a recurring grant of upto Rs.3 lakh per annum for three years to cover faculty salaries, examinations, contingency and overhead costs. This arrangement will enable students of participating colleges to acquire dual degrees by simultaneously enrolling for an undergraduate or postgraduate IGNOU degree or diploma study courses even while pursuing their collegiate study programmes.

The collaboration agreements signed between IGNOU and participating colleges, under which students will pay additional tuition fees, are liberal and inclusive. Credits earned in specified degree courses can also be transferred from the college or university to IGNOU or vice versa. Moreover, students from adjoining institutions, working people and lay citizens can also sign up for any of IGNOU’s wide range of degree, certificate and diploma programmes, which will be beamed into institutional premises for four hours every evening (4.30-8.30 p.m) and six to eight hours during the weekends, according to the institutional management’s convenience.

To deliver IGNOU study programmes, colleges can opt for face-to-face interaction or the distance learning mode. Moreover they can either use their own faculty or employ teaching professionals from outside to offer assistance and guidance for enrolled students. As IGNOU has a huge repository of educational material in multi-media format, the open university plans to use the latest technology aids and provide satellite-based support to delivering its study programmes countrywide.

According to V.N. Rajashekharan Pillai, vice-chancellor, IGNOU, enhancing access by augmenting capacity in higher education is a long-term proposition, hence a synergy of ODL and conventional university systems is the best available quick fix. “The objective of the convergence scheme is to enhance gross enrollment ratio of the 16-21 age group in higher education from the current 9-10 percent to 20 percent during the Eleventh Plan (2007-12) period,” he says.

Though the IGNOU collaboration initiative has been welcomed by 26 reputed institutions in Tamil Nadu including Lady Doak College, Madurai, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore and Sastra Deemed University, Thanjavur, which have signed-up, educationists are doubtful if the scheme will attract regular college students and those sited far from partner institutions.

“We expect employed people aspiring for higher qualifications and students who can’t afford regular college programmes to enroll for evening classes. Regular students already fully engaged with collegiate courses may not have time to spare to acquire dual degrees. However, IGNOU’s convergence model is definitely a superior option to correspondence courses as assistance provided by college faculty will benefit candidates greatly. Moreover, since reputed institutions with well-equipped laboratories and qualified faculty are offering IGNOU programmes, the quality of education imparted will be high. We expect enrollment of around 25-30 students per course this year,” says Dr. P. C. Angelo, dean, Centre for Non-formal and Continuing Education, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore.

If carefully implemented in close cooperation with participating colleges, IGNOU’s convergence model will undoubtedly supplement collegiate and university education and improve learning outcomes. Yet vis-à-vis this conditionality, the initial auguries are not good. Neither the IGNOU regional office in Chennai nor the open university’s pro vice-chancellor in Delhi seemed to be aware of the nuts and bolts of this ambitious convergence programme. Most elementary questions related to supplementary tuition fees, salaries payable to faculty of participating colleges etc were deflected to vice-chancellor Dr. Rajashekharan Pillai who (inevitably) was in ‘meetings’ all day. Quite clearly IGNOU requires help desks in Chennai and/or Delhi to field questions and clarifications from participating colleges and aspiring students.

Therefore although the programme offers the prospect of better quality study programmes to a greater number of students, working people and professionals, the critical factor in all such promising initiatives is student support, guidance and detailed implementation.

Hemalatha Raghupathi (Chennai)