Monday, July 8, 2013

IGNOU regional center sought for Bidar.

The Deputy Commissioner has urged Indira Gandhi National Open University to establish a regional centre in Bidar.

A regional centre has a full-fledged office and library with teachers and counsellors. Through such centres, students can not only choose courses, but also attend classes, and appear for examinations.

“The centre would give a boost to education not just in the district but also in the Hyderabad Karnataka region. It would be in line with the 12th Plan objectives of creating increased access to higher education in backward areas,” Deputy Commissioner P.C. Jaffer said in a letter to IGNOU Vice-Chancellor M. Aslam.

“Bidar is a part of the HK region that was neglected during the regime of the Hyderabad Nizam. It still remains among the most backward regions of the country. As per the composite development index of Dr. D. M. Nanjundappa committee, Gulbarga ranked 20th on the list of 20 districts, Bidar was in the 19th position, Raichur 16th and Bellary 11th. Of the 39 most backward taluks in the State, 21 are from the Hyderabad Karnataka region. As per the 2005 State Human Development Report, Hyderabad Karnataka districts occupy positions from 23rd to 27th on the list of 27 districts. The number of districts has increased to 31 now. But the position of the Hyderabad Karnataka districts has not changed,” he said. The 12th Plan speaks of capacity building to increase general enrolment rate in higher education to 30 per cent in 2020-21 from less than 15 per cent now. It speaks of adding seats in existing institutions of higher learning, and to create new institutions to address critical regional and social gaps.

The 12th Plan aims at moving higher education from the elitist threshold of 15 per cent to the mass target of 50 per cent.

The enrolment target is set at 10 million students, including one million in the open and distance learning mode, by the end of the 12th Plan. A regional centre of IGNOU in Bidar will add to the efforts in this direction, Mr. Jaffer said. “We have assured IGNOU that we will take care of their logistic demands like land, water and power supply and administrative clearances. We are hopeful of a positive reply,” Mr. Jaffer said.

source:http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/ignou-regional-centre-sought-for-bidar/article4883387.ece

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