Distance learning needs to be brought to the mainstream

New Delhi: Teaching through distance and open learning should not be taken as an "adjunct" mode and needs to be brought to the mainstream, Education Secretary V S Oberoi said as he pitched for offering better courses through the medium, here.

"Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode should not be taken as an adjunct mode and needs to be brought to the mainstream.

Quality of programmes offered through ODL should be better than those offered through other mode for which the New Education Policy should provide adequate inputs," he said.

Oberoi was participating here in a national consultative meeting at Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) today on promoting ODL courses as part of the New Education Policy being formulated by the Human Resources Development ministry.

He opined that the experts need to look at the whole perspective differently and reposition ODL in the new architecture of education for 21st Century.

Referring to the "Skill India" campaign, Oberoi said that ODL has an advantage over other systems since the large groups can be addressed with minimal infrastructural support.

"Similar sectors need to be addressed in this policy document which should come out as a visioning document for next 20-25 years. We should develop the vision for ODL mode first.

"Methodology, pedagogy and student-teacher relationship are important in the context of online education too. MOOCs is not simply converting content to digital formats,

one has to look into the way it has to be delivered and into the assessment and evaluation processes which have to be different," he added.

IGNOU Vice Chancellor Nageshwar Rao said consultations are being carried out in all the Schools and Divisions of IGNOU including its 56 Regional Centres and far more than 6000 responses have been received from different stakeholders.