said the government was aiming to get at least seven million students,
largely from the underprivileged sections, enrolled in distance
education programme to make education inclusive.
In a message at the convocation function of the Indira Gandhi National
Open University, Sibal said that distant education can help in
achieving the gross enrollment ratio of 30 percent by 2020.
"Distance education has become popular because it offers people from
rural, working class communities access to higher education. We are
thus targeting an enrolment of at least 7 million students, with a
majority from the disadvantaged sections and locations, during the
next few years," Sibal said in a recorded message as he was off to
Mumbai for the World Cup final match.
"The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education is presently
hovering at a mere 13 percent, a whole 10 percent below the world
average. I am setting sights to raise it to the global average by
2020, which by then will be around 30 percent," he said.
More than 2.15 lakh students across the country got degrees, diplomas
and certificates and a total of 78 students received gold medals at
the convocation ceremony held by the university, the world's largest
open university.
Nearly 45,000 students received Bachelor's Degree, 21,000 Masters'
Degree, 60,000 diplomas and approximately 91,000 students earned
certificates in a ceremony held simultaneously at 51 IGNOU regional
centres across the country.
Speaking on the occasion, IGNOU Vice Chancellor Prof. V.N.
Rajasekharan Pillai stressed the initiatives taken by the university
to promote the GER and said, "120 districts were identified with the
GER between 3.0 and 7.0 where IGNOU can tap the prospective learners
in the age group of 18-23 years. Both enrollment of fresh learners by
IGNOU and retention of learners in the IGNOU system are being
addressed to."
The VC added that the IGNOU is playing a key role in creating 500
million certified technicians and skilled workers by 2020.
Stressing the University's growth story in the past four years, Pillai
said the IGNOU is uniquely poised to enter the 2010-2020 Decade of
Innovation.
"IGNOU's approach in this Decade of Innovation is to achieve inclusive
and sustainable growth in education, skill development, healthcare,
energy, agriculture and infrastructure."
"The university plans to design learning and training modules, courses
and programmes through which learners can pay skills providers
directly and make the knowledge and skill acquired bankable through
testing and certification, converting them into diplomas, higher
diplomas, associate degrees and degrees," Pillai added. IANS
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