Online Education Blog

The term ‘Distance education` is called differently like ‘Correspondence Education`, ‘open learning`, ‘open Education`, ‘Home study`, ‘External Study`, ‘Independent Study`, ‘Off-Campus study etc. According to Javis open learning is the title given to more flexible methods of study and teaching in which there is openness in access, contact, delivery system and assessment.
Distance education at present has a lot of potential and scope to provide for educational needs and demands of all those individuals:
Who could not continue their education in conventional institutions?
Who are engaged themselves in organized or unorganized sectors.
Who do not have access to conventional education?
Who are economically, geographically, socially and physically disadvantage;
Who want to pursue general, vocational or professional or technical education outside conventional system?
Who are deprived of proper educational facilities?
Who are unemployed and want to continue their education from their homes.
Who are employed and want to improve their educational qualifications;
Who want to undergo professional training and orientation?
According to UNESCO education will be “lifelong education“. In this process that education begins in childhood and continues throughout one’s life .It include formal and non-formal education and informal education gained by the individual. It is a comprehensive and unifying idea which includes formal, non-formal and informal learning for acquiring and enhancing enlightenments so as to attain the fullest possible development at the different stages of life. Dave regards lifelong education as a process of accomplishing personal, social and professional development throughout the life-span of individuals in order to enhance the quality of life of both individuals and their community.
The first Open University in the world was created in 1969 at Milton Keynes, in UK for providing Modern education. It was a major development in the history of distance education. It is variously name as correspondence study, home study, external study etc. Different universities started correspondence education programmes mostly in 2oth century. Like as university of Wisconsin, university of Chicago, Illinois Wesleyan university, the university of Florida, university of Nebraska, Pennsylvania state university, university of California etc.
Australia has long standing experiences of providing correspondence education programmes at primary stage, secondary stage and territory stage. The basic reason behind popularization of Distance Education in Australia is identified with geographical distances of the territory with many islands. The Western Australia correspondence school provides correspondence courses to the children from 1 to 10 years of schooling.
Russia had added correspondence education in secondary schools. Correspondence education programmes are very popular in almost all the Russian universities. Around 30 to 50 percent students of total strength of state universities get enrolled in correspondence courses.
The Allama Iqbal open university of Pakistan is the pioneer of distance education at this region.
The Open University of Sri Lanka functions with the objectives of upgrading educational status of employed persons, providing opportunities for life long and continuing education.
It also can equally cater professional, training and other human resource needs and demands of all sectors such as education, industry, health and welfare, engineering and technology, agriculture etc. at present 103 countries are offering 34,000 courses of different types through 1117 institutions to 30 Million students of all ages.
In India the Indira Gandhi National Open University established in 1985 through Parliament act. Now this university is one of the premier educational institutions in the world. This university contributed ignorantly to the development of higher education in India even Abroad through the distance mode. At present around 1.7 Million students studying through its vast network all over the country and its Headquarters located in New Delhi. There are so many Open University working in India but Indira Gandhi National Open University is the Mother of those universities. Every Indian Distance university needs to approve by IGNOU(http://www.ignousolutions.com/). The IGNOU should have jurisdiction over the entire country so that, when it is fully developed and students, even in the remotest corner of the country, can have access to its instruction and Degree. The recommendation of the working group a draft bill was prepared by the union government for the establishment of national Open University. However the process was delayed. In the meanwhile, the government of Andhra Pradesh took intiative and establishes a state open university on May 25, 1982, following the recommendation of expert committee under the chairmanship of R.Ram Reddy. The Andhra Pradesh Open University was later renamed as Dr. B.R.Ambedkar Open University during January 1985.