Soon, study MBA and engineering in distance mode

In the not-too-distant future, you could become an engineer or earn an MBA sitting at home.

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the apex body for professional courses, will allow colleges to offer engineering and MBA via distance mode, overturning the tough stand it has maintained for years. The council had earlier stated that professional courses like engineering required intensive practical training and programmes such as an MBA ought to have several hours of classroom discussions and debates as business had several tones of grey that an aspiring manager must understand. 

The AICTE's change of heart will not only augment the number of professionals in India, but will also prove to be a game-changer as the fees will be a lot lesser than what students pay to attend college. But every candidate will have to sit for an exit or a licentiate examination, termed as the National Eligibility Test, at the end of the course before she or he is declared an engineer or the MBA or MCA degree is awarded. 

A student should have completed a degree or a diploma in the classroom mode and attained a minimum of five years of work experience before they can take up a professional course via the distance learning mode. 

"This will be a mixed mode of education—while practical training will take place face-to-face, theory can be conducted using ICT," AICTE chairman S S Mantha said. 

The decision was taken on the recommendation of a committee headed by former IIT-Kanpur director Sanjay Dhande and IIT-Kanpur chairman M Anandkrishnan who studied the possibility of offering engineering and other professional courses through the distance mode. As Mantha explained, all professional courses except architecture and pharmacy can be conducted virtually. But a student or a class XII pass-out seeking his/her first diploma or degree cannot sign up for a BTech under this scheme. 

"Essentially, there will be an entrance test and an exit exam that all students signing up for a course under the distance education mode will have to take. We have to preserve the quality of students at both the stages," Mantha added. The AICTE is currently drawing up rules and the approval process for colleges wanting to offer courses though the virtual medium. Interested colleges can apply from March 1. 

Distance education:

Currently, 14 open universities and 172 other institutions offer courses in higher education via the distance mode to about 40 lakh students. Distance education courses are regulated by the Distance Education Council (DEC), a body that operates under IGNOU. 

Distance education is largely confined to general streams. Some universities like IGNOU offer technical courses like an MCA but tie-up with colleges so that students can use their laboratories for practical training. 

There was a tripartite committee comprising the UGC, DEC and AICTE which used to examine applications from institutes interested in offering courses via distance education, but the committee was almost defunct as the AICTE maintained that professional courses could not be imparted virtually.

IGNOU announces last date for admission

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) on Sunday announced January 8, 2013 as the last date to apply for late admissions to its various academic programmes.

University officials said the students would have to pay a late fee of Rs 200 along with the application form.

The IGNOU programmes offered only in the January session include Master of Science in Mathematics with Applications in Computer Science (MSCMACS), Post Graduate Diploma in Hospital and Health Management (PGDHHM) and PG Diploma in HIV Medicine (PGDHIVM), among others.

The varsity has invited applications for Masters of Computer Applications (MCA), Master of Arts in Rural Development, MA in Tourism Management, Bachelor of Computer Applications ( BCA), and Master of Business Administration in Banking and Finance, among others.

Established in 1985, IGNOU was set up to provide cost-effective education, especially to the poor.

The university educates over four million students in India and 36 other countries through 21 schools of studies and a network of 67 regional centres, around 3,000 learner support centres and 67 overseas centres.

The university offers about 490 certificate, diploma, degree and doctoral programmes.

Admission opens to IGNOU's online programme on biodiversity

The Indira Gandhi National Open University's (IGNOU's) Chair for Sustainable Development (CSD) announces admission to online Appreciation Programme on Sustainable Management of Biodiversity for the January 2013 session.

According to Prof. Swaminathan, Honorary Chair, CSD, "There is need for greater efforts in spreading biodiversity literacy. This is particularly important in the context of the emerging changes in temperature, precipitation and sea level as a result of global warming. By conserving and enhancing its natural resource base and using its resources sustainably we can improve the resource efficiency of its economy and reduce its dependence on biodiversity. This course promotes an improved quality of life, sustainable use, the protection of biodiversity and equitable economic prosperity."

The programme, says the press statement released by the university, is of one month duration and consists of four blocks. The blocks deal with the biodiversity and its importance, agro biodiversity, threats to biodiversity and sustainable use of biodiversity.

""The programme will provide an appreciation/understanding of the science underpinning biodiversity and will target the growing need for expertise in sustainable management of biodiversity in a changing climate and the need for mainstreaming these issues in the development planning and poverty reduction. It will promote awareness and capacity building for sustainable management of biodiversity for mainstreaming biodiversity into the daily lives of individuals,"" says the statement.

The eligibility for joining this course is a graduation degree in any subject. The post graduate students, researchers, scientists, engineers, medical doctors, stake holders, policy makers, administrators, and other professionals with requisite educational qualifications will be given preference.

The fee for the programme is Rs. 500. It can be completed in a minimum period of one month and a maximum period of six months. Online application form and other details are available at www.ignouonline.ac.in/save. Only 50 students will be admitted for the programme (first come first basis) and the last date is 15th January, 2012.

Chair for Sustainable Development, IGNOU, was established in the year 2007 as a University level Chair, cutting across disciplines and schools. The eminent Agricultural Scientist and Father of green revolution in India, Prof. M.S. Swaminathan is the Honorary Chair for CSD.