BHUBANESWAR: Aligning with the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has proposed to come up with more courses in Odia.
IGNOU vice-chancellor Uma Kanjilal met Higher Education minister Suryabanshi Suraj on Tuesday and said the distance learning university was keen on launching its programmes in Odia language to spread higher education in mother tongue.
In January this year, IGNOU had launched its MBA programme in Odia. The university translated and prepared the course materials for MBA in the regional language with the help of AICTE. It is now planning to extend the same for other courses such as Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) and Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education (DECE).
“Offering learning in Odia language would help the local students understand the subjects better, thereby enhancing their creativity and learning outcomes,” Kanjilal said.
Suraj said the discussion included aligning with the objectives of NEP-2020 and introducing various skill development courses in Odia under IGNOU’s umbrella besides, development of courses in sand art. IGNOU has 43 study centres in Odisha, covering all districts. The minister offered all help to IGNOU’s initiatives in spreading education in the state in general, and technical education in particular.
Among others, director of the department Kali Prasanna Mahapatra and IGNOU officials Nayantara Padhi, Suhas Shetgovekar and Shachi Saha were present.