CHENNAI: To enhance its reach in rural areas, especially among female students, the Tamil Nadu Open University (TNOU) has decided to open four new regional centres in the State. The new centres will come up in Sivaganga, Salem, Tiruvannamalai and Mayiladuthurai districts and a Government Order (G.O) regarding the same has already been issued.
“We have plans to set up the new four regional centres by December,” Vice-Chancellor of TNOU, K Parthasarathy, told TNIE. With the addition of these four centres, the total number of regional centres of TNOU will increase to 12.
As per the proposal, a sum of Rs 1 crore will be spent on setting up the four regional centres. The Vice-Chancellor has appointed four assistant professors to function as the directors of these regional centres.
Varsity officials said students from interior districts have to travel long distances to the existing eight regional centres to enquire about courses or to get study materials. To make education more accessible to them, TNOU had proposed to set up centres in these backward districts.
The university also has plans to attract more girl students from these rural districts. Parthasarathy said many girls in rural areas are not able to pursue higher education due to unavailability of colleges nearby or due to household work. “To encourage the girls to come forward and enrol in our programmes, the regional centres will create awareness about short-term and certificate skill development courses which can be pursued after Class 10. We will also be offering special discount to students who study the course in Tamil, the Vice-Chancellor said.
During the pandemic-induced lockdown, along with online learning, distance learning too had gained strength and it has become a viable mode of higher education. According to varsity officials, last year, over 15,000 students enrolled in different UG and PG programmes offered by TNOU and so far this year, the figure has exceeded 8,000. “The admission season will end in December and we are expecting enrolment of over 25,000 students. The new regional centres will help in catering to rising demand,” said an official of the university. TNOU currently offers 80 courses.