A Study of the Development of the State Open Universities in India: Report

Abstract

In a vast country like India with a large reservoir of talent, facilities for higher education for all aspirants do not exist in the formal conventional university system. The corollary is that Open and Distance Learning (ODL) institutions must take up the challenge of providing opportunities to the bulk of the aspiring learners. ODL has now come to be recognized as aparallel mode in the field of higher education, rightly so because of its tremendous advantages, thanks to the induction of technology.The State Open Universities in India reveal a picture of diversified growth. Being the first state O.U., the Andhra Pradesh O.U. (now called Dr.B.R.Ambedkar Open University or BRAOU) established in 1982 started off well with many programmes, and dynamic leadership during the first few years. Unfortunately, however, a situation of complacency and bureaucratic control has dominated the scene in the recent past.