Empowering India’s Northeast Youth through ...

Empowering India’s Northeast Youth through ODL (Open Distance Learning): Role of IGNOU

Author Name : Dr Grace Don Nemching, Prof. Rose Nembiakkim

INTRODUCTION

UN adopted the age group 15 to 24 for defining youth. The National Youth Policy, India  initially (in 2003) defined the youth as in the age group 13-35. However, National Youth Policy, 2014 modified it and defined ‘youth’ as persons in the age group of 15-29 years. The Gross Enrolment Ration (GER) in higher education in India is 25.8% which is calculated for 18-23 years of age groups. The number is less when we look at the total population (around 231,950) which accounts to 27.5% of the total population . In response to the ever increasing demand for higher education which is not met by the conventional system, the government of India established the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in 1985 through an Act of the Parliament. The university was modeled on the United Kingdom Open University, but was influenced by policy and educational needs unique to India. Since 1985, the Indira Gandhi National Open University has catapulted to a global university. During 2017-18, according to the Annual Report ,the University enrolled 10,72,578 students .  The university has been unwavering in its commitment on access to education and equity in opportunities to women, scheduled castes and tribes, the rural population, remote areas, tribal regions, differently-abled and the socially and economically weaker sections of society. In a country like India, the acceptance of Open and Distance Learning institution will take some time as conventional system of education has been widely accepted.