UGC to develop open online courses soon
UGC has come up with Massive Online and Open Courses for over 100 subjects
By : n. arun kumar
Update: 2014-08-24 04:35 GMT
Chennai: Study centres in distance education stream in the Indian universities will soon disappear as the University Grants Commission (UGC) has come up with Massive Online and Open Courses (MOOCS) for over 100 subjects on the lines of IIT’s NPTEL and Stanford’s Coursera.
In an informal chat with Deccan Chronicle, UGC vice-chairman Professor H. Devaraj said the commission would develop e-content for 77 subjects at the postgraduate level under the e-patashala project. The lessons would be available as e-books accessible in all electronic devices like computers, laptops and tablets.
“We will create high quality material, in four quadrants, in different subjects across all disciplines. Apart from the text, e-patashala will have audio-video presentations and relevant animations. We have identified subject experts who will come up with the course content,” Prof Devaraj said.
The project is part of the centrally sponsored scheme of National Mission on Education through ICT (NMEICT) of the HRD ministry. UGC would provide students with free access to resources available in Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET) as part of this project, he said.
A standing committee with former Anna University vice-chancellor and chairman of IIT Kanpur Professor M. Anandakrishnan has been formed to advice the UGC on the modalities to be adopted when the scheme is implemented.
“This project will take education directly to the students’ study room and help him learn subjects at ease rather than depend on the study centres. In future, we can conduct proctored exams for students who study through MOOCS,” Prof Devaraj said.