IGNOU to hold Convocation twice a year
New Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) will hold its Convocation twice a year from now on. The Academic Council and university authorities have finalized the procedure for the same, announced Vice Chancellor Prof V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai.
Addressing the 23rd Convocation of IGNOU at Sirifort Auditorium in New Delhi on May 26, Prof Pillai declared that IGNOU shall hold its Convocation after each semester exam results - one in April and the other in October. This is a path breaking initiative implemented for the first time in any university in India.
Around 9,000 students were awarded Degrees, Diplomas and Certificates at the 23rd Convocation. There were nine Gold medalists - Manoj Jain - DSM, Priya Singh - PGDCA, Vasantha Kumar K. - PGDDM, Anju - MPS, Musadhique K.P. - MSO, Shazia Aslam - BLS, Charu Goyal - M.COM, Vivek Manchanda- PGDHHM, and Geetika Bindlish - MCA.
The 23rd Convocation was for candidates who have completed their respective programmes and appeared for examination in December 2010. The University declared the results within record 45 days through decentralized evaluation. IGNOU holds its Term End Examination twice a year in June and December.
Prof. U.R. Ananthamurthy, former President of National Book Trust and Sahitya Akademi, and Chair Professor of the Tagore Chair for Indian Literature at IGNOU, delivered the convocation address.
He emphasized that a good inspiring teacher is often difficult to find in creative engagement with social sciences.
"While good teaching may be lacking, research goes on often as a cut and paste exercise. Teaching quality is notoriously difficult to measure but research can be quantified. Many teachers acquire fame through the number of papers they may have mechanically produced without making a contribution. What is expected of the student in humanities and social sciences is ideological conformity rather than critical appraisal," Prof Ananthamurthy said.
Quoting a scholar, Professor Scruton, he said, "I envisage an experiment in distance learning in which students work from home, and attend lectures, receive tutorials, and engage in discussions through internet connections. As the internet becomes more interactive, the need for universities to establish themselves in physical space rather than in cyber space is less evident."
"Virtual communities of scholarships might be more volatile than real communities of scholars. But they will be far more responsive to the demands of their customers, and far cheaper to run. They could provide most of what is provided by humanities department, with added advantage of choosing their professors from all over the world first rate scholars could participate in such projects," he further added.
Unfortunately in some of our universities we have social science and humanities departments with one or two creative scholars and a larger number of efficient but mediocre teachers.
At best, they teach what is politically correct and generally acceptable, and the learner's mind is not awakened to unconventional enquiry. The physical science teaching and research may be slightly better than this in almost every university, he added.
Dr. Sanjeev Pandey, Regional Director, Regional Centre Delhi-1, organised the Convocation on behalf of all the Regional Centres of Delhi & NCR.
Addressing the 23rd Convocation of IGNOU at Sirifort Auditorium in New Delhi on May 26, Prof Pillai declared that IGNOU shall hold its Convocation after each semester exam results - one in April and the other in October. This is a path breaking initiative implemented for the first time in any university in India.
Around 9,000 students were awarded Degrees, Diplomas and Certificates at the 23rd Convocation. There were nine Gold medalists - Manoj Jain - DSM, Priya Singh - PGDCA, Vasantha Kumar K. - PGDDM, Anju - MPS, Musadhique K.P. - MSO, Shazia Aslam - BLS, Charu Goyal - M.COM, Vivek Manchanda- PGDHHM, and Geetika Bindlish - MCA.
The 23rd Convocation was for candidates who have completed their respective programmes and appeared for examination in December 2010. The University declared the results within record 45 days through decentralized evaluation. IGNOU holds its Term End Examination twice a year in June and December.
Prof. U.R. Ananthamurthy, former President of National Book Trust and Sahitya Akademi, and Chair Professor of the Tagore Chair for Indian Literature at IGNOU, delivered the convocation address.
He emphasized that a good inspiring teacher is often difficult to find in creative engagement with social sciences.
"While good teaching may be lacking, research goes on often as a cut and paste exercise. Teaching quality is notoriously difficult to measure but research can be quantified. Many teachers acquire fame through the number of papers they may have mechanically produced without making a contribution. What is expected of the student in humanities and social sciences is ideological conformity rather than critical appraisal," Prof Ananthamurthy said.
Quoting a scholar, Professor Scruton, he said, "I envisage an experiment in distance learning in which students work from home, and attend lectures, receive tutorials, and engage in discussions through internet connections. As the internet becomes more interactive, the need for universities to establish themselves in physical space rather than in cyber space is less evident."
"Virtual communities of scholarships might be more volatile than real communities of scholars. But they will be far more responsive to the demands of their customers, and far cheaper to run. They could provide most of what is provided by humanities department, with added advantage of choosing their professors from all over the world first rate scholars could participate in such projects," he further added.
Unfortunately in some of our universities we have social science and humanities departments with one or two creative scholars and a larger number of efficient but mediocre teachers.
At best, they teach what is politically correct and generally acceptable, and the learner's mind is not awakened to unconventional enquiry. The physical science teaching and research may be slightly better than this in almost every university, he added.
Dr. Sanjeev Pandey, Regional Director, Regional Centre Delhi-1, organised the Convocation on behalf of all the Regional Centres of Delhi & NCR.
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