The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Gyan Vani to be extended to Madurai, Tiruchi, Tirunelveli

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 19, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Gyan Vani to be extended to Madurai, Tiruchi, Tirunelveli

Special Correspondent

1,000 students receive degrees from IGNOU

CHENNAI: Amid a festive atmosphere, 1,000 students of "borderless education" received their degrees in Chennai on Saturday.

This year, 7,452 candidates are eligible to receive degrees, diplomas and certificates from the Indira Gandhi Open University (IGNOU), the biggest in the world.

In her convocation address, IGNOU Regional Director K. Soundaravalli said the regional centre was equal to 25 colleges, as it had on its roll more than 25,250 candidates. There were 111 learner support centres in Tamil Nadu. Special study centres had been established for the physically handicapped and for the inmates of the Central Prisons in Coimbatore, Salem, Tiruchi, Madurai and Vellore.

The Gyan Vani FM radio, at present available in Chennai and Coimbatore, would be extended to Madurai, Tiruchi and Tirunelveli, she said.

S.P. Thyagarajan, Vice-Chancellor, University of Madras, said that with a cumulative student strength of 14 lakh, the IGNOU catered for 12 per cent of the total enrolment in higher education in the country.

He also called for establishing a national virtual university grid to share resources and e-learning materials. The IGNOU enjoys patronage in 35 countries and has 58 regional centres. It offers 125 programmes and more than 1,000 courses. This year, the student enrolment has touched 4.3 lakh.

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