Misconception about Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) courses

It is generally looked upon that correspondence courses provided by Open Universities do not get equal value as regular courses. There is always a question of low estimation looms over students pursuing Correspondence Courses from Open Universities despite the fact that these correspondence courses are equally extensive and qualitative in their scope and grade.

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is one of the premier Open Universities in India, which provides the facility of distance learning to those students who cannot pursue regular courses and hence opt for correspondence courses.

Established in 1985, IGNOU is a UGC-recognized university that offers courses in diverse areas and at different levels of undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programme. It caters the students across the country and abroad through its regional centres, recognized regional centres, study centres and Partner Institutions outside India.

The regional centres of IGNOU are located in these places:

AGARTALA, AHMEDABAD, AIZAWL, ALIGARH, BANGALORE, BHOPAL, BHAGALPUR, BHUBANESHWAR, CHENNAI, CHANDIGARH, COCHIN, DARBHANGA, DEHRADUN, DELHI, GANGTOK, GUWAHATI, HYDERABAD, IMPHAL, ITANAGAR, JABALPUR, JAIPUR, JAMMU, JOHART, KARNAL, KHANNA, KOHIMA, KOLKATA, KORAPUT, LUCKNOW, MADURAI, MUMBAI, NOIDA, NAGPUR, PANAJI, PATNA, PORT BLAIR, PUNE, RAIPUR, RAJKOT, RANCHI, RAGHUNATHGAN, SHIMLA, SHILLONG, SILIGURI, SRINAGAR,TRIVANDRUM, VARANASI, VIJAYAWADA.

The setting up of regional centres across the length and breadth of the country has not only facilitated students to communicate and redress their problems during the course schedule but has come as a one-stop destination for thousands of students who wants to pursue their education through it.

IGNOU books and course materials, which were not available in market earlier, is now available everywhere. Those who still find difficulty in availing IGNOU books can now buy online. [Books on Demand can avail you the IGNOU books if you are not finding it in your locality or nearby bookstores.]

In a country like India, where higher education is still a dream for many, IGNOU has made higher education a reality. It is disseminating education and knowledge with flexibility to students as well as professional at the same time.

Unfortunately, the distance-learning model of education is not being appreciated on practical ground. There are instances when companies don’t even entertain candidates with distance education degrees on their CVs. They are critical about the capabilities of the candidates. This prejudice is more visible in the case of technical jobs.

Nevertheless, there are innumerable instances where the students of IGNOU or other open universities have even cracked the toughest of all the competitive exams, which brings fever to any regular candidates also.

In 2008, two IGNOU students, name Ravikant Singh and Keshavendra Kumar, both from Bihar, not only achieved their goal but also proved with their position (Keshavendra bagged rank 45 and Ravikant 77) that open universities students are equally talented and capable as students from regular courses.

After all no university gives guarantee of job or life!