“India will be the next superpower in open education and skillsâ€, remarked Mr. Dilip Chenoy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, National Skill Development Corporation. Mr. Chenoy was delivering the 28th Foundation Day Lecture of the University at IGNOU’s Main Campus in New Delhi last week.
Mr. Chenoy explained that with the world’s largest schooling and higher education infrastructures in the open and distance learning system, the future of India’s learning and development is obviously in the open space. It was highlighted that, to enable the youth of India to become world leaders, we must design our educational systems in such a way that `each graduate comes out with some certified vocational skills’, which is possible through a blended system that effectively combines open learning with vocational training and skill development programmes. For this, there is a need to leverage the potential of Institutions like IGNOU and National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS).
To meet the large scale skill gap, which is the biggest challenge faced by the youth of the country, there is a need to tap the potentials of information technologies and innovative methodologies in education. At a time when industries are looking for entrepreneurs and business leaders in institutions like IGNOU, Mr. Chenoy opined that there is a need for looking for productive public-private collaborations and global partnerships.
While speaking on the occasion, Prof. M. Aslam, Vice Chancellor, IGNOU told that the IGNOU’s has a noble role of reaching education to the unreached and deprived sections of the society, and hence the university has a unparalleled stance of its own in the educational scenario of the country, when compared to other central universities and national institutions. He provided a brief account of the progress of the university and its various schools in terms of spreading education to millions of learners spread across the country. Prof. Aslam also highlighted that by duly sensing the changed requirements in the labour market, the university is revisiting its various programmes – so as to make them more vocation-oriented.
The foundation day celebrations were organised both at IGNOU’s headquarters in New Delhi and at various Regional Centers spread across the country, with academic seminars, exhibitions and cultural programmes.