IGNOU-A Brief Profile

The Indira Gandhi National Open University was established by an Act of Parliament in 1985. Today, it serves the educational aspirations of about 2.5 million students in India and 35 countries abroad through 21 Schools of Studies and an elaborate network of 59 regional centres, 7 sub- regional centres, 1400 study centres, and 53 overseas centres. The University is making all efforts to take higher education to the doorsteps of the hitherto unreached. Apart from teaching and research, extension and training form the mainstay of its academic activities. It also acts as a national resource centre; and more importantly, functions as an apex body to promote and maintain standards of distance education. Based on its contribution in Distance Education the Commonwealth of Learning has recognised it as one of its ‘Centres of Excellence’. It also has the unique privilege of hosting the Secretariats of SAARC Consortium of Open Distance Learning (SACODIL) approved by Heads of Govts. of SAARC Nations and Global Mega Universities Network (GMUNET) initially promoted by UNESCO.

In order to fulfil the vision of democratising higher education and providing access to all segments of
people, the University:

	Imparts education and knowledge through various flexible means suited to the open and distance education mode, including information and communication technologies
	Provides higher education and training to large sections of population, particularly the disadvantaged segments of the society
	Promotes national integration and the integrated development of human personality
	Encourages, co-ordinates and assists open universities and distance learning systems to improve standards in such systems

The University offers 323 academic programmes that are need-based, innovative and vocation-oriented with a focus on socio-economic development and serving the disadvantaged. The programmes are at the awareness, certificate, diploma, degree(Bachelors, Masters & Doctoral) levels and offered through multiple instructional package with the convergence of different methodologies and technologies.