January 11, 2021
TED NewsDesk, Karnataka: With the beginning of the 25th year of its establishment, the Mysuru-based Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) is planning to provide tablets to the students securing admissions in July 2021.
The previous session witnessed approx 18,000 students across 35-plus courses. The admission procedure of July 2020 cycle was online to maintain the transparency. Besides, the University introduced various changes both in admission and examination processes.
“We had planned to distribute tablets with preloaded lessons of the respective courses from last year itself. However, since the University still had printed lessons and are expected to last until this year, we put off the proposal for the July cycle since we don’t want to waste the already-printed lessons. Once the printed lessons deplete, we shall examine whether to go for printing once again or switch over fully to e-lessons, making them available online and preloading them in the tablets,” said Vice-Chancellor S. Vidyashankar.
Mr Vidyashankar also predicted that the numbers of entries might increase in the ongoing January cycle. Comprehending the exclusive right, it recently achieved for running Open and Distance Learning (ODL) courses in Karnataka, the University is likely to double the vacancies.
In yet another launch, the University introduced its Android-based mobile application besides a new platform where students can easily avail details regarding the courses, prospectus, examinations and admissions.
“When we are switching over to digital mode, bringing in reforms and incorporating new technologies, we thought of giving tablets to the students as part of their admissions to make learning even easier. If we buy the devices in bulk, we may get them at a lesser price. After the January cycle, we shall look into the proposal of introducing tablets, following the mandatory procedures sticking to the government guidelines,” said Prof. Vidyashankar.
The VC also informed about the University’s attempts at providing its students with easy access to distance learning. He assured to introduce new courses after receiving a go-ahead from the University Grants Commission (UGC). The job and other developing sectors are the driving force behind the University’s decision to introduce more Science and IT-based courses.
“Our thrust is on improving the gross enrolment ratio (GER), attracting more students to higher education. With ODL getting new impetus, we would be reaching out to more number of students, thereby improving the number of students taking higher education,” he added.
Looking forward to the nod
Apart from the 35-plus courses that it offers, KSOU is waiting for UGC’s nod to launch various programmes including Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Business Administration; Bachelor of Computer Applications; Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (B.Sc IT; Bachelor of Science in Human Development; MA in Education; MA in Telugu; Master of Science in Information Technology; Master of Science in Botany; Master of Science in Zoology and Master of Science in Food Science and Nutrition.
The University is also waiting for the UGC approval to launch new courses in the digital mode. Some of the courses include Master of Commerce; MBA; MA in Economics; M.Sc Information Technology; M.Sc Computer Science; MA in English; MA in Hindi and MA in Kannada.
The University is taking several steps to provide a safe and necessary education to the students. Distributing tablets will be of great help to the students as they will contain preloaded lessons of courses.
Source: The Hindu