Union Minister of Education Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' addressed at the 34th Convocation of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) through virtual mode. The University awarded 2, 37,844 degrees, diplomas and certificates of different programmes to the successful students at 34th convocation today. The Convocation function was held virtually from the IGNOU Headquarter in light of the surge in COVD-19 cases.Congratulating the successful students Union Minister of Education lauded the role played by IGNOU since its inception in making quality higher education accessible to all through the affordable Open and Distance Mode. The Minister in his speech stressed on the need to provide education that could make one self-reliant. He further said that Self- Reliance is the key-highlight of the New Education Policy that integrates vocational education bringing constructive changes in the education system. In order to achieve the goal of 50% GER (Gross Enrolment Ratio) by 2035, the university will have to be a crucial contributor, he added.Highlighting the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) which is a key part of the New Education Policy, 2020, the Minister said that it provides learners with the flexibility to choose his bouquet of courses and also letting him/her to complete it even after a gap. He urged the university to revamp the existing undergraduate and postgraduate programmes while working on the new programmes according to the needs of the country which not only provide education but also employment to accrue the demographic dividend. On the occasion, he congratulated the University for getting NAAC A++ grade.
The Minister also congratulated the meritorious students for their performance.29 Medals were awarded to the meritorious students at the ceremony virtually. 55 PhD and 13 MPhil Degree certificates were also conferred to the successful students in different streams at the convocation. This time female students have excelled and out of total 29 medals, 21 were awarded to female students and of the total Phd and MPhil degrees awarded, 37 were to female students.Prof. Nageshwar Rao, Vice-Chancellor of the university in his welcome address presented and apprised the Minister and others present there (and also virtually across India) of the last year report summing up the activities undertaken by the university in the trying times of Corona pandemic. He informed that the university through its network of 56 Regional Centers and 21 schools provided non-stop academic support to learners through Digital technology. He highlighted that apart from the online sessions held by the Regional Centers during the pandemic more than 300 sessions were conducted by IGNOU faculty through the Facebook platform of the university. He reiterated the vision and mission of the university to provide affordable, accessible quality higher education to all sections of society irrespective of their backgrounds increasing the Gross Enrolment Ratio.The Convocation ceremony was streamed live on 'YouTube' and Swayam Prabha Channels for Higher Education Managed by IGNOU in addition to 'Gyan Darshan, channel of the University, the 56 Regional Centers and the learners across the country.