IGNOU to open study centres in six European destinations

Updated on: Thursday, September 23, 2010

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), the largest Open University in the world, has plans to open study centres in six European nations, including Germany and France, Vice Chancellor V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai has said.

"We will open our centre in Paris next month. Negotiation is going on with Germany. I hope we will start in Germany by the end of this year. Our target is to open five-six centres in Europe by July 2011," Pillai said.

The Netherlands and Austria are the other European destinations where IGNOU is mulling to open study centres. It already has a centre in London.

Besides the regular courses, IGNOU would offer personalised courses in Gandhian studies and some Indian languages such as Sanskrit through its new study centres in Europe.

IGNOU's low course fee was a big hindrance in forging agreements overseas. "Our fee is quite low when you compare it with what is charged by universities in the developed countries. We are planning to restructure the fees for courses offered outside India," Pillai said.

IGNOU presently, has 56 study centres spread across 35 countries. Over 42,000 students are enrolled at its overseas centres. More than 90 percent of its students are people of Indian origin. IGNOU courses are also becoming increasingly popular in Africa and the Gulf region that has a large strength of Indian expatriates.

He said IGNOU will also introduce e-books within six months to increase the popularity of its courses among high-tech students. He said, "We will start with management and IT and gradually introduce it for all the courses. It is cost effective and user friendly." The university also plans to offer video-conferencing facilities for all its 56 overseas study centres soon.

IGNOU to open study centres in six European destinations

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