Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], August 19 : Odisha Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj on Monday expressed happiness over the launch of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) diploma course in Early Childhood Care and Education in Odia.
The Odisha minister said that Most of the enrolled students are anganwadi workers or play school teachers and it is a step under the New Education Policy towards promoting education in Odia. He stated that the course was inaugurated by state deputy CM Pravati Parida on August 18.
"Most of the enrolled students are anganwadi workers or play school teachers. Under the New Education Policy, this is our step towards promoting education in the mother tongue..We are translating as many course materials in Odia as we can. Our intention is to make higher education more accessible," Suraj told reporters.
He informed that the state government signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with IGNOU on June 9, under which the process of translating the course material to Odia was supposed to be completed in 100 days.
"On June 9, we signed an MoU with IGNOU under which the process of translating the course material in Odia was to be completed in under 100 days. It was inaugurated today in the presence of Deputy CM Pravati Parida. Almost 31,000 students have enrolled in this course," he added.
Meanwhile, IGNOU Vice Chancellor Uma Kanjilal said that the introduction of the diploma course was the first step to make the study material available to the students in Odia and it will also help the institution overcome the language barrier.
She informed that within two to three months other courses as well will be translated to Odia and it is planned to translate all programs to Odia in the next two years.
"This is our first step in making the course material available in the mother tongue. This will help us overcome the language barrier...It is aligned with the NEP 2020...Within 2 to 3 months, other major programs will also be translated into Odia...We plan to translate all the programs within a span of 2 years. Next will be Undergraduate programs and then Postgraduate programs," Kanjilal told ANI.
The Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education (DECE), offered by IGNOU, has been translated into Odia. The Odia course material and textbooks were formally released on Monday by Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida and Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Higher Education Department and Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) on June 9 to introduce various IGNOU courses in Odia, as mentioned in a press release.
As per the MoU, IGNOU will offer its undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, along with doctoral diplomas, diplomas, certificate courses, Bachelor of Vocational Studies, Travel and Tourism Management, BBA, MBA, and several other programmes in the Odia language, as mentioned in a press release.
Previously, IGNOU offered the DECE course in English, Hindi and Tamil. From now on, it will also be available in Odia.
The DECE is a one-year diploma course, open to students after completion of +2. The programme primarily focuses on early childhood education, child health and nutrition. Along with textbooks, students will be provided with audio cassettes and video tutorials. Both theory and practical components have been incorporated, enabling students to gain not only academic knowledge but also hands-on experience.