Rama Krishna Sangem
Dr BR Ambedkar Open University, one of the oldest open varsities in India, is ready for new challenges, said Vice-Chancellor Prof K Seetharama Rao. He said this while addressing 24th Convocation of the university held in the presence of Telangana Governor and Chancellor of the varsity Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan on the campus in Hyderabad on August 6, Saturday.
Commonwealth of Learning CEO Prof Asha S Kanwar, from Vancouver, Canada, was the chief guest and key note speaker at the convocation. A total 126 gold medals (degree 43, PG -85) were awarded in the ce4emony. Of them, 87 are women while 41 are men. As many as 12 book prizes too were awarded. A total 79,968 candidates have passed degrees and diplomas. As many as 20 PhD/MPhil scholars received their degrees.
Governor Dr Tamilisai called upon the youth to become job creators, not just job seekers in society. She presented gold medals and degrees to students from different disciplines. She lauded Dr BR Ambedkar Open University’s commitment to society and community learning for various sections of society. Those who learn education from the varsity include armed forces personnel to prisoners.
Prof Asha S Kanwar said that the world has seen huge changes in the last three years thanks to Covid-19. “Our education system and learning and teaching practices too have undergone tremendous changes, we need to adjust to those changes,” said Prof Kanwar. Covid has affected learning levels of around 220 millions, 95 per cent of the students, she said.
There are 33 open universities in the Commonwealth, of which 17 are in India and many more are likely to come up soon, said Prof Kanwar. These open varsities impart education to around 50 lakh students through distance learning every year. Prof Kanwar hoped that the National Education Policy 2020 will help increase in gross enrollment (GER) to go up to present 27 to 50 per cent by 2035.
VC Prof Seetharama Rao said that the BRAOU is ready with enough technologies to gear up to the challenges faced by distance learning in the wake of Covid related problems. “We are going to seek NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) by next year,” said Prof Seetharama Rao. The VC told the gathering that the varsity has entered into many MoUs with leading institutions in the last 3 years.
