What is the full form of IGNOU

IGNOU: Indira Gandhi National Open University

IGNOU stands for Indira Gandhi National Open University. It was established in 1985 by the special Act of Parliament. Thus, it is a statutory body. It is set up to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio of the country and disseminate high-quality inclusive education to build a scholarly society through Open and Distance Learning mode. The IGNOU was started in 1987 with two academic programmes, a Diploma in Management and a Diploma in Distance Education, with an initial enrollment of around 4500 students. Currently, the University provides education to approximately 3 million students worldwide in ODL (Open and Distance Learning) mode.

IGNOU provides its educational services in India and overseas through a network of 67 Regional Centers, 21 Schools of Studies, 2000 Learners Support Centers and 20 foreign institutions. It offers around 200 degrees, diplomas, certificates and doctoral programmes.

Objectives of IGNOU

• Offer easy access to higher education to everyone in society.
• Provide higher educational programmes at an affordable cost.
• Provide the students with high-quality and innovative educational programmes in ODL mode.
• Coordinate, supervise and promote the quality of education provided through ODL mode in the nation.
• Provide the opportunity to work for professionals and dropouts to continue their higher education.

IGNOU is committed to providing quality education and professional development through distance education.

IGNOU's Core Values

• Openness- It aims to open higher education to all sections of the society irrespective of their sex, caste, age, background, language, place and religion.
• Flexibility- IGNOU provides flexibility in gaining education with no limit on age, duration, time of entry, etc.
• Affordability- IGNOU offers its higher education programmes at a very minimal rate to enable access to higher education without any cost concerns.
• Inclusiveness- IGNOU promotes inclusive education by easing the reach of education to marginalised sections of the society by breaking all the barriers like disability, gender, creed, age and ethnicity.
• Life-Long Learning- IGNOU provides the opportunity to learn without any age barrier and structures its programmes per the needs of its diverse learners.
• Excellence- IGNOU aims to provide high-quality higher education in ODL mode and continuously works to provide the best education in an updated manner.

Functional Divisions in IGNOU

Multiple divisions are operating under IGNOU, like: -

• Academic Co-ordination Division
• Administration Division
• Construction and Maintenance Division
• Finance and Accounts Division
• Library and Documentation Division
• Material Product and Distribution Division
• Regional Services Division
• Student Evaluation Division, etc.

Chairs in IGNOU

IGNOU is home to multiple chairs in honour of eminent personalities and institutions, the prominent among them are: -

• Bahadur Shah Zafar Chair
• Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (IGNOU)- IGNOU Chair
• Dr B.R Ambedkar, Chair on Social and Development
• Sindhi Chair

Administration of IGNOU

The head of the IGNOU is the Vice-Chancellor, who is currently Prof. Nageshwar Rao and the President of India is the visitor to the University. Next to the Vice-Chancellor is the Pro-Vice Chancellor, who is currently Prof. Rajendra Prasad Das.

The University is managed by the Board of Management, headed by the Vice-Chancellor, and includes other members like Pro-VC, Secretary of the ministry of higher education, Secretary of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and other members.

Famous personalities who are alumni of IGNOU

IGNOU has been the educational institution of various famous personalities of our country like Keshvendra Kumar (IAS), Himanshu Kumar (IAS), Kartik Gurunathan Iyer (IAS), Ashok Khemka (IAS), Deepika Padukone (actress), Sudipta Chakraborty (actress), Reema Debnath (actress), General Deepak Kapoor (Former Chief of Army Staff), Biswatosh Sengupta (Indian academic), etc.

IGNOU e-GyanKosh Portal

The e-GyanKosh portal is the flagship program of IGNOU. It is a central repository of educational materials of all courses available at zero cost to all learners, teachers and other users. It facilitates all the students to get access to study materials freely. Study materials of ABOUT 2565 courses are accessible on e-GyanKosh.

Important facts about IGNOU

• IGNOU is the largest open (with ODL support) University in the world.
• In 1993, the Commonwealth of Learning recognised IGNOU as the Centre of Excellence.
• In 1999, the Commonwealth of Learning honoured IGNOU with the Award of Excellence for Distance Education Materials.
• IGNOU has a 24*7 educational channel titled 'Gyan Darshan'.
• IGNOU was declared the world's largest institution of Higher education by UNESCO in 2010.
• IGNOU proclaims term-end results within 45 days.