Monday, July 05, 2010

• The committee will review existing study material given for distance education
• It will also identify experts to help develop quality study material

Bangalore: Bangalore University is taking steps to address the issues that had tarnished the image of its Directorate of Distance Education and Correspondence Courses.

The university has constituted an expert committee to improve the quality of the study materials given to students of correspondence courses and to identify eligible study centres for distance education. The committee is headed by Chambi Puranik, former Dean (Academics), Karnataka State Open University, and comprises K. Eresi, Head, Department of Foreign Language, and P.S. Jayaramu, Dean, Faculty of Arts. But, the committee, which is awaiting sanction of required infrastructure and financial commitments, is yet to begin its activities

The committee has to identify experts who can develop study materials based on the syllabus of various correspondence courses besides ensuring that the study material thus developed matches the international standard.

According to sources in the university, Prof. Puranik was chosen to head the committee as he was well-versed with the problems and had led a high-power committee that reviewed the study centres of the directorate following complaints of examination malpractices, and had submitted a report recommending a series of guidelines for improvement of the directorate.

One of the findings of the high-power committee was that “the subject contents of most of the study materials is sub-standard, not updated periodically and full of mistakes, which are repeated in every subsequent print,” the officer said.

The officer said that the high-power committee had, in its report, referred to the study materials of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), as a model to be followed and Bangalore University is keen to ensure that quality study materials are supplied to the student for maintaining the standard of higher education even in the distance education mode.
Meanwhile, pointing out that preparing quality study material was a challenging task involving multi-level review of contents by different experts, the officer said the expert committee has been given six months to prepare new study materials so that the university can provide the quality study materials in the next academic year.