Category Archives: people
Wow! The World’s Largest University – Democratic and Open to All
Size Matters
Early on in my years in the USA, when I first learned about the size of universities such as Ohio State or Texas-Austin, I gasped. My undergraduate and graduate degrees were at schools of a much more modest size, in the 5000-student range. By comparison, the universities that boasted a student body over 50,000 were huge.
But, I learned only recently that by far, the largest university in the world serves a staggering 4 million+ students and it is based in India. Who knew?
And what better one than this vast country – to apply the concept of distance learning and technology to expand the reach of higher education to its scores of people – including many millions who are financially disadvantaged?
Name Matters
It is an “Open University” – specifically IGNOU Or Indira Gandhi National Open University.
Open University is a concept conceived in the United Kingdom in the 1960s to open the doors of formal education to the masses.
It was founded on the belief that communications technology could bring high quality degree-level learning to people who had not had the opportunity to attend traditional campus universities.
Not only did the UK execute successfully on this concept but many other countries replicated it as well. India was one of them when it opened its doors wider and broader than ever before with IGNOU – Indira Gandhi National Open University.
Price Matters
Because of it’s mission to remove barriers to the maximum number of students, the tuition here is affordable. Very affordable. Have a look at some examples to see what I mean:
Course in Entrepreneurship (12 credits): $20
Bachelor’s Degree (B.Sc) in Life Sciences (3 years): $56 per year
Master’s in Education (2 years): $240
PhD in Physics (2 years): $280
And several high speciality degrees which are more up-market such as:
MBA in Hospitality Management (2 years): $2600 per year
Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Cardiology (2 years): $2000
Access Matters
This concept and unique institution enables individuals (of any age) who do not come from wealthy backgrounds or have limited resources and educational backgrounds to access higher learning – this is part of its overall mission. Can you say noble?
Education Matters
Courses range from technical Certificates and Diplomas in a range of subjects to Bachelors, Masters and PhD programs.
Check out the diverse number of schools of study available to the students! Simply amazing. The more I dug into this bastion of innovative higher education, the more impressed I became. It’s not often I can say this. About anything.
Success Matters
I am fascinated by this institution and what it has accomplished. Simply awesome!
There’s a slightly dated (circa 2010) but great animated presentation called IGNOU: A Success Story that I would urge you to watch. Short…about 5 minutes or less, but with great information on its innovations and position in the world of higher education.
Today, there are other well know open universities in India which are state based, including B.R. Ambedkar University in Hyderabad and Nalanda Open University in Bihar among many others. Copying a great success…why ever not?
But, there’s more. Now, it has expanded beyond the borders of India and is offering education to students in many parts of the world, especially the developing world. Wow!
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I have to say that as many times as I find myself staggered by the bad and the ugly side of India, just as many times I run across something that amazes and inspires me with its awesome mission or accomplishments. IGNOU – the people’s University is one of them. It is totally impressive and incredibly inspiring.
With all humility and the greatest of respect, my hats off – to its visionaries, innovators, supporters, leaders, contributors, and administrators – now and through the years.
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Safe and Warm in the City of Mumbai
Call me Pollyanna if you must, but I believe that people are generally good until proven otherwise. However, it’s very difficult to stick to this truism in many places around the world, especially the very large metro areas. It’s not that people are not good there, it’s just that we see very few demonstrations of it.
Either its a New York City where you are invisible – just one of the multitudes lost in the crowds, or it’s Los Angeles where again you are invisible – in the vast expanse of neighborhoods. Actually, I take that back, in NYC, sometimes you are not invisible but you wish you were, because someone else was rude to you just now…:)
I do see a difference in some of the southern US cities, and I see a difference in smaller towns, wherever they may be.
Not that it’s a small town by any account, but that brings me to Mumbai. I’ve compared its similiarities to NYC in another post but there are a couple of major differences.
Safe and Warm in the City of Mumbai!
For one, in Mumbai, people are warm to others. You may be a stranger or you may be a lifer, whatever the case may be, you are rarely invisible, and it’s even rarer to encounter rude behavior. People generally have a ‘live and let live’ attitude, and they are helpful when you need help. This is why I enjoy taking my visiting friends and showing them around the city. The weather may be unbearable in summer, but its people are not!
Here’s another quality that may surprise you. Notwithstanding all the stories you hear about the Mafia underworld of Mumbai, this is a safe city. It is said that a woman alone can take a taxi at 2 am in the morning and feel safe about reaching her destination problem-free. I have never done that before. But I could, without being overly concerned, since I have heard about Mumbai’s safety so many times from so many different people. I can’t say I’d do the same in New Delhi! And I won’t even feel that comfortable doing so in Bangalore or Hyderabad.
People in Mumbai - Monsoon Sunday at Gateway of India
Now that I’ve been here for a few months, I really believe in these qualities of Mumbai – people are generally nice to you, and it is known to be a safe city for ordinary people. I say this while acknowledging but ignoring some very special cases such as 26/11 and even the most recent bomb blasts that occurred just a few days ago . I relegate those to terrible acts of terrorism by a small fringe element – people essentially not from Bombay but seeking to destroy its very essence.
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So, back to the premise that people here are basically good-natured and warm. What I wonder though is, why is this the case?
Is it simply endemic to the region, i.e., are people from Maharashtra just built this way?
Or, rather, is it because Mumbai is a melting pot of so many different cultures from around the country (and world) that it has become that way?
I really don’t know the answer, but would sure love to hear others’ theories about this. Please, enlighten me!
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Photo 1: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joezach/90248788/ {{cc-by-2.0}}
Photo 2: Sandhya – June 2011
The Yin and Yang of Life Anywhere 