From study material to sending out notices, distance learning courses have a lot to think about. Knowledge investigates what is ailing the sector.
The first correspondence course was in the country was launched fifty years ago, by the University of Delhi way back in 1962. Although at the time a cost-effective and efficient form of education (and gaining a degree thereof) was much needed, no one knew where this step would lead.
Fifty years later, the results are out. Distance education is a much-needed and efficient form of education, especially for those students who cannot afford, or do not qualify for regular programmes. Also, distance education, now helped with technology, helps students transcend geographical barriers as well.
Of course, has the first programme at University of Delhi not met with success, the process would have been delayed. It met with a great response, causing the launch of other programmes in the same mode. Not only did universities offer degree programmes in the distance education mode, but also professional courses were offered by institutes.
The sad part, however, is that despite the need for such courses, they have always been plagued with issues, and as many students put it, “receiving the step-motherly treatment”.
The study material
“Printed material in the form of notes or books forms the backbone of any such programme, since students solely depend on this material as far as knowledge and exams are concerned. Shouldn’t it be of the highest quality?” asks Kavita Ranga, who is pursuing her BCom via correspondence. She is not wrong. Many agree that an upgraded course structure is what students look for. “It is primitive,” says Ranga, who is much cued on the current market trends through her professional pursuit as an CA intern in Mumbai.
The reading material is further expected to enable a student self-learn. Therefore students prefer content in a simple, comprehensible language. A text-book format is unhelpful, they say. The text should be aided by examples, illustrations, graphs, figures and diagrams, self-explanatory in nature. Ranga says that some of the concepts in her material were not clear to her. “And so I had to buy other books to understand them,” leaning towards the fact that no wonder students purchase ‘ready reckoners’. Typing errors in the material is another challenge that he had to deal with.
Receiving material on time
The pace of receiving study and assignment material is of high consequence. If the study material is not received sequentially by students or is given at one go to them at the time of admission, it is a burden on students. Sahana Subedar, a language coordinator and a pursuer of BA programme from IGNOU says she doesn’t get assignments on time. “You have the option of downloading it from the website but most of the time, it is updating, so sometimes you don’t,” she describes the conundrum.
There have been instances when students have received even teh correspondence about important dates and notices after the time has passed!
It’s all online!
With everything available at a click of a button, institutions offering distance education modules should have a smooth interface with their students via their websites. But many fail to do so. “Nothing much is updated on the website! I am tired of logging on to the website looking for details, only to be faced with old material,” says Mansi Kapoor, who is pursuing her MA in Economics from the University of Mumbai. She adds, “Forget the notices and material, even for the submission of from and fees, they do not have a system in place. They make us (students) run from pillar to post each time! And God forbid if they were to answer the phone. I shudder to think that this is the best that Mumbai has to offer.”
Online learning was supposed to take care of this deficiency but students still grapple with it. But a few institutions have successfully achieved the same. Ranga, for example, rues her university’s apathy. It seems ironical to her that in an age of technological advancement, mail sent to the University’s website to sort out some query bounces back to her. She makes another attempt, fishing out other listed mail ids from the institution’s website redirecting the query but even two days later, she gets no response.
Personal Contact
This is the only system where students can have some face time with teachers and instructors. It should form one of the main pillars of support to any course. And it requires instructors to be available at fixed hours where students can come and clarify their doubts. Many study centres for correspondence programmes have fixed hours and with faculty members available to students within those hours. Unfortunately, these can be counted on the fingers. Which means that a majority of universities, including state universities have failed in establishing such contact programmes.
