Higher education is essential as it improves an individual’s quality of life; higher education not only provides a degree but also increases his choice of life, helps in personality development, generates greater cultural awareness and helps develop skills and knowledge necessary for today’s world.
When today’s society is focusing on education 4.0 with smart technology, artificial intelligence, robotics, virtual learning and the NEP 2020 is going to bring vast reforms, there are still areas where higher education is a dream for the inhabitants. As per the AISHE Report 2020-21, there are 141 districts in the country which are having less than ten colleges. In Odisha, five districts are there with less than ten colleges; and still there are blocks where there is no college to provide higher education to the aspirants.
As per the AISHE Report 2020-21, enrolment in higher education increased to 4.14 crore from 3.85 crore in 2019-20 crossing the 4-crore mark for first time marking an increase of 7.5%. Female enrolment also witnessed a good growth which reached 2-crore mark, an increase of 13 lakh from 2019-20. The data seem rosy at the national level,,but the question to be pondered is whether the growth is uniform across all the States or the developed States are dominating the growth rate.
In 2019-20, the college density, i.e., the number of colleges per lakh eligible population (population in the age-group 18-23 years) varied from 7 in Bihar to 59 in Karnataka as compared to an all-India average of 30. A year after, it increased to 8 in Bihar and 62 in Karnataka with an all-India average of 31.
Odisha is lagging behind the national averages in higher education. The average enrolment in the State’s government colleges is 689 against the national average of 1,097. Similarly, the average enrolment in an aided private college is 643 and private college is 397 against national averages of 1,057 and 465, respectively. In Odisha, the number of colleges increased from 1,087 to 1,206 and the number of colleges per lakh of population increased from 24 to 26 during the year over the last year.
The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in Odisha stands at 20.7% against 27.3% at the national level. The GER among the male is 21.3 and female is 20.1 against the national GER of 26.7 and 27.9, respectively. There is a vast gap between the State and national figures in the GER level.
India has one of the largest Open and Distance Education (ODL) systems in the world, second only to China. To increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER), there is every need to increase the number of higher educational institutions (HEIs) and ODL came in to help the students fulfil their dreams of higher education. It has become a useful and popular mode of obtaining degrees for a large number of students who are staying in remote corners and for whom accessing HEIs on a regular basis is still a dream.
As per the All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) 2019-20 distance enrolment constitutes 11.1% of the total enrolment in higher education, of which 44.5% are female students. Of the total students pursuing education in the ODL mode, six States where it is popular account for 60.5% of the total enrolment. Delhi accounts for 15.9%, Maharashtra 15.5%, Tamil Nadu 12.5%, Andhra Pradesh 6.2%, Kerala 6% and West Bengal 4.4%. The rest of the country contributes 39.5% of the ODL enrolment. In fact, the objective of ODL is to serve the purpose of the students of remote and backward areas, but the developed States are ahead in reaping its benefits. Efforts have to be made to make it popular in other States to provide equity and access to higher education to the disadvantaged students.
The AISHE reports reveal that 60,432 students were enrolled in Odisha through distance mode in 2019-20 and it increased to 67,589 in 2020-21 marking an increase of 11.6%. The number of male students increased from 29,873 to 30,104, a growth of 1.5% whereas the number of female students swelled from 30,559 to 37,485 marking a growth of 22.66%s.
The AISHE reports reveal that 56,151 students were enrolled in Odisha through the distance mode in 2017-18 and it increased to 67,586 in 2020-21 marking a growth of 20.4% during the four-year period. The number of male students decreased from 33,492 to 30,104 witnessing a negative growth of 10% while that of female students swelled from 22,659 to 37,485, a growth of 65.4%.
The objective of ODL is to provide higher education at the doorsteps of the aspirants, that too at affordable price. Employees, housewives, students, etc., prefer ODL when they are not in a position to attend regular classes. It increases their scope of employment and chances of promotion in their existing jobs.
The hindrance of ODL is that they open study centres in different existing institutions which coordinate the activities on behalf of the parent organisation. The students, who enrolled themselves in the ODL, attend the study centres for occasional classes, clarification of doubts and, above all, for appearing at examinations. When no academic institution is there in a block or a district, it cannot open its study centre in that area.
Government support is necessary for popularisation of the ODL system. When a degree college, either in private or government management, is established, it paves way for bringing ODL to the remote area of the State or the district. The dreams of the aspirants for pursuing PG and other courses which are not available in their area can be materialised. The Government should prioritise opening of a degree college in every block to facilitate entry of the ODL learning which can further enable the people to pursue higher education.
The NEP clarified that the ODL programmes are equivalent to regular on-campus programmes, stressed online programmes but was silent about establishment of open universities. There is every need to set up open universities in every State to take higher education to the doorsteps of the stakeholders. The Government has to recognise the importance of open universities and take appropriate steps in order to achieve the ambitious target of achieving 35 GER by 2035.
(Dr Biswal is Principal, Nabarangpur College, Nabarangpur-764063.
Phone: 9437125286