Higher Education Department, IGNOU sign MoU to offer courses in Odia

Bhubaneswar: The Higher Education Department,Government of Odisha and the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to offer a range of undergraduate, postgraduate, diploma and certificate programmes in the Odia language.

With this initiative, IGNOU now will provide courses such as Bachelor’s degrees, Master’s degrees, Post Graduate diplomas, diplomas, certificates, specialised programmes in Travel & Tourism Management, BBA, MBA and other courses in Odia language in Odisha

Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj attended the signing ceremony as the Chief Guest.

“Through this MoU, our students can now pursue higher education in Odia,” he stated.

Suraj emphasised that offering programmes in mother tongue removes the barriers, “Language or medium should no longer be a hindrance in access to higher education.”

He added that this initiative reinforces the National Education Policy 2020’s focus on providing education in regional languages. This MoU Signing is expected to foster students’ creativity, reduce dropout rates and boost the state’s gross enrolment ratio in higher education.

The students from various higher education institutions welcomed this initiative, noting that many students would greatly benefit from accessing higher education through the Odia medium.

Arvind Agarwal, Commissioner Cum Secretary, Higher Education Department, Special Secretary Ramakant Nayak, IGNOU Vice-Chancellor Professor Uma Kanjilal and Registrar Dr. Alok Chaubey were present at the event.