Centre plans to e-connect all major universities

NEW DELHI: Taking a strong step forward towards e-learning, the human resource development (HRD) ministry is planning to inter-connect all institutions of national importance and excellence through broadband.

In addition, over 375 universities and about 18,600 colleges will also be connected besides being providing with specially generated e-learning material.

Under its National Education Mission, the ministry plans to e-content over 150 courses prepared by National Project for Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) through the IITs and the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, HRD minister Arjun Singh said during the consultative committee meeting on Monday.

Several innovative suggestions were also discussed at the meeting. These include the need to popularise ‘earn while you learn schemes’, removal of disparity in quality between colleges in urban and rural areas, the need for the UGC to review its system of recognition for financial assistance so that more colleges could become eligible, optimum utilisation of physical infrastructure through encouragement to evening colleges and working in shifts so as to increase the capacity of intake, need for improving teaching methodology in undergraduate courses in Arts and Sciences through use of multimedia and new pedagogical tools.