Hyderabad: Osmania University’s G. Ram Reddy Center for Distance Education has surplus funds, an unlikely thing in OU but still its affairs are in poor state. The center is staring at a huge shortage of study material which has to be supplied to around 10,000 students.
Every year as soon as students take admission they are given study material by the university. This year as admissions have started for various courses offered by the center officials are worried that they might not be able to provide study material to all of them.
The center has only a limited number of books. However, this is not enough to provide books to everyone. To print new books there are specific procedures like inviting tenders for printing which needs the attention of the VC, which none of the university’s entities have been fortunate to get from the in-charge VC.
Moreover, the distance education center has not changed the number and variety of courses it offers. It offers 20 under graduation, PG and diploma courses which have stayed the same since three decades.
While the central and state governments have been talking a lot about skill development the center for distance education in OU does not offer a single course on it.
There are no bachelor courses on offer in the science stream and at the PG level M.Sc is offered only in Mathematics and Statistics.
The situation is so pathetic that even after 38 years of its establishment the center has been able to open just 10 centers in the state, that too in just five districts, Nizamabad, Medak, Ranga Reddy, Mahbubnagar and Nalgonda.
These centers serve as contact points for students from districts with the university and also as exam centers.
Women show big interest
Women who are not privileged enough to go for regular education are increasingly taking to distance education, as is evident from the intakes at OU’s Center for Distance Education.
The center has about 50,000 students pursuing various courses, of which over 50 per cent are women. This year, among all the courses on offer MBA saw the largest jump in interest from students.
Apart from MBA, MA in English and Telugu and M.Com are the other most sought after courses in distance mode.
