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Educational channels may become part of DTH bouquet of Doordarshan

— Photo: T. Singaravelou

WELCOMING THE GUEST: Minister of State for Human Resource Development M.A.A. Fatmi receiving a sapling from Vice-Chancellor of Pondicherry University J.A.K. Tareen at the inauguration of film festival in Puducherry on Wednesday.

PUDUCHERRY: Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development M.A.A. Fatmi said on Wednesday that educational channels might soon become part of the direct-to-home bouquet of Doordarshan.

Inaugurating a three-day festival of documentary films, Prakriti 2008, at the Pondicherry University, he said the Ministry of Human Resource Development had introduced several educational channels to provide knowledge resources on television round the clock to students, teachers and common people with the advancement of compression technology.

“I am aware that these channels are not able to reach the people to the extent expected owing to the indifferent attitude of cable operators . I am sure educational channels may soon become part of the DTH bouquet of the Doordarshan,” he said.

In the 11th Five Year Plan, the priority was enhancement of enrolment ratio in higher education from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.

“This would mean that we may have to expand capacities to accommodate seven million more students at tertiary level,” Mr. Fatmi said.

The Consortium for Educational Communication (CEC) of the University Grants Commission (UGC) has an important role in achieving the targeted Gross Enrolment Ratio.

Under e-content scheme of the UGC, the CEC and its 17 media centres were geared-up to make available courseware in e-content format to the targeted group with the help of multimedia, he said.

“These courses will be complete and help significantly to overcome inadequacy of human resource and teachers in various parts of the country,” he said.

The CEC also proposes to set up a technology-enabled system of mass higher education by taking advantage of Vyas Higher Education Channel, Edusat network for two-way communication.

“The Union government during the 11th Five Year Plan has allocated adequate funds under the national mission in education through Information Communication Technology ensuring requisite funds to the institutions engaged in dissemination of quality higher education through electronic mode,” he said.

For this, the CEC had to go in line with the national mission in education through the ICT. The CEC might have to adopt strategies to catch up with fast developing e-mode process in education communication, he added.

Vice-Chancellor of Pondicherry University J.A.K. Tareen said that a university should have connectivity with society and surroundings.

“Media is an important tool in helping in this connectivity. We have converted a godown into a media centre at the university. This is only a temporary arrangement and we will come up with a huge building for the centre,” he added.

Deputy Director-General of Doordarshan, Chennai, Vedamani Senapathi, director of CEC Tilak R. Kem, Research Scientist of CEC Rajendra Mishra and director of Culture and Cultural Relations, Pondicherry University, A. Balasubramanian spoke.

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