Jamia Millia Islamia’s distance learning programmes have been creating quite a buzz, with lots of people calling in and enquiring about the same.
Whether it be students who could not meet the cutthroat cut-offs needed for regular undergraduate programmes or working professionals wanting that edge which a post-graduate degree or diploma can give them — Jamia says their programmes can accommodate them all, provided they meet the minimum eligibility criteria.
Centres in Kerala, Karnataka “We have been actively promoting the distance programme for the past one year. We have also been expanding our centres, but with caution keeping in mind the quality that we need to maintain. The ethos of the distance-learning mode is that a person should be able to complete the course without travelling all the way to the university in Delhi. Recently, centres have opened up in Kerala and Karnataka too,” says Centre for Distance Learning director Mirza Tariq Beg.
The distance programme has centres all over the city where contact classes take place over the weekend.
Although attending these classes is not compulsory, Jamia says most students attend them since regular faculty is usually available as counsellors.
“There are discussions. And there is some guidance on how to go about doing the assignments since evaluation is a mixture of home assignments as well as exams,” says Mukesh Rajan, who used to be the programme co-ordinator for many years and is now teaching in the English Department.
He added that new Vice-Chancellor Talat Ahmad has made the distance-learning programme a specific area that he wants to focus.
“The courses have been structured by the faculty — the assignments and evaluation, everything will be done by them. It is almost the same as getting an education from our regular courses. We are treating the distance courses on the par with our regular courses,” said Prof. Beg, adding he wanted people to understand that taking distance courses is almost as good as taking the regular ones. He says a person will not feel short-changed if they opt for the course and do the assignments properly.
Job-oriented “We have even contacted the placement office to register the distance-learning students. There are many degrees and diplomas that are job-oriented,” he said.
Prof. Beg also says there is a marked preference for a study centre in Jamia and that there were several fresh graduates who are opting for the distance-learning programme.
“There are many reasons for that — financial constraints, personal issues, the fact that they are employed or they do not wish to attend classes soon after they finish college. But we see a lot of fresh graduates in addition to professionals who want an extra degree or diploma to give them an edge. If you come to Jamia over the weekend, you will see a lot of young people here,” he said, adding that their B.Ed and M.A English programmes were very popular.
Exams for around 20 degree courses are conducted annually. The university has plans to expand into professional courses like MBA and other job-oriented courses.
