The University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to implement Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), its vice-chairman H. Devaraj has said.
MOOCs will help students pursue distance education in a big way, he said, adding, “We have lot of e-content and e-patshala available with us with which we will implement the new system.”
Delivering the convocation address recently at Sathyabama University, Semmanchery, Mr. Devaraj called upon educational institutions to concentrate more on accountability. Over the last 60 years, the country had achieved access and equity in the education system, he said. “As we have achieved access and equity, we now have to bring in excellence to the higher education system.”
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Sathyabama University founder-chancellor Jeppiaar exhorted students to pursue higher education, stating that a mere undergraduation qualification would be unlikely to fetch them the big jobs. “You should pursue higher studies and become job-providers rather than job-seekers,” he said.
The university conferred honorary doctorate degrees on K. Sivan, project director (GSLV), Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, ISRO, film script-writer Arur Doss and Nagaswaram exponent Mambalam M.K.S. Siva.
A total of 1,539 undergraduate and 933 postgraduate students received their degrees, with a large number of them being gold medallists. Besides this, 85 research scholars received their doctorate degrees.
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The placement record for 2013-14 stood at 72.83 per cent.