Centre for Distance and Online Education
दूरस्थ एवं ऑनलाइन शिक्षा केंद्र
Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra
Centre for Distance and Online Education - A brief
Kurukshetra University started its Distance Education programmes way back in 1976 by establishing Directorate of Correspondence Courses to provide opportunities for aspirational masses not able to be part of regular education. It began its journey in 1976 with 394 students in Pre-university and First year of BA Programme with limited courses. BA Programme was rolled out in phased manner and by 1979-80 session the number of students has gone up to 2000 which further escalated to 4200 in 1985-86. Currently it enrolls approx 15,000 students. It was renamed Directorate of Distance Education in 2006 and CDOE in 2023 to keep pace with changing environment.
The modest beginnings led to expansion of CDOE with the opening of more programmes and higher enrolment of learners. During this journey of 46 years it has evolved to match the changing needs of its learners by transiting from distance education to more interactive Online & Distance Learning (ODL) and Online Education.
The activities of distance education are multifaceted to include admissions, providing study material, conducting personal contact classes, counselling students, examinations and final certifications. These activities get supported from different offices and departments of the University for Seamless Learner Experiences. CDOE has been able to manage external challenges effectively and specially during COVID-19, it engaged its learners online through live lectures for Personal Contact Programmes (PCP) and conducted online proctored examinations as per demand of the situation.
The hallmarks of CDOE achievements are the high number of learners on its platform for 40 ODL programmes, ability to provide expert faculty members for PCP/counselling and integration of its programmes with the regular ones on campus. It is making constant endeavours to upgrade its resources and delivery and has started Online vertical with four programmes in June 2022 wherein it was able to get learners from African countries through Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). It is aspiring to strengthen and expand its online bucket from the July 2023 session with 15 additional programmes.
The coming times provide ample avenues to CDOE to touch the base with more learners particularly the scope provided by NEP 2020 for online education. The future plans of CDOE include devising programmes with industry integration, internationalization and global pathways.