GetMyUni's Verdict on IGNOU

Preyoti Dey

“A world-recognised open distance education provider, who has brought forth a reliable and sustainable way for students to access their desired courses at distance mode. If one can ignore the occasional managerial mismanagements, IGNOU makes for a smart choice.”

Indira Gandhi National Open University was named after the former Prime Minister of India, Smt. Indira Gandhi is the largest open University in the world, providing over 200+ courses. Started in 1985 with a vision to evolve the education system, IGNOU currently supports more than 85,000 learners across various UG and PG courses. However, students still feel a void when it comes to getting a holistic college education from the University.

IGNOU houses 21 schools with 56 regional centres, 1843 student centres and 21 overseas centres, which certainly causes some amount of mismanagement and has been a factor of displeasure among students. Courses at the University are usually targeted at aspirants looking to upskill, bound by work or personal commitments. 

The most striking feature of IGNOU is that UGC-DEB approves its distance and online programs with an NAAC A++ accreditation. However, students find the curriculum outmoded. On the other hand, the admission process at IGNOU is simple, with low-cost course fees, which makes it a great deal for students from diverse backgrounds. 

Moreover, the varsity has scholarship options for students belonging to SC /ST /OBC /Minority /PWD students. Placements are equal to nil since it is an open university, although the fees being low makes it a good value for money. Let’s check out student insights on the key components of IGNOU, like campus, infrastructure, curriculum, faculty, placements and more. 

Table of Contents:

• A Standardised Campus
• Practised Faculty
• Thoughtful Diversity and Inclusion Policies
• No Provision of Hostel or Mess
• Non-existent Dress Code
• Limited Rules and Regulations
• Shoddy and Negligent Management
• Dearth of Events and Activities
• Visible Placements
• Reasons to Choose IGNOU

A Standardised Campus

IGNOU does not have a centralised campus, however their regional centres are open to students and they are welcome to avail all modern facilities like computer laboratories, gymnasium, library, health centre, convention centre and more. Additionally, authorities take active effort in maintaining the campus infrastructure through frequent maintenance work, and daily cleaning.

The library is the most visited place on the campus as it is highly resourceful and students find all the required study materials. Importantly, it has an ideal ambience to concentrate and study in a peaceful setting.

Regional Centres of Delhi NCR

IGNOU operates out of the Indian capital city, New Delhi. It has a total of 31 centres, open to enrollers on Saturdays and Sundays to visit, learn or submit assignments and projects. All its study centres have designated IGNOU academic staff like coordinators, assistant coordinators and attendants. Below are a few of the study centres in Delhi. 

Practised Faculty

IGNOU holds a massive group of 810 faculty members, with most being highly qualified and PhD holders. They come with an experience of 15 to 30 years which is highly impressive and makes the University a top choice among students. The faculty conducts lectures mostly on weekends, which students may attend if they wish to. However, attendance for practical classes is mandatory at the study centre, for courses such as Chemistry or Computer Applications.

According to student reviews online, some departments perform extremely well, while some are mediocre to ‘lousy’. Departments like Psychology have had a very good student response, due to the faculty's active efforts in supplying notes to students which are at par with top psychology books. Even the classes and teaching methods of the department were mention worthy. 

Students have raised multiple complaints regarding the course curriculum for a few programs in IGNOU. Books followed at the University are not up-to-date which requires students to search for external resources. Moreover, students find that courses taught at other colleges in similar programs are much more advanced when compared to IGNOU. 

Students hope that the University takes active steps to combat this persisting issue of curriculum, and release a revised set of material for students of upcoming batches. 

Thoughtful Diversity and Inclusion Policies

IGNOU undertakes yearly initiatives to ensure an inclusive environment. The activities aim at spreading awareness, tolerance and maintaining harmony towards cultural, regional, linguistic, communal, socio-economic and other diversities. Some of the initiatives are mentioned below. 

• Webinar on “Mental health and wellbeing: Implications for human values and the future of humanity”
• Online Lecture on “Multilingual India: A cultural force" 
• Twenty days celebrations were observed under ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ 
• Webinar on ‘Haiku’
• Lecture on "Anti Colonial Movements in North East India as part of “AzadiKa Amrut Mahotsav” 

Being under the Central Government of India, IGNOU witnesses active enrollments of over 4 million students in India and abroad. Due to the large student volume, it automatically opens its door to students from all over the world irrespective of caste, gender, creed, race, ethnicity etc. 

IGNOU also provides scholarships and loans amounting to INR 50,000 per year to students with disabilities for UG and PG courses. Disabled learners get two extra years to complete their course and extramine during examinations. Moreover 3% of seats are reserved during admission for each course for PwD students. 

No Provision of Hostel or Mess

IGNOU does not provide students with accommodation, as it is primarily a distance and online education provider. Students have the luxury of learning from home and access resources from their nearest study centre in case the need arises. 

IGNOU has guest rooms and faculty stay facilities in a few centres. IGNOU Delhi also has a canteen, which serves simple meals and snacks to visiting, management, students and staff at a cost. 

Non-existent Dress Code

Indira Gandhi National Open University does not have any specific dress code for students as it operates at distance and online levels. The open university requires students to abide by a general dress code during the convocation ceremony, only. 

Students can attend the convocation ceremony at the IGNOU Main campus and in 36 other selected regional centres. Check the prescribed dress code below.

Limited Rules and Regulation

As IGNOU does not provide education in a traditional manner, rules and regulations at the University are limited to admission, fees, examinations, results and on an administrative level. A student handbook and prospectus is provided to each enroller at the beginning of their session. Some of the major rules enlisted on the code of conduct diary are as follows.

• IGNOU ID cards and hall tickets are mandatory documents for students to possess. 
• It is mandatory for students to pay the examination fee of INR 60 at the regional centre. 
• Fees once paid will not be refunded under any circumstances. 
• If students want to check the marks and answer sheets after examination, they can obtain a photocopy by paying INR 100 per course. 
• Students may take re-admission of left over courses after the expiry of maximum 4 years. 

Shoddy and Negligent Management

While all may seem positive at IGNOU, one of the major areas of displeasure among past IGNOU students is the handling of administrative work and management at the University. Complaints have multiplied on how the management has dealt with regulatory work. 

Allegedly, the University lags when it comes to processing projects, updating marks after revaluation, no-syllabus for Viva, and exam checking. Moreover there is a huge communication gap between the regional and study centres, which stresses students out. 

Students have agreed that the regional centre is not prompt when it comes to responding to emails or calls. Submissions are a pain, as directives aren’t communicated to students on time. Apart from that, courses like Mathematics and Computer languages are poorly documented. 

While IGNOU has tried digitalising each and every aspect under their control, students have often faced technical issues on their official website. 

Dearth of Events & Activities

IGNOU hosts all events such as seminars, webinars and guest lectures in online mode. There is no major assistance when it comes to skill development, hobbies or sports at the University. However, students can access the sports plex at the main campus and the gymnasium. 

Students do not treat IGNOU as a conventional college, therefore the expectations of events and extra-curricular are not so great. Usually, if there are any special events students are intimated via email to join the session. 

Visible Placements

Students of IGNOU are often confused whether the University has its own placement cell. To answer the question, it sure has a functional placement cell for which students need to register during the admission process. 

Students are however advised to keep a regular check on the official website to get updates concerning recruitments. The placement cell also sends text messages to students if there are upcoming drives on the IGNOU campus. Students usually carry two copies of the CVs to the Convention centre at Maidan Garhi, New Delhi near Saket.

Essentially, the placement process involves a series of written exams, interviews and group discussions. Students have hinted that the average salary acquired through campus placements range from INR 20,000 to INR 30,000 for MBA and MCA courses. 

Reasons to Choose IGNOU

The biggest advantage of studying at IGNOU is the mode of education. Students can learn from the comfort of their homes, while focusing on professional and personal work. Moreover they have the liberty to complete a course within 6 years. This makes it a viable option for most, minus the point that it is very economical. Further, we have listed a few pros and cons of studying at IGNOU. 

*Source: officialpageignou Instagram