Distance education could address dearth of teachers: Sibal

New Delhi, Nov 19

Distance education, via cell phones and other technology geared to provide open access to education, could address the dearth of teachers plaguing the Indian education system, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said Thursday.

"There is a need for distance education (in India) because conventional teaching methods cannot meet the challenges of our young population," Sibal said.

The minister was speaking at a function of the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of the country's largest distance learning provider, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).

Sibal informed that at present over 500 million people were under 25 years of age, and by 2020 the average age of an Indian would be 29 years.

"Thus we should be able to provide proactive and quality education for our young which may not be possible if we limit ourselves to formal pedagogical methodology," he said.

He added that there was a need to "invest on technologies and develop methods that would enable access to complex education resources".

The minister pointed out that the use of cell phones, air waves and wi fi could be tapped for distance education. "In the absence of adequate teachers, interactive teaching is essential," he said.

"Although the Internet is a large resource feed, instruments that disseminate knowledge will also undergo change (as technology evolves)," Sibal added.

He concluded by saying that if India wants to fulfil its goal of achieving "over 90 percent literacy soon" from the current 64 percent then there was "a need to investigate, innovate and look for newer solutions".

Last updated on Nov 19^th, 2009 at 18:50 pm IST--IANS

Possibly related news:

By Emma Robert at Nov 30, 2009 5:14 PM IST

Subject of your post is very interesting, bookmarked.

Other News Headlines

Hostel warden arrested for sexually exploiting inmates

Shimla, Feb 9

A hostel warden was arrested Tuesday in Himachal Pradesh on charges of sexually exploiting nine poor tribal girls for more than a year, the police said.

No good or bad Taliban, says Iran

New Delhi, Feb 9

Airing its unease over the proposed reintegration of Taliban in Afghanistan, Iran Tuesday rejected any distinction between good Taliban and bad Taliban, and sought closer cooperation with India in stabilising the violence-torn country.

Genetic engineering panel should be more transparent: Ramesh

New Delhi, Feb 9

Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh Tuesday said the working of the government-appointed committee on genetic engineering needs to be changed, and it should conduct itself in a more transparent manner.

Sena mobs attack theatres ahead of 'My Name Is Khan' release (Lead)

Mumbai, Feb 9

Shiv Sena activists Tuesday went on a rampage and attacked several cinema halls that will screen Shah Rukh Khan's "My Name Is Khan" despite the Mumbai Police assuring full security at the 63 cinemas and multiplexes that will showcase the movie.

'Rath yatra' to herald Gujarat golden jubilee

Gandhinagar, Feb 9

Celebrating the golden jubilee of Gujarat's formation, a state-wide 'Swarnim Gujarat Sankalp Rath Yatra' will be flagged off from here Feb 12. It will cover each one of the 19,165 villages of the state.

Enter Your Name and Email below and Post your comment
Name	Email:
Comment:

Please login to use this service
Usermame :
Password :
Quick signup \| Forgot Password