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The purpose of this paper is to make an assessment of the challenges in disseminating higher education to the learners in tribal communities, and problems solving capacity of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) by strategically making use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) taking a case of Madhya Pradesh (MP), which is the most tribal dominated state of India. The paper offers valuable insight in to the usage of ICT as a strategy for the ODL system presenting an account of how it can be utilized effectively to disseminate higher education in tribal communities.

Exploratory and descriptive techniques were utilized in this paper adopting the research strategy of case study in terms of the strategic potentialities of ICT in disseminating higher education in tribal communities by ODL using it as a strategy for their empowerment and development.

The findings of the paper reveal that dissemination of higher education in tribal areas is a challenging task especially due to their socioeconomic conditions and ethno cultural settings in addition to numerous infrastructural and access related issues. In view of the need of integrating education with the Indigenous perspectives, ICT can be used as an effective strategy by ODL for disseminating higher education amongst learners in those communities by reaching out to them.

This paper concludes that ICT can help ODL immensely in developing countries such as India strategically in reaching the tribal learners surpassing financial and geographical constraints with a learner centric approach increasing the capacity, quality and cost effectiveness of education system bringing the concept of strategy to center stage, at a time when ICT has fundamentally changed the strategies of different sectors including education with the unprecedented growth in its use.

This paper concludes that ICT has fundamentally changed the strategies of different sectors including higher education with the unprecedented growth in its use. It also concludes that Indian higher educational sector faced with multitude of challenges is not insulated from the effect of ICT, and its emancipatory and transformative potentials in higher education can play a major substantive role by extending support to meet the increasing higher educational needs of the tribal communities by sufficiently embedding it so that their greater contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be ensured.

The paper reports the feedback collected from students of the Master of Social Work (MSW) Programme of the School of Social Work (SOSW), Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), through open and distance learning (ODL), in India. The paper discusses findings related to learner profile, student support services, assignments, academic counselling, fieldwork, audio/video/teleconferencing facilities, Internet access and challenges faced by the learners. The findings will be useful for researchers and practitioners, will help in improving the overall quality of the programme, in designing the delivery mechanism as per the needs of MSW learners and in preparing them to be trained professionals to work in social development sector in India.

For data collection, a questionnaire was prepared and sent to all the students of the MSW programme along with assignment, across India. Responses from 290 students were voluntarily received.

The research findings are that MSW (ODL) students are older, mostly married with the average male learners age being 35 years and that of female learners being 30 years, there are more female learners than male learners, majority of the learners are Hindu from general category, tend to be employed, mostly full-time and some part-time, with work experience. They are from urban, semi-urban, rural and tribal areas with Internet access. Most of the students preferred to read printed self-learning materials than digitally available on eGyanKosh or IGNOUmobile app especially in rural areas though with increasing access to Internet, students are gradually opting for online materials while filling up the admission form. Majority of students found the quality and standard of study materials to be very good. Though maximum respondents gave positive feedback about the student support services and their learning experiences, some of the learners faced challenges like unco-operative staff members, administrative delays, non-allotment of academic counsellor/fieldwork supervisor, irregularity, late reception of study materials, lack of staff members at study centre, far distance of regional centre/study centre from residence, etc.

The findings will help in designing and delivering the MSW programme in a more effective way. Based on the feedback received, the next revision of the programme will take into consideration the concerns of the learner. The limitation of the study is that not all learners responded to all the questions. Not all potential MSW learners filled the questionnaire and submitted it at the school. And those who responded had left some questions unanswered. Those who did not submit response may differ in their responses from what is received.

It is an original work and will be valuable in understanding the distance learner of MSW programme in India, programme delivery and challenges.

The purpose of this paper is to discover the perspectives of M‐Technologies in Distance Education Libraries. It proposes a model for providing e‐resources and other information services through mobile technology to its learners in Indira Gandhi National Open University, India.

In this qualitative study data were gathered through questionnaire and interviews from Distance Learners of IGNOU to access the actual requirement of Distance Learners for various m‐library services in the present scenario. The study is guided conceptually by the perceived need for m‐libraries and a growing usage of mobiles in India.

The data suggest that M‐Libraries offer a unique opportunity for distance learners in different kinds of learning environment settings. The proposed m‐library services architecture suggests developing an M‐library web site at IGNOU Library to effectively facilitate m‐library services, hence strengthening the M‐Learning in Distance Education System.

Considerably less literature exists about the m‐libraries and its services in Distance Education. This study will be of interest to distance education library and information professionals who wish to obtain a better understanding of M‐Libraries scenario and practices.

According to the late Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, "Education is a liberating force, and in our age it is also a democratising force, cutting across the barriers of caste and class, smoothing out inequalities imposed by birth and other circumstances." In India, not all are able to avail opportunities for education due to various reasons including accessibility. In this regard, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) provides education to the disadvantaged and unreached learners (some of them living in special circumstances) to build an inclusive knowledge society through inclusive education.

One of the world's largest prisons is the Tihar Central Jail in New Delhi. It has about 12,000 prisoners accommodated in its 10 jails. There are over 530 prisoners enrolled in various programmes from certificate to postgraduate levels with IGNOU. The School of Social Work (SOSW) is facilitating a study centre of IGNOU in this prison. Faculty members, research scholars and students are visiting this Central Jail thrice a week to reach these learners living in special circumstances with educational programmes as well as counselling services through professional social work intervention. The university has also helped several former inmates to find jobs. The School of Social Work is also involved in extending counselling services to the inmates with regards to their personal matters.

This paper explores the extent of interventions being made by IGNOU for the inmates in Tihar Central Jail, for their education, emotional support, transformation and rehabilitation after serving their jail term.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the perception of the students towards the quality and effectiveness of social work education offered by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) through open and distance learning (ODL).

The sample size consisted of 150 students, 15 academic counsellors engaged in either teaching or development sectors, or faculty members of School of Social Work of IGNOU. The methods of data collection included interviews and content analysis. Interview schedule for students, interview guide for academic counsellors and interview guide for faculty members were used.

The study centres were allotted as per student’s choice. Students were satisfied with the counsellors because of their support, availability, contact, accessibility and assisting the students to clearing their doubts. The study found that the student’s attendance in counselling sessions was found to be negligible, even a large number of respondents were not aware of the ODL system. The study also shows that students face lots of problem with regard to their field work supervision and other components of field work as were also neglected.

The findings of the study are extremely relevant for formulating necessary guidelines for improving the social work education through ODL mode. The study recommends revision of course materials translated in Hindi language, holding of individual and group conferences regularly as well as proper evaluation of field work reports.

This is first such study conducted in India to examine the effectiveness of social work education through ODL.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) Chair at Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) was established with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between CBCI and IGNOU on 29 February 2000 to plan, design, develop and launch socially relevant programmes of study in the areas of HIV/AIDS social work, philosophy, etc. The one-time endowment grant of US$125,000 facilitates the programme development process without any financial contribution from IGNOU. In the 13 years of its existence, the CBCI Chair has developed eight programmes – from Certificate to Doctoral programmes. Some of these programmes have been revised. Over 30,000 students have enrolled for these programmes, which are being offered in 12 countries. Although the chair follows all the prescribed procedures for programme development and launch, the nature, scope and financial viability being enjoyed by the Chair facilitates timely decision making and achievement of targets. The CBCI Chair is a success story in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) as it has helped in the establishment of the first School of Social Work in ODL, the Centre for Tibetan Studies and the Mother Teresa Chair. The Chair has been instrumental in providing scholarships and awards to several students. This paper examined the what, why and how of the CBCI Chair and the implications it has as a model towards targeted interventions in ODL systems, quality assurance, maintenance and sustainability.

This research study aimed to collect feedback from the learners on the usefulness and effectiveness of the online counselling sessions organised during COVID-19 lockdown through online platforms to provide academic support to the learners.

The link of a questionnaire designed in a Google Form sent to IGNOU learners of the January 2020 session enrolled under the jurisdiction of IGNOU Regional Centre (RC) Chandigarh through email as well as SMSs. Total responses received were 487, out of which 445 responses were complete, roughly 8% of the total registered learners during the January 2020 session. The questionnaire contained questions on a cross-section of online counselling issues, besides questions on the learners' profile.

Majority of the learners were satisfied with the input provided while organising online counselling sessions during COVID-19 lockdown in India. A significant proportion of learners (88%) used smartphones for attending counselling sessions. Facebook page of the RC rated as a relatively better option than other online platforms. However, more than 50% of learners faced Internet connection problems and found them a significant hurdle for smooth viewing of online counselling sessions. The proportion of learners who encountered difficulties in handling electronic devices was insignificant. The learner's feedback on many attributes such as usefulness and effectiveness of the online counselling sessions, interaction with the academic counsellors, e-content used in the counselling was significantly positive. A significant proportion of the learners have reported that face to face counselling could be replaced with online sessions in future, considering its flexibility in terms of place and schedule of learning and availability of recording of such sessions.

The research study was conducted under Chandigarh region of IGNOU which has a predominantly urban population. Thus the results of the study are limited to Chandigarh region and the region with similar socio-economic settings. This certainly limits the scope of the study.

The study certainly provides valuable feedback to the ODL policymakers to consider replacing face-to-face counselling with an online mode in a phased manner. Online counselling options will be highly cost-effective, easily manageable, and provide flexibility for learners and resource persons, resulting in addressing learners' non-attendance related issues in the face-to-face counselling sessions.

In the analysis of our finding it is clearly stated that the Internet connectivity and availability of electronic devices is an important issue to provide online counselling support to socially and economically disadvantaged groups. Therefore, the research study also identifies such social issues as a major challenge for providing online counselling support to the learners.

This is an original empirical research study and data collected is used in the analysis for the first time. This analysis is based on the feedback gathered from the learners registered at IGNOU RC Chandigarh during the January 2020 session. The data and derived results not used in any other study.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the method of field work supervision in BSW and MSW programmes offered through open and distance learning (ODL) at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). The key argument of the paper will focus on the fact that despite various challenges, field work supervision through ODL provides lot of scope and flexibility to students, generating a cadre of trained social work professionals.

The paper adopts a case study approach in presenting the various methods employed for field work supervision by the University. This section will highlight the achievements in terms of developing indigenous theory course and the best practices adopted by IGNOU to train social work professionals through adequate and timely supervision in the ODL mode.

Field work supervision in the ODL mode poses many challenges, especially when compared to that in the conventional universities. Some of these include irregular meeting of supervisor and student, inability of students to meet supervisor due to several reasons like remote location, poor economic background, lack of leave for working professionals, etc.

There is a need for developing a mechanism to regularly orient field work supervisors in supervising students in the ODL mode. It is recommended that regular field work practicum workshops be conducted for supervisors and students. Viva for field work could be made mandatory at different regional centres. Field work supervision could be enhanced through the use of technology, namely, Skype, e-mail, WhatsApp, etc.

The paper describes the various nuances of field work supervision through ODL system. It is an original work and is of great value in understanding the challenges and difficulties encountered by learners and academic counsellors throughout the process of supervision. The paper highlights important recommendations by the stakeholders themselves in mitigating the challenges faced during field work supervision through ODL.

This paper seeks to ascertain the effectiveness of a two-week-long faculty development programme (FDP), organized by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), for teachers of the open and distance learning (ODL) system, with the aim of upgrading their knowledge and skills for developing print self-learning materials (SLMs). The specific aim of this study is to ascertain whether the objectives of the FDP have been achieved, to examine the effectiveness of the training programme and to suggest measures for improvement in future FDPs regarding the design and development of print SLMs.

The study was conducted using a descriptive survey research method, through semi-structured questionnaires and adopted purposive sampling. The first survey was conducted immediately after the completion of the programme, in order to collect feedback from the trainees, while the second survey was conducted after six months of the FDP, using the follow-up approach, so that more reliable and authentic results could be obtained.

The outcomes of the study revealed that the training had been effective in imparting appropriate knowledge and skills to the trainees, with respect to designing print SLMs. However, certain gaps were also identified and have been reported in this paper. Key suggestions have been made to address the shortcomings and improve forthcoming FDPs.

The present research focused on a specific training programme regarding the design and development of SLMs. Therefore, only the teachers and academics who participated in this specialized training activity were considered for the collection of feedback.

The recommendations of this work may be useful for the trainers, FDP coordinators, training institutions and ODL policymakers for planning and designing effective staff development activities for teachers and academics working in ODL institutions. These would be especially useful in the design of FDPs, aimed at orienting teachers who are involved in curriculum planning, design and development of learning resources.

This study is an original research based on the empirical primary data obtained by the researchers. As the largest open university in the world, IGNOU has been playing a key role in staff development for and in ODL in developing countries. This evaluative study of a specialized FDP in the area of SLM design and development is a significant work that may be valuable for planning the staff development strategies and building a training evaluation mechanism.

The purpose of this paper was to analyse the research trends on the Indian Open and Distance Education (ODE) system as reflected in the articles published in the prominent journals of distance education across the world.

A study was undertaken to review the research articles on ODE in India published in 11 prominent peer-reviewed journals of distance education during the period 2010–2019. Content analysis was done to find out areas of research undertaken in the ODE of India based on a validated classification of research areas; types of research studies conducted; and authorship and publication patterns.

Out of a total of 2,571 articles published in 11 selected journals, only 191 (7.42%) pertained to ODE in India. The majority of these 191 articles (68.42%) were published in Indian journals. The Indian and Asian journals together accounted for 93.55% of total articles. Globally, the share of articles on the Indian ODE system was significantly low ranging between 4.27 and a maximum of 10.77%, which was much below expectations from a country having the maximum number of ODE learners in the world. Results further revealed that 63% of the contributors to research on ODE in India were affiliated to Indira Gandhi National Open University.

The limitation of this study was only analysing the research articles published in journals of distance education and other types of articles, namely, book reviews, editorials, field notes and workshop reports were excluded from the analysis.

The study is intended to help researchers, policymakers, and open and distance education institutions to draw a roadmap for the promotion and conduct of system-based research, which would be vital for strengthening the system.

The quantum of research is not proportionate to the number of faculty members working in the ODE system of India and the large number of learners that it serves, which is a matter of concern. For any system to grow its periodic systemic review is essential. The research outcomes need to be ploughed back into the system for its betterment.

The study is original. There is no such study undertaken till date. This study will be extremely useful to researchers, as the gaps in distance education research which are yet to be addressed, have been identified by the authors.