The Odisha government and the Indira Gandhi National Open University (Ignou) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to offer a range of undergraduate, postgraduate, diploma and certificate programmes in the Odia language.
The higher education department signed the MoU on Monday on behalf of the Odisha government.
With this initiative, Ignou will now provide courses such as Bachelor degrees, Masters degrees, post-graduate diplomas, diplomas, certificates, specialised programmes in Travel & Tourism Management, BBA, MBA and other courses in Odia in Odisha.
Attending the signing ceremony, higher education minister Suryabanshi Suraj said: “Through this MoU, our students can now pursue higher education in Odia. Language or medium should no longer be a hindrance to access higher education.”
He added that this initiative reinforces the National Education Policy 2020’s focus on providing education in regional languages. “This MoU signing is expected to foster students’ creativity, reduce dropout rates and boost the state’s gross enrolment ratio in higher education,” he said.
