Learning in the ODL System and Postcolonial India: A Case Study of the Post Graduate Literature Courses Offered by Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi

Pema Eden Samdup
School of Humanities, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, India

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     Last modified: October 15, 2006
     Presentation date: 10/31/2006 4:00 PM in NT Ortanique
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Abstract
Learning in the ODL System and Postcolonial India: A Case Study of the Post Graduate Literature Courses Offered by Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi1

Pema Eden Samdup, Lecturer in English, IGNOU, March 2006 2

This paper attempts to examine the Literature Post Graduate Courses Offered by the School of Humanities, IGNOU, in an attempt to establish the relevance of the context within which learning occurs and the contribution that the ODL System makes to such a dissemination of knowledge.

The Indira Gandhi National Open University has been a pioneer in the ODL system in India, since its inception by an Act of Parliament in 1985. Beginning with Foundation Courses in English and Hindi, (the two languages and disciplines this school is comprised of), it moved on to producing course material for the Bachelor’s Degree Programmes and more recently, since 2000, the Master’s Degree Programme in English has been launched and has had tremendous success. This paper seeks to address the manner in which courses are prepared for the learners of Postcolonial India, particularly by way of syllabus structuring and how, a careful choice of lessons and authors places the learner of the ODL System at par if not better suited than their counterparts in conventional Universities. This paper will also attempt to look at the issues of culture, language and gender as relevant to the learning experience and to capacity building in the long run.