INDIA: Local need give food to online education speculation

While Western countries look at exporting education online, India is using that platform to fill a shortage of bricks-and-mortar universities. Keen to increase the enrolment of 18-to-30 year olds from a dismal 12.4% to an ambitious 30%, India is investing heavily in information technology believing it will encourage online education and increase student numbers.

By the time it is completed, India's National Knowledge Network will connect more than 1,500 universities and research institutions around the country.

The price for doing this is steep, with the Indian government allotting Rs46 billion (US$1 billion) for the three-year mission, which ends in March 2012. The proposal has been accepted as part of the government-named National Mission on Education through ICT.

"We want to make quality education accessible to many more students using modern tools, instead of setting up bricks-and-mortar campuses," said a senior ministry official.

A limited version of the network has been running since January 2009 and has so far connected 76 institutions and helped set up 48 virtual classrooms.

In a parallel move, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are also drawing up plans to set up a virtual university, in an attempt to reach out to more students.

The IITs and the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science have already designed 240 courses. They will develop 1,000 more courses in the second phase.

Other universities are also taking initiatives to beef up online offerings. At Amity University, Noida, one of India's top private universities, more than 4,000 students are enrolled in online programmes across 24 subject areas, with around 60% of the students from outside India.

Online programmes can be highly cost effective. A regular MBA that costs a student Rs600, 000 on campus will cost Rs60, 000 online.

The domestic embrace of online learning is also attracting foreign interest.

Singapore-based online graduate school U21Global recently teamed up with India's Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), the world's largest higher education institution with a student base of three million. IGNOU is providing 18 online programmes and plans to scale up to 1,000. U21 currently counts 4,500 students with the majority enrolled in IT and management courses.

Professor Uma Kanjilal, who is in charge of IGNOU's e-Gyankosh - an online learning platform - knows that e-learning is vital in a country with such a large population.

"India needs at least 800 more universities and another 35,000 colleges in the next 10 years. We cannot build that many universities. We need innovative solutions and online education, if provided correctly, is the answer."

While there is much enthusiasm for online higher education, the country's network difficulties remain a concern.

"For online education to really pick up, internet connectivity has to improve vastly," said U21's Saptarishi Roy.

While the government attempts to shore up network facilities at home, India is also exporting some of its technology, helping to connect the 53 nations of the African Union by satellite and fibre-optic network.

The Pan-African e-Network is a US$117 million project being funded by the Indian government. It will connect five leading African universities to 53 different countries in remote virtual classes. Seven universities from India will also be connected to the hub located in Africa.

While its goals are to link African countries, the network will also benefit Indian students, who will be able to access lectures and classes from top African universities.

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