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 The
education scenario has undergone a sea change and this can be seen
in the number of corporates offering online education courses. While
major software training institutes like NIIT and Aptech have already
started offering online education courses, government institutions
are also entering the fray to offer virtual classes. Punjab Technical
University is one of the few government institutions which is leveraging
the strengths of information technology to help the masses.
Says
Jagdish Singh Garcha, Technical Education and Industrial Training
Minister, Ministry of Technical Education, Punjab, “If India
wants to survive and compete in the global space, IT and technical
education are a must. Hence, in the year 2000, we took a pioneering
step towards providing IT education through distance education mode
by opening up centres in various ITI’s and polytechnics in
the state of Punjab in collaboration with leading IT companies.
The objective was to deliver the latest technology courses to the
rural and urban audience at a much lower price yet not compromising
on quality.”
And
the University has succeeded in doing just that. Says AS Grewal,
director, Punjab Technical University, “Our success can be
measured in the fact that 15,000 students enrolled in a single day
for our courses. And many had to be turned away for lack of seats.”
Adds
Grewal, “To ensure quality of courses, all of our students
are provided with the same printed material and CDs. We even have
interactive programs on the server for our students. Even though
we have tied up with a number of institutes for offering our courses,
the faculty has to be approved by the university. To avoid malpractices
we have introduced a facility of online testing. The students also
pay directly to the university.”
Punjab
Technical University is even toying with the idea of setting up
a virtual campus. Explains Grewal, “The idea of one classroom
and one teacher is becoming obsolete. By the concept of a virtual
campus, we can hire any teacher from anywhere in the world, say
a teacher from IIT, Delhi and even a professor from MIT in California,
for a specific period. By this method, every student can interact
with the teacher and get the best guidance. We have earmarked an
investment of Rs 10 crore for setting up the virtual campus.”
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