Northeast's first state-run open university is all set to offer courses from January 2008. Over the last financial year, the K K Handique Open University (KKHOU), established in September 2005 at Dispur, Assam, has received grants worth Rs 25 lakh and Rs 1 crore from the Government of Assam and the Distance Education Council (DEC), respectively. "The DEC will grant another Rs 3 crore to KKHOU over the coming year," says Swaraj Basu, director, DEC.
Srinath Baruah has recently been appointed as the first vice chancellor of the university, which is named after a renowned scholar of the region and has been set up by an Act of the Legislative Assembly of Assam. Academicians, industrialists and experts on distance education attended a workshop organised in Guwahati earlier this month to develop a roadmap for the institution under the 11th five-year plan, and discussed how ICT can be used to make KKHOU more accessible across the region.
"The initial focus is on entrepreneurial programmes and agricultural sciences at the diploma level, but we will also offer skill-oriented programmes on basic computer training," said Basu, adding, "The aim of the university is to provide an opportunity to the youth in the region who have not been able to participate in the conventional university system, with a focus on promoting entrepreneurial skills."
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