- Odisha Govt & IGNOU sign MoU to offer higher education courses in Odia language.
- Courses like BBA, MBA & Tourism to be available in Odia under NEP 2020 vision.
- Move aims to boost access, reduce dropouts & raise Odisha’s higher education enrolment.
In a historic move towards universalizing higher education and integrating it further, the Odisha Higher Education Department has entered into an MoU with the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) to provide a variety of academic and professional courses in the Odia language. This strategic alliance is likely to transform the educational scene in Odisha by allowing students to study in their native language, overcoming language barriers that frequently blur the lines of academic achievements.
The MoU was formally signed in the presence of Odisha's Higher Education Minister, Suryabanshi Suraj, underlining the importance of the language process in education. "With this MoU, our students can now continue their higher education in Odia". Language should not be an obstacle to education", he added. The tie-up will enable students all over the state to pursue undergraduate, postgraduate, diploma, certificate, and professional courses including popular programmes like BBA, MBA, and tourism and travel management in Odia.
This programme is in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which firmly endorses the development of regional languages as a medium of instruction to enhance access, equity, and quality in education. With courses being taught in Odia, the programme should be able to increase students' involvement, promote creativity, decrease student dropouts, and dramatically boost Odisha's Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education.
Important officials present during the signing ceremony were Higher Education Secretary Arvind Agarwal, Special Secretary Ramakant Nayak, IGNOU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Uma Kanjilal, and Registrar Dr. Alok Chaubey. This collaboration represents a strong move towards democratizing education in Odisha, making linguistic diversity a source of strength, not weakness, in accessing knowledge.
