Madurai Kamaraj University to re-launch B. Ed. in distance mode

Pursuing B. Ed. degree course under the distance education stream of Madurai Kamaraj University will soon become a possibility as steps have been initiated in this regard.
The university has just obtained a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Distance Education Council, New Delhi, for offering a two-year B. Ed. programme in English medium.
“We were earlier offering this course through the Directorate of Distance Education but it had to be stopped due to certain regulations. Now, it will be revived,” said vice-chancellor R. Karpaga Kumaravel.
According to him, the university will soon be approaching the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE), which has recently been given statutory powers, for further clearance to launch the B. Ed. course.
In order to have full-time teaching faculty, four lecturers are being appointed exclusively for the course.
Dr. Karpaga Kumaravel said an expert team from NCTE would be visiting the university for an on-the-spot assessment after which it would give its nod for offering the course.
According to S. Vadivelu, Director of Distance Education, the university will admit 500 students for B. Ed. course and they will be attached to regular colleges of education that are affiliated to the university. The university stopped offering B. Ed. in 1996.
To start with, the MKU is tying up with the Indira Gandhi National Open University for using its study material and in due course an updated syllabus and study material will be made ready.
Alongwith the announcements about the proposed the B. Ed. degree course at the Academic Council and Senate meetings held on June 25 and 26 respectively, the vice-chancellor also outlined other proposals for the university.
Digitising distance education study material for uploading them to a Digital Learning Repository to be started in the university has been planned for the first phase.
According to Dr. Karpaga Kumaravel, dynamic concepts like Do-It-Yourself, Personal Learning Environment and Mobile Learning will be experimented on a pilot basis.