Sir,

Now that the Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) has been made the sole University to conduct Distance Education throughout Karnataka, it has assumed as a Central University with higher responsibility to educate those persons who are not able to attend classes in regular colleges due to their other obligations. The KSOU can now plan to expand the curriculum and courses to suit different types of job-oriented assignments, which I am sure will be in great demand in due course.

At the same time, the KSOU can also think of direct admissions to Degree courses based on the criteria of minimum age of 18 years, only, without even basic qualifications on the lines of distance learning through NIOS (National Institute of Open Schooling) conducted by the HRD Department of Government of India, where except the minimum age of 18 years, no other qualifications are insisted upon. But to get to know the basic knowledge of the applicant, a preliminary examination on General Knowledge, English and Basic Science, language, could be conducted with a minimum marks fixed for a pass to be eligible for admission to Degree course in KSOU.

Such modalities are already followed in several Universities in India. This method will not only liberalise the admissions to join KSOU on par with students of other regular colleges but also helps to carry forward their academic studies without affecting their occupations.

The KSOU by doing so will be helping the poorer classes, the journalists, the business men, the rural poor who are busy with agriculture and many more, who could not afford to attend schools and colleges in the past to catch the ladder to come up to the mainstream.

The Government of Karnataka, which is the governing authority for improving education in the State, can make a study of all aspects of helping the poor and less educated and the downtrodden to improve their knowledge. Though this requires lot of efforts and additional exercise for KSOU, in the interest of growth of education to the unorganised sector, by liberalisation of admission at KSOU as explained above, the Government would be providing more opportunities, more involvement and competitions to lesser educated and to improve their economic conditions.

Being an ex-student of KSOU, I am confident that by achieving this, the KSOU, by its name itself, would be a real Open University to welcome people from all walks of life and take full credit for a real development.

– K. V. Ramanath, Srirampura II Stage, 9.7.2020

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