The examinations for the 2022-23 batch of students enrolled in the Distance Education Program of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) will begin on August 15, said Mahesh Kakade, director of the Board of Examinations and Evaluation.
The School of Open and Distance Learning has also opened registrations for undergraduate and postgraduate courses for the academic year 2023-24. The last date to register on their website is August 30.
“There is a difference between traditional education or regular courses, online education and distance education,” said Vaibhav Jadhav, director of School of Open Learning.
“In a distance education program, students are sent the self-learning material (SLM), study themselves and sit for exams and other assessments. This course is most popular among working professionals and women who had to discontinue their studies,” said Jadhav.
A total of 11,588 students are currently enrolled across six courses, of which almost 57% are women. There are at least 80 centres spread across Pune, Nashik and Ahmednagar where students can enrol. Students can visit the SoDL centre that is close to them once in a while where counsellors are present to clear their doubts.
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“We have got the approval for three new diploma programmes and hope to finish preparing the material for them so we can offer them to students from the next academic year,” said Jadhav. “These are two postgraduate diplomas, one in higher education and another in school counselling. The third is a diploma in inclusive education.”
So far, the school has been offering non-professional undergraduate and postgraduate degrees such as BA, BCom, MA and MCom. The MBA degree was the first professional degree started earlier this year.
“The National Education Policy 2020 encourages distance and open learning,” said Jadhav.