A Framework on E-Governance in ODL System – An Analysis

Open and Distance Learning (ODL) is an emerging area to address the fundamental issues of access, retention and quality of higher education to improve human capabilities and achieving the vision of knowledge economy. In India, a higher proportion of younger population is found due to unique demographic transition. Providing quality higher education to such a large proportion of population, in a soft democratic country, is a Herculean task, where hardly ten percent of the youth are enrolled in higher education. The gross enrolment ratio (GER) of marginalized sections of society in the context of social and gender is even less than six percent. The need for cost effective and need based quality education capable to produce employable youths is self evident. The Knowledge Commission of India (2006) and the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) highlighted better governed participatory structures and processes for inclusive educational development. At present, more than 300 institutions of