Minister for Higher Education R V Deshpande on Wednesday said the Educational Satellite (EDUSAT) project will soon be expanded to all government first grade colleges and polytechnics across the State.
Addressing reporters after inaugurating the EDUSAT studio at the Karnataka State Higher Education Council premises on Wednesday, Deshpande said the Receive only Terminals (RoT), for the reception of programmes, will be installed in 11 government engineering colleges within three months.
EDUSAT, an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) programme, was introduced in Karnataka through the Departments of Collegiate and Technical Education.
“More students, especially in rural areas, will now be able to benefit from the initiative. Girls will also have access to distance education,” the minister said.
The EDUSAT studio, called ‘Nyanataranga,’ on the Council premises, will broadcast live lectures and recorded education programmes to institutes in rural areas, especially in Belgaum and Mysore, Deshpande said.
“The Department of State Educational Research and Training (DSERT) already has content which can be run for 42 days and the Education and Multimedia Research Centre (EMRC), Mysore, has provided contents for 1,000 days. We will select the content based on academic requirements,” said Rajneesh Goel, Principal Secretary, Department of Higher Education.
Innovative BSc and BA Courses
The Department of Higher Education has recently approved MA in Bharatanatyam and BSc in radio-isotopy degrees in Mangalore. “Plans are underway to introduce more courses with innovative combinations of subjects. We also recently approved 36 sections for commerce,” Deshpande said.
He was asked what action will be taken against colleges that allegedly threatened students when they questioned the extra fee collected from them. In response, Deshpande said the former Karnatak University V-C S K Saidapur’s one-man committee must encourage students to face these threats boldly.
“The Directorate of Technical Education will take stock of such threats and look into all issues related to admissions,” Deshpande added.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Express News Service – Bangalore / August 29th, 2013