Take education to masses through Internet: Pitroda

Lamenting that teachers and institutions were not prepared to handle changes in the education system, former National Knowledge Commission Chairman Sam Pitroda today advocated the need for taking education to masses through Internet.

Lamenting that teachers and institutions were not prepared to handle changes in the education system, former National Knowledge Commission Chairman Sam Pitroda on Thursday advocated the need for taking education to masses through Internet.

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He said free accessibility of maximum course material on the Internet is the need of the hour and teachers, institutions and students must be ready to harness Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and learn it.

Addressing a symposium on 'Open Educational Resources for Network enabled Education' organised by the IGNOU here, Pitroda said open course ware must be available to all.

"For this purpose at least 100 million broadband connections are required in the next 5 years. Generational changes are required in India and teachers and institutions are not prepared for these changes. Its time to take education to the masses and not to ourselves," an IGNOU release quoted Pitroda as saying.

He said India also needs to document its culture, music and herbal medicinal plants on a priority basis.

IGNOU Vice-Chancellor V N Rajasekharan Pillai said IGNOU's entire course material is on the web and anyone in the world can download it free of cost.