Impact of Open and Distance Learning System on Marginalised Learners: A Case Study of IGNOU

Development can always be visualized in terms of contributions from all sections of the society. Marginalization deprives a large section of people across the globe from participating in the development. It is a serious issue, and there are many factors that cause marginalization. This serious issue needs to be addressed at the policy level everywhere across the globe. The development and the progress of the marginalized sections depend on proper education of individuals. Education sector is a critical determinant for development of the marginalized sections of the society. It is practically unrealistic to expect an adequate opportunity of education for all through traditional face-to-face structure. In order to meet the new and changing demands for education and training, Open and Distance Learning (ODL) is an appropriate substitute for the traditional face-to-face methods as it has the right potential to reach out to the large segment of the unreached, marginalized and the needy. In order to understand the Impact of ODL system on marginalized learners, an online survey using Google form was conducted among the marginalized learners of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). The data collected through questionnaires were put together in the form of tables and simple percentage method is used for the analysis. Their views are analyzed to know the effectiveness of ODL system of education on marginalized learners. It is very interesting to note that about 91% of the marginalized learners feel pleasant / satisfied with the ODL mode of education offered by IGNOU. But, it is very pathetic to note that about 94% of the marginalized learners are unable to get scholarship even though the Govt. of India has been offering many scholarship schemes to encourage the marginalized learners for education.