New rule squeezes IGNOU students for assignment

Abhishek Choudhari, TNN, Mar 25, 2011, 12.42am IST
NAGPUR: Indira Gandhi National Open University has been providing solace to scores of students across the country who cannot attend college full time. Over the years, IGNOU has made changes to its rules with a view to improve quality of education and ease access to higher education. However, a recent attempt on the same lines has ended up causing chaos.

IGNOU students have to submit their mandatory written assignments for evaluation and also pay the requisite exam fee. From this year on, IGNOU changed the rule making it mandatory to submit assignments before paying the exam fees. Earlier these two events, submission of assignment and paying exam fees, were not linked. Though the rule seems a good idea as it would ensure that the students complete their assignments before they appear for the exams, a goof up has ended up causing problems.