Best Wishes

Friends, It has indeed been a May of negative and violent political developments. On the other hand IGNOU had a hectic schedule of conferences and seminars. We must also congratulate the Student Support Division of IGNOU and the Regional Centres for successfully holding the North Zone Learners' Conference on 16th of May2010. Over five hundred students from different streams participated. Spread over four sessions with themes including counselling, evaluation processes, use of ICT in open and distance learning and placements of students there was free and frank exchange of views. The organisers made it clear that they were there to listen which they did. Coming as this did on the 25th anniversary celebrations of IGNOU the conference held out the hope that IGNOU students would become active participants in the processes of the university.IGNOU students, as veterans would testify, do not have the luxury of a campus like in the conventional system of education.They are out there in the society trying to work out a learning space while perhaps working or with other pressing commitments. In that sense violence and negative political developments only negates the processes of creating a conducive learning space in manifold ways. Not having the shelter of the walls of a campus they tend to be more vulnerable. The organisers of the Learners Conference by attentively listening to and in moving towards a more participatory process contributed towards a 'healthy human understanding' of the vulnerabilities involved.Meanwhile best wishes to the thousands of IGNOU students from us for the on going June term end exams. (SFC and PG IGNOU with the help of Mr. Ajay Mahurkar and Dr. Dolly Mathew)