The State’s Higher Education Department and the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Monday to offer a range of undergraduate, postgraduate, diploma and certificate programmes in the Odia language, an official said on Tuesday.

With this initiative, IGNOU will now provide courses such as Bachelor’s degrees, Master’s degrees, Post Graduate diplomas, diplomas, certificates, specialised programmes in Travel & Tourism Management, BBA, MBA and other courses in the Odia language in Odisha.

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Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj attended the MoU signing ceremony as the chief guest.

“Through this MoU, our students can now pursue higher education in Odia. The introduction of programmes in the mother tongue removes the barriers. Language or medium should no longer be a hindrance in access to higher education”, the minister said.

He added that this initiative reinforces the National Education Policy 2020’s focus on providing education in regional languages.

This MoU is expected to foster students’ creativity, reduce dropout rates and boost the state’s gross enrolment ratio in higher education.

The students from various higher education institutions welcomed this initiative, noting that many students would greatly benefit from accessing higher education through the Odia medium.

Arvind Agarwal, Secretary, Higher Education Department, Special Secretary Ramakant Nayak, IGNOU Vice-Chancellor Uma Kanjilal and Registrar Alok Chaubey also graced the event.