Relevance of Virtual Counselling in Distance Education - A Pilot Study of Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental and Occupational Health Programme of IGNOU

Abstract

This research reports the findings of a study conducted to determine the impact and efficacy of technology-based counselling conducted during the Covid-19 lockdown period for the Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental and Occupational Health (PGDEOH) programme, Indira Gandhi National Open University. The study examined students' perceptions of academic support, counselling-related issues, assignment submission, project work, and examination support provided by academic counsellors based in IGNOU Headquarters and Regional Centres throughout India. A structured questionnaire was distributed to 200 learners enrolled in the programme.  Additionally, the study sought to elicit and document participants' experiences and perceptions of online counselling held during the Covid-19 pandemic.  MS-excel software was used to analyse quantitative data. The results indicate that, 66.2% attended the online counselling sessions held during the lockdown. Mobile phones were used by 90.1% and computers/laptops were used by 77.5% of the enrolled learners. It was observed that 93% used the devices for study purposes; 69.1% found the teleconferencing sessions useful and 39.4% of the learners listened to the Gyan Vani sessions. 45.1% of the learners expressed their desire for an online examination and 42.3% preferred the pen and paper exam. The feasibility, convenience, and efficiency of online counselling were highlighted as significant benefits by the participants. While the study's findings do not suggest that online counselling should be used in place of traditional counselling, participants suggested that online counselling can be used as an additional method of student counselling and use of a blended model for teaching-learning in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) institutions.