Abstract:

The ODL system has come of age and acquired a new dynamism through the applications of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the field of education. With declining state support to higher education in India, the system is in a state of flux and in search of viable, effective solution. We need to blend conventional wisdom with emerging technologies to tide over the problem of increasing numbers without any possible dilution in quality. Sharing and partnership are emerging as the key strategies to offset the disadvantages emanating from resource crunch on the one hand and the imperative to reach out to increasingly larger numbers on the other hand. The sharing of infrastructure, equipment, course materials, expertise, technologies and other facilities among universities may provide viable solution to the resource gap and need to service vast numbers. As stakeholders in development, private and public enterprises in developing countn'es are looking at the open learning system to complement their efforts at developing and retraining their human resources. In India, newer models of partnership and collaborative networking are being encouraged between open universities and corporate sector, banking industry, defence services, and NGOs in the country. This paper describes some successful experiments spanning the van'ety of collaborative initiatives and it is hoped that fostering a paradigm shift from individualized, institutional offenng to networked partnership would enable us to gainfully harness the benefits offered by the latest technologies through useful synergies, without losing cultural identity and burdening the exchequer.