In this article let’s take a look at what IGNOU degree is & whether the degree is valid for government and competitive exams or not and worth it by looking at all the pros and cons in detail.
This is the most comprehensive article you can find on this topic so I would recommend you to bookmark the article and share it with your friends to let them know pros and cons of getting a degree from IGNOU.
So without further ado let’s get started.
What is IGNOU?
Indira Gandhi National Open University, known as IGNOU, is a Central open University located in New Delhi, India. This university has been named after former women prime minister Indira Gandhi and the University was established in 1985 and at present over 3 million students have enrolled in the University which makes it one of the largest in the world.
This university has 21 schools and over 67 regional centres network and 2600 study centres and the universities also expanded in overseas with 29 centres in 15 countries, 20% of the students of higher education in India are graduating from this university
because this university offers 226 different education programs from diploma to degree, and because this University was established by Central Government itself so it is definitely valid and equivalent with certificates of other universities of India, moreover the University has also been accredited by NAAC with A++ grade,
Here is the official website: http://www.ignou.ac.in/
Is IGNOU degree valid
Because this university is founded by the central government all the degrees and diploma certificates you get after graduating from this university are completely valid and recognised by the central bodies and
you can easily apply for all the government jobs like UPSC and bank exams after graduating from this university and you will have no issues with that because this university is created to provide education to the students who cannot afford and access it,who want to study at irrespective of their age.
Now let’s take a look at whether getting a degree from this university is worth it or not.
Is IGNOU degree worth it
Getting a degree from IGNOU is definitely worth it because it is the largest open university in the world, it is also very affordable and offers variety of courses for the students, It also has many regional centres in different states of India, there is no age limit to study in this university and it also offers scholarships for the students belonging to certain caste, etc
Let’s take a look at the benefits and drawbacks of getting a degree from this university in detail now.
Benefits and drawbacks of IGNOU
Benefits of IGNOU
- The main advantage of distance education is you can both work at the same time study without sacrificing anyone of two because you don’t have to attend the college everyday which will save you a lot of money, time and energy for travelling Between home to college as you can study whenever you want and from your home as well through video recordings and online
- Another advantage of distance education is it is very cost effective and affordable for poor students for example if you want to get bachelor of arts certificate then it will cost you around 6000 rupees for 3 years of education which is really cost effective and affordable for many students but comparing it with other colleges which are not open university, it will easily take around 20000 rupees, You can check out the pricing of degrees here
- Another advantage of IGNOU is you can get quality education at every part of the country because this university has more than 67 regional centres and dozens of learning centres across different states of India and from these regional centres you can gather things like video cassettes audio cassettes and get access to the libraries for the study materials of the subject and computer laboratories and internet facilities etc so every student belong to any state or remote village can get access to quality education with the help of this regional centres
- Another advantage of this university is this University offers many courses and you can select any one depending upon your interest and you can get all the study material and all the learning materials easily from the regional and learning centres in your state and city and you can get quality education from them which can help you study remotely and clear any government and private exam if you want
- Another advantage is that because you are not attending college regularly so you don’t have the feeling of competition and insecurities as you can study using video cassettes and audio tapes and online videos of the University right from your home and you can create your own schedule and time table of study
- Another advantage is that the exams of the term end are conducted in June and December and you can attend this exams both online and offline mediums so there is no worry about missing the exams due to long distance or some illness as you can also attend the exam online from your home, if you miss the exam you can still give your exam in the next semester so it is really good thing
- Even though the college fees of this university is extremely cheap and cost effective as compared to other colleges offering the same education but still there will be some students who cannot afford that fee also so Another advantage is that you can also get scholarship if you want but it is only limited to certain caste students such as SC/ST, other minority caste students and with scholarship you don’t have to pay a single penny to study in this university because it is Government University, but you will have to apply for the scholarship by filling different forms, check out more details here
- Another advantage is that it does not have any minimum or maximum age criteria if you want to enrol and study in this university, This is a big benefit because people of any age whether of 20 or 30 years can study their preferred course, if they discontinued in the past due to some reasons like cost and work but they can study now without any hesitation but the only thing to keep in mind is you will have to complete your 12th intermediate course to study the bachelor’s degree and post graduation courses and many more which is common thing In all the educational institutions in India
- Another advantage is of its reputation and ranking as a matter of fact it is the largest university in the world because it has served more than 3 million students of India and 40 different countries of the world and this university is founded in 1985 which is really old comparing to other universities in our country
These are all the advantages of this university, now let’s take a look at the disadvantages.
Drawbacks of IGNOU
- The main disadvantage of this course is because it is open university so it does not have equal value as compared to a student who graduated from a normal college because in open university the students will have to study on their own and they will be no interaction between the student and teacher so even if the student does self studies thoroughly but he will not be having much practical knowledge and he cannot also get many opportunities to clear his doubts of the subject so overall when it comes to placement you can find issues if you get graduated from open university like this
- One of the main disadvantages of this university is it does not offer BTech and engineering courses, you can only study diploma and degree courses and also PhD and masters if you want
- Another disadvantage of this university is of its learning medium which is distance education and the drawback of this is that it does not help you develop skills like communication networking leadership logical thinking and you cannot also grow your network because you will not be participating in clubs and festivals of the college and you will not meet new people in the college since you will be not attending the college regularly
- Another disadvantage of this university is that even though it has more than 56 regional centres across different states of India but there are many cities in states where there are no regional centres for the college so it can be hard for the students to find the branches of the college in their cities and not all the regional centres have great facilities and equipment for the students to acquire
These are both advantages and disadvantages of IGNOU degree.
Conclusion
These are all the things you need to know about this university.
Do comment on what are your thoughts about this university in the comment section below and also share the article with your friends to let them know the pros and cons of open university and subscribe to my blog to receive notifications regarding whenever I publish a new post in future.