Ethiopian Review

Addis Ababa — The first cohort of 92 post graduate students, who have been pursuing their studies in diverse disciplines run by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in partnership with St. Mary’s University College (SMUC) graduated on Saturday at Hilton Hotel here.

The 92 prospective graduates have completed their studies in Master of Business Administration, Master of Arts in Rural Development, Master of Commerce, Master of Economics, Master of Public Administration, Master of Political Science and Master of Economics, Master of Public Administration, Master of Political Science and Master of Sociology fields.

St. Mary’s University College launched the program in July 2006 and has since been able to enroll more than a thousand students in nine areas of studies, SMUC President, Asst. Prof. Wondwosen Tamrat said on his congratulatory message.

IGNOU founded by the Government of India, is one of the open-learning Universities in the world with current student population exceeding 1.6 million. Today, its global representation has covered branch offices in 35 countries.

Prof. Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice Chancellor of IGNOU on his side said that, Ethiopia’s public higher education institutions have also benefited a great deal from IGNOU’s education satellite, which, as appropriate, relays live transmission of lectures by renowned scholars based in India. IGNOU has an EduSat receiving terminal for 53 Africa nations on tele-education and tele-medicine.

These prospective graduates are currently working in governmental and non-governmental institutions assuming key position in their respective institutions. In addition to creating access to post-graduate studies, the SMUC-IGNOU partnership will have some impact on the government’s effort towards expanding post graduate programs, Prof. Wondwosen added.

By Fikremariam Tesfaye | (allAfrica)