Open and Distance Education in Global Environment: Opportunities for Collaboration

Distance education system in India has undergone many stages and phases of evolution before it really reached the stage of what is called open education, ICT-enabled education and global education. During these phases, it has assimilated different aspects of ICT with all applauds and has been able to go hand-in-hand with it transcending the national and regional boundaries. The distance education institutions have now started giving a serious thought to explore the possibility of cross-boarder expansion. The educational needs of the present society are changing very fast. The education is now being seen as an enabling tool for empowerment and all-round development of individuals. It is difficult for an institution to come up to all the educational requirements of the society. It is, therefore, time to collaborate rather than compete