New Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) will shortly open a new institute called the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education and Development (MGIDE) in the north-eastern state of Nagaland. The institute will offer an on-campus master's degree course on social work, from the academic commencing July 2010. MGIDE is being set up in association with Nagaland Gandhi Ashram (NGA) in Chuchuyimlang, Nagaland. According to IGNOU spokesman, the campus is coming up on 20 acres of land, donated by the Village Council of Chuchuyimlang.
IGNOU spokesman also added that the course will be a face-to-face post-graduate programme in social work. The MSW programme is expected to be launched from the July 2010 session. The programme is launched with an aim of interdisciplinary approach to education and development. Its thrust is to train professionals to encourage social welfare and development at the micro and macro levels. The School for Social work within the MGIDE campus will be called Mahatma Gandhi Centre of Social Work. Professor R.R. Singh, former director of Tata Institute of Social Sciences and professor of School of Social Work, Delhi University, will coordinate and monitor the activities.
As per sources, the proposed campus will consist of the School of Social Work, School of Agricultural Development, School of Teacher's Training, Community College, Cultural Resource and Training Centre, and Naga Arts and Crafts and Study Centre with Gandhi Museum. Moreover, it will include ICT enabled learning and full- fledged library support and regular faculty under the scheme called Educational Development of the North East (EDNERU). Virtual classrooms will also be used to broadcast lectures from Delhi, directly to students at the MGIDE campus.
