Book boon for Berhampur University students

To attract more students to pursue Plus III in the distance education mode, Berhampur University has decided to provide study materials to them from this year. The students will have to pay a nominal charge to procure study materials. The charges for pass and honours students are Rs 1,700 and Rs 2,000 respectively. "The amount is very less compared to the market price of the books," said director of the Distance Education Centre Sunil Kanta Behera.

The university has developed a customized syllabus for all streams of Plus III - arts, commerce and science. At the time of admission, the university will provide study materials to students for all three years. The syndicate took a decision in this regard in its last meeting, university sources said.

"The decision will help many poor students from rural areas, who are unable to buy the expensive books from the market, to pursue Plus III. It will also attract more and more students from remote areas to pursue their college education in the distance mode," said the director.

Besides this, the centre will also continue the contact programmes, where teachers clear doubts of students in the line of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), he said. The contact classes are being held in Berhampur, Bhanjanagar, Paralakhemundi and Nabarangapur.

Apart from Plus III, the centre is offering some PG courses and PG diploma in select professional courses. One-year PG course in library automation and networking will be introduced from this year, he said. The total number of students in the distance education mode is around 9,500.

Admission for distance education mode will start from August after completion of admission for regular courses, sources said. ToI