COSTS AND FINANCING
6.01 The collaboration of various organizations as envis-
aged in this Report would help optimise the use of existing
resources and help larger and better returns at moderate cost.
However, it must be remembered that while the initial invest-
ment in organizing diversified Open Education has always been
substantial on account of (a) preparation of multi-media learn-
ing packages, (b) the approximate period of about two years
required to develop new courses and packages, and provision
of some infrastructure. However, the experience gained so far
has proved beyond any doubt that the per student cost substan-
tially decreases when the packages of teaching - learning mate-
rials begin to be used by the learners for the courses in which
they enroll. In the National Open School, using the usual for-
mula of dividing the total expenditure on the programme by the
total number of students, the current per student cost of im-
parting secondary education is found to be around Rs.200/-
only. This covers both academic and vocational courses. The
YCMOU, which has just begun the programme with substantial
packages of material (booklets, Audio Video Cassettes, gadgets
for experiments, etc.) and linkages with numerous Contact
Centres finds that the present per capita cost for newly insti-
tuted vocational courses is Rs.700/- but is expected to come
down in the next 2 - 3 years as the coverage of the courses
increases. It must also be noted that in the National Open
School, no fees are charged to the prioritised client groups, viz.
women, SC/ST, handicapped and ex-serviceman constituting
about 60% enrolment, while the general category pay moderate
fees. In spite of this, restriction on income from fees, the
NOS requires a government grant only to the extent of 15% of
its Non-Plan expenditure. Thus, the cost per student to be
borne from government finances has remained quite low in the
open education arrangements. Any enterprise which gathers the
utmost profit and human benefit from low financial investment
but high efficiency in meeting a genuine demand, is to be
preferred to a high-cost and low-return system. Therefore, the
open education system has to be seen from this angle also. In
its practical side, jobs are done and items are produced as part
of training. This aspect of production as a concomitant of
training brings down the costs of open education still further.
Although exact costing of the currently conducted courses is
yet to be systematically done, the studies undertaken so far
show that in open education, per student costs are about one-
fourth of the costs in institutional education.
6.02 The cost-effectiveness of degree-level Distance
Education which is the precursor of open education, is most
impressive. At present, Distance Education accommodates
nearly 12 % of the total enrolment at the tertiary level, while
the size of allocation made by the UGC for this programme is
only 0.5%. The establishment of more open universities for
upgrading the correspondence courses of the traditional type,
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into contact-supported courses will no doubt require more in-
itial investment. However, the quality of learning would
greatly improve because of the well-designed packaged material
and guidance provided by the Contact-Centres. Besides, when
the student strength exceeds critical levels, the per capita costs
of open higher education are expected to show much reduction.
Targets 6.03 The 8th Plan, which aims at removing educational
disparities and increasing employment opportunities in non-tra-
ditional sectors to a large extent, recognizes the need for updat-
ing the skills of many and imparting new skills to a vast
number. Besides giving all children and youth the basic compe-
tence derived from general education, the objectives of the 8th
Plan call for a new approach to educational organization. Each
State/UT may, therefore consider setting educational targets in
accordance with its need for adult literacy, UPE/UEE, and
education for wage- employment/self-employment. While an
overall target for this goal can be broadly visualized at the
national level, it is ultimately the UT/State and districtwise
plans and targets that will spell out the organizational and finan-
cial implications of Open Education.
6.04 Considering the factors of unemployment and
school-dropout as indicators for setting the targets for Open
Education, the UT/State targets will have to be worked out
accordingly. Skills, general information and social awareness
of a level expected at the class VI - VIII level may be adequate
as entry qualifications for those who wish to enter open educa-
tion at the secondary level. Since many jobs and positions or
further training stipulate a secondary level certificates, this
stage may become the most acceptable to a large number of
prospective learners.
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