Socio-Economic Profile of Women Learners of the ODL System: A Study in Assam

Abstract

One of the main objectives of the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) System is to increase the participation of people in higher education and to accelerate the growth and development of a country. Today, the importance of education for women is realized worldwide because higher education for women is vital for the social, economic, political and educational advancement of a country. The ODL system has been providing opportunities of higher education to thousands of women who are deprived of education for reasons more than one. Already, several women, coming from diverse backgrounds, have enrolled in this system and completed their education successfully. They differ in their age, residential area, religion, employment status, family background, social status, previous educational level and so on. In spite of these differences, they have been taking the advantage of the ODL system to fulfill their educational needs and goals. This paper examines the attainments of the post-graduate women learners who took up general and professional courses at the Master’s degree level through the ODL mode at Krishna Kanta Handiqui State Open University, Assam, the only state Open University of North East India, to explore how higher education had brought changes into their personal as well as social lives. Besides, why these women learners had opted for the ODL mode in place of the regular conventional mode is also explored through this paper. Based on the analysis of the data collected through a questionnaire a few suggestions to enhance the educational opportunities for women through the ODL mode are also placed.