Andhra Pradesh's Education Minister Audimulapu Suresh said the state's Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's goal was not only to provide degrees to students but also to provide quality education along with job opportunities in a nationally competitive manner.
Suresh spoke at the virtual launch of two new courses in Indira Gandhi National Open Universal University (IGNOU) on Thursday, January 13. Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Baisa, university Vice-Chancellor and professor Nageswara Rao and others also participated.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister asserted that special efforts were being made to introduce innovative initiatives for the betterment of education in the state and that these schemes are being lauded at the national level.
The Education Minister observed that IGNOU has been disseminating knowledge to society by increasing the gross enrolment ratio across the country through universal distance education programmes since its inception. He further congratulated the university for achieving NAAC A ++ grade and providing over two hundred certificates, diplomas, degrees and doctoral programmes.
The varsity has also introduced two new postgraduate courses, Environmental and Occupational Health, that cover a wide range of topics related to the general environment, including workplace conditions, side effects and assessment of how harmful they are to health. The two courses would contribute to the promotion of environmental impact on health, Suresh opined.
The minister further shared that the courses would help to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of developed and developing countries to reach partnerships in health and well-being as well as other sustainable development impacts.
He also added that the government is evolving steps to design and implement a feasible plan to address the gaps in cognitive status in environmental and occupational health. He added that the NEP (National Education Policy) 2020 envisages facilitating learning for all students with special emphasis on socio-economic backward groups.
