Distance Education Council

Distance Education Council (DEC) is an organisation based in New Delhi, India responsible for the promotion and coordination of the open university and distance education system and for determination of its standards in India. The Council was constituted under the Indira Gandhi National Open University Act (1985). Its consistent with the duty of the University that takes all such steps as it may deem fit for the promotion of the Open University and distance education systems in the educational pattern of the country and for the coordination and determination of standards of teaching, evaluation & research in such systems; and in pursuance of the objects of the University to encourage greater flexibility, diversity, accessibility, mobility and innovation in education at the University level by making full use of the latest scientific knowledge and new educational technology, and to further cooperation between the existing Universities. It is considered necessary and expedient to establish a Distance Education Council as an authority of the University under Section 16 of the Act.

Initiatives
DEC coordinated in development of learner-centric open and distance learning (ODL) system and ensures high quality of education, meet challenges of access and equity to reach the un-reached, the Distance Education Council (DEC) has following initiatives:


 * DES started state governments/conventional universities to establish open universities/ distance education institutes and create a network of such institutions


 * Provides financial support and grants and academic guidelines to institutions of open and distance education


 * Evolve norms, procedures and guidelines in respect of admission, evaluation, and certification


 * Assess and accredit institutions of open and distance learning to ensure quality

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 * It uses of technology in education and provide opportunities for sharing technological resources and competencies through inter-university partnerships/consortia
 * It facilitate development and sharing of self-instructional (multiple media) materials amongst different open universities/distance education institutions


 * DEC helps sharing of student support services created by various State Open Universities (SOUs) and correspondence course Institutes (CCIs)


 * Promotes convergence of conventional, ODL and other systems to facilitate mobility of learners through credit transfer/sharing


 * Promotes research and innovation in ODL systems


 * Facilitate training for indigenous capacity building in ODL systems


 * Created databases for SOUs, CCIs, distance educators and functionaries associated with ODL systems