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Online Education in India is a recent phenomena, till the end of the 90’s, neither courses nor the relevant information was available. Obviously, internet itself was a recent phenomena in India, then. Technology is a big changer and its productive outcome - online courses in India are very much existent. However, the lack of information about them is more or less, is also existent in many parts of India. Online education is a type of distance education whose curriculum or syllabi is delivered partly or completely via the Internet, an intranet or an extranet. It also an evolved form of Correspondence or Distance Education because there is advancement in the method of transmitting the learning material. The method of examination and certification are also advanced. Online education is also synonymous with several terms viz. Virtual Education, Online Learning, E-Learning, Computer Based Training, Internet Based Training and Web Based Training. There are minor difference amongst these. There are other terms associated with it, if you come across please notify. Online distance education in India is conducted through various means though majority of them are delivered through the Internet. The education of courses is imparted through tutorials, reading materials, webinars, assignments, test after every module, group discussions, networking with the classmates and so on. Depending on the institute, there may or may not be interaction with the teacher. Assignments can be downloaded through the websites or emails and can be uploaded in the same manner. Examination is conducted online and assignments’ also form the basis of assessment of a candidate. Certification may be obtained online or through postal request. Because there is disparity in all the academic matters of the online institutes, it is not feasible to conclude the exactness of these.

Methods of Online Education

• E-mail
• Web Conferencing
• Video Conferencing
• Online Video/Audio/Textual Tutorials (webcasts, live lectures, pre-recorded lectures)
• CD/DVD
• Online Forums
• Printed Literature
• Voice Mail/fax

Distance Education Council is an organisation which controls and regulates various open and distance learning institutes some of which also provide online distance education courses in India. The Council was constituted under the Indira Gandhi National Open University Act (1985).  Distance education in India is mostly provided at the Graduate Level or Post-School. Online school education in India is yet to gain momentum. A few of the online schools in India like TutorVista, Educomp, Everonn Education, Extramarks, are not of the same league as of the higher education one’s. Both these are more of Learning Enhancers for school going students just like health supplements for sportsperson. They offer e-learning packages for faster and effective learning. Apart from having their online education portals in India, they also collaborate with schools by offering solution for quality education.

As per Businessweek - The online education market in India as of 2010-2011 figures, generates about $200 million in revenue, and industry experts expect it to touch $1 billion by the end of the decade. The growth online education market shows positive response. India's largest education company Educomp has witnessed a growth of 340% over the past 12 months. Others like the Everonn saw increase of 61% since its listing in August, 2007. The opportunity is so enormous that venture capitalists have begun to fund online education companies. In 2007, they invested more than $74 million in Indian education companies. The online education market is promising because of various factors. During 2003, government increased the education expenditure to 5% from the previous 3% of gross domestic product. This was primarily done to upgrade the quality of higher education. IIT’s and leading business schools took a notice of this and started offering online courses. Thus, the availability of these courses, flexibility of time, ease of study, no entrance examinations etc also made them popular. Today IITs, IIMs and Sikkim Manipal University are the major and popular institutes providing various online degree courses in India. The scenario today, is that more and more institutes are on their way to provide such facilities. Some foreign universities and education providers are also venturing in this sector albeit in collaboration with various colleges and universities in India. One such example is that of Carnegie Mellon University’s tie up with Shri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering in Chennai, to offer IT courses. All the IITs are negotiating with Google (GOOG) video, to help students download lectures for free. Not all the courses are available through these institutes. Engineering, finance, human resources, management, and mass communications courses are the most readily available ones. The reason being that these are the most popular and opted for courses, so it makes sense invest in these.

Online Education Courses in India

Online courses in India cater to different ages of people and people with varying criteria. One can earn an online degree at various levels: associate degrees online, bachelor's degrees online, master's degrees online, even a Ph.D. degree online. Apart from the degree courses there are Certificate Courses, Diploma Courses, Non-Credit Programs and Appreciation Programs. Most popular online courses in India include those concerning with management and information technology.  

Online degree courses in India are available in various disciplines. Some of these have been mentioned below:

Online Education Courses in India are certified, affiliated and recognised by various bodies like Punjab Technical University, Karnataka Open University, University Grants Commission, Indira Gandhi National Open University, Apollo Hospitals, NIIT etc. Some of these are international certified courses are provided by Sybase, Redhat, Novell, IBM, Brainbench, PeopleSoft, SAP, Cisco, Microsoft, Sun, Macromedia, Siebel etc.

Online Colleges in India

There are many institutes providing online degrees in India. Some of them are International Universities and some are National. Some institutes collaborate with foreign universities and some education service providers, whether national or international collaborate with international or national educational institutes to offer online degree courses in India. A word of caution though – online courses in India should be pursued only from reputed education institutes in India. One sure way of knowing the authenticity of the online courses in India is to confirm that they are accredited from bodies like Institute of Company Secretaries of India, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, National Power Training Institute of India, Indian School of Petroleum and Energy, Financial Planning Standards Board India, Amity University, Karnataka State Open University etc. Most of the online institutes in India provide online courses through their distance education department. They do not have a separate institutes catering especially to online education needs. Some of institutes providing online education are Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, XLRI, Sikkim Manipal University, Institute of Distance Education Jiwaji University, Harihara Mardaraj Distance Education Center, Directorate of Distance Education (DEC), Sambalpur University, IIM Bangalore, IIM Kolkata, NIIT, Rai University etc. International Online Education Institutes include Universitas 21 Global, British Council

Prominent Online Colleges in India

• IGNOU
• PTU
• GOLS
• DBU
• IIT – Mumbai
• IIT – Delhi
• IIT  - Guwhati
• IIT – Kanpur
• IIT – Kharagpur
• IIT – Madras
• IIT – Roorkee
• Indian Law Institute
• National Insurance Academy
• IISC Bangalore
• Amity University

Online Education Portals in India

• egurucool.com (school education)
• Tutorvista.com (school education)
• extramarks.com (school education)
• siliconindia.com
• gurukulonline.co.in
• ptuonline.com
• educomp.com
• everonn.com
• nptel.iitm.ac.in
• ubs.edu.in
• dbuglobal.com
• mitsde.com
• medvarsity.com
• nptel.iitm.ac.in

Benefits of Online Education in India

There are many advantages of online education. These advantages are also the driving force behind the spread of online education courses in India.

Saves Time – The topmost benefit of online courses is that they are time savers. A regular course requires 2-3 years of study which includes 5-6 hours of college per week and added 2-3 hours of extra coaching. A similar online course removes the extra hours spent on study. Thus, a 2-3 years course will include only 3-4 hours of study. Many times, working professionals need a certification or short term course to fulfil certain professional requirements instead of a full time course. As working individuals, they do not have time to attend regular classes and disrupt their career in the process. Online courses saves them time which would otherwise be spent on pursing a degree. It also saves them time spent on daily activities associated with regular study viz. commutation, lunch break, loafing around, participation in protests, college elections, clothing and other activities. Time saved through these activities allows them efficient time management. The time saved can also be used to get more qualifications.

No worry of entrance exams – Online degree in India requires no extra efforts. Admissions in regular institutes is highly competitive as only a limited number of seats are available. Moreover, there are various entrance examinations in India, interviews, group discussions and other formalities. It is only after completing all these or few of these formalities that you can become eligible for attending the classes. Most of the online courses does not require entrance test. Subsequently there is no need for extra coaching, extra expenditure, extra tension.

Eliminates extra pressure – Students in a regular education set up have to go through lots of traditions and cultures associated with an institute. Ragging, certain unnecessary extra-curricular activities, peer pressure, discrimination, self consciousness, dressing manner, status issues etc. put extra burden on the students. In the absence of these factors students get the chance of developing their own knack for learning.

Saves Money – Online education also save money because all they are charging for is the courses fee plus some other minor expenses. The regular study demands more than this. There are various unrealised expenses arising out of daily commutation, trips and tours, shopping for clothes, canteen expenditure, attendance fine, birthday celebrations, regular movie watching, gifts for girlfriends, friends and others add up to a large sum of money. In the absence of these expenses online degree in India is far cheaper.

Provides room for other activities – Many students are more sports oriented than academic oriented. For them, education is secondary and online education provides them a wide berth to prioritise. Similarly, there are others who are not as good in academic as they are in other skills. By opening unconventional avenues for such individuals, online education also builds ones personality. Even for academically endowed individuals, online education provides opportunities to pursue their hobbies, relax, have fun, play, participate in community work or anything that interests them.

Online education acts as an Economy Booster – India has a large population which sums up to be a great manpower. But this manpower isn’t productive enough. Vast population is illiterate because of various hindrances either social or economical. As online institutes are free from all the blockades of the conventional education, literacy rate will rise. This will directly affect the economy as there is more productive force ready.

Free from the problems of regular study – The conventional or regular mode of Indian education system is plagued by various shortcomings and problems. It is a widely known fact that the Student-Teacher ratio is not proportionate. The number of teachers is less as compared to the number of students. Teachers are not able to give the required amount of attention to each student. Majority of the educational institutes in India suffer from the lack of quality education. Other education problems in India include faulty education policies, inadequate funds, casual approach of educators and higher authorities etc. Online education is much more streamlined and is able to offer hassle free education.