New Delhi, May 14 (IANS): O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) on Thursday said it has received E-Learning Excellence for Academic Digitisaton (E-LEAD) certification from the coveted QS IGAUGE for excellence in online education.
The certification comes at a time when COVID-19 has thoroughly shaken up the education sector and forced institutions to devise ways and means of grappling with the pandemic.
QS IGAUGE, the Indian arm of global rankings and ratings agency QS, certified JGU as a globally recognised and benchmarked higher education institution to offer online education programmes after a detailed audit.
Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank will unveil and present E-LEAD certificates to the institutions that have successfully completed an audit at a virtual event on Thursday, JGU said.
The Secretary General of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Professor Pankaj Mittal, is also expected to be present on the occasion.
"I am delighted that O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) has received the E-LEAD Certification from QS IGAUGE. This is a remarkable recognition that has come at a time when online education is not just an option to consider for universities, but is an inevitable necessity to do justice to the goals and aspirations of the students," said C. Raj Kumar, Vice Chancellor, O.P. Jindal Global University.
"Online education and digital learning opportunities have the ability to contribute towards democratisation of the higher education system with strong emphasis on quality, accessibility, inclusivity, and excellence," he said.
QS IGAUGE launched the E-LEAD programme in the backdrop of current developments in the past six months.
It deployed its global resources to create a global best practises document and methodology, with an aim to do a readiness check of institutions in India in adopting technology and technology-enabled services for online teaching.
"The methodology, data collection & validation, audit process, quality check and delivery mechanism have been thoroughly reviewed by experts from the higher education domain." said Ashwin Fernandes, Regional Director - South Asia, Middle East & Africa, QS Quacquarelli Symonds & CEO, QS-ERA India Pvt. Ltd.