THE PROBLEMATIC INTERFACE BETWEEN TECHNOLOGY AND THE SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT OF OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING IN

This paper attempts to present a holistic assessment of the status of ICT adoption in open and distance learning in India and look into possible sources of problems: educational policies that are increasingly impelled by economic considerations, flawed planning, and prescriptions that delimit the ways in which technology can be used. HISTORICAL CONTEXT After Independence, there was a steady rise in the demand for higher education, a reflection of the aspirations of a growing middle class in India. Since the existing infrastructure could not accommodate the growing volume of students, the government set up the School of Correspondence Courses and Continuing Education at the University of Delhi in 1962 to extend access to traditional university teaching. As the response, in terms of enrolment, was very encouraging, 7 more Institutes of Correspondence Courses were set up by 1970. At the same time there were reservations about the quality of education being imparted. The methodology was print-dominated