Good News in Sight for Learners and RCs

I am glad to inform you that SMS Alerts Services may soon be resumed. In fact, we need to THANK Student Support Services Committee, a Standing Committee of IGNOU Board of Management (BOM) recommended that SMS Alerts Services should be decentralized to IGNOU Regional Centers (RCs). All RCs received an e-mail advising the concerned Regional Directors (RDs) to select vendor for SMS Alerts Services at RC level by following the rules and regulations and commence the Services at the earliest. So, depending on the pace at which RD responds, the learners in his/her jurisdiction may start receing SMS. IT needs to be noted that THIS IS A PROACTIVE STEP.

Its very heartening to see that Standing Committee of IGNOU's APEX Body , namely, BOM recognized the indispensability of SMS services and made this recommendation in the interest of learners. So, all students of IGNOU will start receiving SMS at the earliest from their respective Regional Centers.

This decision is also a slap on the face for some departments of IGNOU such as Computer Divsion as well as some staff of IGNOU who are responsible for the halting of SMS services by the Vendor. I hope that they will try to be honest atleast to some extent in future.

Wishing you all the best,

Dr.P.V.Suresh, Coordinator, SMS Alerts Servie

SMS Alerts Services temporarily halted

SMS Alerts Services were temporarily halted by the vendor who is offering services to IGNOU. The services were halted since November 7th, 2012.  Government organizations stopped sending most of the SMS alerts vowing to price hike by vendors across the Country. The price hike was nearly 5 times. It all started with the legal tussle between AirTel and Tata Teleservices. Court ruled that Tata Tele needs to pay appr. Rs.250 crores (figure not accurate) towards SMS termination charges. As on the date of ruling, no SMS termination charges exist. Termination charges exist only for voice calls. The ruling triggered hike of SMS charges by all the operators as every operator is expecting this particular case to be cited as reference by other operators to collect extra charges for them. Ultimately, any charges to be borne by the companies are passed to customer. Hence are the charges hiked. If you carefully notice, not all SMSs that are being sent from your mobiles are delivered to the destination mobile phone. You must have already experienced it.

The vendor mailed the prices 2 days before effecting hike with a warning that he will halt services if the confirmation of accepting hike is not communicated to him. No government organization can accept hike in prices in two days. Normally, Govt. organizations don't accept hike in such services. In his communication to IGNOU, the vendor also mentioned that the bills since Jan/Feb, 2012 are pending. Of course, in Govt. organizations, always, there will be departments which are inefficient.  We cannot avoid them as the staff of those departments also take salaries and work needs to be assigned to them. These departments cannot be allowed to continue to be lazy.

Any way, what ever it is, the real sufferer is STUDENT.  There is no communication that is faster than SMS. We started working on the revival at the earliest. Let's hope that we will succeed despite the presence of inefficient departments due to whom good things get blocked and STUDENT suffers.

I wish all the best to our Students. At a critical time when they are attending to their term end examinations, this service got halted due to which our RCs are unable to communicate with them.

I shall be posting updates regularly on the revival.

IGNOU Regional Center at Saharsa starts using SMS Alerts Service

IGNOU RC at Saharsa was established in July, 2011. Yet to complete one year , it took a major step towards supporting the learners in its jurisdiction by starting SMS services on May 26th, 2012. They sent SMS to its learners and other stake holders about the admissions to IGNOU ODL programmes for July, 2012 session. We wish all the best to learners, staff and other stake holders of this young IGNOU RC at Saharsa.

IGNOU School of Management Studies starts using SMS Alerts Service

IGNOU's one of the largest schools SOMS started using SMS Alerts Service from March 28th, 2012. They sent a message to all the students who have to attend interview for internship  during their first year of BBA reg. about the schedule of interviews. Hence forth, I am expecting that all students who are enrolled to programmes offered by SOMS will receive updates by SMS and will be communicated about all the relevant developments about their programmes as soon as decisions are made by SOMS. I thank and congratulate Prof.Nawal Kishore, Director, SOMS for starting to use SMS services.

RC, Dehradun starts using SMS Alerts Service

IGNOU Regional Center at Dehradun started using SMS Alerts Service on March 26th, 2012. I congratulate and thank Mr.Umesh Tripathi, Assistant Regional Director for the initiative taken in its usage at RC, Dehradun due to his interaction with me during STRIDE Orientation Programme organized during this month for newly recruited ARDs / DDs. Today, they sent appr. 4000 SMS to the learners. Definitely, IGNOU learners in the jurisdiction of RC, Dehradun stand immensely benefited due to this service as communication gap between RC and learners get reduced due to SMS service. Now, they just need to update their mobile number with RC whenever their number changes. They don't need to seriously think about changing their communication or residential address unless they are anticipating any physical deliveries of course material etc.  from IGNOU.  Hence forth, just as other RCs which are using SMS Alerts Service are doing,  RC at Dehradun can plan activities for learners at very short notice. Learners in the jurisdiction of RC, Dehradun can register their mobile numbers with RC by e-mailing their 10-digit  mobile number and enrollment number to rcdehradun@ignou.ac.in I wish all the best for RC, Dehradun and learners.

IGNOU School of Health Sciences starts using SMS Alerts Service

This is a major break through. SOHS is the recent addition to the list of Schools of IGNOU that are using SMS Alerts Service. SOHS started using SMS Alerts Service from February 29, 2012. The interest shown by Dr.Biplab Jamatia and Dr.T.K.Jena, Director of SOHS to start SMS Alerts Service can be gauged by the frequency at which SOHS is using the service. Appr. 14910 messages were sent today alone. Definitely, students of SOHS across the country stand to benefit from this service as they receive updates immediately by SMS as and when they happen. Today, they informed by SMS about the list of lectures that are uploaded to Youtube. There is no way earlier for any student to know that a lecture pertaining to their discipline was uploaded. SMS made it possible. Of course, I can keep continuing writing about the benefits of SMS service to the students endlessly. Anyway, let me stop here. I wish you all a VERY HAPPY HOLI. If you are a student of any programme offered by SOHS, and you did not receive any SMS from  SOHS until now, mail your 10-digit mobile number along with programme to which you are enrolled to pgdcc@ignou.ac.in  Wishing you all, ALL THE BEST  : Dr.P.V.Suresh

RC, Shimla starts using SMS Alerts Service

I am glad to post that IGNOUs Regional Center at Shimla started using SMS Alerts Service from February 21st, 2012. Again, as in the case of some RCs which started using the service, its the impact of STRIDE's refresher programme. Dr.Mohan Sharma, Assistant Regional Director from RC, Shimla attended the programme and is quick enough to start the service at RC, Shimla as soon as he returned. From now-on-wards, learners of IGNOU in the jurisdiction of RC, Shimla will find that information is reaching them by SMS in no time and will have enough time to follow up. I thank Dr.Mohan Sharma for the initiative which will benefit all the learners and other stake holders of IGNOU in Himachal Pradesh.