Message from the Director

I feel very happy to welcome the distance learners to the Directorate of Distance Education, University of Jammu, Jammu. We aim to enable the individuals to realize their intellectual potential, promote inclusion and facilitate pursuit of knowledge.

Motivated by the objective to make available opportunities of higher education at the doorsteps of those learners who could not get opportunities for higher education in conventional mode because of various socio-economic, geographical and time constraints, the Directorate of Distance Education was established by the University of Jammu in 1976. The Directorate has completed four decades of its existence in the field of Distance Learning in higher education sector. This journey of the Directorate has been quite successful. With the enrolment of only 78 students to TDC Part-I, it had about 12000 students on its roll during the session, 2017-18 and, at present, is offering 2 Undergraduate programmes, 8 Postgraduate programmes and 1 Professional programme. Besides, M.A. in Education, History and Postgraduate Diploma in Business Entrepreneurship programmes are in the pipeline. This has been possible due to dedication and unstinting support from the faculty, administrative and supporting staff of the Directorate and other stakeholders.

The Directorate has set up seven learner support centres one each in Government Degree College Kathua, Udhampur, Poonch, Rajouri, Doda, Bhaderwah and Kishtwar for undergraduate learners. The students, who opt for these learner support centres, complete all components of their programmes at their respective learner support centres.

Presently, the Directorate is offering Undergraduate/Postgraduate/Diploma programmes to cater to the needs of diverse learners by following multimedia approach to teaching and learning. The learners are provided updated Self Learning Material prepared by dedicated and experienced teachers in their respective areas of expertise. The learners are further supported and counseled by the faculty of the DDE and a team of well qualified resource persons during the PCPs. Moreover, they can also get need based guidance from the faculty of the DDE. They can use the DDE library which houses a huge collection of textbooks, reference books and periodicals and can have access to e-resources as well. Books in the library can be searched in Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC). They can use National Digital Library at (https://ndl.iitkgp.ac.in) and the link is uploaded on the website at http://www.distanceeducationju.in/lib.php.

Keeping in view the emerging requirements of our society, industry and nation, possibilities of opening new programmes and courses are being explored. Various initiatives have been undertaken by the Directorate towards accomplishing the vision of quality higher education and helping youth to turn their dreams into reality. A comprehensive vision and perspective plan is being developed to harness the benefits of ICT for facilitating teaching learning and other distance education endeavours.

The admission to Postgraduate programmes is already Online. And the admission to B.A./B.Com. Semester-I programmes has been made Online w.e.f. academic session 2018-19. In collaboration with Jammu and Kashmir Bank, the DDE has introduced the system of remittance of various fees related to Undergraduate and Postgraduate programmes Online (Debit card/Credit card/Internet Banking) or through J&K Bank Challan.

A lot of information related to our programmes is uploaded on the website of the Directorate. Our website provides an interface that is easy to use, enabling the users to reach the required information quickly. Important information regarding admission, fee structure, academic calendar, syllabi, faculty, etc is made available on the website. Information is perfectly categorized. The distance learners can view notifications regarding admissions, PCPs, practicals, viva-voce examination and semester end examinations on our website. I hope that the information available on our website will satisfy your queries related to our programmes.

We have also taken initiatives for placement of our students and in this context, the Directorate has successfully organized an Event-cum-Placement drive in collaboration with Udaan. Our faculty and staff join me in wishing you all a great learning experience in academic session 2018-19 and success in academic endeavours.

Prof. Neelu Rohmetra