Open Varsity Will Make Higher Education Accessible To All, Says Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan

Kochi: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday inaugurated the Sree Narayana Guru Open University through videoconferencing.

The open university will offer skill development programmes apart from regular courses. Chooravilas Complex near the Kollam bypass will be the temporary headquarters of the university. The seven-storey building has 18 classrooms, an auditorium that can accommodate 800 persons and parking facility.

Speaking at the event, CM Vijayan said that the government intends to provide higher education in different streams to all sections of the society through Sree Narayana Guru Open University.

“This is a platform to make higher education accessible to all skilled, eligible, and desirous persons,” he added. Sree Narayana Guru Open University is Kerala’s first open university named after the social reformer through videoconferencing.

The chief minister also pointed out that modern Kerala is indebted to Sree Narayana Guru for the changes brought about by him were not limited to any particular community, but benefited an entire spectrum of people.

Observing that Guru always exhorted others to gain knowledge, the chief minister said the university was an extension to that thought.

“No education system can sustain without focusing on agriculture, industry, vocational skills and technology that form the backbone of our economy,” Vijayan was quoted by The Hindu.