Department of Non-formal Continuing Education&Extension

Department of Non-formal Continuing Education&Extension

UGC accepted extension as the third dimension, equal in status to teaching and research, in its landmark policy frame declared to benefit both the community and the higher education system. As a result, the UGC set up department of Adult, Continuing Education and Extension in more than 100 universities of the country. These departments have been involved in programmes like literacy, post-literacy, continuing education and science for masses, environmental education, legal literacy and technology transfer by involving students and teachers. However, the major focus has been on Adult Literacy work. The programme over past decades has conceptually and operationally undergone several changes.

The acceptance of Extension as the Third Dimension was in the context of a growing realization that universities and colleges having institutional resources-knowledge, man-power and physical have an obligation to develop sensitivities to involve the development of the community with particular reference to overall and diverse learning needs of all segments of the people of the community.

The Third Dimension aims to promote a meaningful and sustained rapport between the university and the community. It aims, firstly, to extend knowledge and other institutional resources to the community and secondly, to gain insights from contacts between knowledge resources and socio-cultural realities with a view to reflecting these in the entire curricular system of higher education including teaching and research.

The University Department of Adult, Continuing Education and Extension has grown in an inverse manner in comparison to the Departments in terms of their functional dimension. while most other Departments have grown from teaching and research to extension, the department of Adult Continuing Education and Extension has grown initially from extension to teaching and research.

The UGC sanctioned the establishment of a Department of Adult, Continuing Education and Extension in H.N.B. Garhwal University at par to that of other academic department of the university in the session 1980-81. Sufficient infrastructure was provided by the UGC for smooth functioning of extension and academic activities. After 31 st March 1997 the State Government (u.P) taken over all liabilities of the Department.