Telecommunications Consultants India Limited [TCIL] yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Republic of Madagascar for participation in the e- VBAB Network Project. The Minister of Higher Education of Madagascar, Elia Béatrice Assoumacou signed the agreement at the premises of the Ministry of Higher Education in Antananarivo in presence of Ambassador Abhay Kumar. This MoU will allow Malagasy citizens to access different online degree and diploma courses that will be offered free of cost. The students can go on the online portal and register themselves for the courses.
Talking about the MoU being an extension of the previous agreements, Kumar said, “During India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-III) held in New Delhi in October 2015, Government of India announced technological up-gradation and extension of Pan-Africa e-network Project (PAeNP), under which tele-education and tele-medicine services were successfully implemented in 48 countries in Africa including the Republic of Madagascar. The technological up-gradation and extension of the Pan African e-Network Project is known as e-VidyaBharti and e-ArogyaBharti Network Project (e-VBAB Network Project). The Republic of Madagascar participated in the PAeNP.”
According to the agreement, 26 Major Indian universities, including Andhra University, Chandigarh University, Amity University, and Indira Gandhi National Open University are participating in the project offering more than 300 different courses in Management, Computer Science, Commerce, Science, Healthcare, Humanities, and Arts.
Minister Assoumacou expressed her pleasure at the signing of the MoU and said, “This Agreement comes under the programme and vision of the Ministry of Higher Education to promote online education in Madagascar. Tele-education offers lectures ranging from bachelor’s degrees to higher studies. It is totally free of cost. However, there are some eligibility criteria for students who want to apply for it and after completion of the study, students will get their degrees and diplomas.”
Furthermore, Minister Assoumacou also thanked the Indian Government for the opportunity that supports higher education in Madagascar. “Thank you for giving chance to Malagasy students to study online in many fields,” she added.
