Open and Distance Education in India: In Which Direction Is the Wind Blowing in the 21st Century?

The goal of this article is to look into the effectiveness of ODL on the level of economic development across fifteen major states in India, viz., Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal by constructing an ODL Effectiveness Index (ODLEI). The variables considered here are — 1) number of ODL institutes in the state concerned, 2) number of students enrolled in such institutes, 3) logarithmic value of per-capita GSDP and 4) state-wise literacy rates. The index construction method employs Principal Component Analysis (PCA) given the high-degree of multicollinearity among the variables. Comparison of the value of ODLEI in 2015 with the value of ODLEI in 2010 is also something that this article talks about. Also, using a simple regression model, this article attempts to underline the nexus between growth, measured by means of change in the GDP growth with the level of enrolment in distance education in India.