G. Ram Reddy

Professor G. Ram Reddy (December 4, 1929 – July 2, 1995) is renowned architect of Distance Education and the father of open learning in India.

Early life

Born in a small village of Mylaram in Karimnagar district in the former Nizam's Dominion, where educational opportunities were fewer than those available in other parts of colonial India, he was one of the very few from his district to attend high school and college. Obtaining his MA from the Osmania University, Ram Reddy did further graduate studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science before joining Osmania as a lecturer in public administration in 1959. His reputation as a teacher and researcher ensured quick promotion to full professorship within a decade. When the newly established Social Sciences Research Council created regional centres, Professor Reddy was chosen to head the first regional unit located in Hyderabad. In 1977, at the age of 48, he became the Vice-Chancellor of his alma mater, the Osmania University.

Role in ODL in India

It was during his tenure as Vice-Chancellor of Osmania that his association with distance education began. It would be no exaggeration to say that he is the father of open learning in India. Almost single handedly, he founded India's first Open University, the Andhra Pradesh Open University (now called Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University) in 1982. This led to the Central Government asking him to prepare the groundwork for the establishment of the Indira Gandhi National Open University of which too he became the founding Vice-Chancellor in 1985. As India's most prominent open learning expert, he was invited to be associated with every stage of the establishment of The Commonwealth of Learning. He was a member of both the Briggs and Daniel committees and, later, India's representative on COL's founding Board of Governors. Such was his attachment to COL that he agreed to join as its first Vice-President in 1989 and helped to lay the firm foundations of the management of the organisation.

Recognition

Professor Reddy's role on the global distance education scene was equally significant. He was elected as the first Secretary General of the Association of Asian Open Universities and was an active member of the International Council for Distance Education. It was thus most appropriate that he should be one of the first recipients of the COL-ICDE Award of Excellence for meritorious services to distance education at ICDE's conference in Birmingham this year. He was also honoured by being made Life Member of ICDE. It is a tragic but fitting irony to this career that he died within days of receiving these honours.

While he distinguished himself as a scholar in public policy studies, it was in the field of higher education administration that he reached commanding heights as is attested by his adorning the Chairmanship of India's University Grants Commission and Chairman of the Social Science Research Council. As UGC Chair, he piloted the establishment of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council to promote quality assurance in higher education in India. This is the first of its kind in the South Asian region. He was presented the prestigious Sri Raja-Lakshmi Foundation Award for his stupendous work in Education in 1994. In memory of his remarkable services, the Andhra Pradesh Government named the Centre of Distance Education in Osmania University as G. Ram Reddy Centre of Distance Education. Also, Prof. G. Ram Reddy Memorial Lecture was instituted in his memory by the IGNOU, New Delhi.

References

• 20th Century Luminaries of Andhra Pradesh, Potti Sriramulu Telugu University, Hyderabad, 2005.

External links

• Memorial in Commonwealth of Learning.
• Osmania University Centre for Distance Education official website.