The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is a central University established by an Act of the Parliament in 1985. It is the National Resource Centre for Open and Distance Learning with international recognition and presence, and provides seamless access to sustainable learner-centric quality education. IGNOU uses multi-media strategy is course delivery and provides access to learning resources through print, audio, video and the Web. Student-teacher and student-student interactions happen through the use of technology and also through the use of assignments and during the face-to-face counselling sessions. To know more about IGNOU, please visit the Website (www.ignou.ac.in).

School of Social Sciences (SOSS) is among the larger Schools of Studies at the Indira Gandhi National Open University. It has  a faculty strength of 41 teachers and 32 administrative personnel.  The School of Social Sciences offers academic programmes in six disciplines - Economics, History and Tourism Studies, Library and information Science, Political Science, Public Administration, and Sociology. The learning programmes in these disciplines relate to core subject areas and across disciplines presenting larger canvases for academic pursuits. The School also links the course development to the ever-expanding socio-economic and political contexts in which social science processes occur. Keeping in view the fact that  Indira Gandhi National Open University is today the foremost centre of open and distance learning and is adequately equipped with modern educational technologies, the foregrounding of ICT in devising our learning programmes is quite evident.  This unique convergence has been used by the SOSS to incorporate the following features in its programmes and courses:

·        Basic general  programmes in various disciplines at Undergraduate and Postgraduate level have been buttressed with foundation and application
         oriented courses;

·        Short-term and long-term courses focused on vocational and  in professional needs;

·        Programmes and courses geared at meeting the requirements of  groups located at the fringe of our society;

·        Programmes in the areas of societal concern having a social science perspective.

The School has expanded its academic activities and has launched research programme that applies newer methodologies to elicit a more creative response both from within a discipline as well as from interdisciplinary intersections.

The School of Social Science also undertakes training programmes in the areas of Disaster Management, Human Rights, Tourism and other contemporary social issues.

 The major areas of attention, in addition to the core areas of different disciplines, have been:

 ·         Tourism Studies,

·         Disaster Management,

·         Consumer Studies,

·         Human Rights,

·         Women's Empowerment and Development,

·         Labour and Development,

·         Participatory Forest Management,

·         Participatory Project Planning,

·         Environmental Education,

·         Involuntary Resettlement, and

·         Hospitality and Hotel Administration

A National Digital Repository to store, index, preserve, distribute and share the digital learning resources developed by the Open and Distance Learning Institutions in the country. Virtual class provides Online programmes. Education Broadcast is a webcasting facility to linking you to educational channels.