The SAARC Consortium on Open and Distance Learning (SACODiL) is a regional cooperation agency set up under the auspices of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) with the objectives of promoting cooperation and collaboration among institutions imparting knowledge through open and distance learning within member states, and promoting its use as a viable and cost-effective method of imparting quality education at all levels.

History

During the Tenth SAARC Summit held in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, a declaration was made on July 31, 1998, that; amongst other matters; mandated the establishment of a ''SAARC Forum of Vice Chancellors of Open Universities''. This Forum, consisting of regional leaders in the field, should strengthen cooperation in areas such as the sharing and joint development of programmes, credit transfers for specific programmes and the translation of existing programmes. The Forum first met in Colombo, Sri Lanka on January 25–27, 1999 and during the course of the meeting, deliberated in depth the operational modalities of the Forum including its objectives and membership. A Task Force, comprising the four Vice-Chancellors of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

and delegates from

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

and

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

, was formed which recommended, inter alia, that the organisation be designated as the SAARC Consortium of Open and Distance Learning (SACODiL). The Task Force was eventually redesignated as the SACODiL Task Force met on August 23–25, 1999 at the SAARC Secretariat and proposed a regional mechanism for cooperation and collaboration in the SAARC region, and to promote the use of open and distance learning at all levels of education. The proposal identified the objectives of the SACODiL as joint development of programmes/courses, evolving mechanisms for credit transfer, accumulation and accreditation, sharing information technology to reach out to remote areas and under-privileged people and other matters relating to achieving the goals spelt out by the Vice-Chancellors during their Colombo Meeting. The SAARC Forum of Vice Chancellors met for the second time on December 2–3, 2002 in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, India and a decision was made to operate SACODiL through a rotational Secretariat. The Board of Governors of SACODiL comprising the Vice Chancellors of National Open Universities or Heads of major open and distance learning institutions or educational bodies as well as National Focal Points of SAARC in the foreign ministries of the SAARC Member States and representation of the SAARC Secretary General was also constituted in this meeting.SAARC Website
SAARC Consortium on Open and Distance Learning
(URL last accessed on April 30, 2007 The current Secretariat of SACODiL is the Bangladesh Open University in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Participating institutions

:''note: this section is not complete due to lack of information'' Participating institutions of SACODiL include : * Bangladesh : Bangladesh Open University * India : Indira Gandhi National Open University * http://www.mpisde.org// : Institution of Secondary Distance Education * Pakistan : Allama Iqbal Open University * Sri Lanka : Open University of Sri Lanka

References

{{South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Academic transfer Distance education in Asia Consortium on Open and Distance Learning

History

Participating institutions

See also

References