Kathmandu, April 28

Nepal Open University has made it mandatory for its students to attend classes equal to 20 per cent of the total credit hours (45 credit hours) in a semester to enhance their learning.

Normally open universities don not make it mandatory for students to attend classes regularly. But, with this rule, students enrolled in NOU will have to attend classes to gain nine credit hours to be eligible take exams.

The courses introduced by the university, however, demand at least nine to 39 credit hours, according to officials of NOU.

The university has also made it mandatory to take written exams at the examination centre fixed by the university at the end of the semester. The NOU will also follow ‘internal assessment' system to measure students' progress on the basis of their classroom attendance and submitted assignments.

Registrar of NOU Kamal Dhakal said, “Although we are called Open University, we are following a mixed education system, where classroom attendance of students is also given importance.”

Officially inaugurated on July 14 last year, the NOU today held an entrance examination at five different examination centres across the country. The university earlier called for applications for enrolment in 12 different courses. According to NOU officials, around 700 candidates had applied for the course and only 587 eligible candidates took entrance test at five different colleges of seven provinces.

According to the officials of NOU, the university has signed an agreement with five TU affiliated colleges for the students of seven provinces where students can attend classes.