Have you seen our list of free online courses with certificates by the Government of India yet? You can check them out here. However, in this article, we will be listing nine government portals that allow you to take free online courses with certificates in India.
Undoubtedly, 2020 was a tough year that took away a lot from us. However, if you have come into 2021 looking to start afresh or improve on your skills, this article is for you. The Indian Government has provided learning and important upskilling opportunities for its citizens through its portals that allow students and individuals to take free online courses.
We will be listing these portals in this article.
9 Free Online Courses with Certificates by Government of India
Portal for Free Online Courses with Certificates 1: All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)
The All India Council for Technical Education is a self-paced online learning portal made available by the Government of India to avail students of the opportunities to learn online. This portal was first named Enhancing in Learning with Improvement in Skills (ELIS).
Also, this portal offers free online courses sourced from about 18 top Ed-tech companies like edX, Simpliv, Great Learning, Guvi, etc. These free online courses are courses on different career fields.
However, this portal is only an aggregator and not the original content and course creator, and because of this, the portal takes responsibility for the respective companies who are the original content and course creators of the courses offered on this portal. You can visit their website for more details.
Portal for Free Online Courses with Certificates 2: National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL)
The National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning is another free online course portal provided by the Indian Government for Engineering students. This portal has since 2013 provided free online courses with durations lasting from 4 to 12 weeks.
The topics and fields offered in these free online courses range from higher education along with main core courses in humanities and sciences. Also, these courses are offered with exposures to relevant tools and technologies.
As it has been termed ‘free online courses’, enrolling and taking these classes do not require any fee. However, an in-person proctored certification exam, which is optional by the way, will be conducted at Rs. 1000 per course. Also, participants are provided with certificates by the participating institutions and industry.
One of the main benefits of learning with this portal is that participating students get credit transfers, also, they get better resumes too.
Portal for Free Online Courses with Certificates 3: University Grants Commission (UGC)
The University Grants Commission is known as the SWAYAM platform – that is, the Government of India’s platform to help students. Also, it is an MHRD initiative that offers free online courses to students for non-technical post-graduation education through the UGC portal.
It offers students course materials as PDF and descriptive lecture videos from leading industries in the fields their focuses are focused on. However, not all the free online courses on this platform come with certificates. Often times, these courses without certificates are more like assistance to students of non-technical post-graduation education of all streams.
However, certificates are provided for participating students in some other courses such as digital marketing, cybersecurity or artificial intelligence.
Portal for Free Online Courses with Certificates 4: Consortium for Educational Communication (CEC)
The Consortium for Educational Communication is another one of the free online course portals on the Government of India’s SWAYAM platform to virtually assisting students to participate in digital higher education courses. This portal is specifically designed for undergraduate education students.
On this portal, the participating students can access quality educational resources from prominent subject experts. Also, they can participate in discussion forums and take tests to earn academic grades.
The free online courses on this portal last for a duration of 8-12 weeks offering structured and credit-bearing courses for higher education. Also, they engage students through descriptive video lectures, reading materials, discussion forums, assessment components, e-mails and video conferencing.
Portal for Free Online Courses with Certificates 5: National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)
The National Council of Educational Research and Training is another one of the free online portals by the Indian Government aimed at understanding, promoting, and coordinating researches in areas related to school education. Also, they are aimed at preparing and publishing model textbooks, supplementary study materials, newsletters, journals. Also, they develop educational kits, multimedia, digital materials, etc.
It also aimed at organising pre-service and in-service training of teachers; developing and distributing creative educational methods and practices.
Also, this portal team’s with state educational departments, universities, NGOs and educational institutions. It is also a clearinghouse for ideas and information in school education-related issues.
Also, the portal affiliates with international organisation visit foreign delegations and offer different training facilities to educational personnel from developing countries.
Portal for Free Online Courses with Certificates 6: National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)
The National Institute of Open Schooling is also another one of the free online courses portals by the Government of India. It was established in 1989 as an autonomous institution under MHRD.
It offers both secondary, senior secondary and vocational courses through open and distance learning (ODL) mode. Also, it offers Open Basic Education and Elementary Teacher Education Programme (OBEETEP). The NIOS offer 40 courses on the SWAYAM platform you could enrol in.
Portals for Free Online Courses with Certificates 7: Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)
The Indira Gandhi National Open University is also another one of the free online course portals by the Indian Government provided to help students participate in virtual learning. This portal is being authorised with the responsibility of the National Coordinator for promoting the development of certificate/diploma courses in several disciplines.
Also, the portal is specially designed for out-of-school students. It brings on Expression of Interest (EoI) for developing MOOCs on SWAYAM for both credit and non-credit streams from Course Coordinators. This development is through reputable universities/institutes of National Importance and other educational institutions entrusted to award degrees/credits from subject experts both in the public and private sectors.
Also, the free online courses offered through this portal covers a broad range of subjects and core subject areas and new and creative areas of knowledge.
8: Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB)
The Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore is another one of the free online course portals by the Indian Government provide to help students learn online for management studies. The portal has offered over 20 free online courses on SWAYAM since 2017.
As a national coordinator, the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore receives and evaluates Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) proposals in the area of management studies from institutions generous enough to offer their courses on the platform.
Also, the IIMB offers up to 30 management courses for learning those who are interested in management studies. These free online courses can last for a duration of 5 to 12 weeks. However, the duration is all based on the type of course, the complexity and the level of the course.
9: National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research (NITTTR)
The National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research, also another one of the free online course portals by the Government of India, is autonomous of MHRD. Specifically designed for teachers training programmes, the portal is primarily focused on enhancing the quality of the Engineering education system in India, especially the Southern region.
This Institute focuses on offering need-based human resource development programs through appropriate modes and developing curricula and instructional resources to satisfy their clientele requirements.
Also, this portal facilitates research in the interdisciplinary areas of engineering education. It also offers consultancy and additional services for the total development of technical institutions – both engineering and polytechnic colleges. Also, to the industries, service sectors and the community at large.
Also, this platform acts as one of the national coordinators for SWAYAM for the teacher training program along with NITTRs which are Bhopal, Kolkata and Chandigarh. These portals are used to offer courses in the areas of technical teacher training.
Conclusion
We hope our list can help you find some free online courses on these Indian Government portals to help you enhance your skills.
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