- Varsity to play key role in advancing digital education in the country
- BHU will function as National Coordinator for Institutions of National Importance
- The university will now facilitate the administration, academic support, and strategic development of SWAYAM MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) for all INIs
- Currently, India has over 160 Institutions of National Importance, including IITs, NITs, AIIMS, IISERs, IIITs, Central Universities, and specialized institutions
NE EDUCATION BUREAU
VARANASI, MAY 5
In a shining acknowledgement to Banaras Hindu University’s commitment and contribution in advancing digital education in the country, the Ministry of Education, Government of India, has appointed the varsity as National Coordinator (NC) for Institutions of National Importance (INIs) on the SWAYAM platform.
This strategic decision was endorsed during the 26th SWAYAM Board meeting held recently. BHU SWAYAM Coordinator, Dr. Ashutosh Mohan, Institute of Management Studies, has been designated as the National Coordinator for this responsibility. The university will now facilitate the administration, academic support, and strategic development of SWAYAM MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) for all INIs.
Dr. Ashutosh Mohan stated “This responsibility is both recognition and a commitment. BHU has consistently championed digital learning through its high-quality MOOCs, modern infrastructure, and a strong academic foundation. As National Coordinator, we will ensure that online education delivered by India’s most prestigious institutions meets global benchmarks in quality, accessibility, and relevance. We are committed to enhancing the user experience, enabling smoother academic credit transfers, and streamlining the course lifecycle in full alignment with the 2024 SWAYAM Guidelines. We thank the Ministry of Education for this confidence, and we pledge to take this initiative forward with excellence and accountability.”
Prof. Sanjay Kumar, Rector and Acting Vice-Chancellor, Banaras Hindu University, congratulated the BHU SWAYAM team and assured all possible support and coordination to set the varsity as benchmark on SWAYAM platform.
Currently, India has over 160 Institutions of National Importance, including IITs, NITs, AIIMS, IISERs, IIITs, Central Universities, and specialized institutions. With the exception of pure technology related courses, the possible majority of online courses developed by these institutions on SWAYAM will now be centrally coordinated and quality-assured by BHU.
The appointment of BHU as a National Coordinator (INI) inflates the list to 10 National coordinators besides the AICTE, UGC, CEC, NCERT, NIOS, IIM-Bengaluru, IGNOU, NITTR, and NPTEL – IIT Madras.
This designation affirms BHU’s leadership in the online learning space. The university has already developed 37 SWAYAM courses, and another 63 are in the pipeline for launch by July 2025. It is also among the few Indian universities equipped with a modern, fully functional digital studio dedicated to high-quality course recording and content creation.
As the National Coordinator, BHU will play a pivotal role in:
- Providing academic and administrative support to INIs for SWAYAM course development, delivery, and evaluation.
- Guiding institutions on the revised SWAYAM 2024 Guidelines.
- Preventing duplication and ensuring curriculum relevance.
- Streamlining assessment and certification standards in collaboration with regulatory bodies.
- Enabling credit transfer and UGC/NTA-compliant certification post-examinations.
This step comes under the Education Ministry’s broader vision to ensure a structured and scalable online learning environment in alignment with NEP 2020 goals. BHU’s National Coordinator role will serve as a model for academic rigor and operational efficiency across the digital education ecosystem.
Dr. Ashutosh Mohan can be contacted over swayam@bhu.ac.in and ashutoshmohan@fmsbhu.ac.in as well as Phone: +9839812181, 8853289171
