Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has extended the deadline for submitting the application form to March 31, 2021. Earlier, the authorities had extended the deadline to March 15, 2021. Interested candidates who fulfil the eligibility criteria, can still choose to apply for the admission process on the official website i.e., ignouiop.samarth.edu.in. IGNOU is currently offering a total of sixteen programmes through the online mode from January 2021 session. All these programmes have been approved by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Interested candidates can fill the application form on the official website ignouiop.samarth.edu.in on or before March 31, 2021. To do so, they must click on the ‘CLICK HERE for NEW REGISTRATION’ option appearing in the applicant login area and fill the required registration details. They must choose a suitable Username between 8 to 16 characters. Candidates must also decide an alphanumeric password between 8 to 16 characters.
After filling the mandatory details, candidates must click on the ‘SUBMIT’ option. By doing so, they shall receive their username via email or SMS. Using the login credentials like username and password, candidates must login to the website to access the application form.
IGNOU 2021 admission process also includes uploading scanned images of important documents. These documents include photograph, signature, age proof, relevant educational qualification, experience certificate, category certificate (SC/ST/OBC) if applicable, BPL certificate if applicable, etc. All these documents must be uploaded as per the format and dimensions mentioned by the authorities.
After filling the application form and uploading the relevant documents, candidates must pay the application fee. This can be done through either of the three payments methods. The methods available are Credit Card (Master or Visa), Debit Card (Master, Visa or Rupay) or Net Banking. Candidates are instructed to pay the application fee and upload scanned images of original documents rather than photocopies.
In a specific admission session, students belonging to SC and ST categories can claim the fee exemption facility for only one programme. In case a candidate submits multiple applications requesting fee exemption, all their forms may get rejected by authorities. Once the admission formalities get completed, candidates are advised to take a print-out of the same for future use.
It is always better to read the IGNOU 2021 prospectus before following through with the admission process. This step is especially recommended for first-time applicants. Such candidates can refer to sections 1, 7, 8, 9, 12 and 13 as well as the ‘Rules of the University’ present as section 6 in the prospectus. They must also be aware of the eligibility criteria, fee details, duration, etc before filling the application form. The last date to fill the application form has again been extended from March 15 to 31, 2021.
