Indira Gandhi National Open University is a central government-owned educational institute. The college is recognized by AIU and has been approved by UGC.

Sikkim Manipal University Distance Learning is owned by a public-private partnership. The college is also recognized by UGC.

Highlights:

IGNOU:

• It also has over 25 foreign education partner institutions.

• The institute provides open, distance, and online modes of education.

• The college provides over 200 courses across more than 20 streams.

SMU:

• The institution was set-up to provide distance education for students and working professionals.

• The college was awarded the “Best University in Distance Learning” by ASSOCHAM India and won a Silver Award in Digital Learning Transformation Category in 2018.

• The college provides 13 courses across two streams.

Admission Procedure:

The admission procedure for both colleges is similar.

• The eligibility criteria for each course at both colleges vary. The basic eligibility criteria at SMU and IGNOU is having completed 10+2 for undergraduate courses and having completed graduation for postgraduate courses.

• Some courses require appearing for the common entrance examinations conducted by the respective institutes.

Faculty:

IGNOU:

• The institute has more than 800 faculty members and over 33000 academic counselors.

• Teachers have vast experience and are well-educated. They provide constant support and guidance to the students making the institute among the top institutes.

SMU: The institute has well-qualified teachers who provide constant guidance. The curriculum taught is relevant and updated.

Facilities:

IGNOU:

• It provides 67 regional centers and over 2,667 learner support centers around the country.

• For all courses offered, IGNOU provides flexibility to its students in terms of place and time of the study.

• It has launched an e-learning mobile application to provide a digital learning environment to IGNOU affiliated students.

SMU: The institute has an online portal EduNxt that is designed for online learning.

Placements:

IGNOU: The institute has a central placement cell which organizes placement drives. Companies such as ICICI, Axis Bank, Frankfinn, and NIIT offer placements to students.

SMU: The college also provides placement opportunities.

• Internships and training are provided to students in top companies such as TCS. Companies such as Airtel, Ambuja Cement, Capgemini, and Flipkart offer placements to students.

• The highest package offered goes up to 11 LPA.

IGNOU has the advantage of being the largest open-learning institute and top-ranked in the country being run by the central government. Also, IGNOU has better foreign associations with top-institutes. However, SMU provides better internships and placements. Both provide the great features of e-learning too. Between the two IGNOU is a more recognized and larger institute.