Indian academician to head Commonwealth of Learning

Former pro-vice chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University(IGNOU) Asha Kanwar is to head the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), an internationally renowned educational organisation, the varsity announced Sunday. The announcement came after Burchell Whiteman, chairman of COL's board of governors, named Kanwar as the successor to current president John Daniels, whose term ends on May 31. "I am delighted by the board's appointment of Professor Kanwar as the President of our organisation," said Whiteman. "I expect that she will take COL to a new level through a process of significant and sustainable evolutionary change. Her personal attributes and her international profile should prove to be valuable assets," he added. Kanwar is currently the Vice President at COL. COL is an intergovernmental organisation based in New Delhi, India and Vancouver, Canada. It was created to promote open learning and distance education across the 1.7 billion people of the 54 Commonwealth nations. (IANS)