Mothers and Children comprise vulnerable group and need special care. The Maternal mortality rate continues to be very high despite the improvement in maternal and child health care service. In the context of rapid advances in health care, health professionals at all levels of care need to update their knowledge and skills in providing health care in general and mother and child in particular.

National Health Policy and Programmes focus on the need for continuing education of nursing personnel to provide quality maternal and child health care. Rural Health Mission (2005) also focuses on training and retraining of health professionals.

There is no systematic training programme for nursing personnel in maternal and child health care to meet requirement of continuing education and updating the knowledge and skills. Therefore, distance education offers a great opportunity for meeting this challenge.

Objectives

• Update the knowledge and skills of health care providers in reproductive and child health.
• Enable the health care providers to render effective health care to mother & child.

Teleconferencing

Teleconferencing is a one-way video and two-way audio facility. Teleconferencing will be held every month. During teleconferencing session, you will get an opportunity to interact by phone in facility or fax with the resource persons/experts who participate in teleconferencing session and clear your doubts immediately.

The teleconferencing facility will be available at the Regional Centre and Selected Study Centres. The teleconferencing schedule will be sent to the Programme In-charge and Regional Director who would inform the students. Teleconferencing is done through Gyan Darshan Channel. Students must regularly attend these sessions. These will help them clarify doubts and interact with other learners all over the country.

Radio Counselling

Radio counselling will be held through FM and students can ask questions free of cost with phone in facilities right from their homes. A toll free telephone number 110012345 has been provided for this purpose.

Telecast

The programme will also be telecast through DD Metro channel and schedule will be informed to students in advance.

Audio-video Programme

Audio and video programmes for each course have been prepared to support learning for the students. These Audio-video programmes in the form of cassettes are available at all Programme Study Centres. These Audio and video cassettes will be provided for viewing and listening. They can also hire the cassettes for viewing and listening.

Attendance

Students will be required to complete seventy-five percent attendance in theory counselling to become eligible for appearing in Term-end Examination. Similarly, they will be required to complete ninety percent attendance in practical contact sessions to become eligible for appearing in practical examination.

Continuous Evaluation of Theory Component

Assignments

Assignment is a means of continuing assessment of theory and practical. Assignments will help you to recapitulate the theory and go back to the text again in case students are unable to answer a particular question. Thus assignments also help to reinforce learning in distance learning system of education. These assignments consist of a set of questions and activities that you will answer at your own place by referring your blocks. The assignments will cover all types of questions (long answer type, short answer type, objective type, multiple choice questions and case studies). The assignments will carry thirty percent weightage. Students will be required to obtain fifty percent marks as pass percentage in each assignment separately. Each assignment will carry 100 marks. In the final result assignments will carry thirty percent weightage.

Term-end Examination

As stated earlier, term-end examination is the major component of the evaluation system and if carries seventy percent weightage in the Final result. The University conducts term-end examination twice a year i.e., in June and December. They can take the examination only after completion of the course, failing which students can take the same in December or June of subsequent years years within the total span of the programme. In case any student fail to get a pass score in the Tern-end Examination, the person will be eligible to reappear at the next Term-end Examination for that course as and when if is held, within the total span of the Programme.