Chennai, Jul 13 (INB) The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras on Friday honoured 1,842 learners from South India as ‘NPTEL Stars’ for their outstanding commitment to lifelong learning through the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL).
The institute said the South Zone accounted for 1,842 of the 10,763 NPTEL Stars recognised nationwide during the January–April 2026 semester, which recorded 36.8 lakh course enrolments, 12.6 lakh exam registrations, and offered 973 online courses under the NPTEL platform.
NPTEL (National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning), is a joint venture of the IITs and IISc, funded by the Ministry of Education (MoE) Government of India, and was launched in 2003.
Through NPTEL, anyone outside the IIT System can do an online certification course from NPTEL and get a certificate from the IITs.
IITs are reaching out and taking education to the homes of people through this initiative.
Speaking at the event, Prof Prathap Haridoss, Dean (Academic Courses), IIT Madras, said the achievers demonstrated that quality education could unlock talent when learning opportunities were made widely accessible.
The ceremony highlighted the achievements of Gokulapriya C, who completed 23 NPTEL courses after a career break and became the first NPTEL Pre-Doctoral Fellow to join a full-time PhD programme at IIT Roorkee, and Dr. S. Henry Kishore, who successfully completed 101 NPTEL courses.
IIT Madras also showcased initiatives such as the NPTEL Pre-Doctoral Fellowship and the free NPTEL-GATE Portal, aimed at supporting higher education and competitive examination preparation. The celebrations will conclude with the felicitation of more than 550 SWAYAM-NPTEL Local Chapter Coordinators from the South Zone for their contribution to expanding access to digital education.
