The President has called for massive expansion in higher education through new initiatives. Addressing the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in New Delhi on Thursday, Mrs. Pratibha Devisingh Patil said that the expansion in higher education is a step in the right direction. She said efforts to improve educational standards and the structure reforms are also the steps that will help in achieving the objective. Referring to the National Mission on Education through Information, Communication Technology, and the President said this will bring in the use of modern technology in a more wide-spread manner in the higher institutions of learning. Talking about the opening university system, she said this innovative system can be useful for a wide section of the society and it is bound to help in improving skill assets. Mrs. Patil said the system also offers an opportunity for those already employed to upgrade their knowledge base so that so they can contribute more effectively to the productivity of work. The President lauded the initiatives taken by IGNOU in its Silver Jubilee year and complimented the institution for its service and spread of education across the country. <br/>