India, after independence, has struggled a lot in its Education system transformation to reach what it is today. Initially, education was accessible and affordable only to the elite class of the society, because of which the literacy rate of India was affected adversely; after which many activists, governments of the state and central joined hands to promote education and increase the literacy rate of the country for its better development. However, problems like rapid rising population and less number of educational institutions in the country were becoming a big hindrance to achieve the desired target.
Therefore, when Internet hit the Indian market and its accessibility rose to common people, another alternative way became very popular which also solved the problems prevailing in the country to an extent, and that alternative is Distance Education.
Distance Education or Long distance learning is the system of education which is made for students for whom it is not possible to physically attend School or Educational institutions. Traditionally, this usually involved correspondence courses wherein the student corresponded with the school viapost. Today it involves online education. Courses that are conducted are either Blended with Physical school attending system or 100% distance learning.
Presently, the scenarios are that with every year the demand for Distance education have increased with a huge margin. Convenient education, study from home, more quality & less expensive, earning while learning etc, are some of the popular reasons for increasing popularity of distance education in India.
Popular courses preferred through distance education-
There are many popular courses which attract the students for having distance education. In distance learning courses students only have to appear in the exams or in pure distance education learning give exam from home itself. Some of the popular distance courses students opt are as follows-
1. Master of business administration (MBA)
MBA master’s degree in business administration (management) covering various areas of business such as accounting, finance, marketing, human resources, and operations in a manner most relevant to management analysis and strategy. Programs like Amity distance MBA, Symbiosis distance MBA etc are increasing in popularity every day.
2. Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA)
The course is for those students who wants to learn Computer languages and after that who wants to join software. BCA distance education the course has marvelous career option for the students after it is completed.
3. Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)
BBA programs expose students to a variety of “core subjects” of business management studies and allow students to specialize in a specific academic area. The degree also develops the student’s practical, managerial skills, communication skills and business decision-making capability.
4. Hospitality management studies
Hospitality Management is the study of the hospitality industry; cover topics related with hotels, restaurants, cruise ships, convention centers, country clubs etc. Courses like MBA in hospital management by a university college dedicated to the studies of hospitality management or a business school with a relevant department are increasing in demand every year.
5. Bachelor of education
A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools.
Benefits of online education-
Compared to traditional on-campus learning, distance education has several advantages for students such as-
- Accessibility: students are less bound by time and location
- Flexibility: students are not constrained by a fixed schedule and can continue to keep their personal circumstances and/or work obligations
- Affordability: distance education is often less expensive than traditional education, thus opening up learning opportunities to those people who otherwise, cannot cover the cost of a degree course.
Not just the students but also the universities or the colleges offering distance learning also gets benefited in several ways-
- Increase enrollment: Helps them to reach those who usually would not be able to enroll with them.
- Diversity: Universities will have student diversity in terms of nationality, educational and professional background, and study interests and thus, fulfilling the needs of a greater institution.
