Distance Education and its impact in Indian Job Market

Higher education in India is no more a far-flung dream for those who want to enhance the chances of their employability, and the credit goes to distance education. Programmes offered in the distance learning mode are no doubt scores over a regular degree in many aspects. Distance education is easy, fast, and flexible; and provides access to students to study and learn the far-reaching study material which is easy to understand as compared to regular ones.

Heaps of students who have graduated from the distance education learning centers feels that, such distance learning courses has helped them in enhancing their knowledge and skills and also enhanced their employability chances. Added attractions in qualifications can only enhance your job prospects but at times, in some cases, it is hard to get a god job if you hold a distance learning degree.

Distance learning programmes are consistently gaining popularity among the youths and it is evident from the fact that IGNOU has more than 3.5 million students on its rolls. It is opening up career options for the less-privileged segments and the industry has expanded a lot in last few years.

Mode of Study

The mode of imparting knowledge and skills to students in Distance learning is quite varied as it is being provided in the form of printed material, audio-visual techniques and even satellite technology. As far as job search is concerned, it hardly matters whether you hold a regular or a distance learning degree. Students who have graduated from the distance learning mode are eligible for employment only if the degree is approved by the Distance Education Council, said by an official.

Some employers also like to test the candidates with a distance learning background. It's just because if you get an engineer from an IIT, you are assured of some level of quality. That is why there will be a stringent check upon distance education degree holders. Any employer won't prefer a candidate from the distance learning background for a specialized (Technical) position.

For fields like sales, it hardly matters whether the person is from distance learning or correspondence background. At times, employers also want to examine why a person went in for distance learning and if it followed a poor academic record, it would be of no help. In another case, if the CA has a distance education certificate in management, it will add weight to his resume and make his profile look more rounded; it will be valued.

But mindset is also a big factor in this case. Acceptance of the distance education degree holders in the job market will also depend on the employer's experience with similar candidates. ‘There can be and there will be a huge variation when it comes to candidates who did distance-learning'.

Source: Richha Bhatnagar (Shiksha Team)