Distance study can be the first choice

By Richha Bhatnagar

Will you suggest distance education to a friend as the first option? Despite many good colleges distance education still remains a second choice. Of course there is nothing like studying with classmates as it also adds to your personality, but distance education if taken seriously can be a good career builder.

We had an interesting discussion on Shiksha and our users had many interesting points to make. Richha Bhatnagar gives a perspective.

For those of you who still feel Distance education may not be good for your career, Govind Sharma says, "I firmly believe that attending classrooms are complete wastage of time unless your college maintains high degree of professionalism, teachers really do have knowledge. I have seen 75% of students do not attend college and those who attend the college, most of them even cannot draft a simple request letter or job application letter. Distance learning is one of the best ways as it provides same quality and same standard."

Both for freshers and working professionals distance education can be a good plus point. "People who are working in reputed organizations or who want to climb up high on the career ladder, they must go for online courses offered by institutes like IIMs, XLRI, IIFT, MDI etc through HughesNet and NIIT Imperia. These courses have the best brand name attached to them", says Surya Prakash.

For students who want to gather work experience early in life, distance study could be a boon. You can easily manage your job while studying a distance learning course. With some degree of discipline this could be a very beneficial thing in the long run. It can give you an edge over your competition as you will accumulate very valuable work experience, while they just study.

One of Shiksha user Arun Dev says, "Education is good in every way, whether it is full time or distance education. There are good features to fulltime courses which distance course may not have and vice versa. If we draw a line between both, it will bring lot more perception. Distance education is for all those who can't go for fulltime education. "

Govind further adds, "70% of fulltime students do not attend lectures. And it is much easier for them to crack the exam whereas a distance learner, without any support, they need to prepare by themselves and need to do 3 times more study than a regular full time student. And if somebody tells about mass copying, is there any guarantee that in full time exams, such mass copy does not happen? it even happen more. In distance learning exams too, it depend on centre to centre."

Points to remember while picking a distance course:

• Recognition: Like any other regular course, it's important to find out of the distance course you are planning to take is recognized. This is especially for those for whom this will be a mainstream study.
• Practicals: If you take up a course, that involves practicals or labs equipments it will be worthwhile to see the lab or research about it. Pick the one which has good equipment.
• Faculty: Good or bad faculty exists everywhere. Speaking to the alumni may be a good idea to find out about the faculty and teaching style.
• Contact programmes: Distance course may not give you the opportunity of interacting with classmates. Find a university that conducts regular contact programmes and gives library facilities. You could make a small group of students and overcome this challenge.
• Feedback: You may not have many scheduled interactions with your guide. So make sure you reach out to them regularly for immediate feedback.

Myths about distance education:

• It is not recognized
• Such degrees have no worth
• It can't generate a good job
• It is easy to obtain a distance learning degree
• Social isolation
• Level of quality is low
• It does not give opportunity to work on oral communication skills
• No campus atmosphere

Pros of Distance education:

• It is flexible
• It is less expensive than other regular college courses
• Enhances knowledge and qualification
• It follows the pursuit of live anywhere and study from anywhere
• Readily available with accredited colleges
• Self learning environment
• Enhances the way of thinking by interacting with people from all over the world
• It leads to an advanced degree that will result in increased salaries
• Offers easy access to learning resources
• Requires little or no commuting
• Gain additional knowledge and information
• Updated curriculum via internet
• Less classroom competition

Many employers in India are vary of hiring students who have studied in a distance environment. But things are changing gradually. Like any course or job, a lot depends on the student's personal initiative. So give your best to a distance learning course and it can do wonders for you.

Share your views about distance education here or join our discussion distance education.