10 Developing Areas Where Distance Education Is Making a Difference

Education in developing countries can be a major challenge. A lack of infrastructure, qualified teachers, even safety issues and child labor can all stand in the way of students and a quality education. But through the use of technology and innovation, distance education can reach even the most far-flung and impoverished areas of the world, bringing first-world education to third-world countries. We’ve found 10 developing areas where distance education is really making a difference, allowing students who would otherwise go without education to enjoy learning, personal development, and the chance for a better life.

1. Afghanistan

   After decades of war, Afghanistan’s infrastructure and education is understandably poor. Since 2002, the country has been in a period of nationwide rebuilding, and the education sector has seen great improvement. However, there are still major challenges to educational development in Afghanistan, including violence against schools, extremist curricula, poor infrastructure, and child labor. Many of these challenges can be overcome with the help of distance education, allowing students in even remote areas study safely. Online education especially is making a difference for hundreds of young Afghan girls who are able to take classes in computer science, English, business, and more without exposing them to the dangers of education in their own communities.

2. Mexico

   Although Mexico is home to modern metropolitan cities like Mexico City, the country overall is still considered to be developing, and that classification is reflected in its education. According to experts within Mexico, student access and mobility are the biggest challenges to education, particularly at the college level. In the long term, the Mexican government hopes to turn these problems around by increasing the number of universities and technical colleges in the country, but in the short term, distance education is doing a lot to bridge the gap. Created in 1968 by the Mexican government, the Telesecundaria program offers distance education programs to secondary and high school students in rural areas of the country. Telesecundaria shares education through daily pre-recorded satellite lessons broadcasted to more than 16,000 rural facilities and more than one million students nationwide. This program has been so successful that it has expanded internationally to Central America, South America, Canada, and the United States.

3. Brazil

   Like Mexico, Brazil is another developing country that has to manage both huge cities like Rio and rural areas like the Amazonian rainforest. It’s in these rural areas that education is a major challenge that is largely solved by distance education. Many riverfront communities in Amazonian Brazil are too small to have schools, much less electricity. But some Brazilian high school teachers have taken to the airwaves, broadcasting lessons from television in larger communities. Students are able to attend school by watching satellite feeds, and thanks to generator-powered LCD screens, they don’t even need electricity to do so. Brazil even has Proformacao, a program developed as a distance teacher certification course, training thousands of teachers to serve far-flung Brazilian states.

4. Pakistan

   As a country, Pakistan has relatively high levels of literacy for a developing nation, with a rate of 69% for men and 57% overall, but in tribal areas, that rate hovers closer to 22%. It is in these areas that education is a challenge, especially locations like Jhal Magsi with a school attendance rate of just 20%. And these rates are even worse for women and girls in Pakistan: the Taliban enacted a complete ban on female education in the country’s Swat district, shutting down 400 schools and bombing at least 10 girls’ schools that tried to open after the ban. In all, more than 170 Pakistani schools have been bombed or torched, making education both difficult and dangerous to access. But programs like the Virtual University of Pakistan make it possible for students to enjoy an education without stepping foot on a potentially dangerous campus. Taking advantage of Pakistan’s growing access to technology, students are able to access the university through the Internet and cable TV.

5. Iran

   Iranian education is exceptionally well maintained for a developing country. Eighty-two percent of the Iranian adult population is literate, and 97% of young adults are literate. The country even has one of the highest student to workforce population ratios in the world at 10.2%. Iran is able to work past many of the educational challenges experienced by other developing countries, but nonetheless, distance education is making a difference for this country as well. Using distance education, the University of Welfare Sciences and Rehabilitation is able to provide training to social workers, therapists, and other important welfare roles. In fact, the government has a goal of providing 10% of government and commercial services through the Internet, and distance education goes a long way to make this possible.

6. South Africa

   Education is a major concern in South Africa, with the South African government spending 20% of the central budget on education. However, the rate of education among certain groups does not reflect this increased focus: only 14% of blacks have an education of high school or higher, but 40% of Indians and 65% of whites do. But through the use of technology and distance education, formerly disadvantaged schools in the Western Cape and Gauteng are able to get access to international education. Still, connectivity is a problem for students and schools who need access to distance education resources, making low-tech distance education solutions ideal for many learners in South Africa. Schools like University of South Africa have been offering distance education since the 1940s and now have a quarter of a million students throughout Africa, even boasting graduates including Nelson Mandela and Robert Mugabe, who were able to study in prison.

7. African Countries

   South Africa is an area that is particularly benefited by distance education, but many African countries enjoy the availability of learning materials in far-flung areas. Africa has very low education rates due to a lack of proper schooling facilities and unequal opportunities for education. Schools in remote areas are hit especially hard, as most people who receive education tend to move to big cities or overseas, rather than staying in remote areas to serve as teachers. Children in rural areas typically suffer for this, and often have poor standardized test results compared to their urban counterparts. There are groups taking steps to correct this major disparity, however, including the Arid Lands Information Network. This network offers exceptional access to learning in the lands of Eastern Africa, bring education to areas that typically have no plumbing or education, much less learning opportunities. The Arid Lands Information Network has created knowledge centers in some of the most hard-to-reach regions of Africa, bringing them the Internet, and along with it, information and technology that students and residents can use to grow and thrive.

8. India

   India is home to many world-class universities and institutes of higher education, but in rural India, it’s a different story. Educational attainment is a challenge in rural India, with half of rural Indian children unable to read at a basic level, and fewer than 40% of adolescents in India attend secondary schools. Government rural schools are typically poorly funded and understaffed, however, distance education can reach these underserved populations. Distance learning makes up a significant portion of Indian higher education, representing 24% of all enrollments. Schools like the Indira Ghandi National Open University have an incredible number of students, reaching into 100,000 and even 1.5 million enrollments. Even more interesting, distance learning tutoring sessions like EducateNcare offer a one-for-one donation model, tutoring students in developed nations, who then donate a tutoring session to a child in the developing world like rural India. One of the organization’s first projects funded the creation of a computer lab for a school in Gujarat, India.

9. China

   Many people don’t think of China as a developing country, but with a huge countryside population, the Asian giant is home to many communities that are still under development. And although Chinese students are famous for their incredible educational work ethic, for students in rural areas, it can be a challenge to find the opportunity to put it to work. That’s why the Chinese government has paid special attention to bringing compulsory education to impoverished areas, creating the China Agricultural Broadcast and Television School. This school has nearly 3,000 branch schools, and uses radio, TV, network, and audio and visual materials to train over 100 million people for work and agriculture. Beyond agriculture, the Open University of China provides a system of higher education through radio and TV, operating through 44 provincial radio and TV universities, 279 branch schools, and 625 district and county workstations.

10. South Asia

    In developing South Asia, much progress is being made toward bringing increased access to education at all levels. In recent years, the number of out of school children has decreased by millions, and gender parity has been achieved in many countries, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Despite these major achievements, there is still much to be done to get education where it needs to be in this region. Information and Communication Technology is increasingly being used for distance education and training in South Asia, particularly in rural populations. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Consortium on Open and Distance Learning operates to improve cooperation and collaboration in open and distance learning in South Asia. Through this organization, participating institutions including Bangladesh Open University and the Open University of Sri Lanka are able to work together to improve distance education outcomes in the area and serve students in remote areas.