DISTANCE EDUCATION
 

Distance education has a vital role to play in promoting basic education in high population countries as it can reach out to popula- tions not served by the formal education system. Distance education also has the potential for making vast improvements in the educational system by offering training and skill upgradation opportunities to teachers and administrators dealing with education.

Several initiatives have been taken in India since the 1993 Summit to extend the scope and reach of distance education. A national component on distance education has been included in the Dis- trict Primary Education Project. The National Open School has also formulated an innovative project aimed at providing alternative schooling to:

a) Neo-literates who have acquired functional literacy skills from the Total Literacy Campaigns.

b) Early school drop-outs with rudimentary literacy skills.

c) Drop-outs from the non-formal education system who have literacy skills.

d) Learners who have attended non - formal programmes and whose literacy skills are marginally better devel- oped.

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