A Case Study on the Challenges of Distance Education in the State of Assam for Higher Education

Distance education system enables people to make their educational choices for the near future. The distance education system is considered one of the most important educational innovation of the century. Distance education is an alternative method to conventional schooling. It has been seen that the professionals of governments, public employees & other stakeholders need to convince that in ODL mode, the institutions are not providing half baked educational system. It is fast becoming an indispensable and accepted part of the mainstream to the educational system in almost all the countries around the globe. The open and distance learning is not a new concept. In the year of 1800s, the University of Chicago newly launched some major correspondence program in the United States, in which the teachers and learners were in different locations. It addressed the wide range of potential intergovernmental, non-government, partners and government organizations, industrialists, associations, specialized institutions and others interested could seek their cooperation from the newly introduced education system and organized some need-based meeting, training through open and distance learning system. After development of radio channels during the First World War and after the invention of television in the year 1950s, the mode of instruction system to the ODL education system outside the traditional classrooms had suddenly found a new education delivery system. In the present time, we are using audiovisual and conferencing system which influenced delivering lectures in higher educational institutions, public schools, etc.