How can distance education be used as a means of economic development?

Education policymakers in developing countries, facing severely constrained resources for broadening access to education, have looked to alternative, less costly modes of education, among them distance education. The establishment of distance education systems has been seen as an investment in human resource development.

One area where distance education has seen rapid growth is teacher training. Most developing countries expanded access to primary education so fast that they were forced to field unqualified or underqualified teachers. To upgrade the credentials of these teachers through in-service training and thus improve the entire education system, ministries of education have increasingly turned to distance education. More than 40 developing countries have launched distance teacher education programs, typically based on self-instruction supplemented by radio or television programs and face-to-face tutorial sessions.