Like the tradition of dual-mode universities, the tradition of primary and secondary education at a distance is a well-established one in many countries. Correspondence schools have long been used to:

• Reach children in isolated areas who cannot attend schools
• Reach children in small rural schools that cannot provide sufficient variety in their programs
• Reach adults who missed the opportunity early in life for primary or secondary education.

The growing recognition of the need to rapidly educate large populations in developing countries has led to the use of distance education to provide basic, primary, and secondary education to adults. An important example of such an effort is the National Open School in India, which has more students than the Indira Gandhi National Open University. Such schools provide many adults an opportunity to make up for the deficiencies of the conventional system.

More on primary and secondary education

 

Beneke, P. & Heystek, B. 1999. Is there a future for our past? A proposed new SAQA focused History curriculum. Paper presented at the 1st National NADEOSA Conference held 11-13 August 1999