• For those who cannot afford to attend regular classes, a distance learning course is a blessing in disguise. And with the passage of time the initial hesitation of learning through distance education has also withered away.
• Age is no bar. From high school students, to those involved in higher education, the military, and the government, to those pursuing continuing education, corporate training, and lifelong learning, distance learning is being used for multiple ongoing purposes.
• Course fee of these distance education courses are much lesser as compared to that of the regular courses and will be reaped by more and more people in the future.
• It helps to groom your personality and makes you multi-tasking
• Pursuing a good distance learning course can help a lot of people reach the zenith in any organization that they are presently engaged with. Many businesses have found it a valuable tool in making employee education and training quicker and more cost efficient.
• The human spirit continuously urges people to remain curious about their surroundings. Distance Learning can help sustain that spirit.

Distance Learning Council of India
Witnessing a sudden surge in distance education, the Distance Learning Council of India (DLCI) was established in 2009 to uphold high standards of educational excellence in online and distance learning higher education.

The motive is to keep at par the distance learners with those gaining formal academic training for decades. It gives the same kind of individual development as their predecessors who learned from classroom courses. This has changed the concept or definition of formal education which was once restricted to classroom teaching.

The Distance Learning Council (DLC), a non-government agency has been designed to provide a level of quality and acceptability of distance learning degrees.

Future of Distance learning in India
India is one of the most progressive economies in the world today with a population of 1.2 billion. It is believed that by 2020 we will be the youngest nation as most of the workforce will be in the age-group of 25-30 years leaving elbow room for the major developed economies.

But out of the total working population in the country only 5% holds some kind of certification. Our aim must be to provide them with such a programme that can be sealed up quickly so that it caters to a larger population. Thus, skills need to be upgraded to international standards so that this human resource is employable overseas as well.

Over the years, individuals, institutions, businesses, and the military have continuously sought for an alternative means of access to higher education as they strive to cope with the lifestyles and the changing demands of the economies and societies in which they live. Social change has been the driving force behind distance learning.

In this regard, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has the greatest potential to address the alarming issue of skill deficit. Sine the past two years over 1.25 lakh students are being trained by the university in the skill-development sector.

Distance learning institutes in India
There are many institutes in India that are providing various distance learning programmes through the distance learning mode. Some of the prominent institutes are:

IMT-CDL: Institute of Management technology- Centre for Distance Learning offers a wide spectrum of management and information technology programmes. The curriculum is constantly updated to be in touch with the dynamic global and Indian environment. Learning is further enhanced by information technology that connects students to resources and data around the globe. The approach to management education is founded on continuous innovation, development of practical knowledge and a relentless commitment to academic excellence.

Courses offered:
Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Management
Post-Graduate Diploma in Financial Management
Post-Graduate Diploma in Marketing Management
Post-Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management
(For more details visit http://www.imtcdl.ac.in/)

SYMBIOSIS: Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning (SCDL) is a centre of excellence, offering quality Distance Education where latest technology, innovative teaching methodologies and quality education are blended together to create a unique learning experience. SCDL is an approved distance learning institute by Distance Education Council (DEC), Government of India.

Courses offered:
SCDL offers several programmes in various disciplines including Management. SCDL derives its strength from its core, in–house Academics team and over 400 visiting faculty / subject matter experts who assist the institute in various academic activities (For more details visit http:// www.scdl.net/scdl/TopQualityEducation.aspx#Symbiosis)

IGNOU: Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) practices a flexible and open system of education in regard to methods and place of learning, combination of courses and eligibility for enrollment, age for entry and methods of evaluation etc. The University has adopted an integrated strategy for imparting instruction. This consists of providing print materials, audio-video, tapes, broadcast on radio and educational TV Channels, teleconferencing, video conferencing as also the face to face counseling, at its study centers located throughout the country. (For more details visit http://www.education.nic.in/dl/dl-ignou.asp)

NMIMS: Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies is one of the nation’s prime educational and research institutions. With more than 9000 students spanning over 50 programs across 7 specialised schools, NMIMS has transformed itself from Mumbai’s pride to become India’s most sought after academic community.

Courses offered: In order to meet the growing demand for management education, the Shri Vile Parle Kelavani Mandal, with the help of a donation from Narsee Monjee Educational Trust, established a recognized Management institute of the Mumbai University in 1981. Since then NMIMS has grown into a flourishing University, offering courses / programs across various disciplines, such as Management. Today, the University has over 5000 students and more than 200 faculty members. The faculty is an eclectic mix of Industry and Academic experience; national and international experiences.

MITCOM: MIT College of Management, Pune is successfully running Post Graduate Programme in Management and Executive MBA programmes. Established in 2007, with a view to impart value based education in these new-age fields of Management Sciences, MITCOM aims at providing the corporate sector, professionally sound, sophisticated and dynamic leaders with a vision and endeavor to meet the challenges of the new millennium.

Courses offered:
MBA General Management
Retail Business Management
Project, construction & infrastructure Business Management
Executive MBA

Apart from this some of the other institutes offering Distance Education in Management in India are given below with their link in alphabetical order:

CONCLUSION
As we define the role of distance education, the new wave of education, in helping to relearn and re-skill we need to realize that vocational education needs to be integrated in the university education set-up. Vocation-oriented training should be a compulsory part of a degree programme. And it has to become a part of the conventional education system. So don’t have any hiccups and opt for associate, bachelors, MBA, Masters or Ph.D online programme as distance learning is here to stay.

"Faculty is moving forward, technologies are improving, and student demand is increasing -- but few changes are taking place in the university structure as a whole to accommodate the special needs of the distance-learning student."