It is generally believed a proper education is still out of reach for the children born in rural parts of developing countries. While some people suggest building more schools and sending more teachers to these areas, others propose the provision of computers and Internet access. In my opinion, using technology is a much better option.
On the one hand, some people consider schools and teachers are still fundamental to the objective of making education accessible to countryside students. Because schools serve a number of purposes other than providing places for classes. Schools function as meeting places for students to learn the importance of collaborating and socialising with other people, provide an ideal learning environment for further study and maintain the discipline of students through regular attendance. Secondly, owing to poor access to systematic and constant education in the first place, students in remote areas are unlikely to study by themselves effectively. In other words, teachers are required in the learning process because they can acknowledge these students’ deficiencies and help them to solve their problems by repeating the same explanation, giving suitable exercises or even tutoring them privately.
On the other hand, some others including me believe there are good reasons to supply these rural students with computers and Internet connection. The first reason is that these devices enable the students to pursue study programmes despite the fact that these students live in distant areas. For example, students can use the computer and the Internet to participate in webinars from universities or work with the teachers through emails. This idea would seem more feasible than sending teachers to remote regions to teach. Another reason is that the computer can be a useful learning tool with educational software. There are many computer programmes which contain a comprehensive course of self-study these days so that the students can use these software applications without travelling out of their hometowns.
In conclusion, as people have their own views on how to provide education for rural students, I think that technology would offer a more plausible solution for the reasons mentioned.