Students' Preference for Distance Education in
NCT
Delhi: Economics and Social Influence
Adnan Shakeel, Md Masroor, Nabiel Ansari, Shazada Ahmad, Tasneem Shazli ABSTRACT
Distance education (DE) is becoming vital due to the changing need for human resources across several economic sectors. Distance education offers tailored courses, making it a significant source of essential trained resources. This study examines the elements that affect Indian students' decisions about remote education versus on‐campus education (OCE). The current study investigates the influence of safety, society perceptions, and cost on student decision‐making. The study seeks to address the information gap on the factors that drive learners towards flexible educational formats by emphasizing the increasing significance of distant education in a nation characterized by socio‐economic and cultural limitations. This study employs non‐parametric statistical methods (Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal‐Wallis test, Spearman's correlation) to examine the association between the socio‐demographic characteristics of respondents and their individual responses to items concerning DE. We created a self‐administered questionnaire employing the Likert scale to collect data on DE‐related issues. We assessed the reliability and internal consistency of the instruments using the Cronbach's alpha approach. The analysis comprised 1638 respondents. The study suggests that rural and male participants exhibit greater satisfaction with DE, while societal pressure against DE is more pronounced among females. Furthermore, when the respondents' age advances, the recommendation for DE also increases.