Effects of remoteness on the quality of education: A case study from North Indian schools

Abstract

This paper studies the relationship between geographic remoteness and the quality of primary education in rural Northern India. It then discusses this relationship in the context of educational technology. There is a significant negative correlation between the quality of education and the distance of a school from the nearest urban centre. No correlation was seen between the quality of education and average number of students per teacher or per classroom. The authors suggest that teacher migration and desire for migration are directly responsible for poorer quality of education in remote areas. The role of technology, therefore, becomes vital in such areas. We propose that appropriate educational technology, if designed for that purpose, will be needed to improve the quality of education in non-urban regions where good teachers will not remain.