Eliminating educational Inequality through e-learning: the case of Virtual University of Pakistan

Abstract

This study aims at examining the role of e-learning in combating the issues of inequality in terms of access and quality in the field of higher education in Pakistan. The education system in Pakistan is mainly characterized by educational disparity. The standard of education is directly proportional to the investment students make in the form of registration and fees. Another important issue is the non-availability of reputed educational institutes in small towns and villages. Unfortunately, very few people from rural areas have access to quality higher education. Virtual University of Pakistan through its distance e-learning mode has come forward to break this trend in social inequality by providing equal educational opportunities to all social classes through its affordable fee structure yet ensuring high standards of teaching. For the purpose of testing these assumptions with reference to a Virtual education system, the existing patterns of enrollment, income structure of guardian/students, professors’ profile, and alumni’s profile data were obtained from IT department of Virtual University of Pakistan. Descriptive statistics and independent sample t-test were used for data analysis. It could be ascertained from the conclusion that Virtual University of Pakistan has successfully broken the chain of educational inequality through its e-learning mode. In case of virtual education, discrimination on the basis of gender, social class and location, is no more applicable. The findings of current research have invalidated the existence of inequality in the e-learning system.