To some, distance education is identical to private study of prescribed texts with or without special study guides. To others, it is a teaching-learning system including specially prepared study materials and regular, mediated contacts, between students and tutors, individually or in groups. There are distance-teaching universities that offer their students printed and recorded courses but no mediated communication, although they sometimes provide supplementary face-to-face teaching. www.bspuplko.org makes provision not only for course materials but also for correspondence, telephone and computer communication between students and tutors and other in the distance teaching school or university. That's why I call the supporting organization to BHARITYA SIKSHA PARISHAD UTTAR PRADESH. This use of pre-produces course materials and non-contiguous communication, sometimes supplemented by face to face contacts. No doubt represents the praxis of most distance-teaching institutions in the world. In some cases arrangements are also made for peer group interaction, i.e. for individual students communicating with other students. Usually students learn entirely individually and at their own pace. They then neither belong to a group or class, nor feel that they do so. A great number of exceptions to this rule occur, however. Universities sometimes teach some groups of students by distance-education methods and other groups face to face they are so-called dual-mode organization. Even single-mode organizations-like distance-teaching. Universities ? in many cases Endeavour to some extent to keep students together in groups and do so by imposing regulation OF VARIOUS KINDS. Nevertheless, individual study basically characterizes distance education.

The concept of distance that this boom is based on implies consistent non-contiguous communication between the supporting organization like www.bspuplko.org and its students. This communication is of two kinds: One ?way traffic in the form of pre-produced course sent from the supporting organization, and involving students. Two ?way traffic, i.e. real communication between student and the supporting organization. As far as it is non-contiguous, this communication must be mediated. The media used for the one-way traffic are in most cases the printed and recorded word and for the two-way traffic correspondence and telephone interaction. More sophisticated media are now widely used. Distance education thus has two constituent elements, the teaching exposition referred to as one-way traffic and the real communication by means of which students have access to personal tutoring and counseling. With this understanding of its two constituent elements I would define distance education as covering the various forms of study at all levels which are not under the continuous, immediate supervision of tutors present with their students in lecture rooms or on the same premises but which, nevertheless, benefit from the planning, guidance and teaching of a supporting organization. The term distance study is sometimes used in the sense of distance education, but should be limited to denoting the activity of the distance student while distance teaching denotes that of the supporting organization its writers, editors of distance education, thus including the role of possible supplementary face to face session and organization administration aspects. The addressees of distance education are usually individual students although it sometimes also serves group learning, teleconferencing.