Market intelligence for international student recruitment from ICEF
9th Dec 2011

Open and distance learning in the BRIC countries

The International Council for Open and Distance Education hosted a special session at the recent Online Educa Berlin conference to explore important trends and challenges in open and distance learning in the BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China. The ICDE has also presented an excellent summary of the BRIC panel on their website, including detailed reports and presentation decks from the participating panelists. This is an excellent resource for recruiters, whether for face-to-face programming or open or distance programmes, with an interest in these major world markets. A few quick highlights:

  • In Brazil, the percentage of students in distance education has risen from 1.4% in 2002 to to 14.6% in 2010. Almost one in six students enrolled in undergraduate studies in Brazil enters into a distance learning course.
  • The number of distance learning students in Russian higher education programmes increased by more than 50% from 2000 to 2010.
  • India currently has 13 open universities plus one national open university: Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). IGNOU alone serves more than 4 million students from India as well as 36 other countries.
  • In China, efforts to expand open and distance education programmes now include a movement toward increasing the range of learning resources that are available and open to the public via open and distance learning systems.

Source: International Council for Open and Distance Education, Online Educa Berlin

Most Recent

  • The surging demand for skills training in a rapidly changing global economy Read More
  • US issues corrected student visa data showing growth for 2024 while current trends point to an enrolment decline for 2025/26 Read More
  • Survey finds US institutions expanding agency engagement and focusing on new student markets Read More

Most Popular

  • Which countries will contribute the most to global student mobility in 2030? Read More
  • Research shows link between study abroad and poverty alleviation  Read More
  • Beyond the Big Four: How demand for study abroad is shifting to destinations in Asia and Europe Read More

Because you found this article interesting

The surging demand for skills training in a rapidly changing global economy With more than 175 million users, Coursera is the largest online learning platform in the world. It currently...
Read more
Survey finds US institutions expanding agency engagement and focusing on new student markets AIRC (The Association of International Enrollment Management) and BONARD have just released a second edition of the State...
Read more
Language travel sector leaders call for a focus on value amid persistent discount pressure A June 2025 forum convened by ALTO (Association of Language Travel Organisations) confirmed that price discounting in language...
Read more
ICEF Podcast: Together for transparency – Building global standards for ethical international student recruitment Listen in as ICEF’s Craig Riggs and Martijn van de Veen recap some of the latest news and...
Read more
New analysis sounds a note of caution for UK immigration reforms Within the UK’s higher education system, there are a group of institutions known as “Post-1992 universities”. The term...
Read more
Is Canada valued more as a “pathway to immigration” or as a destination for education? During a 12 June 2025 webinar presented by the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) and IDP, IDP...
Read more
Japanese outbound numbers reached 90% of pre-pandemic levels in 2024 An annual survey of Japanese education agents finds that outbound student numbers from this key sending market are...
Read more
UK: Study visa applications up by nearly a third year to date The early data we are seeing so far this year makes a couple of things clear. First, there...
Read more
What are you looking for?
Quick Links