The teacher and the student are physically seperated, in this system of education. The salient features of instruction in distance education includes the following. Each unit in a block is written in a self instructional style and consists of introduction, objectives, structure of unit, main contents, sub contents, self check exercise, summing up, unit end activities, points of discussion, key words and suggested reading. They can be in the form of lectures, debates, discussion etc. Assignments are an integral component of distance education.
Assignments serve the purpose of valuation of the students performance.
These assignments are evaluated by local counselors, who also provide feedback on the student's performance. Counselors answer the student's questions in counseling sessions besides clarifying their doubts and helping them overcome difficulties which they may face while going through the text. These counseling sessions also offer students an opportunity to interact with their peers. In certain specialised subjects, intensive counseling is also resorted to. The student is also required to prepare projects which are then evaluated.