Title: Spreading Distance Education through Networked Remote Information Centres. 

With the extended application of information technologies the conventional education system has crossed the physical boundaries to reach the unreached through virtual education system. In distant mode of education students get opportunity of education through self-learning methods with the use of technology mediated methods. Accumulating few other available technologies, efforts are being made to promote distance education in remotest regions of Bangladesh through institutional collaborations and adaptive use of collaborative learning systems.

Distance education in networked environment demands extensive use of computerized LAN/WAN, excessive use of bandwidth, expensive use of sophisticated equipment and in a sense this has becoming hard-to-achieve target in developing countries, especially for Bangladesh. High initial investment cost always demarcates through usage of networked hierarchies where the basic backbone infrastructure of IT is in very rudimentary stage.

Developed countries are taking leading role in spearheading distance education through flexible learning systems and many renowned universities of the western world are offering highly specialized and demanding distance education courses by using their dedicated high bandwidth computer networks. Many others have accepted dual mode of education, rather than sticking to the conventional education system.

A thin silver line is projected by adhering low cost available IT methods in remote information centres to be used as distance education thresholds, community based learning centres, virtual networks information kiosks and as a whole multipurpose community centres.

Implementation of these centres is solely depending on collective efforts of the Sustainable Development Networking Programme (SDNP), the Commonwealth of Learning (CoL), the Greenstar project, the Bangladesh Open University (BOU) and few highly motivated education personalities/institutions.

Keywords: collaborative learning, SDNP, CoL, BOU.