Now that the majority of the world’s population live in cities, it’s easy to forget that millions still live in the countryside, far from most of the world’s prestigious schools and colleges. In this essay, I will suggest how universities can make it easier for students living far from cities to receive a good education.
It’s not necessarily a good thing for colleges to open physical campuses in rural areas. First of all, land costs money, and building labs, libraries and research units is eye-wateringly expensive. Secondly there is the problem of staff. Not all university staff will be able or will want to relocate to small towns or villages far from their colleagues.