Who this route is genuinely for

Open and distance programmes exist for people whose life does not fit a campus: someone already working, someone caring for a family member, someone who left a degree part-finished and wants to complete it, someone in a place with no institution nearby. For those situations it is not a lesser option. It is the only option that fits, and it is a real qualification.

It suits people who can work without supervision and struggles for people who cannot. That is the honest predictor — far more than intelligence or prior marks. Somebody who needs a room, a timetable and other people around them to work will find distance study genuinely hard, and it is better to know that before enrolling than in the second semester.