Some people believe that schools are no longer necessary because students can study well at home through the internet. To what extend do you agree or disagree

To begin, schools provide structured guidance and social development that online study alone cannot replicate. To clarify, children require consistent supervision, deadlines and accountability to stay motivated, elements that a physical classroom naturally enforces but that home-based study often lacks. Moreover, schools cultivate essential interpersonal skills through daily interaction with peers and teachers, including cooperation, conflict resolution and public speaking, none of which can be adequately developed through solitary screen-based learning. For instance, a child who studies exclusively at home may master academic content yet struggle considerably with teamwork or communication upon entering the workforce, since these competencies are honed primarily through direct, sustained human interaction rather than through isolated online modules.

Nevertheless, for a limited group of self-directed learners, home-based study through the internet can prove genuinely sufficient. This is attributable to the fact that mature, highly disciplined individuals, such as working adults pursuing further qualifications, often possess the self-regulation required to structure their own study schedules without external supervision. For example, an adult professional enrolled in an online degree programme can balance employment and study effectively, having already developed the discipline that younger students typically lack. In such cases, the flexibility and accessibility of online learning may outweigh the benefits of a traditional classroom, particularly when the learner's circumstances make regular school attendance impractical or unnecessary.

To conclude, while online study can suit a small minority of highly disciplined adult learners, I firmly believe that schools remain essential for the majority of students, given the structure, accountability and social development that formal education uniquely provides, particularly during childhood and adolescence.