Reports and summaries of papers presented at the 1981 Regional Symposium on Distance Teaching in Asia are presented. The symposium, which was represented by 22 countries, was organized by the Universiti Sains (University of Science) Malaysia as part of the activities associated with the completion of 10 years of off-campus program facilities. The symposium was designed to promote information exchange among scholars involved in distance teaching, extension education, and external degree programs; to promote understanding of the problems involved in the teaching and learning process of self-learning programs; and to identify approaches to raise the effectiveness of distance teaching programs in the various countries. Reports on distance education in the following countries are presented: South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Malaysia. Selected papers on the following topics are summarized: philosophy, goals, and objectives of distance educational systems; infrastructure, staff training, and educational technology; problems in distance education; research on distance education; and attainment of regional cooperation in Asia. Information on the University of Science Malaysia and the opening and closing sessions of the symposium are included. (Author/SW)