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Volume 13, Issue 1  REGIONAL NEWS PRACTICAL INFORMATION RESEARCH
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Regional News
However, this is gradually changing: Madagascar recently adopted distance learning methodologies designed for first-year university students; Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Botswana have all established distance learning programs geared towards post-secondary education; the University of Namibia has combined distance education with campus-based courses; the University of Abidjan, which is linked via satellite to French universities, provides distance-learning courses in math, information science and natural sciences.
Increasingly, traditional correspondence courses are being replaced by distance-learning programs that utilize modern technology. The Telesun program in Cameroon, for instance, offers Internet-based courses in the sciences. The FORST program links Benin and three other African countries with McGill University in Canada. Likewise, the RESAFAD (Le RESeau Africain de Formation a Distance) program in Djibouti provides teacher training from French universities.
Despite these improvements, most African countries do not have the resources to develop adequate distance-learning materials and programs. Specialized training facilities for distance learning are only available in Madagascar, Mauritius and South Africa — the only three countries to have adopted national distance-learning policies. However, Togo and Congo are currently in the process of setting up training programs for distance learning through their respective national universities. Likewise, Cote d'Ivoire is considering the feasibility of launching such a program.
There are many factors that can severely limit the success of a distance learning program but the most common problems remain:
In spite of these obstacles, many countries are moving ahead with plans to expand enrollments through distance-learning programs. Burkina, Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Kenya and Zimbabwe are up and coming in this respect.
Two pilot projects in the field of tertiary distance education that look particularly promising are the World Bank African Virtual University (AVU) and the Francophone Virtual University established by the Association des Universities Partiellement ou Entierement de Langue Francaise(AUPELF).
The AVU, launched in 1997, is a tertiary distance-learning program utilizing interactive telecommunication technologies. The program's main objective is to provide a stable learning environment that is not susceptible to the kinds of student strikes and campus closures that crippled many African universities in the 1990s.
The Francophone Virtual University was set up to function as a university without walls. Its objective is to promote institutional collaboration in research, teaching and information exchange through developing video and compact discs, databases and knowledge resources. In addition, electronic networks were created in 25 different countries to provide Internet access and e-mail services.
In 1998, the university offered distance-learning courses in agronomy, business management, chemistry, law, math, medicine and physics. Although these courses were conducted on an experimental basis, a formalized distance-learning program of tertiary studies will be implemented this year.
— The Teacher/Mail & Guardian
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Distance learning in Africa is geared mainly towards teacher training and the upgrading of teaching skills in primary and secondary schools. Very few distance-learning programs specialize in post-secondary education. The only African countries that have a history of providing correspondence courses at the tertiary level are the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa.