PCF1 // One of the major developments in the field of education in Africa this century, apart from the taking over by Africans of the running of their education systems from departing colonialists, has been the relative growth of distance education. Emerging a century earlier in the circuitously pioneered offerings through colonial intervention, it has experienced some level of growth as to warrant an examination of its transformation. A quick appraisal of the nature of such transformation is the focus of this paper. // The acceptance of the system of instruction in Africa as an additional approach to teaching and learning has reasons that are not totally different from global ones. While geographical and socio-economic circumstances, problems of educational imbalance, the establishment of adult education units and departments in African universities were major factors, others such as improved communication systems and the introduction of the postal system in Africa were also noticeable. The diffusion of foreign educational practices from the colonies, and the growth of the entrepreneurial spirit in education were also major factors in the transformation of the system. //