Distance Education: What Is Its Relevance To Africa And Zambia?

Abstract

Open and Distance Learning Symposium, 27 August 2005, Lusaka, Zambia, Distance Education: What is its relevance to Africa and Zambia By: Sir John Daniel, President and CEO, Commonwealth of Learning // In the coming years the approaches to teaching called distance education will become increasingly pervasive although the use of the term distance education will steadily decline. The concept of open learning, which has long been used inappropriately as a synonym for distance education, will finally take on meaning as technology helps the ideal of knowledge as the common property of humankind to reassert itself in educational institutions. Africa can benefit from this evolution in terminology and practice provided that its educators focus on the fundamental principles of effective teaching at a distance such as division of labour, specialisation, teamwork, and content recycling. Training and updating Africa's teachers is a priority for distance education because of the desperate need for more and better teachers and because teachers trained through distance education are more likely to bring the philosophy of open learning to the children of Africa.