Trends and Future Directions in Open and Distance Learning Practice in Africa
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Open and Distance Learning (ODL), formerly known as Distance Education (DE) is one of the most rapidly
growing fields of education in recent time. Distance education has experienced remarkable growth in national
and international scenes since the early 1980s. In spite of recent phenomenal developments in the world of
electronic networks, especially the recent global attention to the Internet, which has provided the primary
technological thrust, several other emerging technologies have also promised to change the landscape of
education in general, and distance education in particular drastically. The field of distance education is therefore,
at the centre of dynamic growth and change. This paper focuses on current trends in ODL from African
perspective. It examines some of the definitions that have been put forward by experts in the field, as well as
some features that characterized ODL. The paper also reflects on some practices in Africa’s ODL programmes.
Furthermore, current trends in the practice of ODL in African countries like South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania,
Bostwana and Nigeria are critically discussed. Some of the policy recommendations highlighted in the paper
include the need to invest more in ODL through meaningful budgetary allocations and cost sharing at higher
levels of education, creation of partnerships and networking among ODL institutional providers within the
continent, private telecommunication sector, and Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs).
Keywords
BF Psychology