Distance education in Africa: History

Before the advent of technology in education and the consequent marriage of the two, a number of African countries had already embraced distance education (DE) as a mode of learning. Technology in education has ultimately given birth to the massification of educational products by increasing accessibility to education. With this mode of learning, productivity levels can be enhanced while students can be empowered to achieve the required skills, knowledge, values and qualifications.

In the absence of further education facilities in what was the colonised world, Africans began studying for examinations at the University of London through the mode of DE. In this case, colonialism had provided Africans with the opportunity to study at home, via tuition courses prepared by the British Correspondence College (the first generation of DE). Students then sat the London University entrance examination and, eventually, undergraduate examinations. According to Omolewa (1981) by 1887, Mauritius, South Africa and Nigeria were putting forward candidates for the examinations; Sierra Leone joined the club in 1895; the Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1914; and Gambia in 1924. Later on, Kenya, Tanzania, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) presented their own candidates.

Thus, colonialism, which helped individuals to realise their potential and ambition provided they were prepared to work hard under adverse circumstances in order to acquire degrees, helped the transformative development process in a number of different colonies. This situation also led to the awakening of the struggle for independence in many African countries. One of the characteristics of DE is that it gives students a second chance to acquire skills, knowledge, values and qualifications. This is particularly true for those who would otherwise have been denied the opportunity for formal education. In addition, DE grants equal opportunity to students to prove their intellectual ‘mettle’ through the acquisition of skills, knowledge, values and qualifications and thus enabling them to study without necessarily leaving the shores of their countries to study in the white coloniser's land in Europe.

Even in the 21st century, long after the demise of colonialism on the African continent, education, which should be a right, is still far from the reach of a large percentage of Africa's citizens.