The Halifax Statement on Education in the Commonwealth, issued in November 2000 by Commonwealth Ministers of Education, requests COL to pursue the establishment of a virtual university to serve small states.
In response, COL has commissioned a study on the purpose, design and economics of establishing a Commonwealth Virtual University. Its findings will be presented to Ministers of Education at their next meeting, scheduled for September 2003. Dr. Glen Farrell, former President of the Open Learning Agency in British Columbia, Canada, is the senior consultant for the study.
COL played a catalytic role in forming a consortium on distance education in the Indian State of Andhra Pradesh during a workshop organised jointly by COL and the A.P. State Council for Higher Education (APSCHE) held in Hyderabad in May 2001. Participants at this COL-sponsored and first ever meeting of State distance educators and Vice Chancellors agreed to form the Andhra Pradesh Consortium of Open and Distance Education (APCODE) to comprise all the State Directorates of Distance Education (DDEs) as well as Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University. APSCHE will provide the platform and co-ordinate the consortium's activities. APCODE will meet regularly and convene an annual meeting of Vice Chancellors and Directors to review good practice in distance education and collaborative activities that members will be engaged in, such as:
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collaborating to improve communications and sharing of problems, experiences, solutions, ideas and opportunities - taking advantage of the new information technology infrastructure available in the State;
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sharing resources and technologies (study centres, expertise, materials production, etc.);
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training staff and teachers in the development, design and delivery of distance education;
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developing innovative courses and delivery strategies.
Other results of the workshop included an assessment and identification of problem areas in policy and operation, training needs for distance education and delivery mechanisms especially with reference to
dual-mode institutions.
Workshop facilitators were Dr. Louise Moran, Director, Lifelong Learning Associates, Australia; Dr. V.S. Prasad, then Acting Vice Chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University and now Vice Chancellor of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University; Dr. Usha Reddi, Director, Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia; and Ms. Andrea Hope, COL's Specialist in Higher Education.
COL and the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) are paving the way to enable more Caribbean students to qualify for entry into post-secondary educational and training institutions. CXC staff members were at COL's Vancouver headquarters in November for training in the development of self-study resource materials. It was the first stage of a training programme to fashion a Caribbean-wide secondary-level course delivery system to increase enrolments at the post-secondary level by 15% by 2005 through flexible and self-study options geared towards existing standard exams. This target was set by Caribbean Heads of Government, who wish to prepare more Caribbean students for university entrance and to encourage lifelong learning.
Currently, many students are unable to study beyond the basic level because secondary schools do not have the capacity to enrol all qualified students. "This represents a great loss of potential to the Caribbean," says Helen Lentell, COL's Education Specialist, Training and Materials Development. "Distance education can help to overcome these obstacles, which also exist throughout the rest of the developing world."
The Council was established in 1972 by 16 Caribbean countries and territories. It provides services to educational institutions throughout the region in the development of syllabuses, examinations and related administration. www.cxc.org
The number of orphans and children at risk in Africa is increasing dramatically. Although not always the best environment, many children end up in group homes or orphanages with caregivers who have little or no training in childcare and related areas. In responding to this situation, COL has initiated a project to identify and adapt, or develop, training materials to assist workers and volunteers who are responsible for the well-being of disadvantaged and orphaned children.
With funding support provided by the Canadian International Development Agency, COL's first step was to organise a meeting in Kampala, Uganda, of representatives from
16 African Commonwealth countries who manage or work in group homes, orphanages or similar institutions working with children at risk. Training needs were identified, a curriculum outline was drafted, learning objectives were defined and an overall implementation plan was developed.
In July 2001, COL supported a two-week training workshop on the development of open/distance learning programmes for nurses in Africa. The Nursing Council of Kenya asked the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) for help in use of distance education to upgrade its nurses from a certificate to a diploma level. With COL's assistance, AMREF conducted a workshop for nurse-trainers who will develop the programme, but who have little knowledge of open and distance learning. The workshop introduced instructional design techniques in the development of print-based course materials. After participants draft materials for the new programme, a second workshop will be held to review them and set a plan for testing.
COL and its partners organised and delivered three management institutes in 2001:
Managing Change leadership conference, August 2001
The second annual strategic development conference, Managing Change - Leadership and Strategic Change in Higher Education, for vice chancellors and other senior administrators from Sub-Saharan Africa was held in August 2001 at the University of Abertay Dundee's Dudhope Castle in Scotland. The University of Abertay Dundee, the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the Association of African Universities and COL are collaborating in hosting the programme series. Participation is restricted to 20 at each annual session for the five-year programme.
Sub-Saharan teacher education management development workshop, Singapore
The first of a series of annual Management Development Workshops for Teacher Education Administrators from Sub-Saharan Africa, co-sponsored by COL and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore, was held in Singapore in November 2001. The 16 participants represented 10 countries - Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Workshops covered four themes - distance education and teacher education, leadership and management, case studies on the operations of Nigeria's National Teachers' Institute and an orientation on Singapore's education system. The workshop series seeks to strengthen the capacities of Africa's teacher education systems, especially in the use of distance education. Local facilities are provided by the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University.
Participants at the South Pacific TVET management Institute in Wellington
As part of its programme to assist Pacific island nations to increase access to skills development training, and with funding support from New Zealand's Official Development Assistance Programme, the first of three management institutes for senior managers and executive officers from the technical/vocational education and training (TVET) sector was held in Wellington in October 2001. Participants included 22 managers from 12 island states. The sessions highlighted policy issues encountered in moving toward open and distance learning. The meeting was organised and hosted by The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand and the Whitireia Community Polytechnic. The next two Institutes will deal with implementing and evaluating TVET open and distance learning. The occasion also provided an opportunity for the Pacific Islands Regional TVET Association to meet and to strengthen regional networks.
Reports are available from COL.
COL's Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship Scheme, offered in collaboration with India's Indira Gandhi National Open University, continues to enable students from developing Commonwealth countries to obtain a Master of Arts in Distance Education degree without leaving their countries. Some 60 students from 15 countries earned the degree through the first presentation.
The second presentation of the Scheme is now underway. Invitations to participate have been extended to Ministries of Education in 19 Commonwealth countries that were not included in the first round. Students are usually employed in a publicly funded institution offering distance-learning options or in a governmental policy function, and local tutors are contracted to provide learner support. A level of sponsorship from the nominating Government is required.
The deadline for nominations for COL's Excellence in Distance Education Awards (EDEA) is 31 January 2002. This second EDEA presentation will take place in August 2002, in Durban, South Africa,
at the second Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning. The theme for both the Awards and the Forum for 2002 is "Open Learning: Transforming Education for Development".
Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan, President and CEO of COL, notes that "in honouring excellence in distance education, COL gives due recognition to remarkable achievements and endeavours to benefit those who seek to emulate examples of good practice in the field. COL's EDEA programme includes awards in four categories, acknowledging that excellence is being achieved at many points in the learning process: at the institutional level, in the development of learning materials and in terms of individual educator and student attainment."
Recipients of Connections will have received information on the awards and nomination procedures by mail. Details are also available on COL's web site. www.col.org/edea
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