THE GENDER POTENTIAL OF ODL IN AFRICA
By Professor Penina Mlama
Open and distance learning (ODL) offers tremendous potential to meet Africa's educational needs, particularly the needs of girls and women. But before embracing ODL as a panacea, we need to do a gender analysis and carefully examine the challenges of infrastructure and poverty.
The obstacles to gender parity
Across sub-Saharan Africa, the attendance, participation and success of girls in schools is far outpaced by boys. The region's grinding poverty is the single biggest obstacle to education for both boys and girls. Although study after study has demonstrated that providing education for girls is one way of breaking the cycle of poverty, girls remain disadvantaged in education in multiple ways. More than boys, girls are often required to help with chores, care for the sick and care for younger siblings. When there is a shortage of money in the family, preference is often given to boys over girls to remain in school.
In rural areas, girls will drop out of school because of the insecurity of walking long distances to school. Attendance is frequently interrupted by temporary suspension for non-payment of fees, arriving late to school or being in tattered clothes. Girls' performance is also negatively affected by cultural norms, biased curricula and discrimination in teaching methods. All these work together to create a negative environment that gradually pushes the girls out of school.
The promise and challenges of ODL
We know that the formal schooling system is not sufficient to meet Africa's educational challenges. There are not enough teachers or schools to meet the demands of universal primary education. And even when primary schooling is available, access to education is limited for the upper grades. Most people in Africa are engaged in agriculture, but the education system does not meet the learning needs of farmers. They continue to use inefficient old processes, and the cycle of poverty continues.
ODL can be useful in giving girls a second chance at education. After they drop out of school, they come to realise the importance of education. ODL can offer them the chance to keep learning, anytime and anywhere. They can have more choice in the courses they take. And the cost can be more manageable. But the obstacles are often still there - they don't have enough money, the teenage pregnancy has led to a baby that needs care, their help is still required in the household, their family doesn't value education for girls or the school environment is poor.
I n the case of open universities, we have found that they provide opportunities for women, but when the women are studying at home and not in a university environment, they still have to shoulder household responsibilities. This makes it difficult to concentrate on their studies.
It's also important to examine the practicalities of ODL. Most rural areas in Africa don't have electricity or phone systems. Radio courses have proven to be successful, but learners still need to have radios. And they also need the time to listen to their class. Computers and Internet access are a distant dream for most people living in poverty. We need to address these infrastructure issues.
While the potential of ODL in Africa is curtailed by these challenges, we will continue to work on creating solutions that open up access to education for girls and women. We remain hopeful that ODL can help resolve gender imparity in education, creating exciting opportunities and brighter futures.
Professor Penina Mlama is Executive Director of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE, http://www.fawe.org/) and a member of COL's Board of Governors.