(L TO R) NOUN VICE CHANCELLOR PROFESSOR OLUGBEMIRO JEGEDE; NIGERIA'S THEN MINISTER OF EDUCATION. MS. OBIAGELI EZEKWESILI; THE THEN PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA. CHIEF OLUSEGUN OBASANJO; DR. JOHN ROWETT, THEN SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE ASSOCIATION OF COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITIES. PROFESSOR ASHA KANWAR, VICE PRESIDENT OF COL AND MS. CAROL GIRLING, DIRECTOR ENROLMENT SERVICES AND REGISTRAR, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF THE NORTH (CANADA), WHO CONDUCTED A COL CONSULTANCY AT THE FORMAL GRAND OPENING OF THE NOUN.
NOUN CELEBRATES GRAND OPENING
The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) held a special convocation ceremony for the formal grand opening and commissioning of the headquarters at the University in Lagos in March 2007. Speaking at the event, the then President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo said that the current investment in education and education reform are expected to reduce the illiteracy rate in Nigeria to five percent by 2020. President Obasanjo noted that NOUN has admitted 30,000 students, including him. He hoped that the university will soon become a mega university with over 200,000 students.
NOUN has been endowed with a UNESCO Chair in open and distance learning (ODL), the first of its kind in the developing world, said NOUN Vice Chancellor, Professor Olugbemiro Jegede. COL has been a partner since the university's launch in 2001. Fifty NOUN staff members have received scholarships from COL through the Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship Scheme to study the Masters in Distance Learning.
The grand opening event was attended by many eminent Nigerians including four former Ministers of Education.
http://www.nou.edu.ng/
COMMONWEALTH CONNECTS SUMMIT
Bridging the digital divide to meet development challenges was the focus of the Commonwealth Connect International e-Partnership Summit in New Delhi, India in March. Participants from around the globe discussed ways of pooling information and communications technologies (ICTs) competencies and wisdom to develop knowledge products and systems to meet the needs of education, health care and e-governance.
Speaking at the opening of the summit, the President of India, Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam said the telecommunications revolution with digital technology, broadband connectivity, Internet and multimedia convergence, offers the key to realising socio-economic goals. The summit offered networking opportunities for ICT players to work together to enhance the use of modern technology for development in the Commonwealth.
Commonwealth Connects is a collaborative effort by the Commonwealth Secretariat, Commonwealth partner agencies and member nations to mitigate increasing digital fragmentation. The programme serves as a matchmaker for those who require ICT assistance and those that have the skills to provide them. The Commonwealth Connects portal offers advice and information about the use of ICTs for policymakers, educators, business owners and the public.
http://www.commonwealthconnects.net/
EDUCATION BEYOND BORDERS
The Department for International Development (DFID) in the United Kingdom has introduced a new initiative to provide education to children affected by conflict or living in fragile states. Announced in April, Education Beyond Borders supports the Millennium Development Goal of having every child in primary education by 2015. Education Beyond Borders includes a £20 million grant to UNICEF to deliver education in emergency, conflict and post-crisis countries, and financial support for education in conflict and post-conflict states, including Nepal, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Somalia a nd the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
www.dfid.gov.uk/news/files/pressreleases/education-beyond-borders.asp
SAIDE TO DEVELOP OER PORTAL FOR AVU
The South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE) has signed an agreement to develop an open educational resources (OER) portal for the African Virtual University (AVU). The project is being supported by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
OERs are educational resources that have been developed within a licensing framework that permits others to use and adapt them without paying additional fees. In addition to creating an OER portal, SAIDE will provide training for staff at African educational institutions, assist AVU with hosting a continental conference of OER practitioners and develop knowledge guides on key OER topics. By helping AVU to advance the objectives of the OER movement, SAIDE will help to ensure that the developing world is contributing to a global process that has the potential to radically change how educational content is developed and used.
http://www.saide.org.za/
VISITATION PANEL MEMBERS AT THEIR INAUGURAL MEETING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA IN MAY 2007
INTERNATIONAL PANEL REVIEWING UNIVERSITY OF GHANA
The University of Ghana has set up a 16-member visitation panel to help shape the university for the next 10 to 20 years. Chaired by COL President Sir John Daniel, the panel is made up of distinguished scholars and business leaders. After reviewing academic programmes, infrastructure and resources, the panel will advise on additional resources required to enable the university to meet internationally-accepted standards.
The immediate task of the panel is to help restore the university's academic integrity and credibility, said Sir John at a meeting of the group in Accra, Ghana. "Visits by panels like ours are becoming an increasingly frequent phenomenon in universities around the world," he added.