Reporting on COL's work
A World of Knowledge
Summary Report, 2000-2003
We take pride in our record of service to Commonwealth
Governments
Message from the President
When the Ministers of Education met in Halifax in
November 2000, they gave their overwhelming endorsement to the proposals that we, at the Commonwealth of Learning, made for the 2000 - 2003 triennium. In that plan, we undertook to continue our efforts of adding value to the work of member states in the field of open and distance learning. Our proposals,
a result of extensive discussions with as many of our partners as possible, defined four ways by which COL can assist, support, inform and enrich open and distance learning in the Commonwealth. We categorised these into four roles, namely:
In our presentation of the plan in 2000, we requested that member states contribute CDN$27 million to resource the programmes. The Honourable Ministers agreed, and many, in fact, pledged their government's willingness to contribute at the meeting. In all, some CDN$19.3 million was received as core contribution and a further CDN$
6.2 million was generated by COL through its fee-for-service and other bilateral arrangements, thereby enabling the agency to meet the expenses of most of the planned activities.
We were also fortunate in receiving enormous "in kind" support from our partners. This often matched dollar for dollar what COL was able to contribute to these activities.
This report captures the work of the agency over the past three years, and in it we take pride in bringing to the attention of Ministers and their governments our record of service in fulfilment of the undertakings we gave in November 2000.
Distance education and variations of it continue to interest Commonwealth governments and their institutions now even more than during the first decade of COL's existence. It is estimated by various scholars that some three million individuals are engaged in one or another form of self learning covering a variety of fields and all sectors of the educational and training spectrum.
COL's services, expertise and assets have been put to use in about 40 Commonwealth countries as well as a few outside the Commonwealth during this plan period. We have executed, partnered with or participated in almost 100 programmes, activities and initiatives in support of the roles that we set out to play during the 2000 - 2003 period.
We have for example:
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Completed the development of materials for in-service teacher training in Southern Africa for the upper primary and lower secondary sector in science, maths and technology in association with the eight ministries of education of the SADC region. These materials have been made available both in print and on CD-ROM to all participating countries as well as to others in Commonwealth Africa and further afield. The materials are also available through the WorldSpace network for pan-African access. We would like to see these materials put to use and are currently exploring with member states for piloting them in a few environments.
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Organised and conducted training workshops for Principals and Directors of Colleges of Education from sub-Saharan Africa in managing teacher training as they are confronted with problems of demand, technology, resources and curriculum. Up to the time of reporting, 55 individual leaders from 16 countries have attended these workshops in both Singapore and India.
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In association with UNESCO-BREDA, undertook joint projects in Africa to promote and build capacity in distance education in areas of management, materials development, quality assurance, accreditation and teacher training. We expect these initiatives to continue and we hope to work towards the establishment of a regional centre for the development of distance education in West Africa in the next plan period.
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Launched a second intake for the Masters in Distance Education programme in collaboration with IGNOU. About 45 candidates from eight Commonwealth small states are currently enrolled in this staff development activity.
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In Nigeria, embarked on a series of staff development work in open and distance learning with the National Commission for Colleges of Education,
the National Teachers' Institute and the newly established National Open University of Nigeria. Altogether up to 300 individuals have been undergoing training in materials development, technology application and student support systems.
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In partnership with the Government of Botswana, SchoolNet Africa and other multilateral agencies, organised the first in a series of meetings to discuss policy issues relating to the development of digital communities in the school sector in Africa. Results of these discussions are expected to lead to connecting teachers and colleges of education in the next plan period.
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In partnership with UNHCR, UNAIDS, WHO and Red Cross/Red
Crescent, developed and delivered training programmes for their field staff in effective writing techniques. To date, 1300 individuals in 70 countries have participated in these programmes.
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In partnership with the four national open universities of South Asia, developed and delivered a Commonwealth Master of Business Administration and Public Administration. In the next plan period this programme is expected to migrate to sub-Saharan Africa.
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In association with the Government of South Africa and the National Association of Distance Education Organisations of South Africa (NADEOSA), organised the successful second Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning in South Africa. Some 600 delegates took part in this five-day event, the first of its kind in open and distance education in Commonwealth Africa.
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Continued to build networks to support the education of out-of-school youth, street children and other young people in jeopardy through collaboration with the National Institute of Open School in India as well as the many NGOs engaged in the rehabilitation of such children.
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Strengthened the Pacific TVET network in association with The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand. This network is expected to organise and co-ordinate educational and training programmes in the technical/vocational area including the training of technical/vocational teachers.
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With financial grants from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and other bilateral agencies, undertook both feasibility and other investigative studies in education in Bangladesh, Lesotho, Maldives, Mozambique, Nigeria, the South Pacific and Sri Lanka. .
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Supported the work of the
Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) Working Group on Distance Education and Open Learning by designing and carrying out studies on their behalf on matters relating to distance education.
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Supported the work of the World Bank's Global Distance Education Network and the Development Gateway by contributing expertise as well as knowledge management expertise.
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Continued to build our information and knowledge resources as well as develop mechanisms to effectively disseminate them right across the Commonwealth. Our web site gets over 1000 unique visits every day, probably making it the most visited site in the field.
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Completed, on the request of Commonwealth Ministers of Education, a feasibility study on the establishment of a Commonwealth virtual university for small states.
As has been the case over the last eight years of my presidency, the work we are reporting on could not have been accomplished but for the enthusiasm of colleagues with whom we have had the good fortune to work. Ministers of Education as well key officials have also been enthusiastic about engaging COL in the many dialogues that were necessary to promote distance and open learning in the Commonwealth. We are grateful for the privilege of working with them these past three years and look forward to building on these associations as we look to the future. This report is as much a reflection of the enormous effort and energy that Commonwealth colleagues put into making the plan work - we are privileged to be associated with it.
As COL enters into the second half of its second decade, the challenges in terms of increasing access to learning and training in member states of the Commonwealth seem to be on the rise. Provisions for the universal participation at all levels of the educational and training spectrum continue to challenge developing member states of the Commonwealth. Paucity of human, financial and physical resources makes it even more difficult to create sufficient supply to meet current and emerging demands. Innovations in the educational and delivery systems using open and distance learning methods and the use of clever learning technologies are an imperative, not an option. This report describes ways in which the Commonwealth of Learning has been and can continue to be of some value in these efforts.
Dato' Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan
President and Chief Executive Officer
Commonwealth of Learning