Distance education institutions: characteristics and impacts

Distance education is proliferating in developing nations and fast becoming a primary source of academic information delivery. However, distance education methodology, curriculum, and infrastructures vary from region to region. One of India's most comprehensive distance learning institutions is Indira Gandhi National Open University. The Indira Gandhi National Open University relies exclusively on distance education methods but focuses mainly on Indian learners and their needs, with a particular focus on reaching out to the rural poor and economically disenfranchised. The Indira Ghandi National Open University offers a Virtual Campus accessible from their main Web site: (http://www.ignou.ac.in/virtualcampus/index.htm).However, some school-sponsored conferences are held in person. Much course content is available in audio or video format on the school Web site.

With a spiffier Web site than the Indira Gandhi National Open University, the African Virtual University (AVU) offers a more extensive digital library and other technological tools for students. Like its Indian counterpart, the AVU stresses the importance of using distance learning tools to help the economically disadvantaged. The AVU is multinational in scope, spanning most of the continent. The African Virtual University has headquarters in Nairobi with a regional office in Dakar. Therefore, its geographic and national scope is greater than that of Indira Gandhi National Open University.

With a surprising lack of entrenched distance education institutions and infrastructures, Latin America needs to catch up with other regions in providing distance learning services to the region's underprivileged populations. Brazil has led the way in providing national support for distance learning within that country. In the rest of Latin America, consortiums like the Inter-American Distance Education Consortium are often based in developed countries outside of the region. The Inter-American Distance Education Consortium (CREAD) is rooted in Nova Southeastern University in South Florida but networks local institutions to provide a wealth of services to distance learning students. Although it is based in South Florida, CREAD was conceived in Caracas and continues to focus educational programs and services on a Latin American market. Like the pan-African AVU, CREAD reaches students in multiple countries in a number of different languages.

Of the three, the Indira Gandhi National Open School is the most dedicated to the practical needs of India's rural population, offering extensive coursework and workshops in sustainable farming. Many of the programs and courses are vocational in nature, compared with the CREAD policies, which clearly explicate the consortia's interest in furthering scholarly research. The African Virtual University combines the two approaches, offering what appears to be a pan-African program for stimulating education, reducing gender disparity in the sciences, and also attending to the needs of residents from disparate regions of the continent. All center on two main policies: to deliver a quality education to those who might otherwise not be able to obtain it, and to promote regional economic growth.

Of course, technology is integral to the delivery of services for all three of these institutions. The Indira Gandhi school appears to be the least equipped with next-generation services and applications. However, the Indira Gandhi National Open University uses technology tools like video and audio materials to reach students without access to cutting edge technology. The African Virtual University relies on help from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for providing information technology architecture and other essential planning services. Likewise, CREAD capitalizes on its relationship with Nova Southeastern University for the delivery of top quality digital materials.

2. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) prioritizes distance learning as an essential component of its mission. The UNESCO policy toward distance education delivery is presented clearly on their Web site. A stated goal of UNESCO-sponsored education initiatives is to build "Knowledge Societies." Increasing access to information increases political and economic empowerment. Access to information, capacity building, cultural diversity, multilingualism, and information infrastructures are just a few of the foci for the UNESCO learning programs. UNESCO also provides special services for children, women, persons with disabilities, and seniors. All the populated continents are served and represented by the UNESCO education initiative.