Successful Distance Education Programs In Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

This paper explains the purposes, delivery methods, and program characteristics of successful distance education (DE) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This paper investigates the design and delivery systems of these programs and identifies ways the DE programs are working to improve. There are about 150 formidable distance education programs working in SSA. They aim to increase and improve a variety of existing programs, including primary and high school education, college-level and graduate programs, language training, teacher training, and continuing education for adults. The primary delivery system used by most institutions consists of printed manuals and texts that are distributed to all students. Despite the continued development of information and communication technology (ICT), including videos, online training modules, and web-based training (WBT) systems, traditional DE delivery methods continue to prove as the most reliable, most sustainable, and most widely used.