An examination of developments in distance education in Africa thiscentury reveals that there have been a lot of changes in the systemof instruction. While initial distance education efforts relied onforeign correspondence colleges, a lot of local initiatives haveblossomed at proprietary, governmental, university and college levels.More autonomous models are being sought and the rapport with a printoriented system of instruction may be gradually giving way in some of thecountries which are more technologically advanced to embark to moremulti-media initiatives.Notable still among the changes is the nature ofnew programmes that are being developed or offered; a range of newcollaborative efforts among practitioners with a growing emphasis onsharing the expertise available within Africa; ; further development of local capacities through training which is resulting in a growing pool of local expertise; a greater involvement of universities andnon-governmental organisations in policy making;and indicationsof quality control strategies being put in place .Apart from some trends in new global initiatives being observed, as inthe case of the African Virtual University, there are indications of a merger of ways between conventional and distance education programmes. In the area of reasearch, a thin focus is still noticeable whilethe orientation of programmes has not been tailored to address a rangeAfrican developmental problems.A glimpse into the next millenium in terms of practices appear tobe predicated on the changes discussed above as well as meeting thechallenges highlighted. Also expected asindicators of future practices are the demands for greater supportsystems; for more self directed learning practices and for greater autonomy for distance education arms of universitites. Whilehelatter indicates the need for alternative administrative models, the growing incidence of global and mega universities, including that ofthe virtual university is expected to have its impact on the Africandistanceeducation system.Against this background, this paper examines the major changes thathave taken place in distance education in Africa this century. As abasis for a glimpse into the next millenium, the paper discusses newpatterns of programme demands; the nature of media required to meet theglobal and virtual university needs and the dimension of collaborativeefforts that Africa would need to pursue. The paper makes a strong casefor a merger of ways between distance education and mainstream practices,noting that the lines between the two in the next century would befurther blurred. It further makes a case for a greater research thrust asa basis for improving practices in the field. |