Development is a multi-dimensional process which includes the economic,social, political and cultural aspects. Many developing countries are facedwith a spectrum of problems which inhibit national development. Oftensustaining development becomes difficult.Most of these obstacles can be traced back to weaknesses in the educationand training provisions. It is widely believed that an appropriateeducation can contribute significantly to national development. However,the provisions which are targeted to the creation of an elite are no longeruseful. The knowledge and skills required a few years ago are now obsolete.If we aspire to be professionally active and economically productive, weneed to learn new skills and acquire new knowledge. This is because thepace of change in terms of knowledge, skills and technology is formidableand shows little sign of slowing down. People will need to change jobs atleast 5 - 6 times in their lives. Career changes make new demands on theindividuals. They have to continue to learn, unlearn and relearn so thatproductivity increases, quality is enhanced and adaptability is promoted.There is also growing pressures to democratise education opportunities sothat every individual has the opportunity to contribute to nationaldevelopment.On the other hand, economic recession seriously limits resources, which notonly inhibits expansion but also leads to erosion of quality in theexisting provision.Thus education will be called to do more with less.We need to explore alternative learning arenas that enable people to learndifferent things at different times, at different places in different ways.- Through open and distance learning. This will liberate the learners fromthe constraints of time and place and at the same time it can make moreefficient use of resources.Open and distance learning methods through the use of appropriatetechnologies represents a strategic tool for development. Investment isexpected to be high but the cost of not doing it will be higher. However,we must not be carried away by the technologies and forget the purpose forusing them.Alternative forms of funding and different forms of collaborations need tobe explored. Strong political support of policy makers and educationplanners will greatly help to establish open and distance learning as anintegral part of the national educational base. |