Dr. Bakary Diallo explains how the African Virtual University is furthering higher education through hybrid offerings
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Dr. Bakary Diallo explains how the African Virtual University is furthering higher education through hybrid offerings
Higher education in Africa, as in many developing areas, faces obstacles unique to its geographic context. In Africa, such obstacles range from power outages to special challenges specific to post-war zones. However, also in Africa, innovative organizations like the African Virtual University are helping overcome obstacles to learning by connecting learners with access to higher education. AVU collaborates with partners across the globe to enhance the open distance and eLearning capacities of higher-education institutions throughout Africa.
Elsevier and the African Association of Universities are collaborating on a project to offer ScienceDirect and Scopus on a deeply discounted basis to universities in central, east and west Africa. This special project will encompass the African Virtual University which is headquartered in Kenya and will allow researchers in underresourced nations to access these essential scholarly resources.
Here AVU Rector Bakary Diallo describes his vision and strategy for providing hybrid educational opportunities, including eLearning and in-person offerings, to Africans.
Bakary Diallo
How did the vision for such a large-scale eLearning venture come about?
In 1995, the World Bank developed a concept that would enable the African continent to get at par with the developing world, especially with regards to the higher-education sector. At that time, a study revealed that the higher-education sector in Sub-Saharan Africa had various problems related to access, finances, quality, internal and external efficiency, limited space and declining budgets. These problems called for the introduction of alternative modes of delivery of tertiary education to compliment the efforts of existing higher-learning institutions.
In 1997, the World Bank launched the AVU to remedy this situation. Since its inception, the AVU has gone through different phases that have each contributed to the vision of the AVU. The lessons learned through each phase have enabled the AVU to refine its vision.
Coupled with frequent power outages, digital illiteracy, poor connectivity in some areas, lack of computer and telephone access, high operational costs of telephones and unfavorable ICT policies, the AVU had to refocus its strategy as one that would take cognizance of the different levels of technological and educational development throughout the African continent.
Initially, our focus was on delivering brokered content in science and technology to African students through the establishment of learning centers. This was intended to bridge the digital gap between the developed and developing world. However, as time passed, the model proved to be too expensive and rigid for the AVU, as many African countries have limited information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure and lack sufficient trained personnel. Coupled with frequent power outages, digital illiteracy, poor connectivity in some areas, lack of computer and telephone access, high operational costs of telephones and unfavorable ICT policies, the AVU had to refocus its strategy as one that would take cognizance of the different levels of technological and educational development throughout the African continent.
Additionally, the need to contextualize the knowledge from the course providers outside Africa to make it more relevant to the African continent was necessary. Therefore the AVU took a paradigm shift, developing an open distance and eLearning (ODeL) model called the AVU Learning Architecture that emphasizes the use of mixed modes of delivery, from low- to high-level technological contexts.
As you can see from this AVU website screenshot, taken from www.avu.org, the AVU Learning Architecture
takes into account even those students who are obliged to learn under the shade of a tree!
With time, as the AVU experiences became more and more enriched, our mission also shifted from delivering brokered content to facilitating the use of effective ODeL methodologies in African tertiary education institutions. By implementing various activities that are in tandem with the AVU mission, the vision of the AVU now is to be the leading Pan-African ODeL network.
What are AVU’s eLearning goals, or what is the university’s overall eLearning strategy?
The AVU’s mission is to facilitate the use of effective ODeL methodologies in African tertiary institutions. Our main objectives are:
- To increase access to high-quality ODeL resources that are relevant to Africa
- To enhance the ODeL capacity of African tertiary educational institutions
- To enhance and sustain a network of partner institutions using ODeL
- To build and sustain partnerships with institutions that can support the African Virtual University mission
- To carry out research and evaluation activities on ODeL in Africa
- To build and sustain a committed and effective African Virtual University organization
- To develop and implement a fundraising strategy targeting government resources, the private sector and international organizations, to support the above objectives
The AVU firmly believes that the Virtual Consortium Project will provide the first steps towards standardized and more accessible options for education in Africa.
Of all AVU courses, what percent are entirely remote and what percent involve in-person classes?
In line with the AVU learning architecture, when delivering its programs the AVU takes into consideration students’ ability to access technology. The delivery mode depends on the course and the program.
For example, among our offerings you find:
- A business English communication course: 60% remote and 40% in-person over eight weeks
- Renewable energy courses: 100% remote
- A computer science degree program: 100% remote
- A wireless training course: 100% in-person over five days
Is it AVU’s mission to become a completely online university?
Recently, the AVU has made capacity building of African tertiary institutions a priority. The idea of developing a full-fledged online university is not (at the moment) a priority for AVU and its partner institutions. Furthermore, the AVU has adopted a blended mode of delivery called the AVU learning architecture, which is currently serving our needs.
What technology is proving the most successful in achieving AVU’s eLearning goals?
Most of the AVU programs are offered through learning management systems. The AVU has been using licensed LMS’s which were quite costly, but now we are moving to open-source LMS’s.
Is AVU's goal to offer education to more people in Africa, or to increase services offered to students already attending universities?
The AVU provides services to tertiary institutions and their students. The AVU is aimed at building the capacity of African tertiary institutions so they can increase access to higher education through eLearning. We are currently training 132 university staff in 17 countries to achieve this goal.
Under this paradigm shift, the AVU is also working with 10 African countries to develop and implement four Bachelor of Education curricula in math and science. Additionally, the AVU is installing 10 new distance learning centers in 10 countries across the continent. The above activities are funded by the African Development Bank and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
It is important to note that the AVU is winding up its legacy programs, the last one being a Bachelor of Computer Science, which are delivered in eight francophone countries. Moving forward, the AVU will continue delivering professional courses to students around Africa, as well as face-to-face workshops on new technologies and ODeL skills.
Supported by the UNDP, the AVU undertakes various initiatives in Somalia, including enhancing the Somali human capital, promoting peace-building, providing scholarships for Somali women and setting up a community radio.
AVU seems very active in Somalia. What programs are currently in place in this region of the continent, and how are those programs affecting Somalis?
Supported by the UNDP, the AVU undertakes various initiatives in Somalia, including enhancing the Somali human capital, promoting peace-building, providing scholarships for Somali women and setting up a community radio.
The AVU ODeL courses have remained a pillar in the UNDP-led Somali institutional development programs since 2004. These programs boast over 4,000 graduates, 30% of whom are female. The AVU professional courses, like English training, journalism and information technology (IT), maximize existing systems and address acute training needs for Somali human capital to increase economies of scale.
The University of Hargeisa in Somalia, the host of the first AVU learning center, has inspired six additional Somali universities to follow suit: Amoud University, East Africa University (EAU), Puntland State University (PSU), Mogadishu University, Somali Institute of Management and Administration Development and the University of Burao. Three of these institutions, the University of Hargeisa, East Africa University and Amoud University, are also participating in the continent-wide AVU Teacher Education program.
Somali graduates of AVU courses are from all walks of life: students, professionals, NGO staff members, civil servants, politicians and academics. Deputy vice-chancellors, university management staff and professors all have benefited from our courses. International organizations consistently hire AVU graduates because of their English, journalism and IT skills. Local and international news media also regularly hire AVU students.
Testimonials and success stories from Somali AVU graduates are astounding, and include:
- The Somaliland speaker of the house and first deputy chairman were the first students to enroll in the AVU advanced English program.
- Idil Warsame Saleban, a woman studying English and journalism at EAU, is currently employed by Eastern Television Network, a local African television network.
- Faduma Mahamoud Mahamed recently enrolled in the AVU/UNDP/PSU joint program course in financial planning. Through the same program, she is also taking another course in English for business and academic success. She is currently employed by Puntland Development Research Center as a finance and administration officer.
Does AVU plan to cover the social sciences and humanities in the future, or will science, math and technology remain its academic focus?
As part of the paradigm shift, the AVU will focus on the needs of its partner institutions. Currently there is a growing demand for humanities programs, and the AVU will address this need through our Virtual Consortium Project.
Tell us about the Virtual Consortium Project, and what this will mean for AVU’s future.
The African Virtual University’s Virtual Consortium Project, sponsored by the African Development Bank and UNDP, is the result of a formal request from universities across Africa for a teacher education program. Therefore we are developing a federation of African universities that offer online accredited degrees, diplomas and certificate programs. The AVU has been consistent in its quest to collaborate with and support African higher-education and training institutions, and it is in this regard that the Virtual Consortium Project is critical for Africa's socio-economic development.
The AVU will, through the consortium, coordinate a wide range of online programs to be offered to students in Africa and around the world, thus offering students several options to pursue their studies. The Teacher Education Program is supported by 12 universities in 10 countries, and successfully reaches across many borders and language barriers. This program has collaboratively developed content for four Bachelor of Education programs and agreed on a uniform quality assurance mechanism for them. The Virtual Consortium Project will build on the existing Teacher Education Program, and then expand progressively to other subjects such as business studies, computer science, health science, agriculture, environmental studies and other relevant communities of practice.
The AVU firmly believes that the Virtual Consortium Project will provide the first steps towards standardized and more accessible options for education in Africa. Apart from being a vehicle to catalyze achievement of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, the Virtual Consortium will benefit the AVU itself as well as participating institutions and students seeking higher education in Africa. 
www.avu.org
www.undp.org/mdg/
www.aau.org/index.htm
Interview by Risa Blumlein, Library Marketing Intern, Elsevier, San Diego, USA
