EDITOR'S COMMENT: Distance learning is convenient, cheap
Jun 03, 2007
MORE and more Ugandans are going back to school. Many working class people – some of them advanced in age, have been caught up in the trend, returning to college/university to secure their jobs or become more competitive in the field. <br>
MORE and more Ugandans are going back to school. Many working class people – some of them advanced in age, have been caught up in the trend, returning to college/university to secure their jobs or become more competitive in the field.
This means there is higher demand for places in universities, yet the facilities and staff are not changing. This is where open and distance learning become key. Though related, the two are different.
Open learning means that a person gets into and out of a university offering this sort of education as and when they need to; while distance learning follows a stipulated programme, for a specific course of study.
Under open learning, you can study small components of a course to suit specific needs, taking them piecemeal, while in distance learning, you register for a programme, which you do mainly off-campus, but with regulated face-to-face sessions for tutorial, tests and exams. It is a learning material-based method.
For the busy person, this is the way to go. It is cheaper and easier, yet the qualification is as strong as the conventionally acquired ones.
All distance learning programmes are now private, but the Ministry of Education and Sports ought, in the long run, be focusing on this, too. More students will study, without straining the few resources available.
In the developed world, learners are slowly drifting away from the university campuses, and Uganda will not hang on alone. We need to plan for and support open and distance learning before long.
This means there is higher demand for places in universities, yet the facilities and staff are not changing. This is where open and distance learning become key. Though related, the two are different.
Open learning means that a person gets into and out of a university offering this sort of education as and when they need to; while distance learning follows a stipulated programme, for a specific course of study.
Under open learning, you can study small components of a course to suit specific needs, taking them piecemeal, while in distance learning, you register for a programme, which you do mainly off-campus, but with regulated face-to-face sessions for tutorial, tests and exams. It is a learning material-based method.
For the busy person, this is the way to go. It is cheaper and easier, yet the qualification is as strong as the conventionally acquired ones.
All distance learning programmes are now private, but the Ministry of Education and Sports ought, in the long run, be focusing on this, too. More students will study, without straining the few resources available.
In the developed world, learners are slowly drifting away from the university campuses, and Uganda will not hang on alone. We need to plan for and support open and distance learning before long.