Enhancing Learning Opportunities in Africa

Part of the World Bank's Africa Region Human Development Working Paper Series, this paper is intended to increase understanding of how distance education and new information and communication technologies (ICTs) can support education in Africa. It includes recent research, up-to-date statistics, and recommendations for "the way forward".

In the book's Foreword, Birger J. Fredriksen (Senior Education Advisor, Human Development, Africa Region, The World Bank) notes that, "in focusing on the possibilities offered by distance education and ICTs, the Bank and African countries have two concerns: First, education on the continent must be developed in a way that contributes to Africa's full participation in the knowledge-based economies of the future. Second, traditional modes of delivering education, particularly at post-basic levels, may be more costly than countries can afford. This will entail difficult choices in many countries. It is important that investments in the new paths to education be grounded on a solid basis of knowledge and shared experience. This report provides an inventory of knowledge gained and points to promising areas for future investment."