Wednesday announced details of a virtual university for Africa, a day
after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promised such an institution at a
summit in Addis Ababa.
The proposal to establish the Indo-Africa Virtual University (IAVU)
was initiated by the ministry of external affairs and IGNOU was
mandated with formulating a proposal in consultation with the ministry
of human resource development.
"The mission of IAVU is to create conditions that ensure special
priority to furthering Indo-African relations by establishing an
educational link," said IGNOU Vice Chancellor V.N. Rajasekharan
Pillai.
IAVU, he explained, will ensure Africa-oriented educational programmes
were developed effectively in focus areas and fields such as health
sciences, vocational education, food and nutritional security, and
gender empowerment.
"IAVU will also augment the overall participation of African nations
in the global educational development process and strengthen
inter-regional cooperation between African member nations and India,"
Pillai told the sources.
The headquarters of the virtual university is proposed in Ethiopia or
Kenya. The initial cost is estimated at Rs.150 crore ($3.5 million),
with an annual cost or Rs.100 crore.
It could take between six months and a year to implement.
IGNOU authorities said Africa had burgeoning numbers of youth, some
seven-10 million of whom knock on the doors of the labor market every
year, which is a huge opportunity. Yet, of today's unemployed in the
region, 60 percent are youth.
"Good quality, relevant education beyond the primary stage needs to
turn out the types of skilled graduates and professionals that Africa
so urgently needs. Only 5 percent of its relevant age group has access
to university education compared to the world average of 25 percent,"
Pillai said.
After the mandate from the Prime Minister, IGNOU has proposed within a
period of one year, a plan of action at a continental level and an
appropriate follow-up mechanism to implement the virtual university.
"Following the success of the Pan-African E-Network Project, we
propose to take the next step and establish an India-Africa Virtual
University," the prime minister had said at the India-Africa Forum
Summit in the Ethiopian capital.
"This will help meet some of the demand in Africa for higher studies
in Indian institutions. We further propose 10,000 new scholarships
under this proposed university will be available for African students
after its establishment," he added.
The virtual university will formulate academic programmes, promote
collaborations for distance education, coordinate special action plans
and strengthen the consultation mechanisms on education between India
and African nations.
Popularly called the 'People's University', IGNOU currently offers
over 350 programmes of study through more than 3,500 courses to a
cumulative student strength of over three million.
Programmes offered by the IGNOU -- the world's largest university --
are under various levels, including doctorates, master's and
bachelor's degrees, post-graduate and under-graduate diplomas as also
certificates.
In Africa, IGNOU already has partnerships with several countries,
including Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Botswana, Namibia, Nigeria,
Malawi, Cote d'Ivore, Eritrea, Egypt, Mauritius, Rwanda, Zambia,
Lesotho, Swaziland, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Benin and Madagascar. IANS
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