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The AVU Teacher
Education Program
PRESS
RELEASE – February 15, 2008
The
Teacher Education program is part of the AVU Multinational
Support Project which is an initiative funded by the
African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Nations
Development Program (UNDP). The project’s overall
objective is to strengthen the capacity of the African
Virtual University (AVU) and a network of institutions
coordinated by the AVU to develop, deliver and manage
quality ICT-assisted education and training opportunities
in selected African countries.
The
AfDB, with additional funding from UNDP Somalia, is
supporting the development and implementation of this
program in ten African countries namely:
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- Ethiopia,
- Kenya,
- Madagascar,
- Mozambique,
- Senegal,
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- Somalia,
- Tanzania,
- Uganda,
- Zambia,
and
- Zimbabwe.
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The
teacher education program is the flagship component
of this project and it focuses on the use of ICTs both
in and across the curriculum, with a particular focus
on Mathematics and Science Education.
The
Teacher Education program will impact the beneficiary
countries as follows:
- Improve
the quality of teaching and learning in Maths and
Sciences through the use of ICTs;
- Increase
the number of Mathematics, Sciences, and Basic Computer
Science teachers by expanding access to training through
the use of ODeL methodologies;
- Develop
and promote research in teacher education in order
to encourage evidence-based decision-making in all
aspects of teacher development; and
- Promote
regional integration and strengthen relevant partnerships
with other teacher education initiatives in Africa
and globally.
It
is envisaged that the program will enroll about 9,600
teacher trainees in the first year of its implementation
in all the ten countries. By the end of the program’s
development, about 72 university staff will have been
trained in module authoring for ODeL programs and 12
staff trained in the program’s implementation,
management, evaluation and reporting.
The
most significant output of the teacher education program
is that it is envisaged to train about 900 teachers
in each institution in the first year of enrolment.
This translates to about 10,800 teachers in all the
12 institutions involved in the program. At a teacher
pupil ratio of 1:40, the subsequent output of the program
will be 432,000 learners able to access this online
education each year. This program will contribute significantly
to alleviating the teacher shortage problem in the continent
and especially in the Science and Mathematics subjects.
In
addition to the Teacher Education and Development Program,
the AVU Multinational Support Project also supports
the establishment of ODeL Centers and Connectivity Provision
at AVU Partner Institutions and mainstreaming gender
issues into AVU Operations.
For
more information please contact cwangeci
"at" avu.org or contact
"at" avu.org.
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