Abstract

PIP: In postindependence Africa new and more efficient strategies were required to support educational expansion. Political independence was accompanied by an increased demand for education to meet the growing labor force needs of the emerging countries in Africa. It was considered that education, as a means for human resource development, was a viable capital investment necessary to support both social and economic development, yet in many African nations, the educational systems and the traditional teaching methods inherited from colonial rule were not adequate to satisfy the increased demand for trained personnel. In response to the need for educational reforms and expansion, governments of many African countries invested heavily in the development of their education systems. During the 1970s it is estimated that Africa spent between 15-20% of the national budget on education. That high level of expenditure was justified by the increased demand for education. The educational expansion efforts also increased shortages of qualified and competent teachers, shortages of adequate equipment, and physical facilities. New strategies and resources with required to solve these increasing problems. Many African countries began to experiment with the use of mass communication technologies to support their educational reform efforts. There was generally consensus that the mass media, particularly radio and television, had certain qualities that could be exploited either to replace or improve conventional methods of teaching. By the late 1960s at least 16 African countries were using educational broadcasting of 1 form or another. International aid agencies, govermental donor agencies, and private foundations in the industrially advanced countries provided the support base for many African countries in their efforts to use radio and television for educational improvement. Most of these efforts failed to make any significant impact on educational development in Africa. Educational analysts have generally concluded that post-independence educational reforms in Africa failed to achieve thier aims. Some recommendations are offered with the objective of contributing to the ongoing international effort to search for more effective approaches in using communication technologies to support educational development in Africa. Technical assistance programs supporting educational use of modern communication technologies should be perceived in the context of international cooperation, with a 2-way flow, rather than in the context of a donor recipient relationship. Greater emphasis should be placed on thorough country by country assessment of educational needs and problems in order to provide an adequate basis for designing project objectives and project contents to satisfy specific needs. Needs assessment should be tempered with pragmatism and flexibility in approach. Training and orientation for foreign and local exports and increased local participation are among the recommendations.