‘Use open university system to aid social transformation’
Ghanaian universities can contribute significantly to social transformation by using the open university system to promote mass education, Ms Dorothy Gordon, Director-General of the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in Information and Communication Technology, has said.
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“This can be done by investing in content creation that is openly released for free,” she said.
Ms Gordon made the suggestion in a presentation on “Open University: An Approach to Mass Education for Ghana” at the ongoing 65th Annual New Year School & Conference in Accra, last Tuesday.
Though she acknowledged that a few of the institutions were making efforts to create open universities, Ms Gordon said more work needed to be done.
What is an open university?
Ms Gordon said the Open University had an open-door academic policy, adding that no entry requirements were needed to gain access to the university’s education.
Most modern open universities use web-based course management systems that incorporate digital learning, podcast (recorded sessions for electronic listening or viewing at the students leisure), e-mailing, chat rooms, live video and audio, shared access to electronic documents at scheduled times and collaborative edited document.
“This means that even if you did not finish school and you have no certificate, you can be a student at the university,” Ms Gordon added.
She pointed out, however, that the open university system required beneficiaries to pay fees and write exams before they were awarded degrees.
Benefits
Ms Gordon said an open university would help the many Ghanaians who were forced to quit school for not being able to afford the fees or access university education because of geographical limitations to develop their competencies.
She added that the system would also give an opportunity to the backlog of students who are denied access to university education as a result of inadequate infrastructure.
She also said in the main, open university would promote mass education towards national development because many people could get their degrees at their comfort.
