In this context, underdeveloped countries such as those in the Middle East (i.e. The Arab States, Israel, Palestine, Iran, Turkey, Sudan and Egypt) must increasingly turn to distance learning as a means of broadening access to education for their populations. In 1981, fourteen of UNESCO member Arab States ratified the Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Diplomas And Degrees in Higher Education highlighting their commitment "to develop education, to promote access thereto and improve its quality and to promote lifelong education" (UNESCO).
[...] Distance education with the human touch that tutoring provides can make all the difference in the life of these young Palestinians and it was exactly this population, who had been denied education, work, and freedom to move about that were the target of the new campus. Takahashi goes on to state that “nothing gets in the way of education like politics” and in our case, at Fanshawe, politics did get in the way of what was conceived with the best intention. [...]
[...] Unfortunately, in Middle Eastern countries the percentage of computer users at home is far less. In fact, in many of these countries the mention of the word immediately creates images of expense and unaffordability. Unlike the United States, it is still a common practice for most Internet providers to charge by the minute for access, and those charges are limiting to many people. Furthermore, in many Middle Eastern nations where the telecommunication infrastructure is not as developed or as freely accessible as in the United States, significant funding and personnel resources still need to be provided. [...]
[...] 66) We cannot easily weigh the significance of access, economic development, technology and cost-saving as drivers of the growth of open and distance learning in the Middle East. For the policy maker they suggest a set of questions about the interaction between them. The key issues are about the compatibility between the various forces: widening access may compete for funds with the demands for workforce development; technology choice may be constrained by cost or by the limited opportunities some students will have of using certain technologies; there are potential contradictions between containing unit costs and providing a learning system with enough support to benefit disadvantaged or remote students. [...]
[...] There are three schools within the Distance Education System at the university including the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, but the faculty in the Open Education Faculty are responsible for much more than teaching: ‘student administration, course books printing, and the production of radio and TV programmes and student examinations and they are the only full-time faculty within the system. All other faculty are lecturers from local universities. The administrative burden on people whose first profession and priority is teaching must be onerous in that it takes away from the core of the job. [...]
[...] Report to UNESCO of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century. Paris, France: UNESCO. Ekrem, Ozkul, Andola University, Turkey, in Reddy and Manulika The World of Open and Distance Learning (pp. 95-112) New Dehli: Viva Books Private Ltd Ginzburg, Abraham, Everyman's University (now called the "open university of Israel") In I. Mudgridge Founding Open Universities: Essays in memory of G. Ram Reddy, New Dehli: Sterling Publishers pp. 80- 86. Guri-Rosenblit, S. A Top Down Strategy to Enhance Information Technologies into Israeli Higher Education, The International Review of Research [...]
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