African Pilot Project

The last century has seen a significant increase in the number of colleges and universities in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA). The increase in the number of institutions offering higher education has been driven by the desire of the respective countries to develop national economies and improve the welfare of their people. Higher education training is a necessary pre-requisite for the development of any country. Although there is an impressive record of higher education training in SSA, the quest for more training institutions in higher education has outstripped the available places. This has contributed to the development of distance education.

In fact, distance education dates back to the period when the University of South Africa (UNISA) was the only institution of higher learning in SSA offering undergraduate and postgraduate studies by distance learning. The World Bank Institute, through the African Virtual University (AVU) in Distance Education has complemented UNISA's efforts in Sub-Sahara Africa. In addition, some colleges in Europe offer distance education to Sub-Sahara Africa. Recently, Zimbabwe established the Zimbabwe Open University and with over 30 000 students, it has become the largest institution of higher education in the country. The situation has somewhat changed today with the birth of information technology. Studies can now be offered through satellite and Internet facilities, thereby offering more opportunities to individuals. Distance Education has also gained popularity in other regions of the world such as The Americas, Europe and Asian Countries.

Distance Education has gained popularity, particularly in Sub-Sahara Africa as it provides opportunities to individuals to study whilst working. Like anywhere else in the world, the cost of education has become a prohibitive factor. In SSA, the cost of education is an important factor because of low incomes and the high cost of living. A greater proportion of disposable income is spent on food and other basic commodities. To those candidates wishing to take courses offered overseas, lack of foreign currency becomes an important issue. Part of the solution to problems faced by SSA is to bring DE courses to the region through local institutions. This would bring more courses on offer and thereby develop a wider range of expertise and skills for the development of the region. Furthermore, candidates are able to progress according to their capacity and capability. That means, there a lot of flexibility in the training programmes. This makes Distance Education suitable to training in Food Science and Technology. The range and type of courses in Food Science and Technology can easily be offered through Distance Education. Such programmes in Food Science and Technology have already proved feasible in the Australasian countries.

Food security issues have remained priority areas for regional governments in Sub-Sahara Africa. Today, food science and technology is viewed as an important instrument in tackling food security challenges. This is so because food safety and quality, food legislation, food processing and handling, food storage, and many other related topics are at the core of food security. Education has long been recognised as important in trying to tackle food security problems. Today, there are no food science and technology courses on offer through Distance Education. And yet, its well-known and recognised world-wide that food is fundamental to the development of any nation. The Food Security Unit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which recently started modular training in post-harvest training by Distance Education in Grain Management has also recognises the gap. SADC, through the World Bank Institute plans to offer some modular training in Rural Poverty Reduction Through Food Security and Agricultural Growth. However, it seems apparent that there are no distance courses or training in mainstream food science and technology offered by SADC.

The importance of education in food science and technology is given priority by the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST), an international body with many national and regional affiliates around the world. IUFoST, through the association of East, Central and Southern Africa Food Science and Technology (ECSAAFoST) plans to initiate Distance Education in Food Science and Technology.