The conference was attended by the Deputy Minister of Higher Tertiary Education, Zimbabwe Senator Lutho Tapela. Delegates from over 15 countries in Africa-ministries of education, universities, teacher unions and strategic partners and will address the best implementation strategies in each country, the extension of the program to more universities and countries and the long term sustainability of this initiative.

The AVU is facilitating a virtual training program for teachers in 10 African Countries. The program is already on progress in the Universitė Cheikh Anta Diop in Senegal and Kyambogo University in Uganda. Other beneficiary countries are Kenya, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Somalia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The program is funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and partly by the UNDP.

As part of its strategic responses to the continental challenges facing the teaching profession and to contribute to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the AVU initiated in 2005 a continent-wide teacher education and training program which focuses on increasing the quantity and quality of Mathematics, Science and ICT teachers through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The goal of the program is to enhance the capacity of teachers in the use of ICTs as a tool for teaching and learning Mathematics and Science, increase the number of qualified and effective Mathematics and Science teachers, and develop the capacity of teachers to teach ICTs as a discipline.

“This initiative is driven by our desire to see Africa develop to a level where its citizens can compete with anyone in the world. The talent has always been here. AVU’s role is to ensure that people have access to the education that they will need to advance themselves and the continent” noted Dr. Bakary Diallo, AVU’s Rector.

The greatest asset of the AVU is its ability to work across borders and language groups in Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone Africa.

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Over its 13 years of existence, the AVU has trained more than 40,000 students, has established 53 centers in 27 countries, and has acquired the largest of Open Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) network in Africa. Its greatest asset is its ability to work across borders and language groups in Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone Africa  conflict and post-conflict zones. In Somalia, AVU has graduated 4,000 students, 30% of whom are women.

The AVU is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya and with a regional office in Dakar Senegal. Its mission is to facilitate the use of effective Open Distance and e-Learning methodologies in African Tertiary Education Institutions