SOON, STUDENTS IN A NUMBER OF AFRICAN COUNTRIES WILL BE 
ABLE TO TAKE COURSES AND HEAR LECTURES VIA SATELLITE BROADCASTS. 
THE "AFRICAN VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY," AS IT'S CALLED, WILL SOON OPEN 
ITS ELECTRONIC DOORS.  

THE IDEA IS DARING, BUT SIMPLE -- ASSEMBLE LECTURES BY TOP 
PROFESSORS FROM AMERICA AND EUROPE AND THEN BEAM THEM TO AFRICA 
BY SATELLITE. THE WORLD BANK IS NEGOTIATING WITH UNIVERSITIES IN
A DOZEN AFRICAN COUNTRIES TO MAKE THE IDEA A REALITY. THE 
"AFRICAN VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY" PLANS TO START OFFERING CLASSES THIS
FALL. INITIAL COURSES WILL FOCUS ON SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, 
HELPING PROVIDE THE EDUCATION NEEDED TO FUEL ECONOMIC GROWTH. 

ETIENNE BARANSHAMAJE (BAH-RON'-SHA-MAHJ) DIRECTS THE PROJECT AT 
THE WORLD BANK. HE SAYS AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES ARE VERY EAGER TO 
GET THE PROJECT UP AND RUNNING. 

         THEY JUST WANT TO SEE THIS HAPPEN. THEY DON'T WANT TO 
         GO PROCRASTINATING AND DISCUSSING AND GOING FOR TRAINING
         AND WORKSHOPS AND SO ON. THEY JUST WANT IT TO BE DONE 
         AND SOON BECAUSE THE DEMAND IS THERE AND THEY ARE READY 
         FOR IT.

TWELVE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES IN ENGLISH-SPEAKING 
COUNTRIES PLAN TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROJECT. THEY ARE LOCATED 
IN ZIMBABWE, TANZANIA, KENYA, UGANDA, ETHIOPIA, AND GHANA. MR. 
BARANSHAMAJE SAYS ONE SITE IN ETHIOPIA IS ALREADY COMPLETE AND 
HAS BEEN USED FOR A DEMONSTRATION. STAFF AT AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES
WILL BEGIN TO BE TRAINED THIS MONTH (MAY).

IN ADDITION TO OFFERING COURSES, THE VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY WILL ALSO
HAVE WHAT IS CALLED A DIGITAL LIBRARY. STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO 
USE COMPUTERS TO LINK TO THE INTERNET. THERE, THEY CAN READ 
SCHOLARLY JOURNALS THAT ARE AVAILABLE ON-LINE. THIS WILL MAKE IT
POSSIBLE FOR STUDENTS TO HAVE ACCESS TO MANY PUBLICATIONS THAT 
ARE TOO EXPENSIVE FOR INDIVIDUAL UNIVERSITIES TO ORDER.

         IF YOU GO TO ANY [AFRICAN] UNIVERSITY, AND YOU LOOK AT 
         THEIR RESOURCES, THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH SUBSRIPTIONS TO 
         PERIODICALS AND SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS. ON THE OTHER HAND,
         WE KNOW THAT MORE AND MORE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE 
         ON-LINE. SO, THE IDEA IS BECAUSE UNIVERSITIES DON'T 
         HAVE ENOUGH RESOURCES TO SUBSCRIBE TO THESE JOURNALS IN 
         PRINT, LET'S HAVE A CONSORTIUM OF AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES 
         AND SUBSCRIBE TO ON-LINE JOURNALS. AND, ALSO, LET'S 
         ORGANIZE A LOT OF THE INFORMATION OF SCIENTIFIC QUALITY 
         THAT IS AVAILABLE ON THE WORLDWIDE WEB, SO THAT ACADEMIC
         STAFF IN AFRICA CAN HAVE ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION.

MR. BARANSHAMAJE SAYS LINKS TO THE INTERNET WILL ALSO GIVE 
AFRICAN SCHOLARS THE OPPORTUNITY TO PUBLISH THEIR WORK 
ELECTRONICALLY. THIS WILL MAKE IT AVAILABLE TO A WORLDWIDE 
AUDIENCE. HE ALSO SAYS USING THE INTERNET CHANGES THE WAY 
STUDENTS LEARN, MAKING THEM MUCH MORE INDEPENDENT.

         EXPERIENCE HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT ONCE THE INTERNET 
         SERVICE IS THERE, ONCE PEOPLE START TO GO ON-LINE AND 
         EXCHANGE [INFORMATION], THE WAY OF LEARNING CHANGES 
         TREMENDOUSLY AND YOU'RE DEVELOPING MORE AUTONOMOUS 
         STUDENT LEARNERS AND PROBABLY DEVELOPING LEARNERS FOR 
         LIFE, SO THEY CAN KEEP UPDATING THEIR KNOWLEDGE AS TIME 
         GOES [ON].

THE WORLD BANK IS FINANCING THE PURCHASE OF THE EQUIPMENT NEEDED 
BY THE AFRICAN VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY. ITS TRAINING STAFF IN SIX 
ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES AND A SIMILAR NUMBER OF 
FRENCH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES. THESE INCLUDE SENEGAL, IVORY COAST, 
MAURITANIA, NIGER, BURKINA FASO, AND CAPE VERDE.  

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