Media Releases

Minister of Education says Distance Learning Plays Vital Role in Educating SA

Cape Town, July 11, 2006: Speaking at a breakfast conference in Cape Town on July 11, Minister of Education, Naledi Pandor, said she believed that distance learning had a fundamental role to play in the creation of a quality education sector in South Africa, that it could help address the critical skills gaps and fulfil the need for flexible study solutions in the country.

Pandor also said she believed that South Africa could make better use of distance learning (traditionally known as correspondence study) as a method of education and that it could improve the extent to which information technology and the Internet were used as a medium for study.

Reacting to the Minister's comments, Hennie Louw, Managing Director of Educor - the largest private education provider in South Africa - said that South Africa had the infrastructure and expertise to make excellent use of distance learning as a key method of study to bridge any skills gaps. "Established private education institutions such as INTEC, UNISA and Damelin Correspondence College are registered and offer accredited courses which are on par with the finest face-to-face institutions."

A key concern tabled by Pandor was the fact that many further education colleges in South Africa operated according to office hours, rather than flexibly in the evenings and on weekends, as they do in many countries overseas. "Here again," said Louw, "distance learning can fulfil a vital function because it allows learners to continue to earn an income while studying in their own time. Learners can further their career and improve their future prospects while continuing to make a solid financial contribution to the country."

Commenting on Pandor's suggestions that IT and the Internet could play a more central role in distance learning, Louw said that Educor's distance learning offering includes a virtual campus platform. "We are more than ready to facilitate learning via the Internet however, the market's access to technology is limited. We feel it would be in the best interest of South African learners for this need to be addressed as soon as possible."

Pandor also said that private education in SA has been 'bottlenecked' by stringent regulations inhibiting institutions from playing a larger part in addressing skills shortages. Louw commented that while some regulations are onerous they did protect students from unscrupulous institutions.