**Re-Engineering Open and Distance Learning Institutional Development for Knowledge Society in Africa**

K. O. Ojokheta *Department of Adult Education, University of Ibadan, Nigeria* 

#### **1. Introduction**

In the contemporary world, the major task of all countries is to raise higher-level employment skills so as to sustain a globally competitive research base and to improve knowledge dissemination to the benefit of society. This was long observed by Drucker (1994) that "the knowledge society will inevitably become far more competitive than any society we have yet known for the simple reason that with knowledge being universally accessible, there are no excuses for non-performance. There will be no poor countries. There will only be ignorant countries". Therefore, if countries are to raise higher-level employment skills, it simply signifies that there is the need for substantial reforms in tertiary education policy since tertiary education is the major driver of economic competitiveness in an increasingly knowledgedriven global economy. These reforms in tertiary education policy must essentially concentrate on the production of more educated persons which, obviously, the conventional tertiary institutions, cannot achieved single-handed. Besides, an educated person, according to Drucker (1994) is "one who has learned to learn and will continue to learn throughout his or her life, especially in and out of the formal education system. This is continuing education. This is lifelong Learning". The implication of this is that a truly educated person is produced through a lifelong learning process and not through the formal education process. This is where open and distance learning becomes imperative. Drucker further observed:

... in the knowledge society, clearly more and more of knowledge, and especially of advanced knowledge, will be acquired well past the age of formal schooling, and increasingly, perhaps, in and through educational processes which do not centre on the traditional school, e.g., systematic continuing education offered at the place of employment.

Drucker's argument is simply that learning all the knowledge available to us today will not take place in the confines of the classrooms alone. This is why open and distance learning (ODL) continues to receive wider and greater recognition and acceptability as an important and standard component of educational delivery. In essence, if ODL is to play an important role in this ever increasing knowledge-driven global economy, its scope and importance have to change significantly. This paper is, therefore, written, as an awakening call for open and distance learning policy makers and practitioners in Africa to begin the re-engineering

Re-Engineering Open and Distance Learning

century.

**knowledge society** 

given ready view of social reality by the tutors.

expected to possess in a knowledge-based society.

**3. The growing focus of open and distance learning** 

Institutional Development for Knowledge Society in Africa 5

say that open and distance learning, as a component of tertiary education, is much more crucial to the realization of knowledge society. If this is to be accomplished, it simply connotes that open and distance learning must be re-engineered, in its institutional development, to meet the challenges of the 21st century. This paper thoroughly discusses the major characteristics that a 21st –century distance and open learning institutions are

Sparked by new technologies, particularly the internet, distance educational delivery is undergoing a radical transformation that is nothing less than a new educational revolution. This revolution is undoubtedly taken distance education delivery to higher height that was previously unimagined. The 21st-century distance and open learning institution that should emerge will in many ways be the polar opposite of the institutions that emerged in the 20th

It is well established that many factors are driving change; however, none of these is more important than the rise of internet technologies. The Net has already become advanced with revolutionary consequences, most of which are now begun to be felt. The Net instantaneously gives everyone the opportunity and ability to access a mind-boggling array of information from anywhere. Instead of seeping out, over months or years, ideas can be got around the world in the blink of an eye. This simply means that the 21st-century distance and open learning institution must adapt itself to management via the web. This must be predicated on constant change, not stability; organized around networks, not rigid hierarchies; built on shifting partnerships and alliances, not self-sufficiency; and constructed on technological advantages, not bricks and mortars. In other words, the 21st-century distance and open learning institution is far more likely to look like a web: a flat, intricately woven form that links students, tutors, employees, policy makers, practitioners, managers, partners of distance and open learning in various collaborations. They will grow more and more interdependent and

managing this intricate network will be as important as managing internal operations.

**4. The need for reengineering distance and open learning institutions for** 

More recently, most organizations have moved beyond total quality management (TQM) programmes to a more comprehensive approach to redesigning organizational processes called re-engineering. According to Hammer and Champy (1993), "re-engineering is the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in cost, quality, and speed". Therefore, if distance and open learning institutions in Africa must achieve dramatic improvements in cost, quality, and speed in their administrative and academic processes, they must embark on radical redesign of these processes. In the administrative processes, open and distance learning institutions in Africa must begin to re-align with the dictates and expectations of 21st century organization. Similarly, in the academic processes, open and distance learning institutions must begin to have new perception of learning in line with the constructivist perspective rather the objectivist perspective where learners are not involved in the real act of learning but are

process of open and distance learning institutional development to meet the challenges of the 21st century knowledge driven society.
