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Affordable Access Program
Introduction
The central objective of the Affordable Access Program (the Program) is to improve the training and effectiveness of people who work, or intend to work, in support of poor communities, including agricultural extension officers, in-service teachers, nurses, social workers, and doctors who practice telemedicine. The immediate beneficiaries are the students themselves, while the ultimate beneficiaries will be the farmers, school children, patients and families whom they serve.
The work program specifically aims to facilitate the collaborative development and use of open access e-learning courseware at selected universities, and to provide affordable access to digital publications. It also supports the procurement and configuration of low-cost computers and e-book readers, including the design and deployment of systems to ensure ease of use and compatibility.
Pilot Phase One (2006-7): The IADP started the Program in South Africa, so that the systems and processes could be developed and tested in a relatively favorable operating environment. The initial participating universities are the University of Fort Hare (UFH), the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN), and the University of the Western Cape (UWC).
Pilot Phase Two (2008-9): The IADP is consolidating its achievements, with particular emphasis on the collaborative development and use of local context e-learning courseware, and it has identified several additional courses at UFH, UKZN, and UWC. It has also identified two complementary courses at the University of South Africa (UNISA), which is expected to join the Program in late 2008.
In addition to scale, the IADP is also ready to test the replication and adaptation of the Program in other Southern African countries, and it has commenced discussions with the Universities of Malawi, Botswana, and Namibia, with a view to including one or more of them in 2008-9.
Click here for additional information on the key features of the Program, current status, and challenges and responses.
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