HIGHER EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT:
THE ROLE OF OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING

HIGHER EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT:
THE ROLE OF OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING

PROFESSOR EMERITUS ANUWAR ALI

In the light of globalisation and the world’s ever-changing social and economic landscape, higher education is now universally considered a critical force in contributing towards sustainable development. To enhance and improve higher education systems will be an imperative for every country to ensure that its people have the opportunity to gain knowledge for capacity building purposes as well as to create a knowledge-based society. This is all the more important for the developing regions, such as Asia and Africa. With a revived interest in higher education, many countries find it difficult to cope with the increasing demand for university places. Additionally, various global forces are influencing the way people perceive teaching and learning, as well as changing the way academic programmes are being delivered. Universities, courses and even learners are no longer restricted by regular notions of time and space. Higher education institutions need to be mindful of these forces if they are to remain relevant in such a dynamic and fast-paced environment. This paper will evaluate some salient features of the current higher education scenario and address the role of higher education in sustainable development, seen from the specific perspective of open and distance learning (ODL). Here, ODL will be given the spotlight, and its value to a country’s higher education system will be discussed. This paper will also share the experiences of Malaysia’s premier ODL institution, Open University Malaysia (OUM) in contributing towards human capital development in the country.

Zimbabwe Open University

2012