OPEN UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA

OPENING SPEECH BY PROF. TOLLY S. A. MBWETTE, VICE CHANCELLOR, OPEN UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA, DELIVERED DURING THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE ODL FINANCING, BUDGETING AND COSTING SHORT COURSE TRAINING, KINONDONI CENTRE, MONDAY 17TH MARCH, 2014

MARCH, 2014
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OPENING SPEECH BY PROF. TOLLY S. A. MBWETTE, VICE CHANCELLOR, OPEN UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA, DELIVERED DURING THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE ODL FINANCING, BUDGETING AND COSTING SHORT COURSE TRAINING, KINONDONI CENTRE, MONDAY 17TH MARCH, 2014

Deputy Vice Chancellors, OUT, Here Present Deans of Faculties and Directors of Institutes, OUT, Here Present, Country Representative for ODL Steering Committee, Dr. Fidelice S. Mafumiko, Coordinator, Centre of Specialization Education, Dr. Josephine Yambi, Course Facilitators, Invited Guests, Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen. for ODL in Teacher

It gives me pleasure this morning to perform the official opening of the short course training on ODL Financing, Budgeting and Costing. I take this opportunity in the first place, to extend to you all a cordial welcome to the training and to the Open University of Tanzania where the SADC Centre of Specialization is housed. This training is our seventh training session in the series of nine short courses based on the skill areas that were identified by SADC for capacity building to promote the use of ODL in expanding access

to education across the SADC region. The Open University of Tanzania is pleased to have been entrusted with such an important task for the region.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The other courses that have already been offered include: E-Learning,

Research Skills Application in ODL including Policy Research, Monitoring and Evaluation in ODL, Learner Support, Assessment and Accreditation, Strategic Planning for ODL and Quality Assurance in ODL. Six participants
from each of the 8 SADC countries have benefited from each of the courses. For the remaining courses, a maximum of 6 participants are expected from each country. This capacity building programme is expected to create a critical mass of ODL professionals in the region. I am grateful to the African Development Bank (ADB) which has made funds available for the ODL capacity building through the SADC ODL Capacity Building Project.

Distinguished Participants, By registering for the short-current course with the Open University of Tanzania, you become part of the ever-growing Alumni of the University, the largest public university in Tanzania with around 45,000 registered undergraduate students as well as about 16,000 Postgraduate Masters and PhD students. The University offers various programmes in a number of Faculties, namely, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Business

Management, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Law and Faculty of Science,

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Technology and Environmental Studies. In addition, the University has two

Institutes which include, the Institute of Educational and Management Technologies and the Institute of Continuing Education where the course you are registered for is housed because of being a short course in nature.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Let me invite you whenever you have time to take a walk through our temporary headquarters and get more information about OUT and as you return to your countries help us to market the whole range of programmes offered. We are ready to bring higher education to the people of the SADC region as we are also doing to the people of the East African region. We have established Centres in Kenya, Rwanda, Malawi and Namibia to facilitate registration and examination administration. We hope to establish more national coordination centres as the number of students from different parts of the SADC region continue to grow.

Distinguished Participants, You may wish to recall that Open and Distance Learning has in the 21st Century become the language of education planning because of increasing demand for education against diminishing resources around the world. There is always a growing feeling that Open and Distance Learning can produce more for less and so it has become more promising in ensuring that the masses are reached with some form of education at a reasonable
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cost. Yet, this is often misleading because some people have felt that you can offer programmes in ODL at minimal or without any funding at all. This is why some ODL programmes have not produced results comparable or even better than face to face programmes which they complement in reaching the masses. Such misconception and mistakes can be avoided if policy makers, planners and practitioners in ODL become more familiar with the intricacy of financing, budgeting and costing ODL programmes.

Ladies and gentlemen, This course is critical for all involved in the ODL mode of delivery because it can bring about new thinking to turn things around in our region. I therefore, consider this course on ODL Financing, Budgeting and Costing as a timely intervention for SADC because it will instill knew thinking and hopefully change the way our ODL programmes are funded. You are the people who are expected to usher in a more positive thinking for ODL to receive funding that can indeed make a difference for the majority it caters for. Our region should not be allowed to miss the point in meeting the need for the majority and deny them quality due to underfunding which a number of ODL programmes continue to experience.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Finally, let me urge you to take the training on ODL Financing, Budgeting and Costing very seriously so that you will be able to take appropriate
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action that can lead to improvement in funding ODL institutions. We cannot improve the quality of ODL products if we continue to deny the programmes the minimum funding they deserve. This is why I consider this training to be very critical in providing technical knowledge which has been lacking for the funding and sustainability of ODL programmes. By the end of the course, you will become part of the critical mass which the ODL Capacity Building Project intends to create across the SADC region. Through the training, you will also be able to promote the collaboration agenda which our region continues to advocate in different sectors. You may wish to take advantage of the training to make a few more friends with whom you can work together to promote ODL in our region now and in the future. Having made these few remarks, I now have the pleasure to declare that the ODL Financing, Budgeting and Costing Short Course Training officially open and I wish you all success and otherwise enjoy your stay and the tranquil environment here in Dar es Salaam.

I THANK YOU ALL FOR LISTENING!