Logo of Pan African University

The Pan African University (PAU) open, distance and e-learning (ODeL), which will offer free, accredited online courses to African students, was officially launched in December in Yaoundé, Cameroon, enabling millions of Africans of all ages to benefit from lifelong learning opportunities.

The PAVEU courses which include media and information literacy and IT are all free and internationally accredited and are due to commence on 15 January 2020. Additionally, they are open to applicants from African countries and the African diaspora.

Currently, the Pan African University has four operational institutes, including Northern Africa's Institute for Water and Energy Sciences in Algeria's Abou Bakr Belkaid University of Tlemcen, Eastern Africa's Institute for Basic Sciences, Technology and Innovation in Kenya's Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Western Africa's Institute for Life and Earth Sciences in Nigeria's University of Ibadan, and Central Africa's Institute for Governance, Humanities and Social Sciences in Cameroon's University of Yaounde II.

 The PAU Institute for Space Sciences, expected to be based at the South African Cape Peninsula University of Technology is yet to open.

The Pan African Virtual and E-University (PAVEU) is one of African Union’s flagship projects which has been proposed for addressing the Agenda 2063 need for accelerating the development of human capital, science and technology and innovation through increasing access to tertiary and continuing education in Africa by capitalizing on the digital revolution and global knowledge.

Photo courtesy / Google

Article by Jedidah Mwangi

https://au.int/en/newsevents/20191220/official-launch-pan-african-virtual-and-e-university-paveu