Africa Virtual University - AVU

What is the AVU Teacher Education Program?

The AVU Teacher Education Program is a component of the AVU Multinational Support project. The project was initiated in 2003 as part of AVU's Business Plan (2003 - 2007) with the aim of addressing the challenges of quantity and quality that plague the teacher education profession especially in sub-Saharan Africa. This program was therefore expected to make a significant contribution towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in education.

The teacher education program focuses on the use of ICTs both in and across the curriculum, with a particular focus on Mathematics and Science Education. The program will have the following impact/benefits to the beneficiary countries: improve the quality of teaching and learning in Maths and sciences through the use of ICTs; increase the number of Mathematics, Sciences, and Basic Computer Science teachers by expanding access to training through the use of ODeL methodologies; develop and promote research in teacher education in order to encourage evidence-based decision-making in all aspects of teacher development; and promote regional integration and strengthen relevant partnerships with other teacher education initiatives in Africa and globally.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has funded the development and implementation of the program in ten African countries, namely: Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Senegal, Somalia (post-conflict nation), Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In each of the countries, one participating institutions was selected to implement the program with the exception of Somalia where the UNDP Somalia granted funds for the inclusion of two more institutions in the country.