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| Kassim Nihuka |
Nihuka is a native of the African village of Songea, which is located in the south-eastern region of Tanzania bordering on Mozambique. His native language of Ngoni represents only one out of over 120 diverse languages spoken in his country of some 35 million inhibitants. Aside from his galvanizing ambitions in the field of education, the fun-loving Nassim likes to listen to the soulful sounds of African gospel music, drink an occasional Grolsch beer, and watch football matches on television.
His academic career was formed in the capital city of Dar es Salaam, where he earned his first master's degree in Science Education. Upon graduating, he was hired by the Open University of Tanzania (OUT) as an assistant lecturer. He taught accredited, long-distance learning courses in the subject of Environmental Education and a non-degree course in Science and Technology.
In early 2000, Nihuka crossed paths with a group of visiting Dutch professors from the University of Twente, Dr. Joke Voogt and Dr. Rene Almekinders, and one professor, Dr. Wout Ottevanger, from the Free University of Amsterdam.
This chance encounter changed his life and lead him to apply for a Nuffic scholarship to study abroad at the UT. He was finally accepted to study the relatively new Master's program in the specialized track, Cirriculum Instruction and Media Application (CIMA), and in the coming years, he plans to pursue a four-year PhD program.
While in Dar es Salaam, Nihuka traveled three times a year to over 26 regional centers spread out over the entire country. Currently only nine of these centers are equipped with computers.
According to Nihuka, `In the traditional manner, educational materials are normally sent by postal service or carried by visiting lecturers to the regional centers. A location director of the academic staff manages these regional centers and offers assistance to students.' Students can study without interrupting their daily schedules and cultural customs.
Nihuka explains the birth of the Open University, `the original concept of the Open University was established in 1992, but it became officially recognized and operational in 1996.' During its fledgling first year, `there were 766 enrolled students, and today the total enrollment stands at 20,000 students.'
The explosive growth in student population can be attributed to several factors of which the primary reason lies in the explosive expansion of secondary educational programs that Tanzania is witnessing. Nihuka affirms, `Now we have a large number of graduates—more than the number that universities can accept,' and he admits, `in the past, students really wanted to go to the University of Dar es Salaam, but the university is full and overcrowded. The Open University seems to offer a viable solution.'
The focus of Nihuka's research is the blending of traditional education with the use of technology. He says, `The current trend in higher learning institutions is the implementation of online courses.' Some universities are currently using `video conferencing' in `real time.' `In the future, it will be quite possible to be sitting at the UT while participating in a lecture in America, Canada, China or for that matter, anywhere in the world,' says Nihuka.
For Africa, the potential advantages offered through the adaptation of electronic-learning environments, and visual resources such as CD-Roms, will allow for new learning opportunities and set the wheels in motion for educational changes that will advance the nation of Tanzania.
With the recent infusion of money offered from a long-standing partnership with the Swedish government, the Open University of Tanzania will be able to implement cost-effective, blended-educational programs that hold the promise of enhancing the quality and success of current traditional methods of education.
For Nihuka, the opportunity to be educated at the UT is an invaluable experience, he reflects, `Sometimes it's not in discovery that success is found, but in innovation.' In his current position, he appears poised to make changes to develop educational initiatives for his university. `I can't wait to start initiating some processes to make use of modern technology. I really feel my dream of finding out how technology can be used in education is being addressed at the UT.'
