One of those rural teachers seeking to earn a further diploma by distance instruction from the University of Pretoria is Constance Wakeni, who teaches biology and agriculture at Zweliwele High School, in Idutywa, a village in the eastern part of the country. I want to become a deputy principal or a principal one day. Although the further diploma is taught in English, Ms. Wakeni is not fluent in the language. Distance courses offered by the University of Pretoria may lead to a bachelor's degree in banking or to various master's and doctoral degrees. Students include several hundred from Britain, other European nations, Australia, and several African countries.
Education is the most popular subject among the university's distance students.
Of the 30,000 distance learners, about 25,000 are studying for a further diploma in education management, taught through correspondence classes, Mr. Boon said. In addition to the education students, about 3,500 postgraduate distance learners at the University of Pretoria receive study material electronically, via e-mail, World Wide Web sites, and television. While residential students are lectured in Afrikaans and English, distance students are taught only in English. Offering distance education in English broadens the potential audience for the course, to include black Africans and non-Afrikaans white South Africans. A similar pattern has emerged at the University of Port Elizabeth.