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The vision that drives the New Economic Programme for Africa's Development is not unrealistic, chairman of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) steering committee Wiseman Nkuhlu said yesterday.

Opening the first-ever African ministerial conference on open learning and distance education, he said Nepad was driven by a "people's vision" of African recovery, renewal and renaissance.

"In my official duties I have travelled enough to see that this vision is catching fire and catching hold all over the African continent and throughout the African Diaspora.

"Having and holding this vision of the African century, of course, does not mean that we have succumbed to an unrealistic fantasy, because we know very well, with complete clarity of vision, the challenges faced by our continent as we climb out of the depths of despair into which we have been cast by our history".

Nkuhlu said the conference, which is backed by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, would help realise the Nepad vision.

"Achieving the goals of education for all, open, free and quality education, for all our children by 2015, is no small task.

The challenges of establishing our education system at every level are enormous.... Within the framework of Nepad, however, we can proceed to set realistic goals".

Nkuhlu was standing in for President Thabo Mbeki, who he also serves as economic adviser, and Deputy President Jacob Zuma, who were in turn scheduled to give the opening address and who both bowed out.

The three-day meeting, being attended by 28 African education ministers, is seeking to explore notions of open learning, distance learning and e-learning.

Organisers hope it will come up with strategies for developing quality distance education in individual countries, and strategies fore regional or continental collaboration in this field. – Sapa.

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