Universities in
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Asia
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International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 2 No. 1, 2001, pp. 21-37.
#MCB University Press, 1467-6370
Distance education,
environmental education
and sustainability
An overview of universities in
Commonwealth Asia
Farrukh Tahir
Department of Basic Sciences, Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Pakistan
Keywords Environment, Education, Sustainable development, Surveys
Abstract Commonwealth countries in Asia are a mixed group, small in number but varying in size from Singapore to India. This paper starts by looking briefly at the current status of distance education in universities in Commonwealth Asia and then presents an overview of the current status and place of environmental education in a sample of higher-education institutions in some Commonwealth countries. Finally, the paper describes a survey conducted in a number of higher-education institutions specialising in distance higher-education in Commonwealth nations across Asia, with subsequent considerations of trends seen in Pakistan.
Background
Asia contains the countries with the highest populations in the world, and, to some extent, countries in the region share many common identical socio-economic as well as environmental problems. Many cities in these countries are said to be
among the most polluted ones in the world (Hardoy et al., 1992). In the global
context it is becoming impossible to find a suitable compromise between the prevalent pattern of population growth and the environmental situation CONNECT (1992).
Owing to the nature of the information that the present study intends to examine, i.e. distance teaching in Commonwealth Asia with emphasis on higher education institutions (Table I), a survey was decided on as being the best data acquisition technique to use within the range of techniques available for research on environmental education involving different variables. It had the advantage of reaching a reasonably large group of people, providing the means for assessing a number of different characteristics and ensuring the possibility of participation of socially, economically and geographically distant groups of people (Moser and Kalton, 1992).
According to UNESCO (1986a, b) size, rate of growth, population and mobility of the population are important components for educational policy in the region. There are extreme differences both in economic performance and in educational achievement amongst Asian countries (Filho, 1990). The demands for higher education are growing, and cannot be met, even though higher education receives a large share of education budgets.
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Moreover, inequalities of access according to socio-economic backgrounds, age, sex or race are noticeable. One solution to this problem has been seen as the provision of ``distance education'' (IEEP, 1987).
The development of distance education in Commonwealth Asia
In a modern society, distance education education programmes are no longer looked upon as a vehicle for repairing some shortcomings of education systems, but as a regular and necessary element of them ± and not only for some particular and rather marginal target groups, but for quite central functions within the education system, serving considerable parts of the adult population (Sirajul Islam, 1986).
In this connection, the role of distance education can be as under:
. ``second chance'' up-grading: after leaving the educational system when
people want to think of up-grading their education in order to compete for better jobs;
. information and education campaigns for large audiences: with the help
of mass media such as television, to educate the adults on topics related to the environment;
. speedy and efficient training of key target groups: when curriculum
changes are introduced in the system, it may be necessary to offer specific teacher training programmes to considerable numbers of teachers in a very short time;
. education for otherwise neglected target groups: for instance,
women's matric programme in AIOU. Under the assistance from the Government of The Netherlands, the AIOU started Women's Matric (Secondary Level Certificate) Education Project. Initially targeted to some selected areas, it has become a regular programme being offered by this University;
. expanding the capacity for education in new areas: the regular formal
system is often late in recognising new educational needs and expanding capacity to offer regular programmes. Distance education institutions are much more flexible and are able to enrol large numbers of students within a short time;
Table I.
The countries of Commonwealth Asia investigated
1. Bangladesh 2. Brunei Darussalam 3. India
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. extending geographical access to education: it is the most obvious role
for distance education, not only to rural and urban areas but to people living in sparsely populated areas;
. the combination of education with work and family life: many adults
prefer to continue in work while they are studying. Here distance education can provide a more flexible opportunity in time;
. multiple competencies: it is as if competence in a second or third field
has to be added after the initial education for the first career. Distance education adds flexibility to the education system and helps people to meet new challenges in their personal careers.
With regard to the provision for environmental education in distance education specifically, a number of trends/needs are worth mentioning. According to Irvine (1994), up to that year, there were just nine different courses and one complete programme on environmental education offered via distance education in the Commonwealth. The International Centre for Distance Learning's database, run by the Open University at Milton Keynes, UK also revealed that there are only 12institutions in the Commonwealth offering environmental education courses by distance teaching, six of which are in Australia, one each in Kenya, Fiji, the UK, Canada and two in South Africa. These figures have changed a great deal since, because new courses are being prepared and offered on a regular basis, showing that increasing numbers of adults need some alternative methods of education.
Distance teaching as a vehicle for non-formal education is one means which appears to provide an answer to such needs. The term ``distance teaching'' includes the use of newspapers, pamphlets, magazines, books, radio, television, film and the postal services as sources of teaching. And this modality of education has the benefit of reaching people who may otherwise not be able to access information on the environment. Its uses range from primary through tertiary education and in the different areas of non-formal education.
According to the research conducted by Padgham (1995) and Tahir (1996) on Commonwealth Asia, there is a lack of integration of environmental education into Open University courses and distance teaching programmes, as such establishments are often in relatively early developmental stages within many Commonwealth countries. The Commonwealth survey performed by another researcher, Murphy (1994), also indicated the same.
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Nepal, a training programme for teachers by radio is in operation. Thailand and Indonesia make extensive use of media in their non-formal education.
In recent years, there have been dramatic developments in distance education at university level (CERI, 1973). In the 1960s and early 1970s, a few schemes started, mostly as extension or correspondence departments of existing universities: these include a number of Indian universities and the Universiti Sains Malaysia Off-Campus programme. In 1974, the Allama Iqbal Open University, Pakistan (then the People's Open University) admitted its first students. The Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) serves as a strong vehicle for the promotion of distance education in the Asian region. The picture today is as follows:
. Burma: The Open University has been established.
. China: Central Radio and Television University, restarted late 1970s. . India: Andhra Pradesh Open University established 1982. Indira Gandhi
National Open University, established 1985.
. Indonesia: Universitas Terbuka, first enrolments in 1984.
. Republic of Korea: Korean Air and Correspondence University;
established as Junior College 1972, full university since 1982.
. Pakistan: Allama Iqbal Open University: first students admitted in 1974. . Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka Open University, established as Sri Lanka Institute
of Distance Education in 1976.
. Thailand: Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, first enrolments in
1980.
This remarkable growth has had two important results. First, it has led to a stronger community of interest within Asia, towards creative, innovative approaches to higher education at a distance. Second, it has led to an overshadowing of distance education for other purposes. While some countries have secondary-level distance education institutes, these seem to attract little interest. Some of the Open Universities are concerned with teacher training. But, on the whole, the glamour of the Open University idea has led to an under-exploitation of distance education to meet the very substantial needs at secondary level and for professional training. The potential of distance education for non-formal education as a tool for rural development has been largely neglected, with the result that the term distance education is, by many in Asia, thought to apply only to open universities (Janet, 1988).
In each of the Asian Commonwealth countries, distance education focusing on the environment and on sustainability is developing its own distinctive pattern, as discussed briefly in the following case studies.
Case study 1 ± Bangladesh
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constant one in development planning, as it has increasingly been adding to the magnitude of the problem, with limited resources to address it effectively. In recent years, the migration of people from rural areas to urban areas has been on the increase, creating immense pressure on land, housing, education, sanitation and other social overheads. There has also been a reduction in forest cover, owing to the substantial needs of millions of people. The country is extremely vulnerable to natural disasters, causing heavy strain on the nation's delicate ecological balance.
The coverage of the environment in the higher education sector is rather disjointed. At the degree stage, in all universities, ecology is a component covered under Botany and Zoology. At the post-graduate level, there is a compulsory paper on ecology in Botany. There are also courses on Environmental and Resources Management in Geography. Environmental Engineering courses are offered at both the graduate and postgraduate levels at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. However, the following institutes/ departments offer environmental education programmes (Tahir, 1996):
(1) Bangladesh± Islamic University, Department of Economics.
(2) Bangladesh± Jahangirnagar University, Department of Environmental Studies.
Case study 2 ± Malaysia
The Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is unique among the six Malaysian universities, in that it is the only one authorised to deliver a Distance Education (DE) programme to home-based adult students in the country. There are no distance education programmes in the school sector in Malaysia, nor is there any vocational or career-oriented distance education programme (Dhanarajan, 1986). The USM is also unique among the Distance Teaching Institutes (DTI) of the ASEAN region, in that it is one of the very few conventional dual mode universities having such a programme.
Its monopoly, in the Malaysian context, is essentially a result of a governmental directive precluding the other five universities from operating similar programmes. Such (monopolies) decisions are arrived at after considerable discussions with the universities, in order to maximize the returns from the limited financial, human and other infrastructure investments of a small country.
The programme was launched in 1971 on an experimental basis and it continued to be so until 1982when its status was changed from one of experiment to that of a regular programme, thereby giving it the status of an established faculty and permanence. In its 16 years of existence, the programme has changed structurally and academically. Today it is poised to play an even greater role in Malaysia's attempts to bring higher education to its diverse population.
The off-campus academic programme of Universiti Sains Malaysia
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The courses
Like any other organization involved in distance education, the creative act of teaching is divided among different persons. At USM, teaching is performed by:
. A lecturer or team of lecturers from the Centre of Off-Campus Studies, or
from any of the other faculties of the University, who create the printed material as well as conceptualize and sometimes produce other media supplements. In these tasks the teacher can avail himself/herself of instructional design and other (editorial) expertise located in the center. Technical and design expertise is also available from the Centre for Educational Technology of the University.
. A lecturer or lecturers who manages the course when it is delivered to
the students. These individuals are responsible for preparing the assignment, examination and conduct of the intensive course from year-to-year. Course managers need not be, though they often are, the same individuals who create the courses in the first place.
. The regional tutor who meets with the students, in the many study
centres, throughout the academic year.
All of these teachers are expected to work together with the knowledge that the whole operation encompasses a single teaching act, even though their individual efforts are separately created or performed. It is therefore essential that a carefully devised plan be prepared for course development, with complete awareness of the other person's responsibilities (Table II).
Support systems
In order to ameliorate as many of the disadvantages of self-learning as possible, the excellent high school and teacher-training college systems spread throughout
Different modes How each mode is used
1. Print This is the principal teaching instrument. All of the knowledge for a course is presented in an interactive text. Two styles are followed, often mixing both. In one form, a comprehensive study guide is written around a recognised textbook or book of readings. In the second form, especially in the science and mathematics courses, comprehensive interactive texts are created. These include all of the content a course needs.
2. Radio Used weekly for counselling and general information purposes. 3. Cassettes This medium is used for direct teaching, comprehension and review. 4. Interpersonal Dual mode institutions have a distinct advantage in the availability of
human academic talent. The annual residential school of three weeks provides unlimited access for students to course writers, course managers and other academics for consultation. During the rest of the year, the university makes available for consultation regionally-based part-time tutors, especially for science and mathematics courses. These tutors are regularly trained for their jobs by the University.
Table II.
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Malaysia are used. These physical facilities were needed to provide space for laboratory exercises, tutorial classes, library resources and examinations.
Case study 3 ± Sri Lanka
The Open University of Sri Lanka was established in 1978. The media of instruction used are as follows:
. Printed material. Course material is prepared by especially selected
course teams from both within and without, and every effort is made to follow the principles of instructional technology for distance study in the preparation of course material.
. Audio and video tapes. Audio cassettes are used to some extent to
supplement printed material, and video very much less.
. Computers.
. Face-to-face teaching. This is done through workshops, seminars and
laboratory work, the scope and frequency of which are determined by the particular character and needs of a programme of study.
. Two-way communication. Assignments form an important element in
the teaching process. They are marked and returned to students with comments. Assignments carry a component of marks in the final examination grade.
. Regional services.A system of regional centres and study centres helps
to service the students in distant areas. They serve both as resource centres and as places where face-to-face instruction is provided.
Environmental education for higher education in Sri Lanka
The Constitution of Sri Lanka imposes a duty on the citizens to ``protect nature and conserve its riches''. Apart from the constitutional obligations, the ethical, religious and cultural heritage of Sri Lanka predispposes its people to appreciate and protect the natural environment.
The approach of environmental education at all levels is essentially multidisciplinary.
A recent survey has revealed that no doubt the existing syllabuses include environmental and, to a limited extent, some sustainability components, but the teaching of the same has to be improved by training the teachers and providing teaching aids. Table III shows the universities providing environmental education via distance education in Sri Lanka.
Institution Department
Sri Lanka
1. Eastern University of Sri Lanka Zoology
2. Open University of Sri Lanka Faculty of Natural Sciences
Table III.
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Case study 4 ± India
The roots of distance education in India are rather deep. The Open University came into existence in 1982, but its work has been expanded considerably and other universities are also active in this field (Table IV). The Constitution and the national policies on environment, population and education provide certain safeguards for environmental protection and the necessity of arresting the rapidly growing population. This also calls for using the educational process as an instrument for creating awareness and consciousness about the environment and population among the youth through formal and non-formal education and mass literacy campaigns.
The instructional materials developed in the form of syllabus, textbooks, teacher's guide, evaluation items and supplementary reading materials include environmental concepts and population aspects, keeping in view the age of the children and teachers of particular school stages.
The teacher education programmes, both pre-service and in-service, generally are based on the content given in the school curriculum and these are being updated accordingly with the environmental and population dimensions. The teacher training is being upgraded through a separate training programme on environment and population and also integrating these areas into the existing teacher training programmes. The other functionaries, such as educational planners and administrators, are also being familiarised with environmental education.
In the higher education sector various universities/research institutions provide courses on environmental sciences, ecology, oceanography, wild life, forestry, geography and economics which contain environment and population components. Postgraduate and research level courses are offered in a number of universities, as seen in Table V (Tahir, 1996).
Case study 5 ± Pakistan
In Pakistan, necessary steps have been taken to include the concepts of environmental education in the primary, secondary and tertiary level. The government has prepared textbooks for classes nine and ten, which included environmental education as a course for their students. Departments of environmental studies have been established in some of the universities. The following institutions offer environmental training courses at university level:
. Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan.
. Gomal University, Faculty of Agriculture, D.I. Khan.
. Quaid-i-Azam University, Department of Biological Science, Islamabad.
. University of Karachi, Institute of Environmental Studies and Water
Research Centre, Karachi.
. Department of Educational Planning and Management, Allama Iqbal
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Table IV.
The present state of distance education in India S. No University Institute
Year of establishment
1. University of Allahabad Institute of Correspondence
Courses and Continuing Education 1978
2. Andhra Pradesh OU ± 1982
3. Andhra University School of Correspondence Courses 1982 4. Annamalai University Directorate of Correspondence
Courses and Continuing Education 1972 5. Bangalore University Directorate of Correspondence
Courses 1979
6. Bhopal University Institute of Correspondence
Courses ±
7. University of Bombay Directorate of Distance Education 1975 8. University of Calicut Institute of Correspondence Courses
and Continuing Education 1971 9. Central Institute of English
and Foreign Languages
Department of Correspondence Courses
±
10. Cochin University of Science
and Technology School of Continuing Education 1973 11. University of Delhi School of Correspondence Courses 1971 12. GB Pant University of
Agriculture and Technology Directorate of Extension 1962 13. Gujarat Agricultural University Directorate of Extension Education ± 14. Himachal Pradesh University Directorate of Correspondence
Courses ±
15. Indira Gandhi National University
± ±
16. Jadavpur University Adult, Continuing Education and
Extension Centre 1985 17. Jamia Milia Islamia Urdu Correspondence Course ± 18. University of Jammu Institute of Correspondence
Education 1970 19. Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi
Vishwa-Vidyalaya Directorate of Extension 1976 20. Jawaharlal Nehru Technological
University Centre for Distance Education ± 21. Kakatiya University Department of Education 1984 22. University of Kashmir Department of Distance Education ± 23. University of Kerala Institute of Correspondence Courses ± 24. Kurukshetra University Directorate of Correspondence
Courses 1976
25. University of Madras Institute of Correspondence Education 1976 26. Madurai Kamaraj University Institute of Correspondence Course
and Continuing Education 1981 27. Meerut University Institute of Correspondence Course and
Continuing Education ± 28. Mohanlal Sukhadia University College of Correspondence Studies 1969 29. University of Mysore Institute of Correspondence Course 1979 30. Osmania University Institute of Correspondence
Course 1970
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Table IV.
S. No University Institute
Year of establishment
31. Punjab University Directorate of Correspondence
Course 1977
32. Patna University Institute of Correspondence Course 1971 33. University of Poona Distance Education Centre 1974 34. Punjab Agricultural University Department of Extension
Education 1983 35. Punjabi University Directorate of Correspondence
Course ±
36. University of Rajasthan Institute of Correspondence Studies 1968 37. SNDT Women's University Department of Correspondence Course 1979 38. Sri Venkateswara Institute of Correspondence Course 1972 39. Tamil Nadu Agricultural
University
Directorate of Extension Education 1974
40. Utkal University Directorate of Correspondence
Courses ±
Table V.
A sample of environment-oriented courses offered at Indian universities
Institution Department
1. Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur Zoology
2. University of Mysore Department of Physics 3. Nagarjuna University Environmental Sciences 4. Punjab Agricultural University Entomology
5. Madurai-Kamaraj University School of Energy Sciences
6. Indian Institute of Technology Centre for Environmental Technology 7. Indian School of Mines Science and Engineering
8. Jawaharlal Nehru Technology University Centre of Environmental Mining 9. University of Jammu School of Environmental Science 10. Indian Institute of Technology Bio-sciences
11. Indian Institute of Science Civil engineering 12. Gandhigram Rural Institute Botany
13. Gauhati University Biology
14. Goa University Environmental Science 15. Birla Institute of Technology and Science
Distance Learning Programme Division Microbiology
16. Bharathiar University Department of Environmental Science 17. Chitrakut Gramodaya Vishwa-Vidyalaya Environmental Science
18. Madurai-Kamaraj University School of Energy Sciences 19. Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur Centre for Environment 20. Dr Babasaheb R. Ambedkar Open University Science and Engineering 21. Birla Institute of Technology and Science
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. Department of Science Education, Institute of Education & Research,
University of the Punjab, Lahore-54590.
. Department of Environmental Studies, PO Box 1439, University of
Peshawar, Peshawar.
. Environmental Engineering Department in NED University of
Engineering and Technology, Karachi.
. Environmental education as a course in the revised curriculum for MEd
programme offered throughout Pakistan.
. Fatima Jinnah Women's University, Rawalpindi, Department of
Environmental Science.
. National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Rawalpindi,
Environmental Engineering Programme (MSc).
One of the most comprehensive avenues of non-formal education at university level in Pakistan is the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), which was established in 1974 by an act of Parliament (Satyanarayana and Koul, 1990). Among its original objectives was to serve Pakistan's rural masses by ``providing facilities for their educational uplift across barriers of time, space, race and class''. Administered through 35 regional offices, the AIOU now offers an entire ladder of educational services. The ladder incorporates over 180 courses, beginning at the pre-literacy level and extending through the MPhil and other postgraduate degree programmes. In this university an entire faculty of mass education was established in 1995, with the aim of providing functional and technical education at basic level and fulfilling the university commitment that basic functional education courses would constitute no less than 24 percent of all university offerings. The university has now acquired the services of an independent television channel, the Educational Channel (PTV-2). Mass media are also an effective and influential means of conveying important messages. The university offers courses in a variety of subjects at all levels of education using television, radio, extension teachers, regional centres, and courses through mail. As population and health issues are the entry points for organising and empowering people, education and communication are the keys to bringing them further into the mainstream, especially contributing towards the betterment of the environment.
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and society can play in the participation and decision making that affect our environment (World Conservation Union/IUCN, 1995).
There has been a continuous increase in course offerings, with some programmes being outlined in Table VI. The number of courses has increased from six in 1975-1976 to nearly 3,000 in the year 2000. Some of the programmes, i.e. 38, are listed in Table VI.
Table VI.
Course/programme offerings in AIOU
S No. Programme(s)
1. Integrated Functional Literacy programme 2. Basic Functional Education Programme (BFEP) 3. Primary Education (abridged)
4. Matric (women)
5. Primary Teacher's Certificate (PTC)
6. Primary Teacher's Orientation Course (PTOC) 7. Certificate in Teaching (CT)
8. Daftri Urdu Certificate for Federal/Provincial Government Officers 9. Elementary Arabic
10. Arabic Teachers Training Course (ATTC) 11. Agricultural courses (functional non-credit) 12. Non-credit functional courses (industrial arts) 13. Intermediate
14. Bachelor
15. Bachelor in Mass Communication 16. Bachelor of Commerce
17. Bachelor of Business Administration 18. Bachelor of Education (General) 19. Bachelor of Arabic
20. Master in Special Education
21. Master in Education, Planning and Management 22. Master in Teaching of English Language (TEFL) 23. Master in Business Administration
24. Master in Pakistan Studies 25. Master in Special Education 26. Certificate in Librarianship
27. Postgraduate Professional Certificate in Business Administration 28. Postgraduate Diploma in English Language Teaching (ELT) 29. Diploma in Teaching of English as an International Language 30. Diploma in Special Education
31. Diploma in TEFL 32. Diploma in EPM
33. Diploma in Computer Applications (DCA) 34. Diploma in Computer Maintenance (DCM) 35. MPhil (Iqbaliat)
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The International Centre for Distance Learning (ICDL) recently recorded ten courses covering the theme of environment and more than 100 courses covering the theme of environmental education in all these programmes. Some of them are:
. Geography of Pakistan.
. Principles of Management.
. General Science.
. Home Management and Home Furnishing.
. Teaching of Biology.
. Introduction to Behavioural Sciences.
. Pakistani Society and Culture.
. Principles of Commercial and Development Banking.
. Science and its Teaching.
. Handicapped Persons in the Community.
. Forestry Extension.
. Livestock Management.
. Environmental Design.
The problems faced
Population pressures, rising energy consumption, resource depletion, pollution, ecosystem degradation and urban population explosions are some of the environmental problems we are all facing (UNEP, 1985). Distance teaching is also not without obvious disadvantages. The major disadvantages can be impersonality, the high degree of self-discipline required, the complex organisation necessary to maintain high standards in the preparation of materials, the unsuitability of some home environments as regards studying conditions and physical inability to study after a hard day's work (Rashid, 1982).
The establishment of study centres in a distance teaching system is generally based on the following seven considerations, especially in developing countries:
(1) None of the distance teaching students will normally have had any experience in self-directed study.
(2) Many of them will be high-school leavers lacking the motivation of further studying.
(3) Their geographical location is bound to create the problem of isolation. (4) Individual access to television and even radio are not possible.
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(6) The Open University approach aims to play a role in the development of communities where centres are located.
(7) It is believed that much of the success of the Open University approach depends on the extent to which three needs of the students are met. These needs are:
. to learn how to study effectively and efficiently on one's own;
. for general advice, help and encouragement; and
. for assistance to set up and to run self-help groups.
In the work performed as part of a doctoral research (Tahir, 1996), the provision for the inclusion of environmental education using distance teaching methodology has been analysed. The main problems identified were:
. Environmental education has been considered to be a ``a good thing'' since
its inception in the early 1960s, but there has never been general agreement on the best way to undertake it. This results, partly, from valid differences of opinion between institutions/individuals involved but, nonetheless, must also be an inevitable consequence of the vast amount of subject material that could be included in an ``ideal'' course. It has been seen that there is some provision/implementation of environmental education in sampled countries. The departments and faculties of these countries are predominantly from the Natural Sciences, Agriculture and Engineering. There is still a need to incorporate environmental education more fully into the Social Sciences, the Arts and the Humanities, among others. In practice, any attempt to institute such an attempt is precluded by limitations on course length, student aptitude and student interests (e.g. the main motivating force of environmental education in the sampled university (AIOU) is the perceived global environmental crisis and the local environmental problems). These realities, which also apply to the subject-matter of sustainability, determine that university courses in environmental education (Environmental Science, Environmental Studies and other kindred courses) must be based on a careful selection of the subject and its material support.
. The main problems that are common and related to the provision of
``environmental'' courses at the sampled universities are the
unavailability of teaching and learning materials, the lack of adequate methodologies, the lack of funds and the pedagogical skills of the staff and the diversity of the target groups and their needs.
. Although the NCS (Pakistan) have made some provisions for the
inclusion of environmental education in the conservation process, some aspects such as teacher training, legislation and policy have been neglected until now.
. The analysis of AIOU courses have suggested that some commendable
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education into the universities' teaching. However, their major objectives do not go beyond transmission of technical knowledge and enhancement of students' awareness.
Recommendations for further action
Asian countries as a whole, and Pakistan in particular, are entering the twenty-first century and this could be hastened by the adoption of more distance education initiatives. The development of the country is an important goal, and so is the environmental education which must be given to its citizens in order to nurture the earth's resources (Filho and Hale, 1992). The concept of sustainable development therefore also needs to be incorporated into the current curriculum (IUCN (1980), IUCN/UNEP/WWF (1991)). It may be necessary to challenge more traditional approaches of environmental use and develop new ways of thinking and increased participation in the solving of environmental problems.
As AIOU relies on a multimedia approach for educating people, even in the most remote corners of the country, environmental education can be easily delivered here through specifically targeted radio shows and extension programmes, also relating to other sectors (e.g. literacy, forestry, agriculture, health and family planning). Also, the new programmes/packages devised by the AIOU can support and balance the deficiencies in the formal system to further highlight the focus on sustainable development issues.
On the other hand, distance teaching institutions need contact and collaboration with ``conventional'' institutions in developing environmental education programmes. It is often wise to mix distance learning with elements of direct tuition in seminars, particularly in programmes of long duration. It is also a common experience that, when teachers get some experience from distance education, they learn the importance of the careful planning of teaching activities. This often proves beneficial to their regular students. Distance education may therefore have positive effects on the quality of teaching in conventional institutions as well.
A major challenge now is to develop a system that will facilitate the use of a multidisciplinary approach to environment and sustainability issues. In such cases, students are provided with knowledge on how particular disciplines can help to solve environmental problems. These relate to the specialised components of the main courses, to their applications, as well as the procedures and practices involved in real situations. Courses may thus be highly specific in their content and structure but at the same time be flexible to cater for
introducing environmental elements into different educational levels
(undergraduate, postgraduate).
Future plans need to be made to further develop environmental education at tertiary and non-formal levels in Pakistan. These include:
. The incorporation of environmental education and sustainability issues
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. At college and university levels, faculty members should be encouraged
(and assisted) to develop optional courses on environmental issues showing the cross-disciplinary linkages.
. Distance education for the environment be encouraged by institutions
such as Allama Iqbal Open University.
. The new television channel (PTV-2) must provide opportunities for
environmental distance education programmes.
Conclusions
The Commonwealth countries in Asia can boast a few modest, reasonably successful initiatives in distance education on the environment. But, overall, there is still a great need for more work. There is also a need to create more opportunities ± in particular with regard to the training of staff at higher education institutions ± since this is an acute problem. The linkage between environmental education and sustainability matters is particularly important in the development of a broader sense of environmental awareness within the region and as a model for educational expansion in Pakistan in particular.
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