asked the Minister for Education if she will establish a formal link with the Open University, Open Tech and Open College schemes operating in Northern Ireland in order that in return for a financial contribution, these schemes could be tailored to meet the needs of, and be easily available to, residents of this State.
Written Answers. - Distance Education Link.
109.
The National Distance Education Council were established in 1985. The council's primary function is to support the development of a national distance education programme. The council through their executive arm at the National Distance Education Centre at NIHE, Dublin are already providing courses, including a degree course. An integral part of their approach is to establish links with other distance education learning systems in other countries.
As the distance education programme is only evolving at present and all available resources in this area are being directed towards its development it would be premature to speculate on possible future links with particular distance learning systems.