COMPARING PIONEER AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES' EXTRA-MURAL SERVICES 1945-2010

The first and subsequent African universities¿ extra- mural work began after the middle of the 1940s; these universities worked through organs known as ¿Institutes of Extra-Mural Studies¿. These institutes have gone through many phases of development and having entered a new millennium full of peculiar challenges, they now beg for rehabilitation; they currently lack the 21st century technologies which should have enabled them function optimally. In spite of this deficiency, these institutes still remain relevant to African developmental needs. For example, they are relevant to the actualization of the Millennium Development Goals, to the efforts at reaching the largest possible number of learners with education and to the process of reaching the unreached and disadvantaged groups through community development and education work; they also remain relevant to the actualization of various regional vision agendas. On the comparative scale, Lesotho and Ghana are adjusting to the demands of the 21st century, faster and better than Nigeria.