Policies on distance education, accessibility, and digital technologies applied to education in Angola and South Africa

Abstract

Using a qualitative approach and a comparative critical document analysis method, this article analyzes Distance Education, Accessibility, and Digital Technologies Applied to Education policies in Angola and South Africa. The results indicate that, from a normative-legal point of view, Angolan policy largely aligns with South African policy. Policies focused on distance education in Angola are very well structured and in line with regional and international standards. The dilemma lies in the fact that in Angola, issues such as the high rate of youth unemployment, which consequently generates low access to digital technologies, information, and connectivity among this segment of the population (the majority of the country), makes distance education, at least for now, a potentially exclusionary teaching modality, rather than one that guarantees educational inclusion as intended.