New Delhi: In yet another step towards spreading education to far-flung areas, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) will offer Tele-Education services to all the 53 countries of the African Union (AU).

The announcement was made by Prof. V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice Chancellor of the varsity.

The Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) and IGNOU have already inked an agreement to set up a satellite and Optic Fibre based 'Pan-African e-Network'. The network connects India with 53 member countries of the African Union.

Once in place, the setup will enable IGNOU to offer electronic content in wide ranging educational domains for all the 53 African countries, including Post Graduation, Graduation and Diploma, Certificate level programmes in the fields of Science, Engineering, Arts, Business Administration, Healthcare, Nurses' Training and Teachers' training.

Further, IGNOU will also organize lectures and create e-content in collaborating with TCIL and Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.