Prof. Rose Ruto-Korir Elected as COMOSA Chapter Chair for Africa

I am pleased to announce that Prof. Rose Ruto-Korir has been elected as the Chapter Chair for Africa, succeeding Charity Chibwe Mbolela Bwalya. Her position was confirmed on Monday 17 August 2020.

Rose Ruto-Korir (Ph.D., M.Phil., B.Ed.), holds a Ph.D. (2010), from the University of Pretoria- Republic of South Africa, and is currently the Director of the Institute of Open and Distance Learning, as well as an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology of Moi University, School of Education. In the past, she led teams in her role as the Postgraduate Coordinator in the School of Education for five years, and as the Associate Dean of the School of Education. Rose also mentor’s undergraduate, Master and Doctoral students, besides being a peer reviewer for Universities in Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, and Uganda. She is a distinguished scholar having researched and presented in international refereed academic conferences, and published in peer-refereed journals, and books. Rose is also currently an adjunct Faculty in the East and Southern African German Centre of Excellence in Educational Research and Management (CERM-ESA), were taught, supervised and facilitated training during the F2F and online sessions designed for Faculty.

Rose has had a distinguished career as a team leader in various positions, as a university teacher-educator for the past 26 years with vast experience in University policy formulation, senior-level management and leadership. As the IODL Director she has led a team to develop modules, and enhanced visibility of the Institute through an eNewsletter, besides concluding an ODL policy review. Currently, she is coordinating collaboration with the Commonwealth of Learning to support lecturers use online modules, and to integrate employability skills in their module development. In the past, she supported the Partnerships of Enhanced Blended Learning, under the Association of Commonwealth Universities to do a quality audit of blended learning processes at Moi University, as well as supporting, among others, in the development of the Quality Manual for Blended learning. She also represents Moi University, which is one of the founding Trustees, at the Kenya Education Network (KENET) Board of Management.

She is passionate about the use of technology, especially in online instructional design and online learning through training received from the Open University of UK. She has collaborated with various colleagues from various contexts using various technological tools, such as Skype for Business, Google Docs, Zoom, Google Meeting and other media platforms. She has also trained in Microsoft Deep Dive in Office 365, a critical foundation for the 21 st century skills required to communicate and collaborate with the various stakeholders in the vast African continent, and with the COMOSA family across the globe.

Rose believes that technology enhances opportunities for all who can access it. Yet, for out-of-school children and youth, lack of access to quality education is a threat and a risk to their optimal personal and community wellbeing. Buoyed by this belief, in her own initiatives, she supported disadvantaged children to access education. She will draw lessons from these engagements to advocate for Open Schooling so that many more children can access quality learning. Throughout her entire career, she has engaged with schools at the community level, to offer school management support, pro bono. She brings into the Commonwealth of Learning Association (COMOSA), her vast experience in teacher education, open learning, and the scholarship of child development and education, and youth and adolescent development to enhance evidence-based mitigation to out of school youth and children. She will champion the use of technology as an enabler to access opportunities for out of school children and youth in the African Chapter. Rose believes in teamwork and networking to Open Schooling initiatives, with other stakeholders, and colleagues beyond academia in Africa and beyond. Her vision during her tenure as the African Chair of COMOSA is to enhance the Open Schooling initiatives, initiated by her predecessors, and other COMOSA stakeholders, to create safer and sustainable livelihoods and peaceful communities.

Rose stands by the following quote from Mahatma Gandhi, “If we are to reach real peace in the world, we shall have to begin with the children.“