PHOTOGRAMMETRIC EDUCATION IN THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 
Mr. R. Oluwole Coker 
Federal Survey Department 
Lagos, Nigeria. 
INTRODUCTION 
In the developing countries, photogrammetry is used almost 
exclusively for mapping. Consequently, the development of 
photogrammetric services has been dependent on the development 
of cartographic services. Although India and some countries 
of South East Asia could boast of cartographic services 
which antedated those of some of the developed..countries yet 
very few of the developing countries have well developed 
‘photogrammetric services. To some extent this is because until 
about the beginning of the second half of this century only 
Egypt, Ethiopia and Liberia, in the developing parts of 
Africa, and the Latin American countries were independent 
countries; the rest of the developing countries were colonial 
territories. These developing countries, with very few 
exceptions, had a legacy of weak and ineffective cartographic 
services from their colonial masters. In some countries there 
were no cartographic services at all. 
The cartographic services of the former colonial masters were 
still available to almost all of the developing countries after 
attaining independence. The facilities in photogrammetry in 
some of the developed countries were also made available to’ 
them usually under technical assistance. As a result very low 
priority was given to the development of cartographic and photo- 
grammetric services in most of the developing countries since 
they could rely on the apparent generosity of the developed 
countries.’ Only a few of the developing countries have photo- 
grammetric plotting machines. 
With such weak photogrammetric services, it is not surprising 
that there has been very little pressure to intensify photogram- 
metric. education in the developing countries generally. Further- 
more, education, including photogrammetric education, had been 
the responsibility of the colonial powers and low priority had 
been given to scientific and technical education. Even those 
countries with proud records of achievements in surveying and 
mapping like Egypt and India did not at first embrace photogram- 
metry with the same enthusiasm partly because of the inertia in