The Rev. Jesse Jackson announced Saturday that he and his organization want to pay for the accuser in the Duke University rape allegations to finish her education.

Speaking by phone from the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in Chicago, Jackson said he learned the woman, a 27-year-old student at N.C. Central University, has aspirations to finish her undergraduate degree and attend graduate or law school.

Meditating on the significance of Easter, Jackson was moved to offer his support to the woman at the center of the allegations, said his publicist, Jerry Thomas.

In the telephone interview, Jackson said he wants to pay for the woman to finish school, "so she will never again, in an act of desperation, have to expose her body.

"She should never again have to stoop that low to survive," he said. "That happens to all too many women."

He said he is waiting until the woman is "strong enough" to meet with him for prayer, and so he can formally offer her a scholarship. He said the offer stands, regardless of the outcome of the case.

On Saturday, Jackson said he has no plans to visit Durham immediately and has not had a chance to speak with the woman. He said he has talked to local ministers who have spoken with her family.

Reached by phone Saturday, the woman's mother was taken by surprise by Jackson's offer.

"I'll have to see what she thinks," the woman said of her daughter. "I think it will make her happy."