Strengthening and Sustaining the African
Higher Education and Research Space
(AHERS) through Information and
Communications Technology, Open and
Distance Learning, and Open Educational
Resources
May, 2012
Report prepared for the African
Development Bank
by
Sarah Hoosen, Neil Butcher, David
Hornsby, and Catherine Ngugi
1
Table of Contents
1
Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 7
1.1
Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 7
1.2
Overview of ICT, ODL, and OER ............................................................................................... 7
1.3
ICT and Higher Education ........................................................................................................ 7
1.3.1
ICT in Education Policies in Africa ................................................................................... 8
1.3.2
Continental and Regional Initiatives ............................................................................... 8
1.3.3
Institutional Use of ICT .................................................................................................... 8
1.3.4
Challenges in Policy and the Implementation of ICT in Higher Education...................... 9
1.4
ODL and Higher Education .................................................................................................... 11
1.4.1
Use of ODL, Good Practices, and Promising Approaches ............................................. 12
1.4.2
ODL Policies ................................................................................................................... 12
1.4.3
Opportunities ................................................................................................................ 13
1.4.4
Challenges in policy implementation and practice ....................................................... 13
1.5
Open Educational Resources (OER) and Higher Education................................................... 15
1.5.1
Open Licences ............................................................................................................... 15
1.5.2
The Power of OER ......................................................................................................... 15
1.5.3
Use of OER..................................................................................................................... 16
1.5.4
OER policies ................................................................................................................... 17
1.5.5
Challenges in policy implementation and practice ....................................................... 18
1.5.6
Opportunities ................................................................................................................ 18
1.6
General Areas for Action: Harnessing the Potential of ICT, ODL, and OER........................... 20
1.6.1
1.7
Roles of ICT, ODL, and OER in Establishing and Maintaining and AHERS ..................... 24
1.7.2
Roles of an AHERS in Supporting Effective Use of ICT, ODL, and OER .......................... 26
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 29
Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 30
2.1
3
Implications for an African Higher Education and Research Space ...................................... 24
1.7.1
1.8
2
Areas for Action ............................................................................................................ 20
Overview of ICT, ODL, and OER ............................................................................................. 30
ICT and Higher Education ............................................................................................................. 33
3.1
Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 33
3.2
ICT in Education Policies in Africa ......................................................................................... 34
3.3
Continental and Regional ICT Initiatives ............................................................................... 41
3.3.1
Association of African Universities (AAU) ..................................................................... 41
3.3.2
ADEA Working Group on Higher Education (WGHE) .................................................... 42
3.3.3
The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) ......................................................................... 42
3.3.4
UbuntuNet Alliance and other initiatives for Research and Education Networking .... 43
2
3.3.5
Inter-University Council of East Africa (IUCEA) ............................................................. 44
3.3.6
The Southern Africa Regional Universities Association (SARUA) .................................. 44
3.3.7
Regional Virtual Library Network .................................................................................. 44
3.3.8
Africa Virtual University (AVU) ...................................................................................... 45
3.3.9
PHEA Educational Technology Initiative (PHEA ETI) ..................................................... 45
3.4
3.4.1
Research ........................................................................................................................ 46
3.4.2
Teaching and learning ................................................................................................... 48
3.4.3
Use of ICT to Support Administration ........................................................................... 56
3.5
4
5
Institutional Use of ICT .......................................................................................................... 46
Challenges in Policy and the Implementation of ICT in Higher Education............................ 58
3.5.1
Policy ............................................................................................................................. 58
3.5.2
Infrastructure ................................................................................................................ 59
3.5.3
Bandwidth Constraints.................................................................................................. 60
3.5.4
Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation .......................................................................... 60
3.5.6
Technology-Led Initiatives ............................................................................................ 61
3.5.7
Shortage of Trained Professionals and Skilled Leaders ................................................ 61
3.5.8
Funding ICT in Higher Education ................................................................................... 62
3.5.9
Relevant Educational Content ...................................................................................... 63
3.5.10
Unequal Access to Resources ....................................................................................... 64
3.5.11
Computer/Network Security ......................................................................................... 64
Open and Distance Learning (ODL) and Higher Education .......................................................... 65
4.1
Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 65
4.2
Growth of ODL in Africa ........................................................................................................ 66
4.3
Activities across the Continent ............................................................................................. 66
4.4
Use of ODL, Good Practices, and Promising Approaches ..................................................... 68
4.5
ODL Policies ........................................................................................................................... 72
4.6
Opportunities ........................................................................................................................ 75
4.7
Challenges in Policy Implementation and Practice ............................................................... 75
4.7.1
Perceptions of ODL ....................................................................................................... 76
4.7.2
Funding for ODL ............................................................................................................ 77
4.7.3
Focus of Student Numbers to the Detriment of Quality............................................... 78
4.7.4
Quality Assurance ......................................................................................................... 78
4.7.5
Policy Status at Regional Level ...................................................................................... 79
4.7.6
Lack of ODL capacity ..................................................................................................... 80
4.7.7
Tackling Access .............................................................................................................. 80
Open Educational Resources (OER) and Higher Education .......................................................... 82
5.1
Open Licences ....................................................................................................................... 82
5.2
The Power of OER ................................................................................................................. 82
3
6
7
5.3
Use of OER............................................................................................................................. 83
5.4
OER policies........................................................................................................................... 89
5.5
Challenges in Policy Implementation and Practice ............................................................... 93
5.6
Opportunities ........................................................................................................................ 94
General Areas for Action: Harnessing the Potential of ICT, ODL, and OER .................................. 97
6.1
Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 97
6.2
Areas for Action .................................................................................................................... 98
6.2.1
Investing in the Policy Environment ............................................................................. 98
6.2.2
Development of Strategies at the Regional Level ......................................................... 99
6.2.3
Widening Access ......................................................................................................... 100
6.2.4
Capacity Building ......................................................................................................... 101
6.2.5
Quality Matters ........................................................................................................... 102
6.2.6
Enhancing Management, Administration, and Operations ........................................ 102
6.2.7
Content Creation and Knowledge Management ........................................................ 103
6.2.8
Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation ........................................................................ 103
6.2.9
Awareness-raising and advocacy ................................................................................ 104
Implications for an African Higher Education and Research Space ........................................... 105
7.1.1
Roles of ICT, ODL, and OER in Establishing and Maintaining and AHERS ................... 105
7.1.2
Roles of an AHERS in Supporting Effective Use of ICT, ODL, and OER ........................ 108
7.2
8
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 113
References .................................................................................................................................. 114
4
List of Abbreviations
AAU
ACDE
ADEA
AHERS
AISI
ASSAf
AUC
AUF
AVU
BCA
CC
CEMAC
CEND
CET
CHS
COL
COMESA
CoP
CSIR
CSRS
DATAD
DEASA
DEATA
DOAJ
EAC
ECCAS
ECOWAS
EFA
EIFL
ESP
EthERNet
ETI
FORST
GÉANT
IADP
ICDE
ICT
IGAD
IGO
IOC
IPR
ITB
IUECA
JABIS
KNUST
LCE
LINK
LMS
Association of African Universities
African Council for Distance Education
Association for the Development of Education in Africa
African Higher Education and Research Space
African Information Society Initiative (AISI)
Academy of Science of South Africa
African Union Commission
Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie
African Virtual University
Bunda College of Agriculture
Creative Commons
Central African Economic and Monetary Community
Centre for Distance Education
Centre for Educational Technology
College of Health Sciences
Commonwealth of Learning
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
Community of practice
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire
Database of African Theses and Dissertations
Distance Education Association of Southern Africa
Distance Education Association of Tanzania
Directory of Open Access Journals
East African Community
Economic Community of Central African States
Economic Community of Western African States
Education for All
Electronic Information for Libraries
Education Strategic Plan
Ethiopian Education and Research Network
Educational Technology Initiative
Formation à la Recherche et à la Spécialisation en Santé au Travail
Gigabit European Advanced Network Technology
International Association for Digital Publications
International Council for Distance Education
Information and Communication Technology
Inter-Governmental Authority for Development
International Governmental Organization
Indian Ocean Commission
Intellectual Property Rights
International Trace Bargaining
Inter-University Council for East Africa
Joint Admissions Board Information System
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Lesotho College of Education
Learning, Information and Knowledge Centre
Learning management systems
5
MDGs
MINEDAF
MIS
MoU
NADEOSA
NOLNet
NOUN
NREN
NUC
ODL
OER
OUT
PASDEP
PHEA
QA
QAAA
RICTSP
RUFORUM
SADC
SADC-CDE
SAIDE
SARUA
SciELO
SDPRP
SMS
TELESUN
TENET
TERNET
TESSA
UB
UCT
UDSM
UEM
UEMOA
UFH
UG
UNESCO
UNIMA
UNISA
UWC
VoIP
VSATS
VUSSC
WACREN
WCHE
WGDEOL
WGHE
ZOU
Millennium Development Goals
Ministers of Education of the African Member States
Management Information System
Memorandum of Understanding
National Association of Distance Education Organizations of South Africa
Namibian Open Learning Network Trust
National Open University of Nigeria
National Research and Education Network
National Universities Commission
Open and Distance Learning
Open Educational Resources
Open University of Tanzania
Plan for Accelerated and Sustainable Development to End Poverty
Partnership for Higher Education
Quality Assurance
Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency
Regional ICT Support Programme
Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture
Southern African development Community
SADC Centre for Distance Education
South African Institute of Distance Education
Southern Africa Regional Universities Association
Scientific Electronic Library Online
Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction Program
Short-Message-Service
TELEteaching System for Universities
Tertiary Education and Research Network of South Africa
Tanzanian Education and Research Network
Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa
University of Botswana
University of Cape Town
University of Dar es Salaam
University Eduardo Mondlane
Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest-Africaine (West African Economic and
Monetary Union)
University of Fort Hare
University of Ghana
United Nations Economic, Scientific and Cultural Organization
University of Malawi
University of South Africa
University of the Western Cape
Voice-over Internet Protocol
Very Small Aperture Terminals
Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth
West and Central African Research and Education Network
World Conference on Higher Education
Working Group on Distance Education and Open Learning
Working Group on Higher Education
Zimbabwe Open University
6
1 Executive Summary
1.1 Introduction
The African Higher Education and Research Space (AHERS) seeks to create opportunities for
institutional, national, regional, and continental collaboration using the common challenges
experienced by higher education institutions in Africa as the driving force behind this collaboration.
An initiative spearheaded by the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)
Working Group on Higher Education (WGHE), African Union Commission (AUC), United Nations
Economic, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Association of African Universities (AAU)
among others, the AHERS objectives are to strengthen the capacity of African higher education
institutions by stimulating collaboration in teaching and research, improving the quality of higher
education, and promoting academic mobility across the continent through the recognition of
academic qualifications.
Several aspects have been identified for fostering collaboration, among them promoting open and
distance learning (ODL) to improve access to tertiary education and effective use of information and
communication technology (ICT). This desk research report explores how ODL and ICT, as well as use
of open educational resources (OER), can serve to strengthen and sustain AHERS.
1.2 Overview of ICT, ODL, and OER
The past 15 years has seen rapid development of ICT-related activity in the higher education sector,
as higher education institutions and national systems deal with the challenge of how best to deploy
the potential of ICT to the benefit of students, academics, and countries. Whilst the dominant focus
has traditionally been on e-learning, its use for management, administration, and research are also
increasingly recognized. In addition, ICT has created a revolution in ODL by offering new and more
flexible learning opportunities, providing tools needed to extend education to underserved
geographical regions and groups of students, and empowering teachers and learners through
improved access to information. Another significant trend initiated by the explosion of the
emergence of OER, which frees all citizens – but particularly those in education – to author and
publish learning materials in openly licensed formats. In a nutshell, the concept of OERs describes
educational resources that are freely available for use by educators and learners, without an
accompanying need to pay royalties or licence fees.
Although there is a clear connection between issues pertaining to ICT, ODL, and OER, this report
focuses separately on each, describing current practices in Africa and using this to highlight some of
the key opportunities arising from use of each. It also describes challenges associated with each
area. With this background, the report then presents a series of guidelines and recommendations
targeted specifically at the AHERS.
1.3 ICT and Higher Education
ICT refers to technology that is used in the manipulation, storage, and conveyance of data through
electronic means.1 It is considered a critical tool in preparing students with the required skills for the
1
OpenLearn. (no date). ICTs in everyday life. Retrieved from
http://labspace.open.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=371982
7
global workplace and is regarded as an engine for growth and tool for empowerment, with profound
implications for education and socio-economic development. ICT use in higher education and
development is not simply about teaching ‘ICT literacy’ – i.e. learning to operate the technology –
but also about building higher-order skills, such as knowing and understanding what it means to live
in a digitized and networked society and use digital technology in everyday life. Critically, ICT is
valuable as a means to achieve genuine knowledge societies. Thus, universities are faced with a need
to provide formal instruction in information, visual, and technological literacy, as well as in how to
create meaningful content with today’s tools. Access to ICT across the continent is improving and
the costs associated with access to ICT are reducing as telecommunication markets are liberalising
and the costs of devices are declining. This has important ramifications for expanding ICT into
African HEIs.
1.3.1 ICT in Education Policies in Africa
Internationally, the need to provide quality education for all learners has motivated countries to
develop plans focused on the use of ICT for teaching and learning. In Africa, there is growing
recognition by national, regional, and continental bodies of the role of ICT for socio-economic
development. Evidence of this includes the many countries that have focused attention on
developing national ICT policies and National Information and Communication Infrastructure Plans
to support their socio-economic development efforts and ICT in education policies. There has also
been significant growth of continental and regional strategies to create knowledge societies –
actions suggesting high-level support for integrating ICT into higher education, but also acting
predominantly as coordinating hubs or sources for financial support behind efforts to use ICT in
higher education at the institutional level. This indicates that many African nations are recognizing
the importance of ICT in promoting social and economic change in their countries, and the important
role of higher education institutions in driving this change. However, many policy documents provide
a passing reference to ICT in higher education without providing much clarity on mechanisms for
integration.
1.3.2 Continental and Regional Initiatives
Several continental and regional initiatives contribute to advancing ICT in higher education in Africa.
This includes the work done by the AAU and the ADEA WGHE in assisting institutions to develop
strategic plans for use and integration of ICT, as well as the work of the Commonwealth of Learning
(COL), regional bodies, and Initiatives for Research and Education Networking such as the UbuntuNet
Alliance. Simultaneously, there is significant work carried out at the institutional level – by
institutions themselves and also through projects such as the Partnership for Higher Education
(PHEA) Educational Technology Initiative (ETI).
1.3.3 Institutional Use of ICT
ICT has proven to be powerful in enhancing education, and is being used in research, teaching and
learning, and administration in higher education. The use of ICT to promote and enhance the
research space in African higher education has been developing over the last decade. For example,
the AAU has its Database of African Theses and Dissertations (DATAD) initiative, through which
African researchers can make available their theses and dissertations or even their teaching and
learning materials. ICT in higher education not only assists in promoting research in Africa, but is also
a topic of research, of which there are a number of cases of good practice that exist on the
continent.
8
In relation to teaching and learning, ICT is used to support e-learning and mobile learning (mlearning), teaching, and assessment activities. E-learning can be defined as ‘the use of new
multimedia technologies and the Internet to improve the quality of learning by facilitating access to
resources and services as well as remote exchange and collaboration’.2 M-learning is a form of elearning, with mobile devices as the technologies of choice. Where ICT has been used in African
higher education, including through e-learning and m-learning, the aim has most commonly been to
tackle teaching and learning challenges faced in traditional teacher-led lecture rooms, including large
classes, multilingualism, development of literacies, and bridging the chasm between theory and
practice.
Several African universities are using Learning management systems (LMS), which they are regarded
as integral to the development and facilitation of online, blended and web facilitated learning.
Investment in these, including development of the capacity of staff and students to use them
effectively and efficiently, as well as in the technical requirements to procure, set up, and maintain
LMSs, is key to the effectiveness of e-learning and blended learning. There appears to be a growing
move by universities to use open source LMS such as Moodle and Sakai. However, the use of LMSs
still remains a challenge in Africa, with studies suggesting the need to promote the advantages of
using an online LMS in higher education and build up the necessary skills base to make this a tenable
and useful shift.
Furthermore, the use of technology in higher education has enabled transcendence of geographical
boundaries, and facilitated collaboration between and among students and staff from different
universities. Collaboration between colleagues who have never met each other physically is also
possible with technological tools like instant messaging, Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
applications like Skype, and social interaction tools like Facebook, which can help to nurture
communities of practice.
Many African universities are turning to ICT to support their human resource, finance, and student
administration systems. In particular, such databases as Oracle and PeopleSoft offer institutions of
higher education a virtual platform to organize registrations systems, payroll, and to manage staff
policies such as requests for vacation or leave. In addition, the use of SMS for administration can be
valuable because it has potential to free academics to focus on core business. When SMS is used to
communicate information on course requirements, this reduces the amount of time that academics
would spend dealing with queries regarding courses, and they can divert the time saved to academic
pursuits like curriculum design and research.
1.3.4 Challenges in Policy and the Implementation of ICT in Higher
Education
Despite numerous improvements and successes in recent years, there are nevertheless several
challenges facing ICT in Higher Education in Africa. The lack of comprehensive policies covering the
integration of ICT in education remains a major barrier in many African countries. African countries
are at different stages in considering policies to harness ICT in support of education and
development. In some instances, ICT and development policies may not be complemented by other
relevant supportive policies, for example a telecommunications policy that supports such
development, as well as associated budgetary allocations to policies. Some may have national
policies, but may not have policies that make specific reference to ICT and education. In other
2
Commission of the European Communities. (2001). Communication from the European Commission to the Council and
the European Parliament: The elearning action plan. Designing tomorrow’s education. Brussels, 28.3.2001.
9
instances, ICT in education is actually mentioned within national ICT policies in general terms, but
may not always be accompanied by a detailed implementation plan or commitment from
government to implement policies.
A major challenge facing ICT in higher education is that of limited infrastructure, in particular limited
access to power and the lack of affordable and reliable Internet access. In most African countries,
Internet access is limited and slow. Where broadband is available, it is typically very expensive—far
beyond the financial means of the majority of Africans.3
Equipping universities and keeping them up to date with ICT equipment is very expensive due to
hardware and software purchases, as well as the recurrent costs associated with maintenance and
support. Rapid advances in technology have continued to add potential to the use of ICT as an
integral part of teaching and learning. However, changes and innovations in technology tend to be
much faster than changes in the education system, and this is an area of concern, as reform may be
dependent on technologies that are no longer available or supported.4
Insufficient attention is paid to monitoring and evaluation during the design of most ICT initiatives.
In addition, there appears to be a dearth of useful resources attempting to translate what is known
to work (and not to work) in this field.
Furthermore, there has been a common tendency to use technology experts to lead and implement
ICT in education projects, with a resultant focus on engineering or software skills. People who are
trained in and understand education play a secondary and often peripheral role. Technology-led
initiatives may appear successful at the technical level, but generally do not achieve the expected
outcomes and impact, and are consequently not sustainable.
Many African countries face a shortage of IT professionals and lack of educators with ICT skills.
African universities in particular face a critical shortage of skilled ICT workers. The integration of ICT
in learning requires retraining and creates new time demands on academics. The absence of
incentive schemes, especially in environments where salaries and benefits are low, is both a
challenge and a major risk to success. Another challenge is the high turnover of skilled technical
personnel, as institutions are unable to pay salaries that are competitive with the private sector.
Lack of financing and prioritization of ICT investments is a serious barrier to effective ICT use. Little is
known about the true costs of ICT in education, and, given budgetary and resource constraints,
widespread investment in ICT in education may not be possible in many African countries or may not
feature highly higher education institutions’ investments or priorities. Costs for ICT tools can also be
prohibitive. Purchasing site licences and support services can result in significant upfront costs that
may at first glance appear prohibitive and unnecessary. Fortunately, there several open source
options available for most software applications, which can, under certain circumstances, be
cheaper to maintain and tend to be well supported by their respective online communities.
In Africa, there is little digital education content that is locally contextually relevant or based on local
curriculum frameworks. Creating local e-learning content has proved difficult because many African
higher education institutions are still not conversant with courseware tools and digital environment.
3
Williams, M.D.J., Mayer, R., and Minges, M. (2011). Africa’s ICT Infrastructure Building on the Mobile Revolution. World
Bank: Washington. Retrieved from
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INFORMATIONANDCOMMUNICATIONANDTECHNOLOGIES/Resources/AfricasICTInfrast
ructure_Building_on_MobileRevolution_2011.pdf
4 Adam, L., Butcher, N., Tusubira, F.F.T., and Sibthorpe, C. (2011). Transformation-Ready: The strategic application of
information and communication technologies in Africa - Education Sector Study. Prepared for the African Development
Bank, the World Bank and the African Union.
10
Faculty members also have excessive loads and limited time, skills, and incentives to develop elearning materials suitable to their local needs. The educational reward system was not designed to
encourage faculty and students to own and get involved in e-learning content development and use.
ICT tends to accentuate social, cultural, and economic disparities. For instance, ICT projects tend to
give preference to students in urban areas and in areas where existing infrastructure is the best.
Whilst there is a very real risk that ICT can further marginalize groups already excluded or
marginalized from educational practices and innovations, ICT also holds a promise and opportunity
for facilitating greater inclusion of such groups such as special needs students, students in remote
areas, students from historically marginalized linguistic, cultural or ethnic groups, and low income
communities into existing educational practices and environments. With supportive policies and
careful planning and monitoring, ICT can offer the potential of facilitating greater inclusion of such
groups.5
1.4 ODL and Higher Education
ODL is increasingly being seen as a strategy to tackle the challenges of access, quality, and equity,
particularly in higher education. Many African countries are deploying ODL models in order to meet
the growing demand for higher education places, and are embracing ODL as a cost-effective and
efficient means of increasing access to education. The resultant increasing awareness of, and
appreciation for, the potential of ODL in increasing access to higher education has also seen calls for
African countries to prioritize and support ODL, to introduce quality assurance mechanisms for ODL
and to foster regional collaborations in higher education. ODL is not limited to traditional dedicated
distance education institutions. Its promise and possibilities are also being explored and
implemented by many contact universities faced with the same kinds of technological advances,
constraints, dynamics, and challenges as those that have caused traditional distance education
institutions to turn to ODL models of provision.
As part of the process of finding solutions, many African countries and organizations have made
efforts to harness the perceived potential of ODL, as reflected by the number of initiatives across the
continent. Examples of these include the African Council for Distance Education (ACDE), a
continental educational organization with a vision of becoming a major player in promotion and
advocacy for ODL in Africa. ADEA includes a Working Group on Distance Education and Open
Learning (WGDEOL), to help ministries of education, training institutions, and NGOs in Africa
improve access to, quality of, and equity in education, and, in particular, to strengthen the capacity
of the education system. In addition, there are various regional organisations dedicated to ODL, and
these include the SADC Centre for Distance Education, the Distance Education Association of
Southern Africa (DEASA), The South African Institute of Distance Education (SAIDE), The National
Association of Distance Education Organizations of South Africa (NADEOSA), and The Namibian Open
Learning Network Trust (NOLNet). Initiatives and organizations such as those listed above play a
critical role in supporting the development and growth of high quality ODL practices in African higher
education.
5
Adam, L., Butcher, N., Tusubira, F.F.T., and Sibthorpe, C. (2011). Transformation-Ready: The strategic application of
information and communication technologies in Africa - Education Sector Study. Prepared for the African Development
Bank, the World Bank and the African Union.
11
1.4.1 Use of ODL, Good Practices, and Promising Approaches
In Africa, ODL at the higher education level is offered by two main kinds of institutions – dedicated
ODL, or single-mode, institutions and dual mode universities (offering both ODL and face-to-face
teaching courses). There are several higher education institutions that are dedicated ODL
universities and colleges. Examples of these include the Lesotho College of Education (LCE),
Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU), University of South Africa, Open University of Tanzania, National
Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Open University of Sudan, and Zambia Open University. Many of
the programmes offered at dual-mode institutions focus on the professions of teaching and nursing,
but there is also growth of programmes in areas such as business studies and specialist professions.
In addition to dual-mode institutions, there are also mixed-mode institutions, whose programmes
are designed, delivered and administered by the same people who provide conventional face-to-face
programmes. This mode is a fairly recent development, with teachers and trainers in conventional
higher education institutions offering their courses off campus using audio-conferencing and videoconferencing, and in more recent years, via the Internet.
Several universities in the region offer at least one ODL programme, which has resulted in an
increase in higher education study places. For example, distance education students now represent
at least 30% of those enrolled at Makerere University in Uganda. There is also a growing trend
towards international cooperation initiatives in many countries. For example, the University of
Mauritius offers a police studies programme in partnership with the University of Portsmouth in the
United Kingdom. In another example highlighting the minimizing of duplication of effort required to
develop materials, COL has worked with the eight countries of the SADC to develop training
materials that will allow teachers to enhance their professional skills through ODL. These examples
highlight that, with collaboration, the cost of a particular initiative to any one institution, agency, or
country can be reduced and the quality of the finished product can be higher than if only one
institution or country undertook the development of the learning materials.
ODL opens access to education to many students, and technology can help to facilitate and enhance
learning for these students. Virtual learning environments in distance learning expand learning
opportunities for students who can access computers and the internet. These open their world to
other resources through engagement with the university virtual learning environment. There is a
growing trend of institutions using ODL programme designs that incorporate contact and interaction
between students and educators, rather than resorting to correspondence methodologies.6 As such,
the line between face-to-face education and ODL is being increasingly blurred by the growth of OER,
, m- and e-Learning, and low-cost computers.
1.4.2 ODL Policies
There is a wide diversity of national policies and strategies pertinent to education generally and ODL
specifically. Many African countries have policies and strategies that recognize the importance of
ODL, although their coordination and implementation vary from country to country. In addition,
countries are at various stages in developing ODL policies. Countries such as Lesotho and Mauritius
have well-developed, integrated policy approaches to ODL, while others, such as Namibia, are in the
process of developing policies specifically focused on ODL. Other countries have yet to begin to
develop policies which focus on specifically on ODL.
6
Thutoetsile, T. (2005). Report of the Southern African Regional Distance Education Centre: Situational Assessment of ODL
Institutions. SADC-CDE. Retrieved September 19, 2008, from www.sardec.org.bw/reports.htm.
12
1.4.3 Opportunities
There has been significant growth in the number of ODL programmes offered from traditionally faceto-face institutions, with such programmes now being offered by institutions across Africa. ODL is
widely acknowledged for its potential to open up various opportunities for higher education in
Africa. Examples of its perceived potential are to:
• Provide access to students who would – either because of work commitments, geographical
distance, or poor quality or inadequate prior learning experiences – be denied access to
traditional, full-time contact education opportunities. It supports lifelong learning and helps
remove obstacles to enrolment for women and other marginalized groups.
• Expand access to educational provision to significantly larger numbers of learners.
• Be cost-efficient and achieve significant economies of scale as it enables institutions to increase
enrolments without increasing staff levels and associated physical infrastructure.
• Shift patterns of expenditure to achieve economies of scale by amortizing identified costs
(particularly investments in course design and development and in effective administrative
systems) over time and large student numbers.
• Exploit the potential that integration of new educational technologies into teaching and learning
environments has for supporting, improving, or enhancing those environments.
• Enhances and promote quality through the development and provision of learning resources,
which can be used by teachers and learners, irrespective of their location.
• Facilitate and promote access to lifelong learning, in particular, ongoing professional
development, to those who have obtained formal qualifications but who are required to
upgrade their knowledge and qualifications.
• As ODL transcends time and space boundaries, a particular opportunity to emerge from the
implementation of ODL programmes is collaboration. Most important, web 2.0 tools such as
wikis are making it possible for teams of subject specialists to collaborate in the development of
high-quality content
1.4.4 Challenges in policy implementation and practice
ODL faces similar challenges to e-learning, including: lack of ICT capacity; limited and expensive
access to broadband, connectivity, hardware, software and skills; a lack of government funding; no
national ICT and ODL policy development; poor, non-existent or outdated infrastructure; poor
teaching and learning practices; and inadequate and inappropriate courseware. In addition, ODL
institutions and programmes face negative public perception and are often regarded as inferior
relative to face-face-institutions, even though the institutions and programmes are accredited by
national regulatory agencies. Such misunderstandings can be attributed to, among other reasons, a
lack of an adequate ODL research needed to support informed decisions and policy choices. These
negative perceptions have meant that many African educational policymakers and planners are
sceptical about its legitimacy and quality, and therefore only afford ODL initiatives limited funding
and political support.
Funding for the expansion of ODL programmes is still inadequate in much of Africa. In many
countries, the shortage of resources is aggravated by poor inter-university cooperation. In addition,
many governments are keen to increase the proportion of ODL being funded by students through
fees. Furthermore, ODL provision tends to generally skewed to the arts-based or business-related
courses, as well as teaching and nursing, which may not be the priority of governments, which
results in skewed funding in favour of face to face institutions.
In Africa and globally, it appears that many organizations and individuals are employing various ODL
education methods and low-cost versions of resource-based learning as a means to boost their
13
student enrolment and earnings without sufficient concern for the impact this has on provision
quality.
Many African countries lack policies to guide development and implementation of ODL programmes
at national and institutional level. More than two thirds of all African countries have no agencies or
other bodies that deal with QA, and, even where such organizations exist, they are unlikely to have
developed any QA frameworks or guidelines for ODL as their original mandate would usually have
pertained to conventional training. There is little documented evidence of systems or processes
being put in place for ensuring quality in the design of curricula. Such is the paucity of suitable QA
policy bodies and frameworks and the challenge of unregulated private providers and exploitative
practices flourishing that, in the context of increasing cross-border higher education, that there has
been a growing sense of need to initiate regional and continental harmonization and QA processes.
Nevertheless, a key development recently has been the launch of an ODL Quality Assurance and
Accreditation Agency (QAAA) by the ACDE, which is being implemented under a Memorandum of
Understanding with the African Union, as part of the Second Decade of Education Plan. While the
Agency is very recently established, it has potential to make a significant contribution to quality
improvement in ODL on the continent. Nevertheless, there is still a great deal of work to be done, as
there are significant variations in policies and procedures for QA for ODL and still limited evidence of
successful initiatives.
Several African countries lack policies needed to guide the development and implementation of ODL
programmes at national and institutional levels. At the regional level, and some national levels,
distance education practices remain uncoordinated because concrete steps have yet to be taken
towards the development regional policies on ODL.7 Consequently, despite some notable
exceptions, this has meant that many institutions and individuals work on their curriculum design
processes largely in isolation.
In many countries, there is a dire shortage of qualified staff required for guiding and influencing the
development of ODL policies and for planning, developing, managing, and evaluating ODL
programmes. Institutions may struggle to recruit skilled and experienced ODL specialists, which
compounds the risk of materials and processes being subjected to a traditional contact-based quality
assurance process, rather than QA processes relating to the needs of ODL.
In a bid to broaden access to higher education, many ODL institutions in Africa have established
regional learning centres in geographically dispersed areas and offer e-learning programmes through
such centres. However, this model of provision and expansion has tended to locate such regional
learning centres mainly in urban centres, where the majority of residents are already relatively
advantaged.
Adding to the above-mentioned challenges, Braimoh and Osiki(2008) note that the ability to use to
its full capacity the enormous value of e-learning and associated resources in ODL across subSaharan a is challenged by the following:
• Unstable power supply;
• Some ODL institutions’ drive to accumulate wealth;
• Drive to commercialize education to the detriment of educational quality;
• High cost of ODL coupled with learners’ poor socio-economic situation leading to a reluctance to
invest in the technical facilities needed for learning;
• Learners’ technological illiteracy, when they need to use modern technology for learning;
7
Braimoh, D. and Lekoko, R. (2005) ‘The Need for Policy Framework in Maintaining Quality in Open and Distance Education
Programmes in Southern Africa’. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education-TOJDE, Vol. 6 No. 4.
14
•
•
•
•
•
The rural location of many learners, who therefore have restricted access to the modern
communication facilities needed for learning;
Some lecturers and site tutors being party to fraud, bribery and corruption;
Foreign institutions’ neo-imperialism leading to cultural dilution and value distortion;
Inadequate counselling and mentoring of learners;
Inadequate provision of learner support.8
Thus, while ICT has created a revolution in ODL, offering new and more flexible learning
opportunities, there continue to be significant challenges, especially regarding the quality of
education and limited resources. And although many countries have policies and strategies for
implementing ODL, it has yet to realize its full potential.
1.5 Open Educational Resources (OER) and Higher Education
1.5.1 Open Licences
Open Educational Resources (OER) have become the subject of heightened interest in policy-making
and institutional circles. There are various licensing frameworks for OER use, some of which simply
allow copying; others which make provision for users to adapt the resources that they use. The most
commonly used licenses are the Creative Commons (CC) licences. CC licenses gives creators the
ability to dictate how others may exercise their (creators) copyright rights - such as the right of
others to copy their work, make derivative works or adaptations of their work, to distribute their
work and/or make money from their work. Creative Commons also permits creators the ability to
have a ‘no rights reserved’ alternative to copyright.
1.5.2 The Power of OER
The sharing of resources as OER is guided by many principles, key amongst which are the right to
education by all, and making information and knowledge more accessible and useable for the good
of the public who want to consume this knowledge. The transformative power of the concept for
education revolves around three linked possibilities:
• Because OER removes restrictions around copying resources, they hold potential for reducing
the cost of accessing educational materials.
• The principle of allowing adaptation of materials provides one mechanism amongst many for
constructing roles for learners as active participants in educational processes, who learn best by
doing and creating, not by passively reading and absorbing. Content licences that encourage
activity and creation by learners through re-use and adaptation of that content can make a
significant contribution to creating more effective learning environments.
• OER have potential to build capacity by providing educators access, at low or no cost, to the
means of production to develop their competence in producing educational materials and
completing the necessary instructional design to integrate such materials into high quality
programmes of learning. Many educational systems are foundering because their employees
have become so overwhelmed by administrative tasks that they have lost the time and space to
exercise this critical creative capacity, and it will take time and investment to rebuild it. The
8
Braimoh, D., & Osiki, J. (2008). The Impact of Technology on Accessibility and Pedagogy: The Right to Education in SubSaharan
Africa.
Asian
Journal
of
Distance
Education,
6(1),
53-62.
Retrieved
from
http://www.asianjde.org/2008v6.1.Braimoh.pdf
15
concept of OER has potential to facilitate this if the process of developing educational materials
is seen as being just as important as – maybe more important than – the final product.9
However, it should be noted that content is only one aspect of education, and effective use of
educational content requires good educators to facilitate the process. Importantly, OER provides an
opportunity to engage higher education faculties and academics in structured processes that build
capacity to design and deliver high quality higher education programmes without increasing cost.
OER provide opportunities for pedagogical support in the form of student and practitioner course
access. Practitioners can update their course material and share it with others who can update it and
build on what they have produced. Without this growing institutional capacity, OER will not be able
to fulfil its transformative potential.
1.5.3 Use of OER
Educational resources that are shared, reviewed, and developed within a community of practice are
likely to be of a higher quality than those developed solely by individuals working in isolation.
Further, development of these materials for reuse is likely to enhance their quality, as well as
develop the capacity of those who engage in the development of the material. The quality of
materials made available to students, can be enhanced through adaptation and localisation of the
available open source materials. In this regard, OER have a major advantage over imported
textbooks that do not consider local context in their presentation of information.
The short-term costs of sourcing and adapting OER may be high, but there are reduced content costs
from open resources that can widen access to higher education. Use of OER will reduce textbook
costs as well as costs of other proprietary materials that are borne by students. Increasing numbers
of periodicals are making their databases easier to access and there has been a tremendous growth
in Web 2.0 user-created content. Increasingly, higher education institutions campus libraries are
playing an important role in the acquisition and distribution of institutionally licensed web based
digital material.
Where institutions cannot invest heavily in content development, they can still get access to high
quality materials by using what is available through open access. Indeed, perhaps one of the most
promising developments relevant to research is the growth of Open Access Journals. Research
opportunities are promoted in the OER movement, and some of this research focuses on the role
and forms of educational technologies used in higher education. Institutions can brand themselves
through availing its resources for use and adaptability by others and contributing to research. Whilst
the presence of such resources allows African academics access to articles at no cost, this does
require access to the Internet.
There are several OER initiatives focused on higher education in Africa, which seek to harness these
possibilities. Examples of these include the Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA)
initiative (http://www.tessafrica.net), which is a research and development initiative creating OER
and course design guidance for teachers and teacher educators working in Sub-Saharan African
countries. SAIDE established the OER Africa initiative (http://www.oerafrica.org), which focuses on
supporting and developing OER in a number of thematic areas, including Agriculture, Health and
Teacher Education. OER Africa is involved in numerous projects supporting the adoption of OER in
higher education institutions across Africa, for example, the Saide ACEMaths project, which piloted a
collaborative process for the selection, adaptation, and use of OER materials on the teaching and
9
Butcher, N. (2011). A Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources (OER). UNESCO and Commonwealth of Learning.
Retrieved from http://www.col.org/resources/publications/Pages/detail.aspx?PID=357
16
learning of mathematics for teacher education.10 The website not only allows access to Africandeveloped resources, but also allows users to follow a documented process of how the materials
were created.
There are several other initiatives, such as the IADP-SADC Digital Resources project, University of
Cape Town’s OpenContent (http://opencontent.uct.ac.za) directory, the African Virtual University’s
ICT-integrated Teacher Education Programme for Maths and Sciences, University of Malawi’s OER
project at the Bunda College of Agriculture to develop a textbook on Communication Skills, and the
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) College of Health Sciences’ OER
initiative supporting the production and use of OER.
1.5.4 OER policies
The presence of OER policies at higher education institutions can accelerate the adoption and
creation of OER and assist in ensuring the sustainability of OER. Institutions harnessing OER usually
need to review several policies in order to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of OER. Several
policy issues are usually considered when examining commitment to OER development and use at
higher education institutions. There are at least four main policy issues:
1. Provision in policy of clarity on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and copyright on works created
during the course of employment (or study) and how these may be shared with and used by
others.
2. Human resource policy guidelines regarding whether or not the creation of certain kinds of work
(e.g. learning resources) constitutes part of the job description for staff and what the
implications are for development, performance management, remuneration, and promotion
purposes.
3. ICT policy guidelines regarding access to and use of appropriate software, hardware, the Internet
and technical support, as well as provision for version control and back-up of any storage
systems for an institution’s educational resources.
4. Materials development and quality assurance policy guidelines to ensure appropriate selection,
development, quality assurance, and copyright clearance of works that may be shared. 11
Despite the growth of OER at institutions worldwide, this has not necessarily yet led to the
development of specific policies that address or support development, sharing, adaptation, and use
of OER. Nevertheless, a few African institutions that have embarked on OER initiatives have taken
several steps to develop OER amenable policies. These include the University of Cape Town in South
Africa and the University of Ghana and KNUST in Ghana. One of the remarkable outcomes of
KNUST’s involvement in OER has been the influence it has had at a national level, with the KNUST
institutional repository designated as the national Open Access repository.12
At a continental level, the ACDE has established a formal Policy on Collaboration, which includes a
strong commitment to OER. This Policy, which was approved by the ACDE Board in 2011, addresses
five broad areas: Sharing intellectual property; maximizing human capacity; collaborating on learning
and teaching; collaborating on research; and collaborating on developing and sustaining enabling
systems. It provides an excellent example of an inter-institutional commitment to collaboration and
10
OER Africa. (no date). Teacher Education. Retrieved from
http://www.oerafrica.org/teachered/TeacherEducationHome/tabid/933/Default.aspx
11 Butcher, N.(2011). A Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources (OER). UNESCO and Commonwealth of Learning.
Retrieved from http://www.col.org/resources/publications/Pages/detail.aspx?PID=357
12 Electronic Information for Libraries. (2011). Ghana: The first results of OA advocacy campaigns. Retrieved from
http://www.eifl.net/news/first-results-oa-advocacy-campaigns-eifl-part
17
sharing of intellectual capital, providing also for ACDE members to share their course materials on a
voluntary basis through the ACDE Technical Committee on Collaboration.
1.5.5 Challenges in policy implementation and practice
There are several challenges in using and creating OER in an African context:
• Being able to access OER requires adequate infrastructure and a robust and fast connection to
the Internet, which is lacking in many African institutions.
• Due to unfamiliarity with the OER model, there is a need for lobbying around the benefits of OER
to encourage buy in from African academics to use OER.
• Staff workload needs to include time to source and adapt materials as most lecturers have to
balance teaching obligations, clinical service requirements and research expectations.
• Available OER may not always match methods or subject matter as taught locally.
• There is a need to train and capacitate additional staff to source and adapt OER.
• OER are free to access but not free to produce. African institutions may face the challenge of
lack of funding to cover the time required to do the searching and adaptations. There are also
hidden costs, such as the time taken to search for appropriate OER as well as the time needed to
do the adaptations and production costs.
• It may create technological bias, as using OER demands new skills for both educators and
students.
• Many OER projects remain predominantly donor-funded. Whilst Foundation funding has been an
essential component of establishing the OER field, it has been argued that such funding cannot
be relied on for ongoing development, operations, and sustainability, with many OER initiatives
struggling to establish and transition to a future independent of Foundation funding.
• In instances where OER practices in institutions are as part of ‘projects’ rather than integrated or
institution-wide processes, practitioners face time constraints as they are required to complete
this work in addition to their already heavy teaching workloads.
• Few institutions have yet adopted new, or adapted existing, policies to reflect OER practices or
to explicitly encourage and formally endorse such practices at institutions.
• At universities curriculum and operational changes are made only after going through several
institutional processes that are often time-consuming.
• As OER initiatives appear to be largely project-driven rather than an institution-wide integrated
process, this perhaps accounting for lack of relevant policies.
• It is also possible that lack of policies is due, in some instances, to lack of leadership support for
OER. However it should be noted that policy fulfils a limited function, and issues such as
sustainability and faculty buy-in and involvement are of equal importance.
1.5.6 Opportunities
Adopting OER in an African context can have positive impacts on the teaching and learning
environment as adopting this model requires institutions to invest in programmes, course and
materials development, and thereby begin to incorporate notions of quality. The challenges of
growing access, combined with the ongoing rollout of ICT infrastructure into educational institutions,
indicates that it is becoming increasingly important for them to support, in a planned and deliberate
manner, the development and improvement of curricula, ongoing programme and course design,
planning of contact sessions with students, development of quality teaching and learning materials,
18
and design of effective assessment – activities all aimed at improving the teaching and learning
environment – while managing the cost of this through increased use of resource-based learning.13
OER approaches can also assist in alleviating funding constraints by acknowledging the benefits of
integrating OER practices with any content/material development process. Sourcing existing OER as
part of the process of investing in high quality learning resources that meet curriculum needs can
save costs. In contexts of national support for OER, such approaches formally support and encourage
institutions to create OER. Additionally, such support for OER provides an increased likelihood that
such efforts are sustainable.
OER also opens several other opportunities for enhancing higher education in Africa. These include:
• Advancing knowledge by making educational resources available.
• Generating new educational opportunities by providing an opportunity for teachers to access
material to use in teaching their classes or to complement a course.
• Allowing for sharing of support, resources, experience and best practices.
• Providing potential for anyone to study a course to develop their personal knowledge.
• Providing additional information on subject matter, as an alternative for thousands of students
with HE interests.
• Increasing student and educator access to educational materials, as, when OER are distributed
electronically, they are easy to access via a computer, to copy and to share.
• Promoting innovation and the improvement of teaching resources used by faculty.
• Providing an opportunity to re-examine the curriculum, learn new teaching methods and to
rethink teaching approaches. Faculty may use OER from elsewhere to inform their own teaching,
and likewise, creating OER for a global audience may encourage faculty to re-examine their own
teaching practices before codifying them as OER.
• Familiarizing teachers with using ICT and increasing comfort with the web, broadening their skills
base.
• Providing an opportunity for author recognition for those creating and sharing OER.
• Enhancing an institution’s reputation and brand image. Evidence is emerging that institutions
that share their materials online are attracting increased interest from students in enrolling in
their programmes. This in turn brings potential commercial benefits, because the sharing of
materials online raises an institution’s ‘visibility’ on the Internet, while also providing students
more opportunities to investigate the quality of the educational experience they will receive
there.
• Lowering cost for student access to educational materials. Unlike traditional textbooks and
journals, OER do not require licensing fees. Although OER are not free to produce, they are free
to access. There may still be a marginal cost for distributing OER (for example, for printing or for
removable media such as CDs), but it is a fraction of the standard licensing fees.
• Decreasing faculty time on materials development. Harnessing open content can reduce faculty
time required to produce content. OER makes it easier for educators to preview how others in
their field teach a given topic. Faculty can use OER created by others – in whole or in part – to
develop their own lecture slides or other teaching aids.
• Easing the development of new programmes. OER may be particularly useful when a university
is looking to expand its curriculum by offering new courses and degree programmes. OER allows
faculty to preview how a topic is taught at other institutions and open licensing allows faculty to
contextualise and translate OER to suit local needs.
• Enabling students to use OER for review and revision purposes, to complement class material,
plan a course of study and to prepare for formal studies.
13
Adam, L., Butcher, N., Tusubira, F.F.T., and Sibthorpe, C. (2011). Transformation-Ready: The strategic application of
information and communication technologies in Africa - Education Sector Study. Prepared for the African Development
Bank, the World Bank and the African Union.
19
1.6 General Areas for Action: Harnessing the Potential of ICT, ODL,
and OER
The status of higher education in Africa continues to be a concern for governments, higher
education bodies and donors as it faces challenges of enrolment and HE participation rates, gender
disparities, HIV & AIDS, brain drain, and the digital divide. However, the growth of interactive
technologies opens up a range of opportunities to enhance higher education provision in Africa.
ICT has the potential to ensure rapid, cost effective and reliable communication, networking and
access to and publication of information which, in turn, should enhance productivity, education and
development. Student learning can be transformed through e-learning, by giving them more learning
options and flexibility of use, and e-learning can be useful for addressing common teaching and
learning challenges like large classes and diverse classrooms. Despite commitment to the
development of ICT, the amount needed for investment in higher education in Africa is huge, which
is why ODL and OER are viable and affordable strategies for improving access and increasing the
availability of teaching materials, especially given the plethora of challenges that impede the rollout
of higher education in Africa. The most critical influence on the quality of tertiary education is
perhaps the availability of learning resources. All countries and higher education institutions need to
be making investments in materials development to improve the quality of teaching and learning,
and the most cost-effective approach is to harness OER. This is because OER eliminates unnecessary
duplication of effort by building on what already exists elsewhere, it removes costs of copyright
negotiation and clearance, and over time, can engage open communities of practice in ongoing
quality improvement and assurance.
Given the promise of ICT, OER, and ODL, it would be remiss to not seize upon the opportunities they
offer. The paper therefore outlines key areas of action to promote ICT, OER, and ODL in African
higher education.
1.6.1 Areas for Action
1.6.1.1
Investing in the Policy Environment
The potential of ICT, ODL, and OER can only be realized when it is embedded in a context that is
open to innovation and supported by a favourable policy environment. Government policy often
determines the parameters of such initiatives through laws, regulations, and allocation of funds.
Integration into broader national and regional policy priorities is thus central to success and
sustainability. Perhaps the most effective way to accelerate open licensing and sharing of higher
education resources would be adoption/adaptation and approval of an appropriate national open
licensing framework, with clearly defined options for use by all higher education stakeholders,
ideally as part of an overarching policy framework on IPR and copyright in higher education that
spans both research and teaching activities.
Institutions will also benefit from clear, detailed plans for implementing technology, while
educational administrators should be willing to review technological implementation plans regularly
and revise them as necessary. This will require strong leadership to convincingly communicate these
plans to all constituents, and the involvement of all stakeholders so that there is a common vision
and shared ownership of policies and plans. There is also an opportunity to develop and implement
formal OER and Open Access policies and contextual differences across institutions present different
levels of opportunity for policy engagement. With regards to OER, it may be worthwhile to provide
incentives for academics to participate in OER initiatives. This would also entail ensuring that staff
20
workload models allow for curriculum, course, and materials design and development, as well as for
research activities. Furthermore, institutions will benefit from establishing and maintaining a
rigorous internal process for validating the quality of educational materials prior to their publication
as OER.
Adequate funding and business planning is required to ensure the long term sustainability of
programmes and institutions. ICT, ODL, and OER should not be considered as ‘add-ons’ but rather be
integrated into university structures and university funding models to ensure their sustainability.
Funding efforts might, therefore, focus on the following issues, amongst others:
1) Sustainable investments in ICT infrastructure, in terms of acquisition, maintenance, and regular
replacement of obsolete equipment;
2) Promoting awareness of potential cost benefits of OER, e- and m-learning, and ODL (with
concrete examples) to create good understanding of costing;
3) From a national perspective, placing mandates on institutions to license materials developed
with public funding under an open licence.
1.6.1.2
Development of Strategies at the Regional Level
Due recognition should be given to RECs and regional higher education associations, many of which
have already embarked on the process of harmonization of higher education and promoting
collaboration among the institutions through academic mobility in their respective region. Regional
associations can become critical building blocks of a continental AHERS, and the following is
therefore suggested:
• Regional higher education bodies and RECs may consider developing regional ICT and ODL
strategies that create an explicit link with higher education. These strategies should maintain
coherence with continental initiatives but seek to address region specific issues.
• The creation of regional platforms for sharing information on ICT policies and courseware and
exchanging experiences is a useful way of increasing the positive contribution of ICT to
education.
• Affordability poses real problems for accessing ICT in higher education institutions in Africa. As a
result, regional collaboration might focus on strategies to determine how limited resources may
best be pooled or used to provide access to hardware, access to affordable/reliable high speed
Internet connections, technical and training support, and applications and content.
1.6.1.3
Widening Access
ICT infrastructure is a prerequisite for all ICT in education applications, as well as effective use of
OER and development of ODL programmes. Ensuring that every higher education institution is
connected requires a sustained political drive to provide connectivity throughout the education
system to facilitate deeper and wider access to the Internet, online resources, and institutional
systems. This may require changes in the telecommunications regulatory environment aimed at
driving down the price of connectivity. This should form part of the vision of national education
systems to ensure that every educator has access to a relevant computing device and associated ICT
peripherals. Policy interventions will also be required to ensure that under-serviced areas receive
infrastructure investment and remote education institutions also get connected to a
telecommunications networks. The promotion of NRENs is one possible solution to this issue, but
this often requires regional entities to negotiate access with larger networks in Europe and
elsewhere. Taking a continental approach and developing a continental strategy for improving
bandwidth and internet access speed could provide a more harmonized approach and a strong
21
bargaining position that could yield reduced costs and complexity for all higher education
institutions on the continent.14
Furthermore, all students, regardless of their geographical location or income level, need to be
provided access to the necessary resources (harnessing all media as appropriate) and available
learning opportunities to enable them to complete their studies successfully. It thus becomes critical
to open access to content, so that it can legitimately be used and manipulated by learners to support
their learning. Finally, educational and governmental bodies should clearly define their commitment
to the goals toward which the technology will be applied, ensuring that issues regarding accessibility
and equity are covered, developing measurable objectives and realistic timelines, assigning specific
responsibilities to individuals and groups who will facilitate the change process, and providing the
necessary resources.
1.6.1.4
Capacity Building
The implementation of ICT and/or ODL methods to enhance education requires leaders who are
flexible, open to new ideas, and willing to make decisions, and thus there is a need to build capacity
in African leaders and administrators to ensure that leveraging ICT for a knowledge society is both a
top-down and bottom-up process. In addition, relevant ongoing professional development activities
should be made available to all educators to enable them to acquire the skills and competencies
necessary to use ICT to perform their jobs effectively and productively. This requires that educators
be provided the necessary resources (harnessing all media as appropriate), tools, and information
for teaching to create effective learning opportunities for students. Incentives should be provided to
encourage or, where appropriate, require the use of ICT by relevant personnel. In addition, the time
and effort required to develop and support ODL and e-learning courses needs to be recognized.
Without this, professional development investments are likely to have limited effect. As part of this
capacity building effort, there is value in creating and sustaining effective communities of practice to
foster sharing of information and collaboration. Such collaboration has additional potential side
benefits of improving quality (through reviewing and vetting others’ materials), increasing access
and reducing costs through sharing. Finally, consideration needs to be given to how the private
sector can engage with institutions of higher education to build ICT capacity and assist in the
progress towards knowledge based societies and economies in Africa.
1.6.1.5
Quality Matters
In ensuring the quality of ODL and OER, there is a need to build a common understanding of quality
through broad consultation, introduce mechanisms for programme accreditation and institutional
audits against sound criteria, ensure collaboration and partnerships in setting quality criteria, and
promote internal and external forms of quality assurance in order to prevent poor practice and to
stimulate innovation. In addition, it may be useful to consider following up on the development of a
continental QA framework and ensuring that issues of ODL and OER are integrated into the
framework.
At the national level, ODL offerings in most African countries appear predominantly to be
undifferentiated from conventional offerings. This calls for a need to focus on preparing separate QA
of ODL or ensuring that QA of ODL forms part of broader educational QA guidelines and policies.
Where countries and institutions do not have or are developing their QA frameworks, there is a
potential to include ODL and e-learning elements early in the formation of such frameworks, thus
making it easier to ensure that innovation and QA go hand in hand. The role of the ACDE QAAA and
14
Butcher, N. (2010) ICT, Education, Development and the Knowledge Society, retrieved from
http://www.gesci.org/assets/files/ICT,%20Education,%20Development,%20and%20the%20Knowledge%20Society(1).pdf
22
the AAU will be of particular importance in this area. Institutions will also benefit from periodic
reviews of institutional OER and ODL practices to determine the value of their policies and practices.
1.6.1.6
Enhancing Management, Administration, and Operations
The successful application of ICT in improving systemic efficiency and operations can lead to
improvements in delivery of higher education. In particular, investments should be made in
developing applications that significantly improve the quality of management information systems
(at national and institutional level) and the ability to use these systems to support strategic decisionmaking and policy implementation; and contribute to stimulating free flow of information
throughout the education system. This can facilitate better planning, monitoring, and resource
allocation. Improved use of the Internet, computers and mobile and wireless technologies can also
enhance data gathering, analysis and use at universities. Institutions can use an electronic
management system to manage their day-to-day operations. This should generate required national
Educational Management Information System (EMIS) data automatically, so that no additional work
is required to meet national, regional and continental reporting requirements.
1.6.1.7
Content Creation and Knowledge Management
Key players in African higher education may want to consider judicious investments in content
creation to ensure compliance with African curricula, or local language demands, motivating usage
by teachers and learners. These materials would ideally be released using open licences to facilitate
re-use and on-going adaptation. Adopting policies that lead to release of intellectual capital under
open licenses and ensuring that this is stored in a sustainable online repository would help
significantly to reduce wastage and duplication of investment. In addition, they can invest in open
access journals that drive innovation and meet the needs of scientific research at institutions.
Related to this is the potential to invest in knowledge management systems and strategies to store,
curate, and share educational content. Ideally, to ensure cost-effectiveness, this would be done as
part of a coordinated regional strategy or in partnership with emerging global OER networks and
repositories. An online repository of case studies, evaluation findings, trends in ICT, best practices
and models and tools for financial planning and evaluation would support capacity building for
African leaders, while creating a managed online environment for them to publish and network with
each other.
1.6.1.8
Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation
Development of research is vital for Africa, and is a core function of higher education system. Thus, it
is vital to invest in a continuous process of evaluation of ICT-related interventions in education, ODL
programmes, and use of OER. The availability of open access publications means that African
academics have the opportunity to disseminate their research fast, with world-wide coverage,
allowing them recognition as their papers are read and cited by others. In addition, they have quick,
free access to articles of interest (although a prerequisite would be good Internet access). Critically,
though, it is important to ensure that African universities make a growing contribution to these
knowledge bases, as African research experience and output is currently highly under-represented in
these emerging global knowledge networks.
1.6.1.9
Awareness-raising and advocacy
Advocating the benefits of ICT, ODL and OER is important to realize benefits of their potential and
promise and to address misperceptions. In particular, it may be worthwhile preparing a sound
rationale and vision for ODL and OER to advocate and promote their adoption. For institutions
starting ICT-based, OER, and/or ODL initiatives, awareness creation is likely to be essential to drive
institutional adoption of, e- and m-learning, OER and/or ODL. This may include holding consultations
23
and workshops with relevant stakeholders. Furthermore, it is important that such policies be aligned
to institutional mission and objectives to ensure buy-in.
1.7 Implications for an African Higher Education and Research
Space
This report sought to provide a comprehensive overview of progress, opportunities, and challenges
associated with the use of ICT, ODL, and OER in African higher education. Drawing on this, it has
identified some broad areas for action for consideration by role players in the sector. In this final
section, it draws together these analyses to reflect on the potential implications for an AHERS.
Necessarily, there is some degree of repetition, but the analysis below provides a summary of key
issues for consideration in establishing an AHERS. This has two components: first, exploring how ICT,
ODL, and OER can contribute to establishing and maintaining an AHERS; second, discussing possible
ways in which an AHERS, when it is established, can contribute to effective use of ICT, ODL, and OER
in higher education in Africa.
1.7.1 Roles of ICT, ODL, and OER in Establishing and Maintaining and AHERS
1.7.1.1
Harnessing ODL and e-Learning to Strengthen Teaching and Research Capacity
Possibly the most obvious contribution that ICT, ODL, and OER can make to establishing and
maintaining an AHERS is to support development of teaching and research capacity. A coordinated
continental approach to developing programmes would enable larger-scale implementation in a
significantly more cost-effective fashion, particularly if existing curricula, materials and teaching and
learning methodologies already developed on the continent are harnessed. If the resulting course
and programme materials can be released as OER, they can be cheaply translated and adapted to
different contexts without having to pay significant fees. Such an activity could potentially be
coordinated by the AAU, possibly with key support from the ACDE and its member institutions.
Another key capacity gap is in the qualifications of academics in many institutions. ODL, e-learning,
and flexible learning programmes offer opportunities for academic staff to upgrade their
qualifications without having to travel to study full-time. A coordinated approach to delivery of these
programmes and the matching of supply with demand would serve to accelerate these professional
development initiatives, thus supporting the development of an AHERS. For this to work successfully,
the AU’s Harmonization of Higher Education Strategy has a key role to play in ensuring equivalence
of qualifications across the continent; and the implementation of he AU Quality Rating Mechanism
and the ACDE’s QAAA can make a significant contribution to ensuring that ODL and e-learning
qualifications available via ODL and e-learning are of a high standard and will be recognized by the
institutions at which participating academics are working.
Finally, ICT can play a significant role in supporting capacity building by enabling academics to work
together on research and educational activities without having to be in the same institution and/or
country. It can enable academics to enter into mentoring relationships that enable them to gain
access to this expertise without having to travel or move institutions. This kind of partnership is
readily facilitated by effective use of online communication and collaboration tools. To work
effectively, this will also benefit from regional and/or continental coordination, so that people with
similar educational and research interests can find each other through, say, a web platform that
matches people by these interests. Several of the continental agencies identified in this report would
be well placed to launch such an initiative.
24
1.7.1.2
Developing Appropriate Continental Database Systems
ICT has created enormous opportunities in online sharing of information and resources, which hold
great promise for building an effective AHERS, including:
• The AAU’s DATAD, which holds significant promise to make accessible large volumes of African
intellectual capital in the form of theses and dissertations. Implemented in parallel with
institutional efforts at digitization of research products and their sharing through institutional
repositories, this liberation of African intellectual capital for open access across the continent
has huge potential to develop an effective AHERS.
• Open Access Journals, which are an important contributor to improving access to research
generated in African universities. Although there is a growing number of highly respected open
access journals, greater effort is required both to support (in policy and financially) the
establishment of open access journals in key areas and to encourage academics to publish their
research in open access journals. There are already several efforts of this kind underway on the
continent, so the priority should be to bolster these rather than to create new initiatives.
• OER Repositories, such as those established by individual institutions, OER Africa, and the AVU.
Like open access journals, these online repositories are making available growing numbers of
high quality OER that have been produced by and for African higher education programmes.
Further support of these initiatives and encouragement to both academics and whole
institutions to share their resources under open licences can make a significant contribution to
building an effective AHERS. If this can be complemented by initiatives of International
Governmental Organisations (IGOs), development banks, and donors to provide access to their
intellectual capital under similar conditions, the contribution to African higher education could
be significant, as this creates a strong and ever-growing platform of readily available intellectual
capital on top of which to further develop higher education systems on the continent.
• The AU Quality Rating Mechanism and associated online systems (including the ACDE’s QAAA),
which hold enormous potential to make accessible important information about educational
programmes available across African universities, their educational quality, and the
opportunities these programmes generate for cross-border academic mobility.
• The AU Education Observatory, which has a key role to play in gathering, analysing, and sharing
information about key trends in African higher education. ICT plays a major role in these
statistical and analytical exercises.
1.7.1.3
Adoption of Open Licences for Sharing Educational Resources and Research Outputs
As open licences make sharing and re-use of intellectual capital significantly easier and more costeffective, many institutions and other agencies involved in higher education are making
commitments to share their intellectual capital online under open licences, with significant
ramifications for ease and cost of access to information. From this perspective, establishment of an
AHERS would be facilitated by the following activities taking place within and across higher
education systems in Africa:
• Ensuring that countries and institution have in place robust, enforceable IPR, copyright, and
privacy policies, the terms of which are accurately reflected in all legal contracts and conditions
of employment. As part of this policy process, it would be useful to consider the relative merits
of creating flexible copyright policies that apply open licences to content by default, but that also
make it easy for staff to invoke all-rights reserved copyright or other licensing permutations
where this is justified.
• Investing in ongoing awareness-raising, capacity-building, and networking/sharing activities to
develop the full range of competences required to facilitate more effective use of open licences.
These activities could aim to encourage a shared vision for open educational practices within
higher education institutions, which would ideally be aligned to those institutions’ vision and
mission.
25
•
Ensuring that academics and students have ubiquitous access to the necessary ICT infrastructure
and connectivity to access the Internet and develop or adapt research and educational materials
of different kinds.
1.7.1.4
Use of Social Networking Tools to Facilitate Collaboration
Finally, a critical role for ICT in supporting the effective creation of an AHERS is deployment and use
of social networking tools to facilitate collaboration. Although there is burgeoning range of online
Communities of Practice that provide vibrant and effective networks of sharing of expertise in
different aspects of higher education, the presence of African academics in many of these
Communities is very minimal, while often those established specifically for African higher education
are not especially active (although there are exceptions to this). Effective, development of an AHERS
will be significantly enhanced by more effective use of social networking tools to facilitate
collaboration, combined with concerted efforts to encourage (or, in certain circumstances, require)
more active engagement by African academics in these online Communities. There is generally not a
need to establish new online communities, but rather to coordinate efforts to use these tools to
facilitate sharing of expertise and collaborative online approaches to problem-solving, research, and
even teaching and learning. Where these online communities can be integrated with evolving tools
that facilitate translation of text, they might also help to facilitate dialogue between African
academics who speak different languages.
1.7.2 Roles of an AHERS in Supporting Effective Use of ICT, ODL, and OER
1.7.2.1
Collaboration, Coordination, and Partnerships
This report has highlighted the breadth and range of organizations supporting effective use of ICT,
ODL, and OER in higher education in Africa. It is naturally essential that an AHERS should seek to
coordinate, rather than duplicating, these efforts. Thus, its activities will need to be underpinned by
a strong commitment to engaging the wide range of players and stakeholders in the sector in order
to work out strategies to facilitate collaboration, coordination, and partnerships between them.
There are several benefits to increased coordination and collaboration, most usefully preventing the
duplication of efforts thus saving costs and time. In this regard, the following is suggested:
• An AHERS should seek to ensure that there are appropriate forums, short courses, and
leadership capacity programmes so that African leaders are capacitated to support and make
decisions which seek to leverage ICT, ODL, and OER effectively.
• An AHERS should encourage a continental/multilateral initiative for the integration of ICT and
OER into higher education, with an emphasis on partnerships between the private sector and
institutions with established experience in effective use of ICT.
• An AHERS should facilitate the work of the ACDE to further develop and maintain a
comprehensive database of ODL and OER providers, experts, and initiatives to increase visibility
of various activities, share expertise, and to coordinate efforts. Strong support will be necessary
to ensure that the work already commenced by the ACDE is sustained and kept up to date.
Partnerships can also be forged in this regard with other relevant initiatives, such as the AAU’s
DATAD, the AVU OER Repository, and OER Africa.
• Support should be provided to the further development of a suitable continental monitoring and
evaluation programme for Higher Education, which incorporates metrics related to ICT, ODL, and
OER. The AU Education Observatory is in a unique position in this regard to work with partner
institutions to expand a set of indicators developed for the Second Decade of Education for
Africa 2006-2014 initiative to measure progress of RECs, continental and regional partners,
member states, and institutions.
• An AHERS might function as a mechanism to stimulate the launch of a series of specialized
Communities of Practice related to ICT, ODL, and OER.
26
1.7.2.2
Awareness-Raising and Advocacy
There are many agencies already actively engaged in advocacy, at continental, regional, national,
and institutional levels, in ICT, ODL, and OER. Nevertheless, there remains a strong need for ongoing
advocacy, ideally by supporting these existing initiatives and finding ways to amplify their reach and
effectiveness. Specifically, it is important, within an AHERS to:
• Sensitize governments about the potential of ICT, ODL, and OER to enhance access and improve
the quality of higher education in Africa. Whilst there have been efforts towards, and
achievements gained with regards to ICT in general and ODL in particular, more emphasis needs
to be placed on sensitizing governments and African academics about the potential of OER.
• Ensure that African leaders have a good understanding of ICT, ODL, and OER to make informed
policy and investment decisions to harness ICT, ODL, and OER to support higher education
development.
• Help governments to review national ICT/connectivity policies and strategies for Higher
Education, given the centrality of ICT to accessing and sharing content online and, increasingly,
to effective use of ODL.
• As part of the above, expand the reach and impact of National and Regional Research and
Education Networks to ensure that all institutions of higher education have access to stable and
fast internet.
• Increased coordination and resource-sharing between African institutions should be beneficial as
institutions move to fully integrate ICT into their teaching and learning, while regional platforms
for sharing information on ICT policies and courseware and exchanging experiences are useful to
increasing the positive contribution of ICT to not only to higher education but all levels of
education.
1.7.2.3
A Focus on Open Licensing
Given the importance of open licensing and the potential contribution of open access publishing and
sharing of OER to the development of higher education in Africa and sharing of African knowledge
with the world, it is suggested that an underlying principle of all activities within an AHERS be that
resources are shared under a suitable open licence. This will facilitate free sharing and flow of
knowledge within and beyond the Space, thereby facilitating its core functions of developing higher
education on the continent and raising the profile of African higher education globally. It will also be
important for an AHERS to be familiar with the shifting terrain of IPR and copyright and understand
the range of licensing options available for research and educational materials. An AHERS should
also create opportunities for stakeholder-driven debates about the likely effect of these changes and
how they might influence national higher education systems and qualifications frameworks in higher
education. A good way of motivating institutions and organizations to adopt OER policies and
practices is for an AHERS to adopt an open licensing approach itself, thereby modelling and
encouraging a culture of sharing. Thus, in this regard, to adopt and support the use of content
management and authoring tools (web content editing tools, content management systems),
templates, and toolkits that facilitate the creation of adaptable, inclusively designed educational
resources would be a good starting point for an AHERS. Any new materials commissioned for
development by the AHERS should be licensed under a suitable Creative Commons licence so that
they can be freely copied and adapted, by the public, but with proper recognition.
1.7.2.4
Developing Appropriate Policies and Plans
An AHERS can play an active role in promoting the development of both national and institutional
ICT policies and strategic frameworks that consider the role of ICT, ODL, and OER in curriculum
delivery. It is especially important to ensure that these policies and plans, at the very least, invest in
ongoing policy cycles of planning, implementation, reflection, refinement, effectiveness, and user
27
acceptance. They should ideally also include performance indicators so that progress can be
measured.
At the continental level, the African Union can be a driver of the connection between higher
education and ICT. Already, this relationship can be see through the Second Decade for Education in
Africa (2006-2014) Plan of Action that stipulates that ICT development in higher education should be
pursued.15 Continental partners could work with the AU to develop a continental strategy document
for integrating ICT into higher education.
African leaders could also benefit from access to a dynamic repository of policy frameworks, case
studies of African and international experience, legislative frameworks, and monitoring and
evaluation outcomes relating to the use of ICT for education and development, as they could learn
from best practices and understand the necessary policy mechanisms required to build ICT capacity
in higher education.
1.7.2.5
Building Capacity
There are many ways in which an AHERS can contribute to building capacity in ICT, ODL, and OER,
working in partnership with those agencies and institutions already active in these areas on the
continent. These might include:
• Developing common, openly licensed course and programme materials that can be adapted and
used in professional development initiatives;
• Supporting the aggregation and release under open licences of digital learning resources
produced in African countries in order to widen and deepen the pool of available educational
content that is specifically designed with African educational contexts in mind;
• Supporting the development of NRENS, and deployment of associated data networks and
applications (grid-computing, video-conferencing, e-learning, and so on);
• Developing the capacity of policy makers and regulators to enable them to establish more
effective ICT in education policies, strategies, and regulatory frameworks;
• Investing in ongoing awareness-raising, capacity-building, and networking/sharing activities to
develop the full range of competences required to facilitate more effective use of educational
resources in education delivery.
1.7.2.6
Strengthening the Focus on Research
Given the centrality of research to the concept of an AHERS, it is important that emphasis should be
placed on research in the fields of ICT, ODL, and OER. Drawing on case studies and expertise existing
in Africa, AHERS can, amongst other research activities:
1) Invest in a continuous process of research and evaluation of ICT-, ODL- and OER-related
interventions in higher education. A key focus should be on ensuring that the resulting research
is formally published to widen access to knowledge from Africa.
2) Invest in knowledge-sharing events and innovative ways of publishing and distributing research
findings, so that African professionals have access to research, monitoring, and evaluation
findings, and are themselves producers of knowledge and lessons to share globally.
3) Support the development of regional, national, and institutional knowledge management
systems and strategies to store, curate, and share educational content, ideally as part of a
coordinated national, regional, or continental strategy and in partnership with emerging global
OER networks and repositories.
15
African Union. (2006). Second Decade of Education for Africa (2006-2015 ) Plan of Action revised August 2006. Tertiary
Education, Activity Nine. Retrieved from
http://www.nepad.org/system/files/Second%20Decade%20of%20Education%202006-2015.pdf
28
Ensure that donors and governments invest in open access journals that drive innovation and
meet the needs of scientific research at institutions.
5) Develop resources that showcase and research best practices for integrating ICT, ODL, and OER
into higher education, which can be shared across the continent.
6) Coordinate through appropriate partnerships, investment in pilot projects that test the use of
new and innovative technologies, ensuring that these experiments are well evaluated and the
results widely shared.
4)
The AU could play an important role in organizing and conducting monitoring and evaluation of
regional and member state ICT initiatives. Particularly, the AU Observatory is well positioned to fulfil
such a role and already does so in the context of the Second Decade of Education for Africa 20062014. Member states and RECs could work with the AU Observatory and its partners to develop a
process and capacity for collecting information on efforts to achieve ICT in higher education (a key
activity of the Second Decade Plan of Action).
1.8 Conclusion
This report demonstrated that ICT, ODL, and OER are an integral and essential part of the higher
education landscape on the continent and that there are already several agencies and institutions
actively involved in each field. The report identified several key areas for action, and then drawn
from these a concrete set of implications for an AHERS. We hope it makes a useful contribution to
forging this space to the advantage of all students currently enrolled in African universities, as well
as for those generations of students who will enrol in, and graduate from, our higher education
institutions in the future.
29
2 Introduction
The African Higher Education and Research Space (AHERS) seeks to create opportunities for
institutional, national, regional, and continental collaboration using the common challenges
experienced by higher education institutions in Africa as the driving force behind this
collaboration. AHERS is an initiative spearheaded by the Association for the Development of
Education in Africa (ADEA) Working Group on Higher Education (WGHE), African Union Commission
(AUC), United Nations Economic, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and Association of
African Universities (AAU) among others, following the 2009 UNESCO World Conference on Higher
Education (WCHE) whose Communiqué placed emphasis on the need to develop an African Higher
Education and Research Area through institutional, national, regional and continental collaboration.
The basic objectives of creating an AHERS are to strengthen the capacity of African higher education
institutions through collaboration in teaching and research, improve the quality of higher education,
and promote academic mobility across the continent through the recognition of academic
qualifications.16
Several aspects have been identified for fostering collaboration, among them promoting open
and distance learning (ODL) to improve access to tertiary education and effective use of
information and communication technology (ICT). 17 This report, which is based exclusively on
desk research, explores how ODL and ICT, as well as use of open educational resources (OER),
can serve to strengthen and sustain AHERS. This is done by providing a description and analysis
of opportunities and challenges in current practice in use of ICT, ODL, and OER in higher
education in Africa. Policy issues in these three areas are also discussed. The report concludes
with recommendations on how ICT, ODL and OER can be harnessed to establish and maintain
AHERS.
2.1 Overview of ICT, ODL, and OER
The past 15 years has seen rapid development in Information and Communication Technology (ICT),
and an accompanying explosion of ICT-related activity in the higher education sector, as higher
education institutions and national systems deal with the challenge of how best to deploy the
potential of ICT to the benefit of students, academics, and countries. Increasingly, investment in ICT
is being seen by higher education institutions as a necessary part of establishing their competitive
advantage, because it is attractive to students and because governments, parents, employers, and
other key funders of higher education regard it as essential.
Since the emergence of ICT, the dominant focus in higher education has been on educational
applications of ICT (often described as e-learning). This is partly because of the exciting array of
educational possibilities created by new technologies, but also because the educational benefits of
technology have been so strongly advocated in the marketing campaigns of technology companies.
An additional reason for this focus on the educational applications of ICT has been that much of the
exploration of potential applications of ICT has been driven by individual academics or departments.
While this has helped to develop much greater knowledge about potential educational applications
of technology, thinking about ICT to support teaching and learning in isolation is a false starting
16Mohamedbhai,
G. (2011). Lessons from Europe: Towards an African Higher Education and Research Space. Retrieved
from
http://www.insidehighered.com/layout/set/popup/blogs/the_world_view/lessons_from_europe_towards_an_african_hig
her_education_and_research_space.
17 ADEA Working Group on Higher Education. (2011). Creating an African Higher Education and Research Space: Concept
Note. Retrieved from http://www.scidev.net/uploads/File/Final_AHERS_Concept_Note_English.doc
30
point, as it generally assumes effective underlying systems that manage and administer that
education. Thus, ICT in higher education also needs to focus on the use of ICT for management and
administration as well as for other functions such as research purposes.
ICT has also created a revolution in open and distance learning (ODL), offering new and more flexible
learning opportunities. It provides the tools needed to extend basic education to underserved
geographical regions and groups of students, and has the potential to empower teachers and
learners through vastly improved access to information. The concept of ODL is a combination of the
concept of open learning with that of distance education. Open learning is an approach to learning
that allows learners flexibility and choice over what, when, at what pace, where, and how they learn.
Distance education is characterized by separation of learners and teachers by geographical distance
and time. Open learning is very often, but not necessarily always, provided using distance education
methods.18
The above explanation is similar to that of UNESCO, which describes ODL as approaches that provide
education in a context that frees learners from the constraints of time and location during access to
this education. Learners can choose when and how they want to study, wherever they are. Learners
can be taught by lecturers who are geographically removed from them, and technology can be used
to support such learning.19
The Commonwealth of Learning (2005) highlight that two factors characterize ODL: its philosophy
and its use of technology:
Most ODL systems have a philosophy that aims to:
• Remove barriers to education; and
• Allow students to study what they want, when they want and where they want.
In short, ODL is about increasing educational access and increasing educational choice.
ODL systems typically use technology to mediate learning, for example:
• Printed workbooks
• Audio cassettes
• Radio
• The web.20
Thus, ODL is both a philosophy of and an approach to education provision. It also is generally a term
used to describe learning that uses ICT to provide or enhance learning.
There is no single system for providing ODL, and therefore a wide variety of courses are described as
‘open learning’ or as ‘distance learning’. Examples of ODL systems are:
1) Correspondence courses where students study for professional qualification and degrees;
2) Open learning systems using workbooks, study centres, and online conferencing to enable
working adults to gain school-leaving qualifications;
3) Web-based courses used to update technical staff in the workplace; and
4) Distance education courses to upgrade classroom teachers without their having to leave their
classrooms.21
18
About e-learning. Blog post Monday, October 15, 2007. Retrieved from http://aboutelearning.blogspot.com/2007/10/open-vs-distance-learning-is-there.html
19 UNESCO. Education quality and mobility. What is open and distance learning (ODL)? Retrieved from
http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=22329&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
20 Commonwealth of Learning. (2005). Creating Learning Materials for Open and Distance Learning: A Handbook for
Authors and Instructional Designers. The Commonwealth of Learning: Vancouver
21 Commonwealth of Learning. (2005). Creating Learning Materials for Open and Distance Learning: A Handbook for
Authors and Instructional Designers. The Commonwealth of Learning: Vancouver
31
ODL is used for a variety of purposes, ranging from primary education to post-secondary school
study, and for professional development. It is important to note that although technology plays a
key role in the delivery of ODL, the focus is not on the technology of delivery, but rather on
instructional outcomes.
Another significant trend initiated by the explosion of ICT is a shift in the conception and value of
content. Historically learning – in education institutions, the workplace, and society at large – has
relied on printed materials to deliver a content-rich product. The advent of ICT and its associated
rapid and cost-effective publishing opportunities means that this is no longer the case. Content-rich
materials are no longer static nor are they the exclusive domain of publishing companies. This frees
all citizens – but particularly those in education – to author and publish learning materials in
electronic formats. Content itself can be dynamically updated and need no longer be the preserve of
single authoring teams. Rather than the value being in the content itself, value is created in services
that package and rapidly publish content that is both current and tailored for a myriad of audiences
and purposes.
This trend is clearly seen in the emerging concept of Open Education Resources (OER). In a nutshell,
the concept of OERs describes educational resources that are freely available for use by educators
and learners, without an accompanying need to pay royalties or licence fees. OER refers to:
Educational resources (including curriculum maps, course materials, textbooks, streaming
videos, multimedia applications, podcasts, and any other materials that have been designed
for use in teaching and learning) that are openly available for use by educators and students,
without an accompanying need to pay royalties or licence fees. 22
Although there is a clear connection between issues pertaining to ICT, ODL, and OER, this report
focuses separately on each, describing current practices in Africa and using this to highlight some of
the key opportunities arising from use of each. It also describes challenges associated with each
area. With this background, the report then presents a series of guidelines and recommendations
targeted specifically at the AHERS.
22
Butcher, N. (2011). A Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources (OER). UNESCO and Commonwealth of Learning.
Retrieved from http://www.col.org/resources/publications/Pages/detail.aspx?PID=357
32
3 ICT and Higher Education
3.1 Introduction
ICT refers to technology that is used in the manipulation, storage, and conveyance of data through
electronic means.23 ICT is considered a critical tool in preparing students with the required skills for
the global workplace. It is regarded as an engine for growth and tool for empowerment, with
profound implications for education and socio-economic development.24 The potential of ICT to
tackle some of the socio-economic challenges facing Africa, and thereby impact on development,
has led many countries to invest heavily in ICT, placing it at the centre of their development
strategies, particularly in higher education.25
Many countries in Africa and elsewhere are embracing a vision for the development of Knowledge
Societies, and adopting policies and strategies to encourage this development. Higher education is of
vital importance in the Knowledge Society, as a source of basic skills, as a foundation for
development of new knowledge and innovation, and as an engine for socio-economic development.
Higher education is, therefore, a critical requirement in creating knowledge societies that can
stimulate development, economic growth, and prosperity.26 It is not only the means by which
individuals become skilled participants in society and the economy, but also a key driver in
expanding ICT usage.27 This suggests that ICT plays a key role in facilitating education development.
If universities are to harness ICT effectively to build knowledge societies, the implications are that
there will be changing skills requirements for students, as well as changing roles for educators. The
pursuit of knowledge requires understanding of where it is located, who has access to it, and why.
This requires an important set of social skills or ‘relationship capital’, which has become important in
employment contexts. The growing importance of ICT has placed increasing emphasis on the need to
ensure that students are information literate (including having higher order skills). Likewise,
universities are faced with a need to provide formal instruction in information, visual, and
technological literacy, as well as in how to create meaningful content with today’s tools. This
requires higher education institutions to develop and establish methods for teaching and evaluating
these critical literacies.
ICT use in higher education and development is not simply about teaching ‘ICT literacy’ – i.e. learning
to operate the technology – but also about building higher-order skills, such as knowing and
understanding what it means to live in a digitized and networked society and use digital technology
in everyday life. This includes understanding how ICT applications and services function, as well as
knowing where to search for certain information, how to process and evaluate information, and how
to assess the reliability and trustworthiness of multiple sources of information (online and offline).
Critically, ICT is valuable only as a means to achieve genuine knowledge societies. The growth of ICT
23
OpenLearn. (no date). ICTs in everyday life. Retrieved from
http://labspace.open.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=371982
24 Butcher, N. (2010) ICT, Education, Development and the Knowledge Society, p.5. Retrieved from
http://www.gesci.org/assets/files/ICT,%20Education,%20Development,%20and%20the%20Knowledge%20Society(1).pdf
25 Butcher, N. (2010) ICT, Education, Development and the Knowledge Society, p.9. Retrieved from
http://www.gesci.org/assets/files/ICT,%20Education,%20Development,%20and%20the%20Knowledge%20Society(1).pdf
26 Butcher, N. (2010) ICT, Education, Development and the Knowledge Society, p.6. Retrieved from
http://www.gesci.org/assets/files/ICT,%20Education,%20Development,%20and%20the%20Knowledge%20Society(1).pdf
27 UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education (2004) Guidebook 1 - ICTs in Education and Schoolnets.
Retrieved from http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ict/e-books/SchoolNetKit/guidebook1.pdf
33
networks alone will not build a knowledge society.28 Thus, ICT is a facilitator for major education and
development reforms, but not a sufficient condition.
A UNESCO report supports the view of ICT as a facilitator in education and argues for its growth in
education systems as ‘knowledge-society attributes in students, including higher order thinking
skills, lifelong learning habits, and the ability to think critically, communicate, and collaborate, as
well as to access, evaluate, and synthesize information’ develop. The report goes on to note that ICT
can improve the learning environment through enabling greater access to information, resources,
expertise and additional knowledge.29 This improved access to information is enabled through a
growing ICT environment in Africa. A recent World Bank report highlights that access to ICT across
the continent has improved, and the costs associated with access to ICT are reducing as more and
more telecommunications markets are liberalizing and as the cost of devices is declining.30 This has
important ramifications for extending ICT into African higher education institutions.
ICT integration into higher education can result in improved service delivery, curriculum changes, or
new quality assurance and production processes and a movement towards learner-centred
philosophies.31 An ICT-enabled learning environment generally means a greater use of desktop and
laptop computers, learning management systems, software, interactive whiteboards, digital
cameras, mobile and wireless tools – such as mobile phones, and electronic communication tools,
including email, discussion boards, chat facilities and video conferencing. Such an environment,
then, clearly assumes connectivity to the Internet.32
3.2 ICT in Education Policies in Africa
Internationally, the need to provide quality education for all learners has motivated countries to
develop plans focused on the use of ICT for teaching and learning. The drive to promote ICT in
education has typically been aligned with broader social and economic goals. In particular, visions of
how ICT in education can lead to participation in a global knowledge economy and how ICT will
improve country economies are explicated in ICT policies.33
In Africa, there is growing recognition by national, regional, and continental bodies of the role of ICT
for socio-economic development. Evidence of this includes the many countries that have focused
attention on developing national ICT policies and National Information and Communication
Infrastructure Plans to support their socio-economic development efforts and ICT in education
policies. There has also been significant growth of continental and regional strategies to create
knowledge societies. The Association of Africa Universities (AAU) considers the development and use
of ICT in higher education to be important in closing gaps between African and the rest of the world
in knowledge, technology, and the economy. The AAU, along with the Inter-University Council for
28
UNESCO. (2005). Towards Knowledge Societies. Paris: UNESCO
UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education. (2004) Guidebook 1 - ICTs in Education and Schoolnets.
Retrieved from: http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ict/e-books/SchoolNetKit/guidebook1.pdf
30 Williams, M.D.J., Mayer, R., and Minges, M. (2011). Africa’s ICT Infrastructure Building on the Mobile Revolution. World
Bank: Washington. Retrieved from
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INFORMATIONANDCOMMUNICATIONANDTECHNOLOGIES/Resources/AfricasICTInfrast
ructure_Building_on_MobileRevolution_2011.pdf
31 UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education. (2004). Guidebook 1 - ICTs in Education and Schoolnets.
Retrieved from http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ict/e-books/SchoolNetKit/guidebook1.pdf
32 Butcher, N. (2010) ICT, Education, Development and the Knowledge Society. Retrieved from
http://www.gesci.org/assets/files/ICT,%20Education,%20Development,%20and%20the%20Knowledge%20Society(1).pdf
33 Adam, L., Butcher, N., Tusubira, F.F.T., and Sibthorpe, C. (2011). Transformation-Ready: The strategic application of
information and communication technologies in Africa - Education Sector Study. Prepared for the African Development
Bank, the World Bank and the African Union.
29
34
East Africa (IUECA), has played a fundamental role in assisting national governments to draw an
explicit role for institutions of higher education within the policies and strategies aimed at creating
knowledge societies.34 The link with higher education in these initiatives is often present, and can be
seen at the continental, regional, and national levels and with international partner institutions.
The African Union, in its Second Decade of Education for Africa (2006-2015): Plan of Action,
recognizes that education, and in particular, higher education is a critical sector, the performance of
which directly affects and even determines the quality and magnitude of Africa’s development. The
Plan of Action specifically promotes use of ICT and encourages use of e-learning in its Matrix of
Activities for advancing Higher Education. In addition, the use of ICT is also encouraged for the
development of curriculum and teaching materials:
For Africa to entrench a culture of science, technology, research and innovation in its people,
the teaching of science and technology must be reformed at all levels, with a special focus on
the use of ICTs.35
Review the curriculum of literacy programmes, vocational training etc. To embrace modern
technology, ICT, Open and Distance learning methods.36
The African Union also developed a Reference Framework for Harmonisation of Telecommunication
and ICT Policies and Regulations in 2008. The Framework seeks to promote integration of ICT policies
amongst member states by advocating for the liberalization and (in many cases) privatization of
telecommunications markets, committing to universal access, and development of national ICT
policies and action plans.37 Engaging with institutions of higher education appears to be an aspect of
this reference framework through its allusion to the need to establish training institutions for ICT.
Within these key continental frameworks, there are several other policy and related initiatives,
examples of which are provided below:
• The Africa EU-P8 partnership, which brings together representatives from the African Union and
the European Union (EU), has the following priority area with regard to ICT: ‘support the
development of an inclusive information society in Africa, with the goal of bridging the digital
divide and to enhance the use of ICT as key enablers for poverty reduction, growth, and
socioeconomic development’.38 Here, African institutions of higher education have benefited
directly through assistance in establishing research and education networks that link into
European high speed digital networks such as the Gigabit European Advanced Network
Technology (GÉANT). Simply increasing connectivity and access to the internet is a big step for
many African institutions of higher education and means greater access to information for
students and researcher.
•
The African Information Society Initiative (AISI) has, as its main objective, to support and
accelerate socio-economic development across the region.39 Education and building ICT
34
Farrell, G., and Isaacs, S. (2007). Survey of ICT and Education in Africa: A Summary Report, Based on 53 Country Surveys.
Washington, DC: infoDev / World Bank. Retrieved from http://www.infodev.org/en/Publication.353.html
35 African Union. (2006). Second Decade of Education for Africa (2006-2015) Plan of Action revised August 2006. p.11.
Retrieved from http://www.nepad.org/system/files/Second%20Decade%20of%20Education%202006-2015.pdf
36 African Union. (2006). Second Decade of Education for Africa (2006-2015) Plan of Action revised August 2006. p.15.
Retrieved from http://www.nepad.org/system/files/Second%20Decade%20of%20Education%202006-2015.pdf
37 African Union. (2008). Reference Framework for Harmonisation of Telecommunication and ICT Policies and Regulations.
Retrieved from http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/projects/ITU_EC_ACP/hipssa/docs/presentations/AUC%20%20Z.%20Bonkoungou%20-%20Reference%20Framework%20for%20Harmonization%20of%20ICT%20Policies%20EN.pdf
38 Africa and Europe in Partnership. (no date). Science, Information Society and Space. Retrieved from http://www.africaeu-partnership.org/sites/default/files/science_roadmap_final_1.pdf
39 African Union and Economic Commission for Africa. (2005). African Regional Action Plan for the Knowledge Economy
Framework. World Summit on the Information Society Bamako Bureau. Retrieved from
http://www.uneca.org/aisi/docs/arapke%20version%20of%20september%202005.pdf
35
infrastructure in the education sector is a central pillar of this initiative. AISI has assisted 28
African countries to build their national information and communications infrastructure, has
undertaken capacity building programmes for the use of ICT in education, and launched the
SCAN-ICT project, which seeks to measure the impact of ICT on people’s lives.40
•
Southern African development Community (SADC) Member States have acknowledged the
importance of ICT in meeting the challenges posed by globalization, facilitating the regional
integration agenda, and enhancing the socioeconomic development prospects of the Region.
Members have agreed on the need to develop an all-inclusive, balanced, and socially equitable
information and knowledge-based society, which is founded on coordinated national strategies
to integrate ICT into regional development policies effectively.41
•
The Regional ICT Support Programme (RICTSP) is a development framework between: Common
Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC), the InterGovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), and the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC). The
primary objective of RICTSP is to ‘contribute to the regional integration agenda through an
effective and efficient ICT environment which will reduce the costs of trade and investment and
thereby stimulate economic growth and reduce poverty. The purpose is to achieve a reduction in
the digital divide by removing some of the constraints to the efficient use of ICT’.42
•
The EAC has developed a number of policy initiatives to facilitate ICT development in the region,
including: the Guidelines on Interconnection and access for telecommunications networks and
services within the East African Community in 2008; a study of policy harmonization for the EAC
in 2009; and a study of regulatory harmonization for the EAC, also in 2009.43 Institutions of
higher education are referenced in these documents as integral to the development and
integration of ICT into EAC member state economies.
•
The Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS) developed the Supplementary
Act A/SA.1/01/07 on the harmonization of policies and regulatory framework for the ICT sector
in 2007.44 In addition to encouraging member states to work together in advancing ICT
development, ECOWAS has also sought to promote collaboration and coordination between
institutions of higher education in the region.
•
In 2008, the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) developed six
directives on ICT policy harmonization, universal service, interconnection, tariffs and data
protection.45 By implementing these six directives, the environment for investing and engaging
with ICT in Higher Education becomes more stable and affordable. Furthermore, a context is
created where research and education networks can be established between institutions in the
CEMAC region building ICT capacity and sharing best practice.
40
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. (no date). Harnessing Information for Development. Retrieved from
http://www.uneca.org/aisi/
41 Southern African Development Community Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (no date). Retrieved from:
http://www.sadc.int/attachment/download/file/74
42 COMESA. Regional ICT Support Programme. Retrieved from http://comesa.assure.danishictmanagement.dk/
43 Research ICT Africa. (2010). Comparative ICT Sector Performance Review 2009/2010. . Retrieved
fromhttp://www.researchictafrica.net/publications/Policy_Paper_Series_Towards_Evidencebased_ICT_Policy_and_Regulation_-_Volume_2/Vol_2_Paper_5__Comparative_ICT_Sector_Performance_Review_2009_2010.pdf
44 Ibid.
45 Ibid.
36
•
In 2009, the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) produced a set of
recommendations to develop a regional framework for harmonizing national policies and
regulations pertaining to ICT.46 Undertaking this initiative improves the context for fostering
collaboration and cooperation amongst institutions of higher education in the region.
At the national level, several countries have developed policies that cover use of ICT in higher
education across Africa. For example, in Kenya, integrating ICT into tertiary education is a key
priority of the National ICT Policy for Education and Training.47 In addition, the Strategic Plan 20082012 advocates increasing capacity in monitoring and evaluation and use of ICT, as well as
identifying the gaps in ICT.48 The Strategic Plan also lays out a number of goals related to improving
infrastructure and support for ICTs in higher education, collaboration with national and international
partners, and improving the policy and regulatory environment to be supportive of ICT
development.49 However, problems persist with inadequate budget allocations, while a perceived
lack of consultation with relevant stakeholders has created tension and problems for
implementation of these objectives.50
In Egypt, the Egyptian Information Society Initiative intends to exploit e-learning applications to
spread knowledge and information using electronic means through the Internet. The Egypt
Education Initiative’s objective is to improve education in Egypt through the effective use of ICT.51
In Nigeria, the Education Roadmap seeks to determine where and how to tackle pressing problems
such as ICT in higher education.52 It emphasizes the need to improve ICT infrastructure, and develop
and use e-learning tools. Early in 2012, the government released a draft of its newly formulated
National ICT Policy. This policy is meant to consolidate and harmonize different policies and practices
for ICT across the various sectors of the Nigerian economy. The process of its development resulted
in the establishment of the Ministry of Communications Technology and the ICT Development
Agency. The Policy gives specific attention to tertiary education by calling to develop ICT curricula,
promote e-learning and distance education, and integrate ICT training in educational institutions.53
In Rwanda, the Higher Education Policy 2008 is considered integral to the Economic and Poverty
Reduction Strategy, Vision 2020, National Investment Strategy, The National Science, Technology,
Research and Innovation Strategy and the Integrated ICT-led Socio Economic Development Policy.
46
Ibid. .
Bon, A. (2010). Information and Communication Technologies in Tertiary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Teferra, D
and Greijn, H.(eds). )Higher Education and Globalization Challenges, Threats and Opportunities for Africa. Maastricht
University Centre for International Cooperation in Academic Development (MUNDO), Maastricht, the Netherlands, and
International Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA), Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston
College, USA.
48 Republic of Kenya. (2008). Strategic Plan 2008-2012: Quality Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation for
National Prosperity and Global Competitiveness. Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. Retrieved from
http://chet.org.za/manual/media/files/chet_hernana_docs/Kenya/National/MHEST%20Strategic%20Plan%2020082012.pdf
49 Republic of Kenya. (2008). Strategic Plan 2008-2012: Quality Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation for
National Prosperity and Global Competitiveness. Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. Retrieved
fromhttp://chet.org.za/manual/media/files/chet_hernana_docs/Kenya/National/MHEST%20Strategic%20Plan%2020082012.pdf
50 Bon, A. (2010). Information and Communication Technologies in Tertiary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa In Teferra, D
and Greijn, H.(eds). )Higher Education and Globalization Challenges, Threats and Opportunities for Africa. Maastricht
University Centre for International Cooperation in Academic Development (MUNDO), Maastricht, the Netherlands, and
International Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA), Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston
College, USA.
51 Czerniewicz, L. (ed). 2007. Report on Higher Education ICTs and e-Learning in Egypt, p.4. Cape Town: CET
52Government of Nigeria. (2009). Roadmap for the Nigerian Education Sector. Consultative Draft April 2009.
53 Government of Nigeria. (2012). National ICT Policy. Retrieved from
http://www.commtech.gov.ng/downloads/National_ICT_Policy_DRAFT_090112.pdf
47
37
The policy focuses on a number of issues, including use of ICT in learning institutions, and focuses on
the ability to create greater access to information and communication and use of ICT as an
alternative channel of education provision through e-learning.54 The Vision 2020 documents calls for
greater investment in ICT skills infrastructure, as this is viewed as integral to promoting Rwanda as a
science and technology hub in Africa.55 The Government has embarked on a number of education
reforms to promote basic education and education for all, but the high cost of setting up and
maintaining infrastructure and the high prices for Internet access have slowed implementation of
these technology plans. However, government has started reforms in ICT and a number of
infrastructure projects are in the pipeline to improve connectivity.56
Uganda adopted the Quality Assurance Programme in 2006, which focuses on higher education. The
programme promises to increase budget allocations for higher education to build and enhance
institutional infrastructure, with an emphasis on learning spaces and ICT. This appears to
complement the government-adopted E-Government Strategic Framework, which created a central
Ministry for ICT and sought to provide political and technical leadership for ICT across all levels of
government, including education.57
Mauritius is arguably the most advanced African nation with respect to ICT in policy. The Education
and Human Resources Strategy Plan 2008-2020 emphasizes ICT through committing to consolidate
and upgrade the ICT infrastructure and capability to meet the challenge of making ICT the fifth pillar
of the Mauritian economy.58 In addition, the National Strategic Plan for Education and Training 20082020 commits to making large investments in tertiary education. Furthermore, the private sector has
invested in developing a modern and sophisticated ICT infrastructure for the tertiary education
sector by establishing a local backbone and partially funding a submarine fibre-optic cable
connecting the country to Asia, Europe, and continental Africa.59
The Ghana Education Strategic Plan (ESP) 2010-2020 prioritizes ICT in higher education by making it
one of the plan’s six areas of focus. This is further reinforced by the Ghanaian ICT Policy that has an
e-education sub-plan. This embodies a programme of deployment, use, and exploitation of ICT
within the education system. However, ICT usage continues to be a problem in Ghana with only a
few of the 46 institutions of higher education offering Bachelors in Informatics or appearing to have
ICT integrated into the teaching, learning and research environment. In addition, access to sufficient
network facilities, ICT tools, and e-learning options continues to be a problem.60
54Republic
of Rwanda. (2008). Higher Education Policy. Ministry of Education
Republic of Rwanda. (2000). Rwanda Vision 2020. Retrieved from
http://www.gesci.org/assets/files/Rwanda_Vision_2020.pdf
56 Isaacs, S. (2011) . Case Study: Rwanda. In Transforming Education: The Power of ICT Policies. UNESCO, Paris. Retrieved
from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002118/211842e.pdf
57 57 Ngugi, C. (ed). (2007). ICTs and higher education in Africa. Cape Town: Centre for Educational Technology.
58Republic of Mauritius (2008). Draft Education and Human Resources Strategy Plan 2008-2020. Ministry of Education,
Culture and Human Resources. Retrieved from
http://chet.org.za/manual/media/files/chet_hernana_docs/Mauritius/National/DRAFT%20EDUCATION%20and%20HR%20
STRATEGY%20PLAN%202008-2020.pdf
59 Bon, A. (2010). Information and Communication Technologies in Tertiary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Teferra, D
and Greijn, H.(eds). )Higher Education and Globalization Challenges, Threats and Opportunities for Africa. Maastricht
University Centre for International Cooperation in Academic Development (MUNDO), Maastricht, the Netherlands, and
International Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA), Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston
College, USA.
60 Bon, A. (2010). Information and Communication Technologies in Tertiary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Teferra, D
and Greijn, H.(eds). )Higher Education and Globalization Challenges, Threats and Opportunities for Africa. Maastricht
University Centre for International Cooperation in Academic Development (MUNDO), Maastricht, the Netherlands, and
International Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA), Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston
College, USA.
55
38
Malawi continues to struggle with integrating ICT into higher education, but action is being taken to
rectify this through the ICT4dev policy and the National Education Sector Plan 2008-2013.61 The
ICT4dev Policy prioritizes modernizing infrastructure, improving training, and promoting ICT literacy
in the education sector as a whole.62 The National Education Sector Plan identifies strengthening of
ICT training as a key part of improving the quality and relevance of Higher Education in the country.63
Malawi is also making efforts to develop a Malawian Research and Education Network, and has
access to a fibre-optic infrastructure. This will markedly improve internet connections for the
Malawian tertiary education sector.
Tanzania developed the Education and Training Sector Development Programme 2008-2017, which
commits the government to investing in ICT development in tertiary education. A Tanzanian
Education and Research Network (TERNET) is currently under development, and will be part of the
larger UbuntuNet Alliance. Since 2007, ICT infrastructure has been a priority for the government.
Emphasis has been placed on providing high bandwidth internet to higher education institutions, as
well as establishing a satellite connection in 2008. Government ICT policies were developed in
education, and, in higher education specifically, government goals include: establishing an education
network (TERNET); creating e-learning and ICT curriculum materials; use of ICT in classrooms; and
improved ICT infrastructure. Tanzania also has an Institutional Transformation Programme, which
seeks to restructure the organization and teaching methods in higher education towards greater use
of e-learning. However, little evidence is available to determine if this has occurred and challenges
remain such as the availability of skilled teachers and infrastructure.64
Namibia has placed a great deal of emphasis recently on ICT policy. In its policies, the government
draws an explicit connection between ICT integration into education and the development of a
knowledge based economy. In addition, harnessing ICT is viewed as an important way to improve
quality in the education sector. The policy identifies a staff training component, which encompasses
all people involved in the education system including teachers, lecturers, principals, administrative
staff and other stakeholders. Teachers and lecturers are targeted for pre-service and in-service
training to build their confidence in ICT, including communicating via email and understanding the
value of integrating ICT in learning and teaching. The Namibian policy emphasizes pedagogical and
curriculum reform, through the integration of ICT into educational environments. It suggests that the
curriculum should promote skills of accessing, managing, and processing information, as well as
promoting collaborative work skills, problem-solving, and learning The policy identifies three
elements in the role of ICT in the curriculum: 1) curriculum for ICT skills and knowledge, which is
referred to as ICT literacy skills; 2) ICT as a subject, which implies the study of computer studies and
information technology geared towards more advanced technical skill development; and 3)
Curriculum for the use of ICT within subjects, which is referred to as cross-curricula ICT. Currently,
the Government of Namibia is making plans to lower the costs of bandwidth and improve
accessibility through establishing a direct link to the SAT3/WASC/SAFE Consortium which is a
submarine cable that originates in Portugal goes to South Africa and across the Indian Ocean to Asia.
Namibia has many direct links to other neighbouring countries that provide the necessary Internet
capacity. A crucial component of Namibia’s ICT in education implementation framework is the
61
Bon, A. (2010). Information and Communication Technologies in Tertiary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Teferra, D
and Greijn, H.(eds). )Higher Education and Globalization Challenges, Threats and Opportunities for Africa. Maastricht
University Centre for International Cooperation in Academic Development (MUNDO), Maastricht, the Netherlands, and
International Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA), Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston
College, USA.
62ICT for Development.(2008). Malawi ICT4D National Strategy. Retrieved from
http://d6.comminit.com/en/node/148481/307
63 Government of Malawi. (2009). Education Sector Implementation Plan. Retrieved from
http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/upload/Malawi/Malawi_ESIP_FINAL.pdf
64 Ngugi, C. (ed). (2007). ICTs and Higher Education in Africa. Cape Town: Centre for Educational Technology.
39
establishment of the National Education Technology Service and Support Centre which is meant to
provide ICT support in all educational institutions and take oversight responsibility for sourcing,
refurbishing, installing and supporting ICT in these institutions.65
Ethiopia has integrated ICT as an integral part of its development programmes. The country still
needs to put in place sufficient policies and regulatory instruments to support the integration of ICT
into the education sector. Nevertheless, ICT is a component of the Sustainable Development and
Poverty Reduction Program (SDPRP). The most recent policy framework found is the Plan for
Accelerated and Sustainable Development to End Poverty (PASDEP), which ran between 2005 and
2010. This policy places ICT as a key element in the provision of education at all levels.66 Ethiopian
universities are connected to an education and research network called the Ethiopian Education and
Research Network (EthERNet). This network has improved access and speed of the internet for
students and researchers in Ethiopia.67
South Africa maintains a sophisticated and advanced environment for ICT in higher education with
many higher education institutions maintaining their own strategies for the inclusion of ICT into the
research and learning environment. These institutional strategies are guided by the Department of
Science and Technology Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2011-2016. This is a comprehensive plan
outlining how South Africa will reinforce building an innovation economy. ICT and higher education
are central pillars of this strategic framework, and particular emphasis is given to investing in cyberinfrastructure to promote research and development, investing in human capacity and skills in ICT
areas so that innovation and development can occur through funding fellowships and bursaries, and
the importation of skilled workers who can transfer knowledge in industry and institutions of higher
education.68 In addition, the recently-released Department of Higher Education Green Paper for Post
School Education and Training emphasizes improving access to ICT through enhancing infrastructure
and developing high quality learning resources that are based on open education resource models.69
South African universities have come together to establish an National Research and Education
Network (NREN) called the Tertiary Education and Research Network of South Africa (TENET), and
through this have seen a real improvement in internet accessibility and speed since connecting to
the SEACOM cable. TENET is part of the Ubuntu Alliance, and connects into the European research
and education network GÉANT.
65
Isaacs, S. (2011). Case Study: Namibia. In Transforming Education: The Power of ICT Policies. UNESCO, Paris. Retrieved
from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002118/211842e.pdf .
66 Government of Ethiopia. (2004). Plan for Accelerated and Sustainable Development to End Poverty. Retrieved from
http://www.imf.org/external/np/prsp/2002/eth/01/073102.pdf
67 Research ICT Africa. (2010). Ethiopia ICT Sector Performance Review 2009/2010. Retrieved from
http://www.researchictafrica.net/publications/Policy_Paper_Series_Towards_Evidencebased_ICT_Policy_and_Regulation_-_Volume_2/Vol%202%20Paper%209%20%20Ethiopia%20ICT%20Sector%20Performance%20Review%202010.pdf
68 Republic of South Africa. (2011). Department of Science and Technology Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2011-2016.
Retrieved from http://www.dst.gov.za/publications-policies/strategies-reports/DST_STRAT_PLAN_2011.pdf
69 Republic of South Africa. (2012).Green Paper on Post-School Education and Training. Department of Higher Education.
Retrieved from http://www.agriseta.co.za/downloads/Green_Paper_PDF_Final.pdf
40
The above examples provide an indication of the range of
Neglecting how ICT and higher
approaches to ICT Integration in Higher Education and are education will be integrated leaves a
illustrative of the myriad of initiatives that exist. They
gap in understanding what capacity
highlight the existence of numerous and varied ICT policy and capability exists within the
frameworks within Africa at the continental, regional, and
country. There are some exceptions
national levels. This context represents significant change
to this, but, in advancing the use of
from a few years ago, when ICT policies amongst African
ICT in higher education across
nations were difficult to identify, and lacked a clear path
Africa, it will be important to assist
for integrating ICT into higher education. This indicates
governments in developing more
that many African nations are recognizing the importance
detailed
policies
and
of ICT in promoting social and economic change in their
implementation plans.
countries, and the important role of higher education
institutions in driving this change. However, many policy documents provide a passing reference to
ICT in higher education without providing much clarity in terms of mechanisms for integration.
Neglecting how ICT and higher education will be integrated leaves a gap in understanding what
capacity and capability exists within the country. There are some exceptions to this, but, in
advancing the use of ICT in higher education across Africa, it will be important to assist governments
in developing more detailed policies and implementation plans. Articulating specific deliverables for
ICT in higher education (for example, learning materials, learning management systems and/or
infrastructure) will assist African leaders, international and private partners, and institutions in
ensuring lofty strategic plans are commensurate with actual progress.
3.3 Continental and Regional ICT Initiatives
In understanding the current context for ICT use in higher education, it is first necessary to consider
what is taking place at the different levels of governance in Africa. The following section provides
examples of what is taking place at the continental and regional level in terms of integrating ICT into
higher education. There are several initiatives contributing to advancing ICT in higher education in
Africa, and some examples are provided below.
3.3.1 Association of African Universities (AAU)
The Association of African Universities is the apex organization and forum for consultation, exchange
of information, and cooperation among institutions of higher education in Africa.70 The AAU is a
proponent for African institutions of higher education and seeks to develop greater understanding of
opportunities and challenges faced by universities on the continent. In 2000, the AAU hosted a
technical experts’ meeting to discuss the use of ICT in higher education, from which a research
project emerged to determine institutional capacity of ICT use in teaching, learning and research. 71
Finally, the AAU has been integral in providing funding for research into ICT and higher education,
recently supporting a study on ICT research output in African higher education institutions.72 During
2004/5 the AAU established the Working Group on Information and Communication Technology.
The aim of this working group is to help member institutions to develop and implement action plans
for ICT and to set up a network of African higher education institutions to negotiate the acquisition
70
About AAU. Retrieved from http://www.aau.org/?q=about
Technical Experts Meeting on the use and Application of Information and Communication Technologies in Higher
Education Institutions in Africa. 17th - 19th May, 2000. University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Retrieved from
http://rc.aau.org/files/english/documents/aau-ictreport-p31.htm
72 Kaino, L., Mtetwa, D., and Kasanda, C. (2011). ICT Research Output in Higher Education Institutions: Utilization of ICT
Knowledge at Some African Universities. Retrieved from
http://events.aau.org/userfiles/file/corevip11/papers/luckson_kaino_ICT_Role.pdf
71
41
of higher bandwidth at lower cost. The AAU has supported this objective by establishing the
Research and Education Networking Unit, which promotes the establishment of research and
education networks in Africa.73 It has been engaged in using ICT to promote access to and
publication of African research. In particular, it has created the Database of African Theses and
Dissertations (DATAD), which is ‘a programme to improve management and access to African
scholarly work. Theses and dissertations represent a significant proportion of Africa’s research
activity’.74
3.3.2 ADEA Working Group on Higher Education (WGHE)
The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) is forum for policy dialogue on
education policies, serving as a catalyst for policies and practices through the pooling of ideas,
experience, lessons learned and knowledge. A major objective of ADEA is to encourage exchanges
and reinforce links between ministries of education and development agencies.75 The ADEA WGHE
focuses on key issues facing African higher education such as gender mainstreaming, HIV/AIDs in
higher education, and in 2000 undertook a five year project to assist universities develop strategic
plans for use and integration of ICT.76 The ADEA WGHE supported the University of Namibia and the
National University of Science and Technology in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe to develop ICT strategic plans
within the universities' institutional strategic plans.77 In addition, ADEA has produced several
publications (see http://www.adeanet.org/adeaPortal/publications/en_pubs_wghe.jsp). For
example, it produced a publication on Tertiary distance Education and technology in sub-Saharan
Africa in 1999. The paper considers how African countries can improve the balance between tertiary
education, access, and funding, without further sacrifices in quality.
3.3.3 The Commonwealth of Learning (COL)
The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is an intergovernmental organization established to
encourage the development and sharing of open and distance learning (ODL) knowledge, resources,
and technologies. COL has historically assisted with the development and support of national ICT for
education policies in some African countries that form part of the Commonwealth. COL is also
spearheading the establishment of a Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth
(VUSSC) which involves a number of small states in Africa and serves as a network committed to the
collaborative development of free content resources for education. In addition, COL has committed
to support training in curriculum and instructional design in tertiary institutions in Africa, using
appropriate technologies; and offering scholarships to support the training of academics in and
through ODL methods.78
A specific initiative undertaken by COL related to ICT in higher education is the development of a
guide entitled Education for a Digital World: Advice, Guidelines, and Effective Practice from Around
73
Association of African Universities. Research and Education Networking Unit. Retrieved from:
http://www.aau.org/?q=content/research-and-education-networking-unit
74 Association of African Universities. (2012). DATAD Database. Retrieved from http://www.aau.org/datad/database
75 About ADEA. Retrieved from
http://www.adeanet.org/adeaPortal/action/getPresentationAdea;jsessionid=F9221EAF18CAB9560BBC703C33040680?met
hod=getPresentationAdea
76 Association for the Development of Education in Africa. Higher Education Publications. Retrieved
from:http://www.adeanet.org/adeaPortal/adea/publications/en_pubs_wghe.html
77 ADEA. (2004) Working Group on Higher Education. Retrieved from
http://www.adeanet.org/adeaPortal/adea/workgroups/en_wghe.html
78 Commonwealth of Learning. Higher Education. Retrieved from:
http://www.col.org/progServ/programmes/education/higherEd/Pages/default.aspx
42
the Globe. The guide provides information on how to prepare online courses, how to effectively
implement the technology required, and outlines the benefits of e-learning.79
3.3.4 UbuntuNet Alliance and other initiatives for Research and Education
Networking
The UbuntuNet Alliance is a regional association of National Research and Education Networks
(NRENs) in Africa. NRENs play an important role in ensuring dedicated broadband connectivity in
support of university research, teaching and learning.80 Established in 2005 by five NRENs in Eastern
and Southern Africa: MAREN (Malawi); MoRENet, (Mozambique); KENET (Kenya); RwEdNet
(Rwanda); and TENET (South Africa)81 with support from the AAU, the alliance is a not for profit
organization. The aim of UbuntuNet Alliance is to secure high speed and affordable internet access
for the African research and education community. In addition, it seeks to develop the knowledge
and skills of ICT practitioners in associated institutions. They are also playing a larger role in
extending internet connectivity to primary and secondary
National
Research
and
education levels as well as to government institutions. In an
Education Networks (NRENs)
increasingly interconnected world, the need for collaboration
play an important role in
moves beyond national borders. At the time of writing, the
ensuring dedicated broadband
UbuntuNet Alliance membership increased to 13 NRENs from
connectivity in support of
Eastern and Southern Africa.
university research, teaching
The promotion of NRENs is an important aspect of integrating
and learning.
ICT into higher education as they offer an effective means to
organize access to internet resources for countries or regions. Indeed, NRENS are opportunities for
institutions of higher education to work together and negotiate cheaper and faster access to the
internet and international research networks.82 Bringing together NRENs in Africa, the Ubuntu
Alliance coordinates their activities to ensure reliable, efficient and secure access to international
networks and internet resources occurs. This is an important activity as the continent lags behind
global norms, with more than 60% of African countries not having NRENs.83
Through its Research and Education Networking Unit (RENU), the AAU has also carried out activities
in order to promote the establishment of research and education networks in West and Central
Africa. These activities led to the establishment NRENs in in Ghana, Senegal, Mali, Niger and Côte
d’Ivoire. With facilitation and support of the AAU, a regional REN for West and Central Africa
(WACREN – West and Central African Research and Education Network - http://www.wacren.net/)
has been established as well.
79
Education for a Digital World - Advice, Guidelines, and Effective Practice from Around the Globe. Retrieved from:
http://www.col.org/resources/crsMaterials/Pages/edDigitalWorld.aspx
80 Tusubira, F. (2011). Transformation-Ready: The Strategic Application of Information and Communication Technologies in
Africa. Annex 6: National Research and Education Networks. Retrieved from
http://etransformafrica.org/sites/default/files/eTA%20-%20Education%20-%20Final%20report%20%20Supplementary%20-%20Annex%206%20-%20NREN.pdf
81 UbuntuNet Alliance for Research and Education Networking. About Us. Retrieved from
http://www.ubuntunet.net/about
82
Tusubira, F. (2011). Transformation-Ready: The Strategic Application of Information and Communication Technologies in
Africa.
Annex
6:
National
Research
and
Education
Networks.
Retrieved
from
http://etransformafrica.org/sites/default/files/eTA%20-%20Education%20-%20Final%20report%20%20Supplementary%20-%20Annex%206%20-%20NREN.pdf
83 Tusubira, F. (2011). Transformation-Ready: The Strategic Application of Information and Communication Technologies in
Africa. Annex 6: National Research and Education Networks. Retrived from
http://etransformafrica.org/sites/default/files/eTA%20-%20Education%20-%20Final%20report%20%20Supplementary%20-%20Annex%206%20-%20NREN.pdf
43
The ultimate goal of the AAU in the area of research and education networking is to establish a
continental REN for Africa and to link it to the global REN. To this end, it facilitates the establishment
of national and regional RENs throughout Africa and convenes every year the AfREN meeting, which
brings together stakeholders of research and education networking from all African regions, with
participation of the international REN community (see http://www.aau.org/renu).
3.3.5 Inter-University Council of East Africa (IUCEA)
The IUCEA sets policy strategies and develops appropriate interventions within the EAC in support of
the development of higher education and research in the region. It facilitates networking amongst
universities, provides a forum for discussion on higher education and promotes higher education
standards in the region. One of the key areas of focus for the IUCEA has been to explore harnessing
the potential of ICT to improve higher education in East Africa. It has created an ICT department,
which aims at promoting the application of ICT in member universities teaching, learning, and
research activities.84
In 2009, the IUCEA ICT Policy Plan was developed for the years 2009/10 – 20114/15. In this plan,
long-term ICT goals were identified, as well as specific strategies needed to reach those goals. For
example, the plan commits to creating a monitoring and evaluation framework to ensure that
strategic objectives like building infrastructure capacity at universities and e-learning systems are
actually implemented.85
3.3.6 The Southern Africa Regional Universities Association (SARUA)
SARUA is a regional body established to assist in the revitalisation and the development of
leadership in institutions of higher education in Southern Africa. SARUA recently proposed the
establishment of the Southern African Universities Research and Development Fund in 2011.86 This
fund is meant to support research and development in core areas of ICT, Climate Change, Energy
Security, Food Security, Health, and Human and Social Dynamics. It is not clear whether the fund has
been established, but it is evident that SARUA acknowledges the importance of ICT in Higher
Education and includes it as a core pillar in its functions. For example, SARUA considers ICT
connectivity, management and Open Access as priorities in its work programmes. With regards to
connectivity, SARUA is working with partners such as the UbuntuNet Alliance to facilitate access to
bandwidth in member universities. It is also is building a Science Mapping Database to capture and
communicate formal and informal scientific work.87
3.3.7 Regional Virtual Library Network
The West African Economic and Monetary Union/Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest-Africaine
(UEMOA) and UNESCO established the Regional Virtual Library Network as part of its efforts to boost
84
The IUCEA ICT Policy. Retrieved from
http://www.iucea.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=105&Itemid=74
85 The Inter-University Council for East Africa (2009). Information and Communication Technology Policy Plan 2009/102014/15. Retrieved from http://www.iucea.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=105&Itemid=74
86SARUA. (2011). A Southern African University Research and Development Fund. Conference of Rectors, Vice Chancellors
and Presidents of African Universities, Stellenbosch, South Africa, May 30 – June 3 2011.
87 SARUA. Higher Education Executive Programme for Finance and ICT Prioritizing Higher Education ICT Connectivity: A
SARUA Perspective. Retrieved from
http://sarua.org/files/Events/HE%20Finance%20ICT%20Event/Presentation_MarkBurke_6-8-10.pdf
44
the ICT capacity of universities within UEMOA’s eight member states. In addition to a regional virtual
library network, the project seeks to establish a cyber institute, giving professors online access to
training courses. A central database for calculating students' course credits in all state universities in
Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo will be established
to help harmonize academic standards and facilitate student mobility.88
3.3.8 Africa Virtual University (AVU)
The African Virtual University (AVU) is a Pan-African Intergovernmental Organization; with a
mandate of significantly increasing access to quality higher education and training through the
innovative use of ICT. Five African Governments (Kenya, Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, and Cote d'Ivoire)
signed a Charter establishing the AVU as an Intergovernmental Organization.89 Three other
governments have since added their signatures: Tanzania, Mozambique and the democratic Republic
of Congo. The AVU works with universities based in Africa and other countries such as the United
States and Australia to provide academic programmes and short courses through open and distance
e-learning. The AVU also runs a digital library that provides resources to African academics and
students. Their learning infrastructure supports interactive online teaching and learning activities
such as live classrooms, e-conferences and online seminars (webinars). AVU partner institutions that
are actively engaged in offering online computer science courses include Addis Ababa University,
Ethiopia; University of Cape Coast, Ghana; Ghana Institute of Management and Public
Administration, Ghana; Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana; Egerton
University, Kenya; Kenyatta University, Kenya; University of Namibia, Namibia; Kigali Institute of
Science, Technology and Management, Rwanda; and University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.90 The
African Development Bank (AfDB) and World Bank have been engaged in supporting the
development of the AVU through assisting with open, distance, and e-learning capacity development
centres and connectivity provision at partner institutions to support teacher training and
development programmes and to mainstream gender issues. Through its Multinational support
project, whose objective is to strengthen the capacity of the AVU and its network of institutions to
deliver and manage quality ICT-assisted education and training opportunities in selected African
countries, the AVU has worked collaboratively with African partner institutions to develop and
deliver programmes that are contextually relevant to the African continent. This project has been
extended to a second phase, and includes the AVU helping African countries to establish and
upgrade distance and eLearning infrastructure and programmes, promoting OER, and providing
technical assistance on their ICT in education policies and strategies.
3.3.9 PHEA Educational Technology Initiative (PHEA ETI)
The Partnership for Higher Education (PHEA) Educational Technology Initiative (ETI) was first
conceptualized in 2008 and supported by the Ford, Carnegie, Kresge, and MacArthur Foundations.
The project is managed by the South African Institute for Distance Education and engages with
partner institutions to increase the effective use of educational technology in higher education in
Africa. This requires a focus on capacity development to initiate and sustain effective educational
technology projects which impact on the nature and quality of the student learning experience and
outcomes, as well as a focus on knowledge creation and dissemination across and between partner
88UN
News. (2011). West African nations to boost universities with virtual library.Africa The Good News.Monday, 14
February 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.africagoodnews.com/development/education/2442-west-african-nations-toboost-information-technology-in-universities.html
89 The AVU OER Strategy. Retrieved from http://oer.avu.org/about
90 Gunga, S.O., and Ricketts, I.W. (2007). Facing the challenges of e-learning initiatives in African universities. British Journal
of Educational Technology 38(5): 896–906
45
universities on the use of educational technology. The PHEA ETI is working with Makerere University
in Uganda, the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, the Universities of Ibadan and Jos in Nigeria,
Kenyatta University in Kenya, Universidade Católica de Moçambique in Mozambique, and the
University of Education, Winneba in Ghana.
These continental and regional actions are examples of good practice and suggest high level support
for integrating ICT into higher education. However, they act predominantly as coordinating hubs or
sources for financial support behind efforts to use ICT in higher education at the institutional level.
Indeed, in considering the state of ICT in higher education in Africa, looking to what institutions are
doing is much more illustrative of what is taking place continentally. The following section thus
considers ICT use at the institutional level in research, teaching and learning, and in support of
institutional administration.
3.4 Institutional Use of ICT
ICT has proven to be powerful in enhancing education, and is being used in research, teaching and
learning, and administration in higher education. Although it is impossible to be comprehensive
given the burgeoning use of ICT in higher education institutions across the continent, the following
section highlights examples of current uses for ICT in higher education.
3.4.1 Research
The integration of ICT in higher education offers a number of opportunities for research contexts.
ICT can bring researchers together to share information and to enter into collaborative
arrangements on a virtual platform, they can assist in the processing of data, or they can facilitate
finding information through the availability of online databases. Regardless of the mode, the use of
ICT in higher education spaces has the potential to transform research and how it is conducted in
Africa.91 This can result in greater research outputs for African researchers, more international
recognition, and facilitate international and regional partnerships. There are a number of cases of
good practice that are noted below.
The use of ICT to promote and enhance the research space in African higher education has been
developing over the last decade. COL, in considering the issue of research and ICT use in higher
education, contends that Africa maintains a number of examples of good practice.92 This is despite a
demonstrated variance in the vision and commitment by institutions of higher education to
‘deploying ICTs in research; the funds and people available to sustain investments in ICT
infrastructure and support systems; and the existence of helpful national and institutional ICT
policies’.93
91
Balasubramanian, K., Clarke-Okah, W., Daniel, J., Ferreira, K., Kanwar, K., Kwan, A., Lesperance, J., Mallet, J., Umar, A.,
and West. P (2009). ICTs for Higher Education. Background paper from the Commonwealth of Learning. UNESCO World
Conference on Higher Education. Retrieved from
http://www.col.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/ICTs_for_Higher_Education_Unesco_July2005.pdf
92 Balasubramanian, K., Clarke-Okah, W., Daniel, J., Ferreira, K., Kanwar, K., Kwan, A., Lesperance, J., Mallet, J., Umar, A.,
and West. P (2009). ICTs for Higher Education. Background paper from the Commonwealth of Learning. UNESCO World
Conference on Higher Education. Retrieved from
http://www.col.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/ICTs_for_Higher_Education_Unesco_July2005.pdf
93 Balasubramanian, K., Clarke-Okah, W., Daniel, J., Ferreira, K., Kanwar, K., Kwan, A., Lesperance, J., Mallet, J., Umar, A.,
and West. P (2009). ICTs for Higher Education. Background paper from the Commonwealth of Learning. UNESCO World
Conference on Higher Education. Retrieved from
http://www.col.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/ICTs_for_Higher_Education_Unesco_July2005.pdf
46
EuroAfrica-ICT is a joint project between European and African institutions that uses virtual
platforms to build capacity in ICT research and to disseminate that research globally. The project is
based on the collaboration of the Association of Commonwealth Universities in the UK, Agence
Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) in Belgium, Meraka Institute at the Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa, Kigali Institute of Science and Technology in Rwanda,
Makerere University in Uganda, Sigma Orionis in France, and the Academy of Sciences for the
Developing World based in Italy.94
In South Africa, the Department of Science and Technology has funded an Academy of Science of
South Africa (ASSAf) initiative to make a number of premier South African journal publications open
access and online. The Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) SA is the first open-access
searchable full-text journal database in service of the South African research community. The
database covers a selected collection of peer-reviewed South African scholarly journals.95
In 2007, the University of Cape Town (UCT) established the Opening Scholarship Project that seeks
to explore the transformative potential of ICT in university research. The project conducted a review
of the use of ICT in higher education research publishing and undertook four case studies on the
effectiveness of ICT use in research dissemination.96 One of particular note is the LitNet Akademies
journal, which is an Afrikaans online journal that has been built on an existing community of practice
(LitNet). This online open access journal is peer reviewed and was successfully launched with South
African Department of Education accreditation in 2009.97 At the University of the Witwatersrand in
Johannesburg, the Learning, Information and Knowledge (LINK) Centre was established to examine
and advise on ICT policy, regulation and management across Africa.98
The development of a number of online repositories for theses and dissertations is another example
of the use of ICT to promote research. As highlighted earlier, the AAU has its DATAD initiative where
African researchers can make available their theses and dissertations or even their teaching and
learning materials.
ICT in higher education not only assists in promoting research in Africa, but is also a topic of
research, of which there are a number of cases of good practice that exist on the continent. Centres
for ICT research in higher education often result in the improvement of access and use of ICT in
higher education research as they engage with the ICT tools. For example, the Africa Nazarene
University in Kenya maintains a research unit that considers how ICT can be used in initiatives such
as e-learning and ICT in education, e-Governance, and e-agriculture through its Computing and IT
(CIT) Department.99 The Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis maintains research
areas in e-Governance such as ensuring secure services to citizens and business, e-Accessibility (ICT
for independent living) and e-libraries such as Digital Library Services and Digital Content
Infrastructures.100
The Faculty of Tourism and IT at the Catholic University of Mozambique engages in ICT research such
as e-learning, ICT for education, e-infrastructures (from research networking to global virtual
94
Euro-Africa ICT. About. Retrieved from http://euroafrica-ict.org/about/
SciELO South Africa. Retrieved from http://www.scielo.org.za/
96 Centre for Educational Technology. The Opening Scholarship Project. Retrieved from
http://www.cet.uct.ac.za/OpeningScholarship
97 Gray, E., and Willmers, M. (2009). Case Study 3: LitNet Akademies and OnScreen. Opening Scholarship Project. Retrieved
from. http://www.cet.uct.ac.za/files/file/OS%20CaseStudy3%20_%20%20Final%20typeset.pdf
98 The LINK centre. Retrieved from http://link.wits.ac.za/
99EuroAfrica-ICT Database. (2012). Africa Nazarene University. Accessed from http://euroafrica-ict.org/database-researchinstitutes/
100 The Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis. Retrieved from www.bidpa.bw
95
47
research collaboration), e-libraries, and the development of software.101 The Centre Suisse de
Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire (CSRS) is a higher education partnership between the Swiss
and Ivorian governments, which seeks to advance research and understanding of ICT in health, social
inclusion, and gender. It also maintains research activities in the areas of ICT for environmental
sustainability and energy efficiency.102 In Senegal, the Department of Mathematics and Information
Technology at Cheikh Anta Diop University conducts research into ICT for Education and how
technology can enhance learning.103
In Ghana, the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT works to stimulate the growth of
the ICT Sector in the ECOWAS region. Established in 2003, through a partnership between the
Government of Ghana and the Government of India, this state-of the-art facility provides a dynamic
environment for innovation, teaching and learning as well as practical research on the application of
ICT for development in Africa.104 The Centre’s research programme focuses on building a West
African network in supercomputing which will facilitate links between researchers within the subregion. The Centre has already, for example, used ICT to develop climate models.
Thus, the connection between ICT and research is clear, and many initiatives underway continentally
reinforce this link. Indeed, there are some great examples emerging at the University of Cape Town
with respect to open access journals or networks. As such examples are still relatively few and far
between, it is apparent that African institutions of higher education could be doing more to harness
ICT as a means to foster research collaborations and communicate knowledge. Currently, it appears
that capacity is being developed to research ICT and how it can help development and a movement
towards a Knowledge Society in many African states. The shift to building capacity on how to use ICT
to advance research continentally is where emphasis may need to be placed next.
3.4.2 Teaching and learning
In relation to teaching and learning, ICT is used to support e-learning and mobile learning (mlearning), teaching and assessment activities. E-learning can be defined as ‘the use of new
multimedia technologies and the Internet to improve the quality of learning by facilitating access to
resources and services as well as remote exchange and collaboration’.105 M-learning is a form of elearning, with mobile devices as the technologies of choice.
E-learning and m-learning are used in both distance and contact learning, as they offer some of the
following educational opportunities:
• They can be used to help mitigate the effect of increases in enrolment (technology-enhanced
curricula may attract more students for contact learning and enables enrolment of students for
distance or blended learning);
• Access can be extended to education for students in remote areas who cannot access campuses
physically;
• Course material can be provided without the requirement for students to be in a lecture room;
101
EuroAfrica-ICT Database. (2012). Catholic University of Mozambique. Accessed from http://euroafrica-ict.org/databaseresearch-institutes/
102 Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire. Retrieved from http://www.csrs.ch
103 EuroAfrica-ICT Database. (2012) Cheikh Anta Diop University. Accessed from http://euroafrica-ict.org/databaseresearch-institutes/
104 EuroAfrica-ICT Database. (2012). Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT. Accessed from http://euroafricaict.org/database-research-institutes/
105 Commission of the European Communities. (2001). Communication from the European Commission to the Council and
the European Parliament: The elearning action plan. Designing tomorrow’s education. Brussels, 28.3.2001.
48
•
•
•
•
Dynamic presentation of teaching and learning materials in different formats – including video,
photographs, audio, and computer-based multimedia – is possible, which makes learning more
enjoyable and caters for different learning styles by students;
They can promotes peer learning and symbiotic learning between faculty and students through
synchronous and asynchronous discussions with peers and faculty;
Video- and tele-conferencing can enable teaching to take place at multiple venues in different
time zones at the same time;
Communities of practice across institutions, countries, and regions can be formed and sustained
through technology using email, online discussion forums, and other social networking tools.
Where ICT has been used in African higher education, including through e-learning and m-learning,
the aim has most commonly been to tackle teaching and learning challenges faced in traditional
teacher-led lecture rooms, including large classes, multilingualism, development of literacies, and
bridging the chasm between theory and practice. A few examples of African institutions that use ICT
to enhance teaching and learning are described below. These are by no means comprehensive, and
simply serve to illustrate a range of approaches to ICT use in teaching and learning.
Makerere University has a relatively well developed ICT infrastructure which supports the Centre for
Excellence in Computing and ICT (CIT). CIT organizes many activities including hosting an
international research journal on computing and ICT and offering consultancy services in ICT.106 In
addition, the e-Granary project is a digital library that enables students to access academic material
through the university intranet.107 As part of the PHEA ETI project, Makerere University has also
been engaged in a number of projects related to ICT such as developing e-content for courses via the
Moodle LMS, the Gender Research Project which is investigating the role of gender in the adoption
of educational technology, and the e-portfolios project that seeks to introduce electronic portfolios
into assessment.108
At the University of Botswana (UB) the installation and operation of ICT has result in such initiatives
as e-learning, student records systems, distributed access to online databases in and outside the
library, new curricular content, and upgraded faculty research. Whilst, the integration of ICT at the
UB has resulted in some problems of support and consistent integration across all academic
programmes, the University is considered a leader in Southern Africa.109 UB also effectively uses the
Blackboard learning system as an online course and administration management platform.110
Since 2008, the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa has taken steps to rectify its
fragmented and under-supported use of ICT by investing in and establishing a support infrastructure
for ICT use in teaching, learning and research environment. ICT is now a central pillar of the
University’s strategic policy framework entitled Vision 2022, and a clear set of goals have been
established in the e-Learning Strategic Plan 2010-2014 and the Teaching and Learning Plan 20102013.111 In addition, the University has created the e-Learning Support and Innovation unit (eLSI) to
106
Bon, A. (2010). Information and Communication Technologies in Tertiary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Teferra, D
and Greijn, H.(eds). )Higher Education and Globalization Challenges, Threats and Opportunities for Africa. Maastricht
University Centre for International Cooperation in Academic Development (MUNDO), Maastricht, the Netherlands, and
International Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA), Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston
College, USA.
107 Ngugi, C. (ed). (2007). ICTs and higher education in Africa. Cape Town: Centre for Educational Technology.
108 OER Africa. PHEA ETI. Retrieved from http://www.oerafrica.org/phea/PHEAETIProjectHome/tabid/170/Default.aspx
109 Gerhan, D.R and Mutula, S.M. (2007). ‘Testing a Recent Model of ICT in Development: Botswana and Its University.’
Information Technology for Development, 13(2):177–197.
110 University of Botswana. Blackboard Learning System. Available at http://elearning.ub.bw/webct/entryPageIns.dowebct
111 University of the Witwatersrand. (2011). Vision 2022 Strategic Framework. University of the Witwatersrand. (2010).
Teaching and Learning Plan. University of the Witwatersrand. (2010). E-Learning Strategic Plan.
49
coordinate university-wide approaches and use of learning management systems and e-learning
tools.
3.4.2.1
Learning management systems
Learning management systems (LMSs) are regarded in many African universities as integral to the
development and facilitation of online, blended and web facilitated learning. Investment in these,
including development of the capacity of staff and students to use them effectively and efficiently,
as well as in the purchase of proprietary LMSs, is key to the effectiveness of e-learning and blended
learning. LMSs have the following features that are valuable for teaching and learning:
• Manage users, roles, courses, lecturers, and facilities and generate reports;
• Course calendar;
• Student messaging and notifications;
• Assessment/testing capable of handling student pre/post testing;
• Display scores and transcripts;
• Grading of coursework and roster processing, including waitlisting;
• Web-based or blended course delivery.112
Several universities are using LMSs, with a growing move towards open source platforms such as
Moodle and Sakai. For example, the University of the Witwatersrand is currently transitioning from
the WebCT LMS to the Sakai platform for pan-University use in teaching and research. The Sakai
system is currently being rolled out for faculty to use for their courses and it includes functions like
class discussions, online grade books, assessment tools, folders to place class readings, and widgets
that provide direct links between the class and outside web resources.113 In doing this, the University
is joining an existing national community of Sakai users, which includes UCT and the University of
South Africa (with others also migrating onto this platform).
In Mozambique, Eduardo Mondlane University has been part of a continental network that
developed an LMS system that can be used in low bandwidth contexts called Chisimba. However,
there have been problems with the uptake of this LMS at the University primarily due to technical
capacity issues of faculty members. Chisimba is considered an easy to use LMS that enables faculty
to post course content, and conduct assessments and online discussions with students.114 Other
universities, such as Moi University in Kenya, are also using Chisimba.
Moodle is also a popular open source LMS, which higher education institutions can use for free to
create effective online learning sites. For example, the AVU has uploaded more than 300 courses on
Moodle. In addition, all of the institutions participating in the PHEA ETI are using Moodle as their
institutional LMS of choice and all have seen growing use of e-learning via their LMSs during the past
two to three years. For instance, the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) has uploaded over 100
courses on Moodle, with their next challenge being to undertake further quality improvement of
these courses, and to align with UDSM Quality Assurance (QA) Guidelines and Systems in this regard.
To support institutions in implementing Moodle, the PHEA ETI project conducted a series of Moodle
audits at each university to ensure that the systems were correctly installed and optimally
maintained. The Moodle audit, therefore, set about examining these systems, their strengths and
weaknesses, and gleaning lessons. This resulted in a set of guidelines relating to installation and
maintenance procedures. The guide aims to assist in the planning and building of a Moodle
112
Wikipedia. Learning management system. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_Management_System
University of the Witwatersrand. Elearning Support and innovation. (2011). Wits e-Adopted. Retrieved
fromhttps://elearn.wits.ac.za/home/default/sidebarnews/formalsakai
114 Unwin, T., Kleessen, B., Hollow, D., Williams, J.B., Mware Oloo, L., Alwala, J., Mutimucuio, I., Eduardo, F., and
Muianga, X. (2010). Digital learning management systems in Africa: myths and realities, Open Learning: The Journal of
Open, Distance and e-Learning, 25(1):5-23.
113
50
environment and provide insight and good practice in the running and maintenance of courses
through this software. As the guide is also relevant to other universities in Africa, it is hoped that it
can contribute to improving the quality of e-Learning implemented in African universities.
However, the use of LMSs still remains a challenge in Africa. Unwin et al., (2010) conducted a survey
of 385 respondents across 25 African countries and found that LMS usage and interest in many of
the institutions surveyed remained a challenge.115 This suggests that there is still more work that
needs to be done continentally to promote the advantages of using an online LMS in higher
education and building up the necessary skills base to make this a tenable and useful shift.
3.4.2.2
Online communities
Use of technology in higher education has enabled transcendence of geographical boundaries, and
facilitated collaboration between and among students and staff from different universities.
Collaboration between colleagues who have never met each other physically is also possible with
technological tools like instant messaging, Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications like
Skype, and social interaction tools like Facebook, which can help to nurture communities of practice.
Communities of practice (CoPs) are groups of people with a common interest, (for example
technology and education), who form relationships informed by the need to share information and
experiences, in order to develop the practice that binds them together as a community. CoPs can be
dispersed across institutions or located within an institution, but in different disciplines or
departments. The aim and intent of these communities is typically to share information, and
advance understanding, and in some cases practical use of the technology being employed.116
Wenger, whose work considers use of technologies to sustain communities of practice, warns that
technology does not primarily contribute to the success of a CoP; rather, social, cultural and
organizational issues are primarily responsible for sustainability of communities of practice.117 In
higher education, communities of practice are gaining prominence due to increased communication
and engagement in collaborative projects facilitated by technology.
University networks can also foster environments for CoPs to grow. For example, the envisaged
Nigerian Universities Network has the following objectives:
• End seclusion among academics and students;
• Provide a platform for Nigerians in the Diaspora to contribute towards the development of
knowledge in Nigeria;
• Encourage the sharing of resources and research collaboration;
• Provide universities access to electronic databases, journals, and books; and
• Create an environment where several CoPs can take shape and sustain themselves through the
available technologies.
The National Virtual Library of Nigeria also facilitates self-based education, networking, and
connection between scholars as it provides a platform to share and access electronic resources that
contributes to research production.118
In South Africa, lecturers and students in Rhodes University’s Computer Science and Education
Department have partnered with teachers from the local community in Grahamstown, the Eastern
115
Unwin, T., Kleessen, B., Hollow, D., Williams, J.B., Mware Oloo, L., Alwala, J., Mutimucuio, I., Eduardo, F., and
Muianga, X. (2010). Digital learning management systems in Africa: myths and realities, Open Learning: The Journal of
Open, Distance and e-Learning, 25(1):5-23.
116 Lave, J., and Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. New York, NY: Cambridge
University Press.
117 Hoosen, S. (2009). Communities of Practice. South African Institute of Distance Education: Johannesburg.
118 Ngugi, C. (ed). (2007). ICTs and higher education in Africa. Cape Town: Centre for Educational Technology.
51
Cape Department of Education, and a non-governmental organization to form a virtual community
of practice called the e-Yethu project.119 This collaboration, the e-Yethu project, is an example of
how universities can use ICT to collaborate with local communities and to foster the use of ICT in
education.120
The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) is an example of a
professional Community that has used ICT to promote academic quality and to build practical
understanding in agriculture. RUFORUM is a network of 29 universities in 15 countries in Eastern,
Central, and Southern Africa, which have come together to exchange expertise and, amongst other
objectives, develop e-resources in support of teaching postgraduate degrees in agriculture.121
RUFORUM’s mission is to strengthen the capacity of universities to share experiences and to foster
innovations responsive to demands of smallholder farmers. The network has developed a website
where best practices are provided as a means to build capacity amongst member university faculties
to harness ICT in the improvement of teaching, learning, collaboration, and administrative
processes.122 RUFORUM maintains the ambitious objective of providing teaching content of its
postgraduate programmes online by 2014. The aim here is to improve the quality of delivery of
programmes by engaging students more effectively. In 2009, the RUFORUM ICT Situation Analysis
Project was developed,123 with assistance from the AAU, to benchmark the policies and activities of
its member institutions so that appropriate planning and coordination could take place.124 The
situational analysis examined the status of institutional policy and plans, infrastructure, the
availability of resources such as computers, bandwidth, online databases; the skill level of staff and
students; the status of e-learning and how academic staff in the various agriculture schools harness
ICT.125
Ethiopia has harnessed ICT in higher education through its UniversityNet programme, which
integrates all Ethiopian universities into one network. The UniversityNet programme includes the
establishment of e-learning centres where faculty members and students can access course content
and OER, and share experiences. Similarly, the Ethiopian SchoolNet, integrates 500 secondary
schools including the Technical and Vocational Education and Training schools via satellite.126
In 2005, six Somali tertiary institutions launched an Online Distance Learning Initiative that would
enable students to attain accredited university qualifications through partnerships with institutions
in other countries.127 Through the use of Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATS) to access the
internet, this CoP seeks to enhance access to knowledge resources and promote the use and
119
Welcome to eYethu! Retrieved from http://schools.coe.ru.ac.za/index.php/Main_Page
Hodgkinson-Williams, C., Slay, H. & Siebörger, I. 2008. Developing communities of practice within and outside higher
education institutions. British Journal of Educational Technology, 39(3): 433-442.
121 Dhlamini, N. (2011). E-content capacity development – RUFORUM network Experiences. Distance Education 32 (2): 295–
302
122 RUFORUM. Retrieved from http://www.ruforum.org/
123 CGNET. (2009). Situation analysis of ICT capability and infrastructure in RUFORUM universities (Final Report). Menlo
Park,
CA:
Author.
Retrieved
from
http://www.ruforum.org/sites/default/files/RUFORUM%20Situation%20Gap%20Analysis%20final%20report.pdf
124 Adam, L. (2007). Technical, organisational, regulational, regulatory, political and financial issues of national and regional
research and educational networks. Accra: Association of African Universities. Retrieved from
http://www2.aau.org/renu/docs/ren%20policy%20brief.pdf
125 CGNET. (2009). Situation analysis of ICT capability and infrastructure in RUFORUM universities (Final Report). Menlo
Park, CA: Author. Retrieved from
http://www.ruforum.org/sites/default/files/RUFORUM%20Situation%20Gap%20Analysis%20final%20report.pdf
126 Gunga, S.O., and Ricketts, I.W. (2007). Facing the challenges of e-learning initiatives in African universities. British
Journal of Educational Technology 38(5): 896–906.
127 Gunga, S.O., and Ricketts, I.W. (2007). Facing the challenges of e-learning initiatives in African universities. British
Journal of Educational Technology 38(5): 896–906.
120
52
development of interactive learning tools.128 This initiative provides courses in five areas:
Information Technology; Business Communications; Financial Planning and Management; Teacher
Education; and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication.
3.4.2.3
Tackling the Challenge of Large Classes
Due to constrained funding and growing demand for places at universities, large classes have
become a feature of many institutions, both globally and in Africa. Large classes, however, can
impede learning in various ways:
• Large classes leave very limited or no opportunities for lecturer-student engagement.
• There is a heightened risk of exclusion of students from class discussions along gender, racial, or
other discriminatory lines.
• Providing a single lecturer for many students assumes that students share the same learning
style, that is, they respond well to transmission of information by the lecturer. The traditional
method of teaching based on information transmission is, however, inadequate, particularly for
underprepared students who may require further explanation from the lecturer, a task that is
usually unfulfilled because of limited time and because underprepared students may be shy to
ask questions which indicate that they are struggling to understand.
• Lecturers may require more time to mark essays and assignments if classes are large, resulting in
situations where assignments may fulfil teaching requirements but are not used to guide student
learning. This is the case when assignments come back so late that they are no longer beneficial
for students for determining remediation by the lecturer or use for revision by students, or
where time constraints mean that useful feedback on assignments cannot be provided.
The use of educational technologies in higher education institutions in South Africa has
demonstrated how such technologies provide possible solutions to the difficulties presented by large
classes. For example, the University of the Free State initiated online learning for a large class of
1,000 first-year Economics students, who were provided access to online lecture notes, quizzes, tests
and online discussions to complement face-to-face lectures. A three-year evaluation study to analyse
student perceptions of this blended mode initiative revealed that students were generally positive
about the undertaking:
Students reported that having access to the lecture notes lessened their workload, enabled
them to prepare for lectures and improved their skills in summarising and note-taking.
Students found it easier to concentrate in class, because they were not taking notes, and the
regular quizzes forced them to consult their texts and keep up with the work.129
The evaluation study also found that technology empowers lecturers, and enables them to broaden
existing skills– in the above instance, lecturers conversant with the WebCT interface loaded their
own material online. At the same time, the study revealed the importance of technological support
to facilitate the use of educational technology –staff in the e-learning division supported lecturers
who were not sufficiently skilled or confident to upload their own teaching resources in the course
of which such lecturers had the opportunity to learn new skills.
Like the University of the Free State, the University of Johannesburg also adopted WebCT for classes
of up to 2,500 students registered in one course. Face-to-face lecture capacity within this course is
600 at a time, and tutorials can only accommodate 30 to 40 students. This means that there are
several classes on the same topic, and the challenge of large numbers in a lecture hall seems to be
replicated in tutorial groups, where groups are also quite large. To enhance learning for students
under these circumstances, the university provided study guides, a CD-ROM, and access to
128
UNDP in Somalia. (no date)/ Online Distance Learning initiative increases skills. Retrieved from
http://www.so.undp.org/index.php/Somalia-Stories/Online-Distance-Learning-initiative-increases-skills.html
129 Ngugi, C. (ed). (2007). ICTs and Higher Education in Africa. Cape Town: Centre for Educational Technology
53
PowerPoint lecture slides and quizzes. Tutors helped to manage classes via WebCT. Unlike the
University of Free State intervention that was evaluated, however, no evaluation has yet been
conducted of this intervention, so it is not clear how effective it has been in transforming teaching
and learning.130
Mobile phones have also been used in South African universities to provide interaction and feedback
in large classes. For example, at the University of the Witwatersrand, lecturers in a large second-year
cognitive psychology course encouraged students to send Short-Message-Service (SMS) questions to
the lecturer. A message at the end of every PowerPoint Slide urged students to ask questions by
sending an SMS to the provided number. In addition, at various points during lectures, the lecturer
urged students to respond to his questions verbally in class or via a text message. The questions
asked through text messages were not responded to in text form, but read out aloud and answered
in class. A questionnaire was administered in the last week of the course to elicit students’ responses
on whether having a mobile phone number to text to was an ‘excellent idea,’ and to determine the
frequency of use of their mobile phones for texting during the course. The majority of the students
indicated that texting was an excellent idea as it also enabled shy students to engage with the
lecturer. Students believed that the quality of questions improved with use of SMS as there seemed
to be careful reflection before asking questions.131
3.4.2.4
Multilingualism
In South Africa, a large proportion of students entering university has very low levels of English
proficiency and no computer skills. This presents huge challenges to them in computer related
subjects, where they are required to engage with the technology, which is new to them in most
cases, and in a language in which they are not competent.132 English, the language of instruction in
many South African universities, is a foreign language to a significant portion of the student
population, affecting their throughput.133 To enhance learning for students with English as a second
language, Rhodes University offered a computer course to students on an extended programme. In
this course, conducted in a computer lab, students had access to a chat room, an online glossary,
and a newsgroup. These features could be utilized in English, Xhosa or Afrikaans, three of the
hegemonic languages in South Africa and in the province where the university is located. The
assumption behind this project was that if students learned in the language they were most
comfortable, learning would be more effective. As students were responsible for the materials
development, costs were kept low. There are, however, issues of quality assurance that need to be
considered with this method of materials development. Suggestions for how this might be handled
include involving experts in the specific languages who will check the quality of the materials
developed or peer reviewing by users of the materials. Wikis could also be used so that the materials
are collaboratively developed by different people.
3.4.2.5
Developing practical skills and professional discourses
A major criticism of much university education is that it offers excessive theory and insufficient
practice. When graduates enter the labour market, they are expected to act and talk like
professionals in their field, yet their programmes often prepare them inadequately for this. Use of
simulation can give students the practical experience to acquire professional discourses, and even
130
ibid
Thatcher, A. & Mooney, G. (2008). Managing social activity and participation in large classes with mobile phone
technology. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies, 2(3): 41 – 51.
132 Dalvit et al. (2005). Computers and African languages in education: An ICT tool for the promotion of multi-lingualism at
a South African University. Perspectives in Education, 23(4): 123 – 129.
133 Jaffer, S., Ng’ambi, D. & Czerniewicz, L. (2007). The role of ICTs in higher education in South Africa: One strategy for
addressing teaching and learning challenges. International Journal of Education and Development using Information and
Communication Technology, 3(4): 131 – 142
131
54
engage practically with workplace challenges through computer-based modelling. For example, a
project focused on acquisition of economic discourse was developed at the University of Cape Town.
This project, the ‘International Trace Bargaining’ (ITB)’, was a third-year economics module which
afforded students the opportunity to negotiate in a World Trade Organization round discussion, as
professional economists through simulation. The module blended face-to-face and online interaction
to widen participation. An evaluation of the course revealed that, although students for whom
English was a second language were often left behind in the chats, they were able to participate
more fully in the online discussions than in face-to-face lectures. The students were also able to
successfully assume the role of economists, and engage in the appropriate discourses for
bargaining.134
In Morocco, the Al Akhawayn University has partnered with Alcatel-Lucent to establish the AlcatelLucent Dynamic Academy, which aims to engage students and staff to build capacity and knowledge
of ICT and telecommunications in Morocco. The Academy also seeks to train students in the
technical and business aspects of the telecommunications market in Morocco and encourage startups. Al Akhawayn students will have the opportunity to apply for Alcatel-Lucent product certification
as a result of their experience in the programme.135
On a separate, but related front, in 2006, the University of Aveiro in Cape Verde set up a Master’s
degree in multimedia in education. The University has been a leader in ICT adoption in Cape Verde,
being the first university there to deploy a learning management system. It introduced the two-year
programme to improve the teaching staff’s capacity and qualifications in ICT, which has helped to
improve practices in e-learning technologies, methods and applications.136
Professional development for staff at the University Eduardo Mondlane (UEM) Centre for Distance
Education in Mozambique has been instrumental in preparing the University for delivery of distance
education. In 2002, UEM established its Centre for Distance Education (CEND). CEND staff
established close working relationships with the University of Aveiro in Cape Verde and attended
workshops and training programmes. Senior CEND staff members have also completed master’s
degrees in distance education through the Spanish Distance Education University.137
3.4.2.6
Mathematical Literacy
Achievement in mathematics allows students to gain access to certain programmes in a university.
However, often students enter university without the requisite grade in mathematics to qualify for
enrolment in their preferred disciplines. To prepare students for the demands of mathematics in
their programmes, UCT offers courses in mathematical literacy. One of these, ‘Effective Numeracy’
makes use of interactive spreadsheets in computer-based tutorials. These have been reported to be
more effective than lecture tutorials in conveying concepts, possibly due to the shift from
‘mechanical calculation’ to ‘understanding’ enabled by the use of interactive spreadsheets. The
research revealed that ‘while the lecture room tutorial taught students how to calculate the various
statistics, the computer tutorial was more effective in giving them an understanding of the concepts
and they retained better what they had learned’.138
134
Carr, T., Cox, G., Eden, A., & Hanslo, M. (2004). From peripheral to full participation in a blended trade bargaining
simulation. British Journal of Educational Technology, 35(2): 197-211.
135 African Brains. (2011). Morocco Universities introduce Communications Training Certificate. Retrieved from
http://www.africanbrains.net/2011/02/28/morocco-universities-introduce-communications-training-certificate/
136 Fernando R, Gulamo T and Louisette C. (2011). Promoting distance education in higher education in Cape Verde and
Mozambique Distance Education 32(2): 159–175.
137 Fernando R., Gulamo, T., and Louisette C. (2011). Promoting distance education in higher education in Cape Verde and
Mozambique Distance Education 32(2): 159–175.
138 Frith, V., Jaftha, J. & Prince, R. (2004). Evaluating the effectiveness of interactive computer tutorials for an
undergraduate mathematical literacy course. British Journal of Educational Technology, 35(2): 159 -171.
55
The Centre for Educational Technology (CET) at UCT has also developed a learning environment,
MOVES, around Excel and Word, to support tutorials. MOVES has been used to develop tutorial
activities for introductory mathematics, statistics, and writing courses. It was integrated with other
UCT sub-systems, a necessary requirement to avoid duplicating functionality available elsewhere,
and provides feedback to lecturers and students. There was significant time saving for lecturers as
tutorials were marked and results captured electronically for lecturers to evaluate performance
patterns and intervene appropriately.139
3.4.2.7
Learning Support via M-Learning
At Makerere University, the Department of Distance Education uses mobile technology to support
student research in the Mobile Research Supervision Initiative. The support offered to students
completing their final year field research projects is SMS-based, which substitutes for face-to-face
meetings with research supervisors. SMS is used to guide students on aspects of research such as
data collection, provide pointers on useful literature sources, pace students, and inform them of
impending deadlines. An evaluation of this initiative established that students who used their mobile
phones to elicit support from supervisors took two months less to complete their research papers
than those who did not use this facility. The study also established that use of mobile phones to
support student research alleviated the loneliness often felt by students studying through distance
learning.140
As has been noted, mobile technologies are also being used at UCT in a project run by the CET, to
enable student to text questions that they would otherwise not ask in a face-to-face session. These
questions serve as feedback on learning to the academic. This project is designed with a web and
mobile interface, where practitioners post announcements on a virtual notice board and students
use SMS to access these. Academics also use SMS broadcast to give notification of online resources
and lecture scheduling.141
Mobile technology has also been used to support university community work. University of Pretoria
students in the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology volunteer 40
hours for tutoring maths as an option to a compulsory course on volunteer services to the
community. These students are available as ‘Dr Maths’ tutors, and assist learners in primary and high
school with maths homework after school. Learners use an instant message system MXit, which is
much more affordable than SMS, to send maths questions to the Dr Maths tutors and receive help
with these questions also via instant messaging.142
3.4.3 Use of ICT to Support Administration
3.4.3.1
Management Information systems
Management information systems (MISs) are hardware and software that automatically process
information. MISs can be integrated with LMSs, so as to provide data on teaching and learning that
can be used to inform policy and practice. An MIS save time by capturing information in integrated
139
Jaffer, S., Ng’ambi, D. & Czerniewicz, L. (2007). The role of ICTs in higher education in South Africa: One strategy for
addressing teaching and learning challenges. International Journal of Education and Development using Information and
Communication Technology, 3(4): 131 – 142.
140 Muyinda, P. B. & Lubega, J. T. (2008). Mobile research supervision initiative (MRSI) at Makerere University: Lessons to
learn. International Journal of Computing and ICT Research, 1(1): 48 – 59
141 Centre for Educational Technology. Projects. Retrieved from http://www.cet.uct.ac.za/projects
142 Butgereit, L. (2007). Math on MXit: The medium is the message. Retrieved from:
http://resourcespace.csir.co.za/dspace/bitstream/10204/1785/1/Butgereit/2007.pdf
56
systems and availing this information to those who want to access it. An MIS can help avoid
unnecessary duplication: if this information-capture process were to be performed manually, the
same information, for example student data, would have to be collected from each department
rather than being accessed through the MIS. An MIS can pass student registration information to the
LMS, where students can access their courses. When the MIS and LMS are integrated, there is better
tracking and monitoring of students’ progress across all their courses. This information can be used
for intervention, should there be areas of students’ progress that warrant attention.
The Joint Admissions Board Information System (JAB IS) is an example of ICT use in support of
administration in the Kenyan University system. The JAB IS system has been credited with assisting
institutions of higher education in Kenya to streamline student admissions, improving
communication between government authorities and higher education institutions thereby
ultimately helping ensure more students gain access to university.143
Many African universities are turning to ICT to support their human resource, finance, and student
administration systems. In particular, such databases as Oracle and PeopleSoft offer institutions of
higher education a virtual platform to organize registrations systems, payroll, and to manage staff
policies such as requests for vacation or leave. The University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa
uses Oracle for its human resource, finance and student administration. One notable challenge to
extensive use of these sorts of databases is the cost associated with purchasing, then maintaining
the licence. In addition, the maintenance of trained staff to support and adapt the database to
institutional specific needs can be challenging.
Some institutions have developed their own MIS. For example, UDSM developed the Academic
Registration Information System (ARIS), which enables students to register for courses, staff to track
student progress and publish course results, and the University management to address matters of
payment and accommodation, all online.144 Several other universities in the region have also begun
exploring the use of ARIS for their own institutions. Clearly, developing one’s own system can have
its advantages in terms of ensuring a tailor-made MIS, but these sorts of systems only work well with
sufficient support. Fortunately, UDSM’s ARIS is well supported and other institutions have thus
adopted it to meet their own MIS needs.
3.4.3.2
Short message service (SMS)
Use of SMS for administration can be valuable because it has potential to free academics to focus on
core business. When SMS is used to communicate information on course requirements, this reduces
the amount of time that academics would spend dealing with queries regarding courses, and they
can divert the time saved to academic pursuits like curriculum design and research.
South Africa has examples of m-learning for administration to support academic learning. At the
University of Pretoria, SMS was used for an asynchronous intervention aimed at advising students on
essential readings before completing an assignment; getting students to complete a quiz on their cell
phone; encouraging students to ask questions about course content; providing students with the
opportunity to listen to a pre-recorded mini lecture, and to prompt students to complete an
assignment.145 This project was useful as it was able to reach students in rural settings, where there
is limited access to land lines.
143
Getao, K.W. and Wausi, A.N. (2009). Organizational Cultural Dynamics and Information and Communication Technology
Adaptation in a Developing Country: The Case of the Kenyan Joint University Admission System. Information Technology for
Development,.15(3):224–232.
144 Academic Registration Information Systems. Retrieved from http://aris2.udsm.ac.tz/
145 Viljoen, J., du Preez, C. & Cook, A. 2005. The case for using SMS technologies to support distance education students in
South Africa. Perspectives in Education, 23(4): 115 – 122.
57
SMS is also useful for mediating drop-out rates. Although not an African example, at a University on
Northern Ireland, where punitive measures in subsidy reduction are imposed for higher education
student drop-outs, institutions have used SMS to effectively reduce drop outs, with messages like
‘Sorry we missed you today’ being sent to potential drop outs when they miss college. Some of these
messages succeed in preventing drop-outs.146
This section has aimed to provide an illustrative, rather than exhaustive, sense of what is taking
place at African universities. As can be noted, there are a number of initiatives involving the use of
various technologies to enhance the research, teaching and learning and administrative
environments in institutions of higher education. These present a positive view for ICT use in the
higher education sector in Africa. They suggest that opportunities offered by ICT are being harnessed
in ways that can raise the profile of African research, facilitating the development of high-order skills
to find, access, and use information to generate knowledge, while improving efficiency of
institutional operations. Such examples should invigorate governments, international partners, and
institutions themselves to continue investment and focus on ICT use in higher education. However,
there appears to be a large amount of effort placed into researching ICT themselves rather than
using them to communicate African research contributions regionally and internationally. In
teaching, it is evident that lecturers and students are using ICT to advance the learning environment.
3.5 Challenges in Policy and the Implementation of ICT in Higher
Education
Many of the continental, regional and national ICT policies identified refer to education and higher
education as being beneficiaries and key pillars in the integration of ICT into the social and economic
contexts of individual states. However, several key challenges persist, as outlined below.
3.5.1 Policy
An enabling policy environment is vital to support the effective integration of ICT into education and
to address issues of sustainability. ICT initiatives are sustainable only if they are conceived within the
framework of a comprehensive policy and strategy. However, the lack of comprehensive policies
covering the integration of ICT in education remains a major barrier in many African countries.
African countries are at different stages in considering policies to harness ICT in support of education
and development. In some instances, ICT and development policies may not be complemented by
other relevant supportive policies, for example a telecommunications policy that supports such
development, as well as associated budgetary allocations to policies. Some countries (for example
Angola, Republic of Congo and Cameroon) may have national policies, but may not have policies that
make specific reference to ICT and education. In other instances, ICT in education is actually
mentioned within the national ICT policies in general terms, but the policy environment does not do
more than this. They may not always be accompanied by a detailed implementation plan or
commitment from government to implement the policies.147 The World Bank also notes that
developing countries have faced challenges in adapting policies and regulations to rapid changes in
146
Nix, J., Russell, J., Keegan, D. (n.d.). Mobile learning/SMS (Short Messaging System) academic administration kit.
Retrieved from: http://www.eden-online.org/contents/publications/SMS/Ericsson.Mobile.A5.pdf
147 Information drawn from various country reports in Farrell, G., Isaacs, S., and Trucano, M (2007). Survey of ICT and
Education in Africa (Volume 2): 53 Country Reports. Washington, DC: infoDev / World Bank.
58
technology and market structure. 148 Thus, there is an absence of comprehensive policies that enable
and support interventions and which are supported by clearly defined and resourced strategies for
implementation at national level as well as at the level of educational institutions.
In this light, policies are needed that cover all aspects of ICT in education and come with a timebound implementation strategy and the necessary institutional arrangements, resource allocations,
and monitoring plans to ensure that implementation can and will take place.149 In addition, more
consideration could be given to exactly how institutions of higher education can facilitate building
ICT capacity in Africa. More than a brief mention of the relationship between ICT and higher
education is required in policy frameworks. How institutions of higher education are to be engaged
and the expectations of them need to be clearly articulated.
3.5.2 Infrastructure
A major challenge facing ICT in higher education is that of limited infrastructure, in particular the
limited access to power (about 60% of the population in Africa lack access to electricity) 150 and the
lack of affordable and reliable Internet access (less than 12% of the population in Africa are Internet
users).151 Many African countries still have unreliable power supply, uncompleted data and
telecommunications networks, coupled with the high cost of energy and telecommunications.152 In
most African countries, Internet access is limited and slow. Where broadband is available, it is
typically very expensive—far beyond the financial means of the majority of Africans.153 This lack of
affordable and accessible telecommunication backbone and a stable electrical supply impacts on the
rollout of ICT in higher education by making online systems unreliable or difficult and expensive to
access. Frequent power outages or system crashes can cause frustration amongst users and lead to
abandoning such platforms as a tool in teaching, learning, and research.154
It should be noted that ICT infrastructure encompasses access to equipment, as well as to
connectivity. A key element in use of ICT in education is therefore the devices through which
educators and learners access learning materials and collaboration platforms. Equipping universities
and keeping them up to date with ICT equipment is very expensive due to hardware and software
purchases, as well as the recurrent costs associated with maintenance and support. Rapid advances
in technology have continued to add potential to the use of ICT as an integral part of teaching and
learning. However, changes and innovations in technology tend to be much faster than changes in
148
IEG (Independent Evaluation Group). 2011. Capturing Technology for Development: An Evaluation of World Bank Group
Activities in Information and Communication Technologies. Washington, DC: Independent Evaluation Group. The World
Bank Group.
149 Adam, L., Butcher, N., Tusubira, F.F.T., and Sibthorpe, C. (2011). Transformation-Ready: The strategic application of
information and communication technologies in Africa - Education Sector Study. Prepared for the African Development
Bank, the World Bank and the African Union.
150 Lighting Africa. What is Lighting Africa? Retrieved from
http://www.lightingafrica.org/component/k2/item/22.html?layout=item
151 Internet World Stats. (2011). Internet usage statistics for Africa. Retrieved from,
http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats1.htm
152 Butcher, N. (2010) ICT, Education, Development and the Knowledge Society. Retrieved from
http://www.gesci.org/assets/files/ICT,%20Education,%20Development,%20and%20the%20Knowledge%20Society(1).pdf
153 Williams, M.D.J., Mayer, R., and Minges, M. (2011). Africa’s ICT Infrastructure Building on the Mobile Revolution. World
Bank: Washington. Retrieved from
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INFORMATIONANDCOMMUNICATIONANDTECHNOLOGIES/Resources/AfricasICTInfrast
ructure_Building_on_MobileRevolution_2011.pdf
154 Mtebe, J.S., Dachi, H., and Raphael, C. (2011). Integrating ICT into teaching and learning at the University of Dar es
Salaam. Distance Education 32(2): 289–294
59
the education system, and this is an area of concern, as reform may be dependent on technologies
that are no longer available or supported.155
3.5.3 Bandwidth Constraints
Another obstacle to the use of ICT in African higher education remains access to greater bandwidth.
Despite the help that established National Research and Education Networks (NRENS) provide,
bandwidth constraints remain a challenge in many African higher education institutions. A 2008
survey conducted by UNESCO amongst African higher education institutions considered whether
Internet access was excellent, adequate, or non-existent. Close to 66% of respondents indicated that
access to the Internet was adequate.156 Insufficient private sector investments in the
telecommunications infrastructure and a lack of competition, have led to high costs for ICT,
particularly bandwidth. Bandwidth costs for broadband in Sub-Saharan Africa are 30 to 40 times that
in the US.157 Research ICT Africa reports in its 2009/2010 sector review, that sub-Saharan Africa trails
North Africa with Internet penetration rates below 3% on average and a broadband penetration rate
below 2%.158 It cites low bandwidth and high prices as major challenges, with many countries relying
on satellite communication for bandwidth due to the limited reach of traditional fixed-line networks
and lack of access to undersea cables. The need to create a robust bandwidth capability throughout
Africa exposes the various constraints that need to be addressed at the institutional, national, and
regional levels.159
3.5.4 Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation
It is generally believed that ICT can empower teachers and learners, promote change and foster the
development of 21st century skills, but data to support these perceived benefits from ICT is limited
and evidence of effective impact is elusive. Globally, insufficient attention is paid to monitoring and
evaluation during the design of most ICT initiatives, and Africa is no exception. In addition, there
appears to be a dearth of useful resources attempting to translate what is known to work and not
work in this field. Furthermore, as technology and the specific tools available for education changes
quickly, and therefore as new technologies emerge, it is critical that their cost and impact in
educational settings are examined. As a result, there is a great need for research on the
appropriateness of specific ICT tools to help meet educational goals.160
155
Adam, L., Butcher, N., Tusubira, F.F.T., and Sibthorpe, C. (2011). Transformation-Ready: The strategic application of
information and communication technologies in Africa - Education Sector Study. Prepared for the African Development
Bank, the World Bank and the African Union.
156 Unwin, T. (2008). Survey of e-Learning in Africa. UNESCO Chair in ICT Development.
157 Cottrell, L. (2010). New E. Coast of Africa Fibre. Retrieved from
https://confluence.slac.stanford.edu/display/IEPM/New+E.+Coast+of+Africa+Fibre
158
Research ICT Africa (RIA), Comparative Sector Performance Review 2009/2010. Retrieved from,
http://www.researchictafrica.net/publications/Policy_Paper_Series_Towards_Evidencebased_ICT_Policy_and_Regulation_-_Volume_2/Vol_2_Paper_5__Comparative_Sector_Performance_Review_2009_2010.pdf
159 Adam, L. (2003). Information and Communication Technologies in Higher Education in Africa: Initiatives and Challenges.
JHEA/RESA Vol 1, No. 1, pp. 195–221
160 Adam, L., Butcher, N., Tusubira, F.F.T., and Sibthorpe, C. (2011). Transformation-Ready: The strategic application of
information and communication technologies in Africa - Education Sector Study. Prepared for the African Development
Bank, the World Bank and the African Union.
60
3.5.6 Technology-Led Initiatives
There has been a common tendency to use technology people to lead and implement ICT in
education projects, with a resultant focus on engineering or software skills. People who are trained
in and understand education play a secondary and often peripheral role. Technology-led initiatives
may appear successful at the technical level, but generally do not achieve the expected outcomes
and impact, and are consequently not sustainable.161
Related to this challenge is the issue of reliance on technology imports that are more often than not,
designed for developed country markets and environments rather than tailored to the African
context. While there has been some progress on the soft side of technology, a lot of the key
applications are still imported. Open source software offers potential solutions, but there is still a
lack of sufficiency of skills (in terms of both depth and numbers of people) to engage open source
software confidently.
3.5.7 Shortage of Trained Professionals and Skilled Leaders
Many African countries face a shortage of IT professionals and lack of educators with ICT skills.
African universities in particular face a critical shortage of skilled workers who understand basic and
advanced programming and can plan, design, and implement distributed information systems as
well as manage large-scale e-learning projects.162 For example, at the University of Dar es Salaam,
despite being an early adopter of ICT and setting in place the institutional mechanisms necessary to
support the use of ICT in teaching and learning, the institution often finds that academics just do not
take up ICT and use it in their courses.163
Integration of ICT in learning requires retraining and calls for new time demands on academics. The
absence of incentive schemes, especially in environments where salaries and benefits are low, is
both a challenge and a major risk to success. Incentives extend beyond this to innovators in the area
of ICT in education for either developing or scaling up products and approaches that have
demonstrated benefit and potential for sustainability.
Another challenge is the high turnover of skilled technical personnel, as institutions are unable to
pay salaries that are competitive with the private sector. Some higher education institutions have
tried to work around this problem by launching extensive and ongoing professional development
programs for their staff and exploiting their computer science and electrical/network/computer
engineering departments.164
161
Adam, L., Butcher, N., Tusubira, F.F.T., and Sibthorpe, C. (2011). Transformation-Ready: The strategic application of
information and communication technologies in Africa - Education Sector Study. Prepared for the African Development
Bank, the World Bank and the African Union.
162 Butcher, N. (2010) ICT, Education, Development and the Knowledge Society. Retrieved from
http://www.gesci.org/assets/files/ICT,%20Education,%20Development,%20and%20the%20Knowledge%20Society(1).pdf
163 Mtebe, J.S., Dachi, H., and Raphael, C. (2011). Integrating ICT into teaching and learning at the University of Dar es
Salaam. Distance Education 32(2): 289–294
164 Adam, L. (2003). Information and Communication Technologies in Higher Education in Africa: Initiatives and Challenges.
JHEA/RESA Vol 1, No. 1, pp. 195–221
61
African leaders, civil servants, administrators, and academics need to be knowledgeable about the
potential of ICT in higher education. Where this knowledge is lacking, policy frameworks created by
government and their related investment priorities frequently miss opportunities to realize systemic
change through investments in ICT. ICT planning and investment tends to be treated as a luxury
aspect of budgets or an expendable line item, rather than being seen as an important aspect of
promoting socio-economic transformation, and service delivery. This reflects a need to build
capacity in the management and institutional leadership of African higher education institutions
about the benefits of ICT.
A lack of capacity at all levels to effectively integrate and support the use of ICT in education. This
includes a shortage of human capacity across all important stakeholders groups (for example, policy
makers, teachers, administrators, technical staff, education managers, and so on). Harnessing ICT for
education and socio-economic development requires visionary and skilled management and
visionary leadership. African leaders, civil servants, and administrators need to be knowledgeable
about the potential that ICT presents in terms of socio-economic development, and thus there is a
need to build capacity in African leaders and administrators to ensure that leveraging ICT for a
knowledge society is both a top-down and bottom-up process.165
3.5.8 Funding ICT in Higher Education
ICT planning and investment tends
Lack of financing and prioritization of ICT investments is a
serious barrier to effective ICT use. Little is known about to be treated as a luxury aspect of
budgets or an expendable line item,
the true costs of ICT in education, and given budgetary
rather than being seen as an
and resource constraints, widespread investment in ICT in
important aspect of promoting
education may not be possible in many African countries.
Despite a mainstream claim that investing in ICT is cost- socio-economic transformation, and
service delivery. This reflects a need
effective, as well as the continuous decline in ICT prices,
to build capacity in the management
the total cost of ownership of ICT including hardware,
and institutional leadership of
software, maintenance, upgrading, skills and development
African higher education institutions
remains high. Investing in ICT for higher education could
about the benefits of ICT.
be perceived as an additional cost, and sustaining
meaningful ICT investment is a problem faced by many
institutions and countries, particularly those that rely heavily on donor funding. ICT may not feature
as high on the list of higher education institutions’ investments or priorities as important items like
paying staff salaries or maintaining utilities. Across the continent, a lack of government funding for
ICT in higher education often results due to competing national imperatives, and projects related to
ICT for education often rely on donor funding. For example, in Madagascar, there appears to be
limited budget for ICT in education, while in Malawi the ICT for development strategy is strongly
dependent on external donor funding.166 Budgetary pressure on education and training can result in
under-investment in the quality of education.167 Therefore, education investments in ICT require
165
Adam, L., Butcher, N., Tusubira, F.F.T., and Sibthorpe, C. (2011). Transformation-Ready: The strategic application of
information and communication technologies in Africa - Education Sector Study. Prepared for the African Development
Bank, the World Bank and the African Union.
166 Information drawn from various country reports in Farrell, G., Isaacs, S., and Trucano, M (2007). Survey of ICT and
Education in Africa (Volume 2): 53 Country Reports. Washington, DC: infoDev / World Bank.
167 Punie, Y., and Cabrera, M. (2005). The Future of ICT and Learning in the Knowledge Society - Report on a Joint DG JRCDG EAC Workshop held in Seville, 20-21 October 2005. Seville: European Commission Directorate-General Joint Research
Centre.
62
long-term planning that should take into account sustainability and the developments that ICTenhanced education may bring.168
It is, therefore, critically important to better understand the costs and benefits associated with ICT
types and uses in various educational situations in order to effectively target scarce resources. Due
to the high up-front costs and large recurrent costs, countries typically employ a great variety of
financing and cost recovery mechanisms. Common trends in advocating ICT integration include
educational institutions entering into partnerships with the business sector, particularly the IT
industry, in order to help maintain operation and financial viability of ICT-based education
programmes.169 Thus, public-private partnerships and user fees are important components of
financing ICT in education in many countries, although more research is needed to determine the
impact and effectiveness of these mechanisms.170
Costs for ICT tools can also be prohibitive. Purchasing site licences and support services can result in
significant upfront costs that may at first glance appear prohibitive and unnecessary. Fortunately,
there are a number of open source options available for most software applications, particularly
learning management systems that can be cheaper to maintain and tend to be well supported by
their respective online communities. In addition, costs of accessing telecommunications networks
necessary for ICT use can be expensive, especially in countries that have not liberalized their
telecommunications sector. Looking to legislative frameworks, particularly those that have
advocated – and succeeded in enforcing – e-rates for social services from telecommunications and
technology companies, would be a useful for governments looking at ways of reducing costs
associated with accessing the Internet.171
3.5.9 Relevant Educational Content
In Africa, appropriate and improvised content ranging from learning materials such as textbooks,
journals, web pages, video, television, radio, audio programmes, and multimedia packages to
learning support tools such as study guides, exam sheets, worksheets, laboratory manuals, and field
exercises are in short supply.172 In particular, there is little digital education content that is locally
contextually relevant or based on local curriculum frameworks. Experience shows that unless digital
learning resources are directly related to the curriculum, and to the assessment methods used to
evaluate educational outcomes, ICT interventions may not have positive educational impacts.173
Creating local e-learning content has proved difficult because many African higher education
institutions are still not conversant with courseware tools and digital environment. Faculty members
also have excessive loads and limited time, skills, and incentives to develop e-learning materials
168
Adam, L., Butcher, N., Tusubira, F.F.T., and Sibthorpe, C. (2011). Transformation-Ready: The strategic application of
information and communication technologies in Africa - Education Sector Study. Prepared for the African Development
Bank, the World Bank and the African Union.
169 Butcher, N. (2010) ICT, Education, Development and the Knowledge Society. Retrieved from
http://www.gesci.org/assets/files/ICT,%20Education,%20Development,%20and%20the%20Knowledge%20Society(1).pdf
170 Adam, L., Butcher, N., Tusubira, F.F.T., and Sibthorpe, C. (2011). Transformation-Ready: The strategic application of
information and communication technologies in Africa - Education Sector Study. Prepared for the African Development
Bank, the World Bank and the African Union.
171 Butcher, N. (2010) ICT, Education, Development and the Knowledge Society. Retrieved from
http://www.gesci.org/assets/files/ICT,%20Education,%20Development,%20and%20the%20Knowledge%20Society(1).pdf
172 Butcher, N. (2010) ICT, Education, Development and the Knowledge Society. Retrieved from
http://www.gesci.org/assets/files/ICT,%20Education,%20Development,%20and%20the%20Knowledge%20Society(1).pdf
173 Adam, L., Butcher, N., Tusubira, F.F.T., and Sibthorpe, C. (2011). Transformation-Ready: The strategic application of
information and communication technologies in Africa - Education Sector Study. Prepared for the African Development
Bank, the World Bank and the African Union.
63
suitable to their local needs. The educational reward system was not designed to encourage faculty
and students to own and get involved in e-learning content development and use. Maintaining an elearning environment requires consistent improvisation and skills that are not readily available to
most African higher education institutions and it is a resource intensive enterprise.174
Nevertheless, there have been several initiatives that have been adopted to address the e-content
challenge in Africa, particularly related to the development of OER (as discussed in the section
below).
3.5.10 Unequal Access to Resources
ICT tends to accentuate social, cultural, and economic disparities. For instance, ICT projects tend to
give preference to students in urban areas and in areas where existing infrastructure is the best.
Whilst there is a very real risk that ICT can further marginalize groups already excluded or
marginalized from educational practices and innovations, ICT also holds a promise and opportunity
for facilitating greater inclusion of such groups such as special needs students, students in remote
areas, students from historically marginalized linguistic, cultural or ethnic groups, and low income
communities into existing educational practices and environments. With supportive policies and
careful planning and monitoring, ICT can offer the potential of facilitating greater inclusion of such
groups.175
3.5.11 Computer/Network Security
As higher education institutions in Africa build greater capacity in ICT, issues of computer and
network security need to be addressed.176 Particularly with the development of national or regional
research and education networks, security from outside cyber-attacks or viruses needs to be
considered. Such threats can pose a real challenge to the stability and effectiveness of ICT platforms,
and can also result in breaches of intellectual property. Providing effective computer and network
security brings additional costs through hiring and training sufficient staff to monitor and educate
staff and students on how to safe guard computers. Additional costs can be generated due to the
need for software purchases or upgrades.
174
Adam, L. (2003). Information and Communication Technologies in Higher Education in Africa: Initiatives and Challenges.
JHEA/RESA Vol 1, No. 1, pp. 195–221
175 Adam, L., Butcher, N., Tusubira, F.F.T., and Sibthorpe, C. (2011). Transformation-Ready: The strategic application of
information and communication technologies in Africa - Education Sector Study. Prepared for the African Development
Bank, the World Bank and the African Union.
176 Council for Higher Education. (2006). ICTs and the South African Higher Education Landscape. Section 4. Retrieved from
http://www.che.ac.za/documents/d000127/7-ICTs_HE_Landscape_Jul2006.pdf
64
4 Open and Distance Learning (ODL) and Higher
Education
4.1 Introduction
Globally, countries are facing challenges of expanding access, improving quality, and ensuring equity,
particularly in higher education. Underpinning this challenge is the growing and urgent need to train,
retrain, and continuously refresh the knowledge and skills of each nation’s workforce in an
increasingly globalized knowledge economy. While the challenge is global in nature, its impact is
particularly pronounced in Africa, which has the world’s highest illiteracy rates, lowest participation
rates, significant capacity development needs, and a huge demand for higher education. In Africa,
there has been rapid growth in the number of private and distance learning tertiary institutions. This
growth has been attributed partly to existing public institutions no longer being able to cope with
increasing populations and an accompanying growth in demand for education. Despite this, the
tertiary gross enrolment ratio for Sub-Saharan Africa is just 5.6%, compared with 71% in North
America and Western Europe.177
As was noted in the previous section, it has been argued that, in order for African universities to
contribute to development of the knowledge society in a more meaningful way, they need to
introduce cost-effective expansion strategies that will also ensure reasonable quality. This is in a
context of insufficient resources to build and operate new higher education institutions or to invest
in upgrading existing institutions.178 ODL is increasingly being seen as a strategy to tackle these
challenges of access, quality, and equity. Many African countries are deploying ODL models in order
to meet the growing demand for higher education places. Contemporary developments in the
provision of quality higher education indicate that these countries are embracing ODL as a costeffective and efficient means of increasing access to education.179 While still a minority trend in
Francophone Africa, e-learning is also increasingly viewed as a viable alternative to large-scale faceto-face delivery, particularly in view of rapid population growth, increasing ICT funding, and limited
higher education infrastructure.180
ODL has progressively evolved from a peripheral concern to a key developmental agenda that policy
makers, education providers, and employers have to tackle. The rapid developments in ICT outlined
in the previous section, rising mobility of people and corresponding increase in cross-border
education, and strong demand for higher education are all regarded as among the key push factors
propelling the ODL agenda to high priority. African governments have found ODL to be cost-efficient,
with the potential to offer very high quality education and training. The Ministers of Education of the
African Member States (MINEDAF) VIII meeting held in Dar es Salaam in 2002 highlighted the
importance of ODL in helping to solve Africa’s challenges of social dislocation, poverty, conflict, and
marginalization, as well as achievement of the continent’s human development goals. In 2004,
African Ministers of Education at the All Africa Education Ministers Conference on Open Learning
177
Barasa, F.S. (no date). Promoting Open And Distance Learning In Africa: A Critical Reflection On Rhetoric, Real And Ideal.
Retrieved from http://events.aau.org/userfiles/file/corevip11/papers/fred_barasa_Promoting_ODL.pdf
178 Mufutmari, N. (2010). Expanding the frontiers of access: Distance and ‘privatized’ higher Education. In Teferra, D and
Greijn, H.(eds). )Higher Education and Globalization Challenges, Threats and Opportunities for Africa. Maastricht University
Centre for International Cooperation in Academic Development (MUNDO), Maastricht, the Netherlands, and International
Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA), Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston College, USA.
179 Okebukola, P. (2009). African Higher Education and Quality Assurance. Presented at the CHEA 2009 Annual Conference.
Retrieved from http://www.chea.org/pdf/2009_IS_African_Higher_Education_and_Quality_Assurance_Okebukola.pdf
180 Jokivirta, L. (2006). Foreign Higher Education Activity in Francophone Africa. World Education News and Reviews, 19(2).
Retrieved from http://www.wes.org/ewenr/06apr/feature.htm
65
and Distance Education in South Africa, called for ODL to be applied more widely.181 The result of
increasing awareness of, and appreciation for the potential of ODL in increasing access to higher
education has also seen calls for African countries to prioritize and support ODL, to introduce quality
assurance mechanisms for ODL and to foster regional collaborations in higher education.
4.2 Growth of ODL in Africa
ODL is now increasingly seen as key to the provision of access to affordable education to a wider
student population. For example, the University of South Africa (UNISA) enrolled approximately
375,000 students in 2011 and the Open University of Tanzania (OUT) is the major provider of tertiary
education in that country. Likewise, the Zimbabwe Open University was developing well until recent
difficulties in the country slowed its growth, although its development has re-commenced with the
return of a greater degree of political stability in that country. These institutions offer a range of
higher education programmes, covering teacher education, nursing, business studies, science
degrees, and a range of other specialized programmes.
ODL is also not limited to traditional dedicated distance education institutions. Its promise and
possibilities are also being explored and implemented by many contact universities faced with the
same kinds of technological advances, constraints, dynamics and challenges as those that have
caused traditional distance education institutions to turn to ODL models of provision. In addition,
private education providers are also increasingly tapping into the promise of ODL.182
The growth of ODL in Africa is promising in that it is demonstrative that higher education is no longer
the exclusive domain of a few. As Pityana (2008) notes:
Perhaps what we as ODL practitioners acknowledge and what we quietly celebrate, is that
the growth of ODL is testament to the demise of exclusivity in higher education provision. The
exclusionary triangle of access, cost and quality has been broken by technology and its
evolution, allowing broad access to quality education at an affordable price. In short, the
growth of ODL has facilitated mass access to quality higher education. It is how we respond
to the opportunity that this presents, that will determine its, and our own, future growth and
success. 183
4.3 Activities across the Continent
As part of the process of finding solutions, many African countries and organizations have made
efforts to harness the perceived potential of ODL, as reflected by the number of initiatives across the
continent. The following list provides a summary of institutes and organisations working in the ODL
field.
• UNESCO’s Division of Higher Education has established the UNESCO Higher Education Open and
Distance Learning Knowledge Base which aims to support decision-makers and practitioners by
giving them access to information and tools to aid more effective policy planning, development
181
Barasa, F.S. (no date). Promoting Open And Distance Learning In Africa: A Critical Reflection On Rhetoric, Real And Ideal.
Retrieved from http://events.aau.org/userfiles/file/corevip11/papers/fred_barasa_Promoting_ODL.pdf
182 Pityana, N.B. (2008). A Decade of Development and Education in Africa: The Promise of Open and Distance Learning.
Keynote Address at the Pan Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning of the Commonwealth of Learning held in
collaboration with London University and UNESCO, London, 14-16 July 2008, under the theme: Access to Learning for
Development
183 Pityana, N.B. (2008). A Decade of Development and Education in Africa: The Promise of Open and Distance Learning.
Keynote Address at the Pan Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning of the Commonwealth of Learning held in
collaboration with London University and UNESCO, London, 14-16 July 2008, under the theme: Access to Learning for
Development
66
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
and management of ODL in higher education programmes. It is also developing, in collaboration
with EADTU, Europe’s main voice in distance higher education, a global framework for quality
assurance in distance learning/e-learning.184
The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is very active in the field of ODL in Africa. Further details
on COL have been described in the ICT section above.
The International Council for Distance Education (ICDE) is the global membership organization of
educational institutions, national and regional associations, corporations, educational
authorities and agencies in the fields of open learning, distance education, and flexible, life-long
learning. ICDE is now present in 142 countries. The majority of its membership is composed of
educational institutions at all levels (schools, colleges, universities), but it also includes national
and regional associations, corporations, educational authorities and agencies, active in open,
virtual and distance learning. ICDE’s relationship as a UNESCO-affiliated NGO goes back to the
1960s. Since then, ICDE has worked with UNESCO in numerous programmes and activities.
The African Council for Distance Education (ACDE) is a continental educational organization with
its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. It comprises universities and other higher education
institutions that are committed to expanding access to quality education and training through
ODL, including e-learning. The vision of the ACDE is to become a major player in promotion and
advocacy for ODL in Africa. The mandate of the ACDE, as a unifying body of ODL providers in
Africa, is primarily to promote research, policy, and quality in ODL to increase access to
education and training in Africa. It does this by building capacity, fostering collaboration and
partnership, and advocacy.
The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) includes a Working Group on
Distance Education and Open Learning (WGDEOL), which was created in 1997 to help ministries
of education, training institutions, and NGOs in Africa improve access to, quality of, and equity in
education, and, in particular, to strengthen the capacity of the education system. The activities
of the WGDEOL are geared towards sensitizing all stakeholders ranging from practitioners to
policy-makers about the importance of ODL methodologies and related innovations in the
educational scenario. These activities are mainly concerned with harnessing the potential of ICT
and demonstrating their outreach effectiveness through planned activities.
The Distance Education Association of Southern Africa (DEASA) is an association of 20 member
institutions or organisations from Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, South Africa, Namibia and
Tanzania. These institutions are involved in distance education or non-formal education at
various levels, ranging from adult basic to tertiary level education.
The Distance Education Association of Tanzania (DEATA) is a national association, whose goal is
to promote networking and collaboration among distance education professionals in Tanzania.
The SADC Centre for Distance Education (SADC-CDE) is an ODL centre of excellence in Southern
Africa. The Centre’s main function is to build ODL capacity within the region at all levels – pretertiary or secondary school to tertiary level.185
The National Association of Distance Education Organizations of South Africa (NADEOSA)
facilitates collaboration among ODL organizations in South Africa and is involved in ODL
promotion and advocacy. NADEOSA also plays an important role in the development of
awareness of quality in the South African distance education community. It also engages with
quality assurance bodies specifically appointed for the quality assurance of distance education,
particularly higher education
The South African Institute of Distance Education (SAIDE) is committed to increasing democratic
access to knowledge, skills and learning through the adoption of open learning principles and
distance education strategies. They promote open learning principles; the use of quality open
184
Higher
Education
Open
and
Distance
Learning
Knowledge
Base.
Retrieved
http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=22306&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html.
185 Commonwealth of Learning. (no date). BOTSWANA - COL activities in 2003-2006. Retrieved from
http://www.col.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/Botswana_03_06.pdf
67
from:
•
and distance learning methods; and the appropriate use of technology. SAIDE works closely with
policy makers and providers of educational programmes to translate these approaches into
practice.186
The Namibian Open Learning Network Trust (NOLNet) was formed in 2001 on the request of the
government to share scarce expertise and resources on ODL. NOLNet’s activities include
institutional capacity-building; establishment and expansion of a national network of open
learning centres; supporting elearning initiatives to supplement existing ODL print-based
programmes; and the development of radio programmes and audio-visual material.
Initiatives and organizations such as those listed above play a critical role in supporting the
development and growth of high quality ODL practices in African higher education.
4.4 Use of ODL, Good Practices, and Promising Approaches
In Africa, ODL at the higher education level is offered by two main kinds of institutions – dedicated
ODL or single-mode institutions, and dual mode universities (offering both ODL and face-to-face
teaching courses). A single-mode institution is one in which teaching, learning, and administrative
systems are designed and dedicated to the provision of ODL.187 All the management structures,
teaching activities, and administrative processes of single-mode institutions are dedicated to the
delivery of ODL. These institutions usually do not have a traditional campus. Their students use a
system of local and regional study sites, and course teams usually design the courses.188 A dualmode institution is one in which teaching, learning, and administrative systems support both
campus-based education and ODL.189 The distance teaching section is usually managed by a special
unit with its own dedicated administrative staff and possibly also dedicated faculty. However, in
most instances these units require the parent body’s faculty to provide most of the teaching.190
As higher education institutions face new training demands and new competitive challenges, many
of them are facing the need for profound changes in their governance, organizational structure and
modes of operation. As traditional universities recognize the importance of ODL in giving students
the opportunity to access the most advanced educational resources over and above their traditional
teaching methods, many of these institutions are taking the decision to transform themselves
rapidly from single-mode to dual-mode universities.
There are several higher education institutions that are dedicated ODL universities and colleges. The
following list provides an indication of the various ODL institutions (this list is not exhaustive, but
illustrative of ODL initiatives in Africa).
• The Lesotho College of Education (LCE) trains primary school teachers and junior secondary
school teachers at the pre-service and in-service levels. As a public sector institution, it operates
under the auspices of the Lesotho Ministry of Higher Education and Training.191
• The Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) is a multi-disciplinary inter-faculty institution offering
degree and non-degree courses through distance teaching and open learning to youth and adult
186
South African Institute of Distance Education, About Us. Retrieved from
http://www.saide.org.za/AboutUs/tabid/1431/Default.aspx .
187 Abrioux, D.A.M.X. (2006). Strategic Issues in Single- and Dual-mode Distance Education: The Organizational Blending of
Two Canadian Distance Universities. p. 11. Commonwealth of Learning.
188 World Bank. (no date). Governance and Structure – Single Mode Institutions, Global Distance Educationet.
189 Abrioux, D.A.M.X. (2006). Strategic Issues in Single- and Dual-mode Distance Education: The Organizational Blending of
Two Canadian Distance Universities. p. 11. Commonwealth of Learning.
190 World Bank. (no date). Governance and Structure – Single Mode Institutions, Global Distance Educationet
191 Lesotho Ministry of Education and Training. Higher Education. Retrieved from
http://www.education.gov.ls/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23&Itemid=34.
68
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
learners. The University evolved out of the University of Zimbabwe after the Government
realized the need to develop ODL.
UNISA is a comprehensive institution, offering both career-orientated courses usually associated
with a university of technology and formative academic programmes typically linked to a
traditional university. It has 28 branches throughout the country and seven colleges: the College
of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, the College of Economic and Management Sciences,
the College of Education, the College of Human Sciences, the College of Law, the College of
Science, Engineering, and Technology, and College of Graduate Studies.192
OUT is an accredited public institution of higher learning offering academic programmes leading
to certificates, diplomas and undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications. OUT’s
headquarters are in Dar es Salaam. It has Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences; Education;
Science, Technology and Environmental Studies; Law; and Business Management. The Institute
conducts its operations through 25 Regional Centres and 69 Study Centres.193
The Open University of Mauritius was established when the Mauritian government passed the
Open University of Mauritius Bill in 2009, whose main objective is to provide for the
establishment of the university and enhance the provision of open and distance learning and
multimedia-based education. The Open University is intended to collaborate with Governmental
and intergovernmental institutions, as well as the private sector, to support an enabling
environment for the provision of education and training at certificate, diploma, graduate, postgraduate and research levels. In addition, it will be responsible for setting standards for the
provision of ODL.194 The Open University Bill has been passed in Parliament and awaits
proclamation.
The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) is Nigeria’s largest tertiary institution in terms
of student numbers. It operates from its Administrative Headquarters located in Lagos. Nigeria,
with study centres throughout the country. It offers over 50 programmes and 750 courses from
certificate to diploma and degree level.195
The Zambia Open University, a private university, which has been operating since 2005, has
grown from about an initial enrolment of 500 students to 3,500 students.196 However, at the
time of writing, the university website was not working and therefore it is difficult to verify
current enrolment rates.
The Open University of Sudan is based in Khartoum, Sudan. The university has 320 centres,
enrols over 19,000 students and offers programmes in education, law, business administration,
computer science and languages.
The AVU has established ODL centres at each of the ten selected institutions in Ethiopia, Kenya,
Madagascar, Mozambique, Senegal, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as part
of the AVU Multinational Support Project.
ODL opens access to education to many students, and technology can help to facilitate and enhance
learning for these students. UNISA provides a good example of how this is done. UNISA enrols
approximately 375,000 students in South Africa and beyond its borders, making use of a ‘customized
delivery system’ for e-learning with a web environment to provide general programme and course
information and a secure environment that provides access to students and staff. The latter has
three areas for academic staff, support staff and students. Lecturers can access online course
resources, learner details, and feedback from students as well as support and teaching tools. E-
192
University of South Africa (UNISA). Retrieved from www.unisa.ac.za
The Open University of Tanzania. Retrieved from www.out.ac.tz
194 The Open University of Mauritius Bill. Retrieved from http://www.gov.mu/portal/goc/assemblysite/file/bill1909.pdf
195 About NOUN. Retrieved from http://www.nou.edu.ng/noun/About%20NOUN/contents/About%20us.html
196 Researching Virtual Initiatives in Education. Zambian Open University. Retrieved from
http://www.virtualcampuses.eu/index.php/Zambian_Open_University
193
69
learning has enabled UNISA to diversify and expand its student clientele.197 Virtual learning
environments in distance learning expand learning opportunities for students who can access
computers and the internet. These open their world to other resources through engagement with
the university virtual learning environment. Considering their importance for learning, it would be
useful to gather data on usage of virtual learning environments by distance learners to inform their
improvement. It would also be important to conduct online surveys to get feedback from students
on the effectiveness of the virtual learning environment.
In addition to dual-mode institutions, the concept of which has been mentioned above, there are
also mixed-mode institutions, whose programmes are designed, delivered and administered by the
same people who provide conventional face-to-face programmes.198 This mode is a fairly recent
development, with teachers and trainers in conventional higher education institutions offering their
courses off campus using audio-conferencing and video-conferencing, and in more recent years, via
the Internet. Distance learners are added to their regular students and teaching proceeds using the
traditional methods.199 Examples of institutions offering dual-mode or mixed mode programmes
include: the University of Botswana, University of Abuja, University of Lagos, Université de
Fianarantsoa, Universidade Pedagogica, University of Namibia, Egerton University, Jomo Kenyatta
University of Agriculture, Science and Technology, Moi University, University of Nairobi, Strathmore
University, Eduardo Mondlane University, Benin Centre d`Education a Distance, Light University of
Bujumbura, University of Juba, Kigali Institute of Education, Masinde Muliro University of Science
and Technology, University of Pretoria, University of Swaziland, Copperbelt University, and the
University of Zambia, amongst others. Many of the programmes offered at dual-mode institutions
focus on the key professions of teaching and nursing, but there is also growth of programmes in
areas such as business studies and specialist professions. In some cases, training programmes and
colleges are affiliated with the university that awards the diplomas. Most universities use a
combination of instructional methods and techniques, including learning packages, self-instructional
materials, face-to-face tutorials, assignments, workshops, radio and television broadcasts and online
support.200
Several universities in the region offer at least one ODL programme, which has resulted in an
increase in higher education study places. For example, distance education students now represent
at least 30% of those enrolled at Makerere University in Uganda, and about half of students at both
the University of Cape Coast in Ghana and at the Catholic University of Mozambique. At the
University of Mauritius, 40% of first-year modules are now available as distance education
programmes.201 Some, such as the University of Namibia, have established outreach campuses and
offer a number of well-established programmes (for example, in education, arts, nursing and
business studies).
The fourth mode of ODL offering is through consortia. This usually involves an arrangement whereby
the distance teaching resources of a state are organized by a single management unit, which
normally comprises representatives of the institutions providing the resources.202 Two or more ODL
197
Ngugi et al. (2007). ICTs and higher education in Africa. Cape Town: Centre for Educational Technology.
World Bank. (no date). Governance and Structure – Single Mode Institutions, Global Distance Educationet.
199 World Bank. (no date). Governance and Structure – Single Mode Institutions, Global Distance Educationet.
200 Mufutmari, N. (2010). Expanding the frontiers of access: Distance and ‘privatized’ higher Education. In Teferra, D and
Greijn, H.(eds). )Higher Education and Globalization Challenges, Threats and Opportunities for Africa. Maastricht University
Centre for International Cooperation in Academic Development (MUNDO), Maastricht, the Netherlands, and International
Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA), Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston College, USA.
201 Mufutmari, N. (2010). Expanding the frontiers of access: Distance and ‘privatized’ higher Education. In Teferra, D and
Greijn, H.(eds). )Higher Education and Globalization Challenges, Threats and Opportunities for Africa. Maastricht University
Centre for International Cooperation in Academic Development (MUNDO), Maastricht, the Netherlands, and International
Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA), Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston College, USA.
202 World Bank. (no date). Governance and Structure – Single Mode Institutions, Global Distance Educationet.
198
70
institutions (or units within an organization) arrange to share the responsibility for designing and
delivering programmes. Each institution has its own management structure and contributes
personnel for the purpose of setting general policies. Each institution also manages delivery of the
courses to its own students.203 There is a growing trend towards integration with international
partner universities in Europe and the United States. For example, the University of Mauritius offers
a police studies programme in partnership with the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom.
Such international cooperation adds quality and accreditation to programmes, as well as providing
access to financial, information and technological resources. The integration also provides African
students with access to international discourses in many fields. There is evidence of various
international cooperation initiatives in many countries. For example, the TELESUN (TELEteaching
System for Universities) project links six engineering schools and faculties in Belgium, Cameroon,
France, Morocco, and Tunisia, and provides internet-based courses in the engineering sciences. This
is an example of a multilateral cooperation in which international discourse is being channeled to
local institutions through distance education.204 In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the
Francophone University Agency and QualiLearning, a Swiss company, have promoted regional
distance e-learning projects for French speaking countries, through the provision of ‘virtual’
campuses.205
In another initiative known as Formation à la Recherche et
(FORST), Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, and three other Frenchspeaking African countries are linked with McGill
University in Canada and University of Lille in France. This
programme allows African students to take classes in
occupational health at McGill University and the
University of Lille.206 In another programme, Réseau
Africain de Formation à Distance, teachers in Djibouti are
connected to French universities.207 A further regional
initiative is the Indian Ocean University project, which
aims to link together higher education institutions in East
Africa and southern Africa.208
à la Spécialisation en Santé au Travail
The TELESUN (TELEteaching System
for Universities) project links six
engineering schools and faculties in
Belgium,
Cameroon,
France,
Morocco, and Tunisia, and provides
internet-based courses in the
engineering sciences. This is an
example
of
a
multilateral
cooperation in which international
discourse is being channeled to local
institutions
through
distance
education.
In another example highlighting the minimizing of
duplication of effort required to develop materials, COL
has worked with the eight countries of the SADC to develop training materials that will allow
teachers to enhance their professional skills through ODL. The modules were developed by teams of
writers from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Throughout the writing
phase, content input and review of the materials remained the collective responsibility of all
203
World Bank. (no date). Governance and Structure – Single Mode Institutions, Global Distance Educationet.
Ekhaguere, G.O.S. (1999) African Higher Education and Training: Opportunities and Challenges. Presented at the
conference Access or Exclusion? Trade in Transnational Education Services. Global Alliance for Transnational Education
(GATE ), Melbourne, Australia.
205 Mufutmari, N. (2010). Expanding the frontiers of access: Distance and ‘privatized’ higher Education. In Teferra, D and
Greijn, H.(eds). )Higher Education and Globalization Challenges, Threats and Opportunities for Africa. Maastricht University
Centre for International Cooperation in Academic Development (MUNDO), Maastricht, the Netherlands, and International
Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA), Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston College, USA.
206 Beebe, M.A. (2003) Partnerships, alliances and networks for e-learning, in: M. Beebe et al. (eds) AfricaDotEdu: IT
Opportunities and Higher Education in Africa. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill.
207 Leary, J. and Berge, J.L.Z. (2007) Successful distance education programs in sub-Saharan Africa. Turkish Online Journal of
Distance Education, 8(2): 136-145. http://tojde.anadolu.edu.tr/tojde26/pdf/article_12.pdf
208 Mufutmari, N. (2010). Expanding the frontiers of access: Distance and ‘privatized’ higher Education. In Teferra, D and
Greijn, H.(eds). )Higher Education and Globalization Challenges, Threats and Opportunities for Africa. Maastricht University
Centre for International Cooperation in Academic Development (MUNDO), Maastricht, the Netherlands, and International
Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA), Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston College, USA.
204
71
participating countries. Once the core modules were developed, each country was able to adapt
them to meet the needs of its people. COL has also initiated VUSSC, which is a collaborative initiative
to develop and share courseware. It also launched WikiEducator (which is now operating through
the OER Foundation in New Zealand), which is a collaborative initiative to develop and make
available a free education curriculum by 2015.209 These examples highlight that, with collaboration,
the cost of a particular initiative to any one institution, agency, or country can be reduced and the
quality of the finished product can be higher than if only one institution or country undertook the
development of the learning materials.210
With collaboration, the cost of a
particular initiative to any one
institution, agency, or country can
be reduced and the quality of the
finished product can be higher than
if only one institution or country
undertook the development of the
learning materials.
There is a growing trend of institutions using ODL
programme designs that incorporate contact and
interaction between students and educators, rather than
resorting to correspondence methodologies.211 As such,
the line between face-to-face education and ODL is being
increasingly blurred by the trends of open education
resources, m- and e-Learning, and the possibilities of lowcost computers (discussed separately in other parts of this report). Discussion is also ongoing on
trans-border education and how ODL can meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).212
4.5 ODL Policies
There is a wide diversity of national policies and strategies pertinent to education generally and ODL
specifically. In the field of ODL, relevant policies are not only confined to education, but also to other
sectors such as telecommunications, electrification, and roads and transport, as sound national
physical infrastructures are essential to effective delivery of ODL programmes.213
Many African countries have policies and strategies that recognize the importance of ODL, although
their coordination and implementation vary from country to country. In addition, countries are at
various stages in developing ODL policies. Countries such as Lesotho and Mauritius have welldeveloped, integrated policy approaches to ODL while others, such as Namibia are in the process of
developing policies specifically focused on ODL. Other countries have yet to begin to develop policies
which focus on specifically on ODL. Some illustrative examples of national policies are presented
below.
Botswana’s policy on ODL is integrated into its National Education Policy. Its main objectives are to
extend education and training using ODL methods to out-of-school youth and adults, expand
coverage of education beyond campus-based offerings, and to support lifelong learning. Whilst the
2008 Tertiary Education Policy proposed the establishment of a dedicated state funded ODL HEI for
Botswana, the policy is silent as to the role of ODL in the higher education sector and whether ODL
and face-to-face institutions are to be treated of equal importance and value.214
209
Wright, D.R., Dhanarajan , G. and Reju, S.A. (2009). Recurring Issues Encountered by Distance Educators in Developing
and Emerging Nations. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning Volume 10, Number 1.
210 Wright, D.R., Dhanarajan , G. and Reju, S.A. (2009). Recurring Issues Encountered by Distance Educators in Developing
and Emerging Nations. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning Volume 10, Number 1.
211 Thutoetsile, T. (2005). Report of the Southern African Regional Distance Education Centre: Situational Assessment of
ODL Institutions. SADC-CDE. Retrieved September 19, 2008, from www.sardec.org.bw/reports.htm.
212 Louw, J. (2008, September 4). Capacity Building in Open Distance Learning.
213 African Development Bank Group. (2005). SADC Project Identification Report: Southern African Development Community
(SADC) Open and Distance Learning Capacity-Building Project. African Development Bank Group Draft July 2005. pp. 29-33.
214 Sibande, B.G. (2011). Open and Distance learning and Access to Higher Education in Southern Africa: The Botswana
Experience. Retrieved from http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-10112011-094424/unrestricted/00front.pdf
72
It has been argued that the foundation of ODL in Nigeria was laid through the National Policy on
Education of 1977, subsequently revised in 1981.215 According to the National Universities
Commission (NUC) in Nigeria, the Nigerian National Policy on Education has over the years
recognized the role of ODL in lifelong education – the basis of the national education policy. The
policy document outlines the goals of ODL to:
•
•
•
•
Provide access to quality education and equity in educational opportunities for those
who otherwise would have been denied.
Meet special needs of employers by mounting special certificate courses for their
employees at their work place.
Encourage internationalization especially of tertiary education curricula.
Ameliorate the effect of internal and external brain drain in tertiary institutions by
utilizing experts as teachers regardless of their locations or places of work.(NPE, 2004) 216
As a quality assurance body, the NUC is regarded as poised to play an important role in addressing
ODL challenges in the country. Some of the strategies used to address challenges include:
•
Collaborating with ODL institutions and other stakeholders to lay realistic, clear, and
measurable standards.
•
Establishing performance indicators and accreditation procedures that are transparent and
participatory with tangible feedback for continuous institutional and programmatic
improvement.
•
The development of guidelines for ODL in Nigerian universities which stipulate parity of
standards with face-to-face degree programmes in terms of curriculum and entry
requirements. The ODL guidelines also prescribe standards related to mode of delivery,
learning resources, evaluation and assessment, learner support, staffing, information advice
and guidance.217
In Zambia, the Ministry of Education developed a National ODL Policy in 2009. The goal of the draft
ODL Policy is to create a learning society in which citizens are not restrained in learning and to guide
the provision of education through ODL in order to promote an innovative and productive, relevant
lifelong learning education and training accessible to all citizens.218
Zimbabwe has also embarked on formulating a national ODL policy to provide a supporting and
regulatory framework for the implementation of ODL in the country. The need for such a policy was
recognised to coordinate, guide and regulate ODL offerings. The policy is in line with the SADC
Protocol on Education and Training which commits member states to human capital development
through the provision of quality education. It is anticipated that the national policy will provide
robust mechanisms to support and regulate ODL across different sectors. The document focuses
around key themes of governance, access, curriculum, material development, learner support and
quality assurance. It is anticipated that the legal framework would guide service providers on areas
such as curriculum relevance, material quality, quality of graduands, and student support services. It
215
Okojie, J.A. (2009). Building Capacity For The Optimisation Of Open, Distance And E-Learning In The Nigerian University
System. Building Capacity For The Optimisation Of Open, Distance And E-Learning In The Nigerian University System
216 National Universities Commission (no date). Guidelines for Open and Distance Learning in Nigerian Universities. p.1
Retrieved January 24, 2012 from
http://www.nuc.edu.ng/nucsite/File/ODL%20REVISED%20GUIDELINES%20FOR%20NIGERIAN%20UNIVERSITIES.pdf
217 Okojie, J.A. (2009). Building Capacity For The Optimisation Of Open, Distance And E-Learning In The Nigerian University
System. Building Capacity For The Optimisation Of Open, Distance And E-Learning In The Nigerian University System
218 Analysis of eLearning and Distance Learning Polices in Zambia. Paper presented at 5th eLearning Africa Conference,
Mulungushi International Conference Centre, Lusaka, Zambia. Retrieved from
http://educationandtrainingissues.blogspot.com/2011/11/analysis-of-elearning-and-distance.html#!/2011/11/analysis-ofelearning-and-distance.html
73
is also expected to help build confidence in ODL provision, address negative perceptions about the
system and guarantee quality assurance through specific monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.219
Lesotho has a specific policy governing ODL, with the objectives to ensure quality educational
programmes at all levels to create human resources for the world of work; promote awareness
about the importance of ODL in socio-economic development; enhance the use of ICT and
multimedia to increase access to quality ODL programmes, and to provide opportunities for
continuous professional development and lifelong learning for improved livelihoods.220
Madagascar’s policy on ODL is integrated into the educational reform policy of the Ministry of
Education. The main focus for ODL is to train more than 32,000 primary teachers, and then extend
this to reach teachers of secondary schools and ultimately target higher education students. ODL is
still at an experimental stage in the country.221
In Mauritius, the Ministry of Education has been adopting an action-oriented strategy towards
distance education as illustrated by the setting up of the Open University as a project in its own
right. Thus, it is accepted that there is a need to further expand ODL and the Ministry has now gone
to the stage of implementation.
Namibia has a draft policy on ODL which aims to state general principles that will indicate what
Government wishes to achieve and what government would like institutions and agencies to do with
respect to the development of ODL in Namibia. It also sets out to articulate the role ODL could play
in furthering other policy areas and national level plans. The policy is underpinned by nine key issues
which are as follows: values, purposes and principles; integration and blended learning approaches;
human resources implications of ODL and blended learning; credit accumulation, recognition of prior
learning, and credit transfer; media and technology; learner support; training, research and
development; quality assurance; and cost and financing of ODL. The ODL policy is regarded as a
critical requirement for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the education sector in the
country and it must enhance the quality of the lives of Namibians by promoting economic growth
with equity.222 For Namibia, a small country in terms of population, and with limited resources, the
Government has opted for collaboration and sharing of resources in order to strengthen ODL
activities at publicly-funded institutions. As such, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the
coordination of ODL in the country was signed in 2000 by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of
Education and the Heads of NAMCOL, the Polytechnic of Namibia and the University of Namibia.
Since then, these publicly-funded ODL institutions have been working together with the Ministry of
Education to coordinate their activities through NOLNet.223
219
Mkwate, M. (2011). Govt warns ‘diploma mills’. Zimpapers 12 March, 2011. Retrieved from
http://www.zimpapers.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2339:govt-warns-diplomamills&catid=38:local-news&Itemid=131
220 African Development Bank Group. (2005). SADC Project Identification Report: Southern African Development Community
(SADC) Open and Distance Learning Capacity-Building Project. African Development Bank Group Draft July 2005.
221 African Development Bank Group. (2005). SADC Project Identification Report: Southern African Development Community
(SADC) Open and Distance Learning Capacity-Building Project. African Development Bank Group Draft July 2005.
222 Mowes, D. (2008). Open and Distance Learning in Namibia - Country Report submitted to the Advocacy Workshop on
Distance Education and Open Learning, held in Mauritius from 10-11 April 2008. Retrieved from
http://ir.polytechnic.edu.na/bitstream/10628/71/1/Mowes.%20ADEAa.%20Open%20and%20distance%20learning%20in%
20Namibia.pdf
223 Mowes, D. (2008). Open and Distance Learning in Namibia - Country Report submitted to the Advocacy Workshop on
Distance Education and Open Learning, held in Mauritius from 10-11 April 2008. Retrieved from
http://ir.polytechnic.edu.na/bitstream/10628/71/1/Mowes.%20ADEAa.%20Open%20and%20distance%20learning%20in%
20Namibia.pdf
74
4.6 Opportunities
As has been highlighted, there has been significant growth in the number of ODL programmes
offered from traditionally face-to-face institutions, with such programmes now being offered by
institutions across Africa. ODL is widely acknowledged for its potential to open up various
opportunities for higher education in Africa. Examples of its perceived potential are to:
• Provide access to students who would – either because of work commitments, geographical
distance, or poor quality or inadequate prior learning experiences – be denied access to
traditional, full-time contact education opportunities. It supports lifelong learning and helps
remove obstacles to enrolment for women and other marginalized groups.224 This could help
bring within the economic and skills net many who may otherwise have been left behind, thus
enhancing participation and democratising knowledge.
• Enable people to learn while they continue to earn, and irrespective of whether they are close to
an institution, which is critical for people in rural areas.
• Expand access to educational provision to significantly larger numbers of learners.
• Be cost-efficient and achieve significant economies of scale as it enables institutions to increase
enrolments without increasing staff levels and associated physical infrastructure.
• Shift patterns of expenditure to achieve economies of scale by amortizing identified costs
(particularly investments in course design and development and in effective administrative
systems) over time and large student numbers.
• Exploit the potential that integration of new educational technologies into teaching and learning
environments has for supporting, improving, or enhancing those environments.
• Enhances and promote quality through the development and provision of learning resources,
which can be used by teachers and learners, irrespective of their location. This is especially
important given the fact that in many of our countries our teachers are either un- and/or underqualified and our schools and other institutions are poorly resourced in terms of learning
resources, in particular, libraries and laboratories.
• Facilitate and promote access to lifelong learning, in particular, ongoing professional
development, to those who have obtained formal qualifications but who are required to
upgrade their knowledge and qualifications given the increasingly important role that knowledge
and the processing of information plays in wealth creation and economic development.
As ODL transcends time and space boundaries, a particular opportunity to emerge from the
implementation of ODL programmes is collaboration. Most important, web 2.0 tools such as wikis
are making it possible for teams of subject specialists to collaborate in the development of highquality content (Kanwar and Daniel, 2009).225
4.7 Challenges in Policy Implementation and Practice
As highlighted, ICT has made significant contributions to the expansion and consolidation of higher
education in Africa. However, ODL faces similar challenges to general e-learning. These include lack
of ICT capacity, limited and expensive access to broadband, connectivity, hardware, software and
skills; a lack of government funding; no national ICT and ODL policy development; poor, non-existent
or outdated infrastructure; poor teaching and learning practices; and inadequate and inappropriate
224
Barasa, F.S. (no date). Promoting Open And Distance Learning In Africa: A Critical Reflection On Rhetoric, Real And
Ideal. Retrieved from http://events.aau.org/userfiles/file/corevip11/papers/fred_barasa_Promoting_ODL.pdf
225 Mufutmari, N. (2010). Expanding the frontiers of access: Distance and ‘privatized’ higher Education. In Teferra, D and
Greijn, H.(eds). )Higher Education and Globalization Challenges, Threats and Opportunities for Africa. Maastricht University
Centre for International Cooperation in Academic Development (MUNDO), Maastricht, the Netherlands, and International
Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA), Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston College, USA.
75
courseware.226 Universities also need to develop strategies aimed at harnessing the full potential of
ICT for ODL.227
In 2002, ADEA noted several factors limiting the development of ODL programmes in Africa: poor
support for ODL from political authorities, the failure of public service to recognize ODL when
assessing employee qualifications, an inadequate supply of professionally trained ODL personnel,
poor follow-up and support programmes, limited budgets for ODL and poor domestic infrastructure
to support ODL delivery.228 Other important challenges facing ODL highlighted in a 2005 report are
summarized as follows:
•
ODL, its potential, and its applications are poorly understood by many key stakeholders;
•
ODL is perceived as a lonely activity for which individual motivation is hard to sustain, with
limited or no opportunities for social interaction;
•
ODL is perceived as inferior and ODL systems as inefficient;
•
There is an absence of or weak commitment to ODL amongst key decision-makers;
•
ODL is structurally under-funded in relation to the core function it is expected to discharge;
•
Some ODL programmes are of low quality and/or marginal educational relevance. 229
It appears that many the above-mentioned challenges continue to exist. Brief explanations of these
challenges are provided below:
4.7.1 Perceptions of ODL
ODL institutions and programmes face negative public perception and are often regarded as inferior
relative to face-face-institutions. For most high-school graduates seeking to enter university,
distance education is not their first option. Traditionally, local distance education programmes have
been perceived as avenues for those who have failed to make the grade, and the qualifications have
therefore not been as highly respected as those from conventional face-to face institutions. For this
reason, programmes in a number of countries have been unsuccessful in attracting the most able
school leavers.230 This contributes to the perception that distance education programmes are not of
a high quality or are inferior to conventional teaching and learning programmes.231 This perception
persists even though these institutions and programmes are accredited by national regulatory
226
Pityana, N.B. (2008). A Decade of Development and Education in Africa: The Promise of Open and Distance Learning.
Keynote Address at the Pan Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning of the Commonwealth of Learning held in
collaboration with London University and UNESCO, London, 14-16 July 2008, under the theme: Access to Learning for
Development.
227 Mufutmari, N. (2010). Expanding the frontiers of access: Distance and ‘privatized’ higher Education. In Teferra, D and
Greijn, H.(eds). )Higher Education and Globalization Challenges, Threats and Opportunities for Africa. Maastricht University
Centre for International Cooperation in Academic Development (MUNDO), Maastricht, the Netherlands, and International
Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA), Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston College, USA.
228 Rumajogee, A. (2002). Distance Education and Open Learning in sub-Saharan Africa: A Literature Survey on Policy and
Practise. Adeanet. Retrieved 22 September 22 2008, from
www.adeanet.org/publications/docs/open%20learning%201.pdf.
229 African Development Bank Group. (2005). SADC Project Identification Report: Southern African Development Community
(SADC) Open and Distance Learning Capacity-Building Project. African Development Bank Group Draft July 2005.
230 Mufutmari, N. (2010). Expanding the frontiers of access: Distance and ‘privatized’ higher Education. In Teferra, D and
Greijn, H.(eds). )Higher Education and Globalization Challenges, Threats and Opportunities for Africa. Maastricht University
Centre for International Cooperation in Academic Development (MUNDO), Maastricht, the Netherlands, and International
Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA), Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston College, USA.
231 Mufutmari, N. (2010). Expanding the frontiers of access: Distance and ‘privatized’ higher Education. In Teferra, D and
Greijn, H.(eds). )Higher Education and Globalization Challenges, Threats and Opportunities for Africa. Maastricht University
Centre for International Cooperation in Academic Development (MUNDO), Maastricht, the Netherlands, and International
Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA), Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston College, USA.
76
agencies.232 Such misunderstandings can be attributed to, among other reasons, a lack of an
adequate ODL research needed to support informed decisions and policy choices.233 In addition,
programmes offered by foreign universities are often perceived to be more valuable than local ones.
234
These negative perceptions have meant that many African educational policymakers and planners
are sceptical about its legitimacy and quality, and therefore only afford ODL initiatives limited
funding and political support. To tackle these challenging circumstances, ODL institutions need to
put in place mechanisms that will assure quality through the ensuring the production and use of
distance learning materials that are interactive, learner friendly, and context-responsive. They also
need to address and change public perception of the quality of ODL programmes and products. ODL
universities in Africa therefore need to advocate for the implementation of effective distance
education policies and strategies, while conducting evidence-based research to address negative
perceptions of ODL.235
4.7.2 Funding for ODL
Funding for the expansion of ODL programmes is still inadequate in much of Africa. In many
countries, the shortage of resources is aggravated by poor inter-university cooperation. Some of the
reasons for this appear to be the lack of a shared vision and the poor coordination of initiatives at
the national level. Customized learning materials, high levels of learner support, and effective
management also demand considerable resources.236
In addition, many governments are keen to increase the proportion of ODL being funded by students
through fees. Conventional institutions, meanwhile, are operating in increasingly market-orientated
educational systems and hence are increasingly seeking to extend their markets via ODL. This has led
to strategic alliances between the private sector and educational institutions being formed, hence
blurring the lines between the various types of education providers, especially within vocational and
continuing education and training.237
In addition, ODL provision tends to generally skewed to the arts-based or business-related courses,
as well as key priority programmes such as teaching and nursing. This is because traditional wisdom
– notwithstanding the growth of available ODL methods created by technology – remains that ODL
cannot be effectively deployed for practically oriented programmes such as those in the sciences,
engineering, and medicine. The latter programmes are often the priority of governments, which
232
Barasa, F.S. (no date). Promoting Open And Distance Learning In Africa: A Critical Reflection On Rhetoric, Real And Ideal.
Retrieved from http://events.aau.org/userfiles/file/corevip11/papers/fred_barasa_Promoting_ODL.pdf
233 Call for proposals - International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning Trends and Issues in Open and
Distance Learning in Africa. Co-edited by Dr. Rashid Aderinoye and Dr. Richard Siaciwena
234 Mufutmari, N. (2010). Expanding the frontiers of access: Distance and ‘privatized’ higher Education. In Teferra, D and
Greijn, H.(eds). )Higher Education and Globalization Challenges, Threats and Opportunities for Africa. Maastricht University
Centre for International Cooperation in Academic Development (MUNDO), Maastricht, the Netherlands, and International
Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA), Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston College, USA.
235 Barasa, F.S. (no date). Promoting Open And Distance Learning In Africa: A Critical Reflection On Rhetoric, Real And Ideal.
Retrieved from http://events.aau.org/userfiles/file/corevip11/papers/fred_barasa_Promoting_ODL.pdf
236 Mufutmari, N. (2010). Expanding the frontiers of access: Distance and ‘privatized’ higher Education. In Teferra, D and
Greijn, H.(eds). )Higher Education and Globalization Challenges, Threats and Opportunities for Africa. Maastricht University
Centre for International Cooperation in Academic Development (MUNDO), Maastricht, the Netherlands, and International
Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA), Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston College, USA.
237 UNESCO (2002). Open and Distance Learning: Trends, Policy and Strategy Considerations. p3. Available at
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001284/128463e.pdf.
77
results in skewed funding in favour of face to face institutions. Thus, although governments may
rhetorically affirm ODL, this may not necessarily translate into prioritized funding for ODL.238
4.7.3 Focus of Student Numbers to the Detriment of Quality
In Africa and globally, it appears that many organizations and individuals are employing various ODL
education methods and low-cost versions of resource-based learning as a means to boost their
student enrolment and earnings without sufficient concern for the impact this has on provision
quality. This was suggested in a 2005 AfDB report entitled Distance Education in Southern Africa: A
Situational Analysis. Many of the institutions questioned on certain crucial elements of ODL such as
procedures and manuals for materials development responded that they would deal with such
issues later as their current priority was reaching as many students as possible. Typically, high dropout rates and a proportionally low throughput compared to enrolment are the result of such limited
attention paid to the provision of a quality ODL product.239
4.7.4 Quality Assurance
Many African countries lack policies to guide development and implementation of ODL programmes
at national and institutional level. More than two thirds of all African countries have no agencies or
other bodies that deal with QA, and, even where such organizations exist, they are unlikely to have
developed any QA frameworks or guidelines for ODL as their original mandate would usually have
pertained to conventional training. There is little documented evidence of systems or processes
being put in place for ensuring quality in the design of curricula. Such is the paucity of suitable QA
policy bodies and frameworks and the challenge of unregulated private providers and exploitative
practices flourishing that, in the context of increasing cross-border higher education, that there has
been a growing sense of need to initiate regional and continental harmonization and QA processes.
Institutions tend to use the same kinds of academic verification processes as those used by
traditional contact-based institutions use. It has also been
Whilst regional bodies are at
argued that maintaining the quality of ODL is especially
different stages in developing and
difficult for the dual-mode universities, because lecturers
implementing QA guidelines, it is
tend to put more effort into teaching resident students
important to note that no regional
than into tutoring students at a distance.240
frameworks make specific provision
for QA of ODL. The work of the
Whilst there have been some efforts to promote QA in
National Association of Distance and
higher education, the extent to which continental and
Open Education Organizations of
regional QA processes explicitly consider QA for ODL
South
Africa
or
NADEOSA
appears limited. Whilst regional bodies are at different
(http://www.nadeosa.org.za) may
stages in developing and implementing QA guidelines, it is
provide the best example of
important to note that no regional frameworks make
country-level QA activity by an
specific provision for QA of ODL. The work of the National
association.
Association of Distance and Open Education
Organizations
238
of
South
Africa
or
NADEOSA
Barasa, F.S. (no date). Promoting Open and Distance Learning In Africa: A Critical Reflection On Rhetoric, Real And Ideal.
Retrieved from http://events.aau.org/userfiles/file/corevip11/papers/fred_barasa_Promoting_ODL.pdf
239 Thutoetsile, T. (2005). Report of the Southern African Regional Distance Education Centre: Situational Assessment of
ODL Institutions. SADC-CDE. Retrieved September 19, 2008, from www.sardec.org.bw/reports.htm.
240 Daniel, J., Kanwar, A. and Uvalić-Trumbić, S. (2009) Breaking higher education’s iron triangle: Access, cost and quality.
Change: the Magazine of Higher Learning, March/April. Retrieved from
www.col.org/resources/speeches/2009presentation/Pages/2009-MarAprEdition.aspx.
78
(http://www.nadeosa.org.za) may provide the best example of country-level QA activity by an
association. NADEOSA, which plays an important role in developing awareness of quality in the
South African distance education community, has coordinated the development of a framework for
Quality Criteria for Distance Education.
Whilst these findings may currently paint a bleak picture for QA for ODL, the reported 40 percent
growth in establishment of national QA agencies in the last five years and growing interest in QA at
the institutional level will help to advance effective QA agendas.241 A key development recently here,
though, has been the launch of an ODL Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency (QAAA) by the
ACDE, which is being implemented under a Memorandum of Understanding with the African Union
as part of the Second Decade of Education Plan. The rationale of the QAAA is to ‘ensure that Open
and Distance Learning institutions in Africa engage in acceptable quality assurance practices through
consultation, partnership and collaboration in distance education’.242 Its key functions are:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
To develop the ACDE-QAAA code of practices, policies and standards, and establish
criteria for the operation and conduct of ODL in Africa.
To promote the establishment, consolidation, co-ordination and enhancement of
institutional, national, regional and continental quality assurance systems for African
ODL.
To build capacity of higher ODL institutions in quality development and management for
African ODL.
To undertake institutional, national, regional and continental quality assurance audits.
To promote ethical practices and business standards in the provision of ODL.
To provide accreditation to institutions and programmes that meet the established
standards, and strive to encourage others to seek accreditation.
To conduct and promote research for the advancement of quality in distance education
and open learning in Africa.
To promote collaboration and partnerships with other international distance learning
accreditation agencies to improve quality management and practice in distance
education in Africa.
To develop systems and procedures through which learners can transfer credits across
African ODL higher institutions.243
While it the Agency is very recently established, it has potential to make a significant contribution to
quality improvement in ODL on the continent. Nevertheless, there is still a great deal of work to be
done, as there are significant variations in policies and procedures for QA for ODL and still limited
evidence of successful initiatives.
4.7.5 Policy Status at Regional Level
Several African countries still lack policies needed to guide the development and implementation of
ODL programmes at national and institutional levels. At the regional level, and some national levels,
distance education practices remain uncoordinated because concrete steps have yet to be taken
towards the development regional policies on ODL.244 This absence of policy has a detrimental effect
on the regulation of ODL. Barasa, for example, has noted that one of the intriguing findings
encountered when critically examining Africa-focused literature on aspects of ODL regulation, is the
241
Hoosen, S., and Butcher, N. (2010). Quality Assurance for distance Education in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Jung, I., and
Latchem, C.(eds). Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Distance Education and e-Learning Models, Policies and Research.
Routeledge: New York.
242 African Council for Distance Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency. Objectives. Retrieved from
http://www.nou.edu.ng/noun/acde-qaaa/objective.html
243 ibid.
244 Braimoh, D. and Lekoko, R. (2005) ‘The Need for Policy Framework in Maintaining Quality in Open and Distance
Education Programmes in Southern Africa’. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education-TOJDE, Vol. 6 No. 4.
79
dearth of information on conceptual underpinnings of quality assurance generally and ODL
regulation specifically. He argues that regulation should include external quality assurance as well as
a focus on national or regional ICT policies that indirectly impact ODL.245
Consequently, despite some notable exceptions, a general dearth of regional models and criteria has
meant that many institutions and individuals work on their curriculum design processes largely in
isolation. While the value of a teamwork approach to the development of materials is increasingly
being recognized, the evidence suggests that this is still not the norm in many African institutions.
The reasons given for not taking a teamwork approach in developing print-based and multi-media
packages includes the costs involved, as well as the obstacle of tight deadlines within a typically
crowded schedule.246
4.7.6 Lack of ODL capacity
In many African countries, there is a dire shortage of qualified staff required for guiding and
influencing the development of ODL policies and for planning, developing, managing, and evaluating
ODL programmes.247 Institutions battle to recruit skilled and experienced ODL specialists, which
compounds the risk of materials and processes being subjected to a traditional contact-based quality
assurance process, rather than QA processes relating to the needs of ODL.248 It is likely that faculty
members are selected on the basis of their subject matter expertise and not their ability to teach or
design materials, more likely having attended a traditional contact-based education, with limited
experience of online learning or online teaching. Indeed, few training opportunities exist for staff
and specialized ODL training centres exist in only a few countries.
4.7.7 Tackling Access
In a bid to broaden access to higher education, many ODL institutions in Africa have established
regional learning centres in geographically dispersed areas and offer e-learning programmes through
such centres. But this model of provision and expansion has tended to locate such regional learning
centres mainly in urban centres, where the majority of residents are already relatively advantaged.
Rural areas are often left out, and this for plausible, but not sufficient reason. As Barasa argues,
While this is reasonable, it tends to indirectly widen and perpetuate inequality, hinders
innovation and creativity and relegates ODL institutions to being active consumers of
technology and beneficiaries of existing infrastructure, rather than active creators,
innovators, and designers of context specific ODL teaching and learning environments.249
Adding to the above-mentioned challenges, Braimoh and Osiki(2008) note that the ability to use to
its full capacity the enormous value of e-learning and associated resources in ODL across subSaharan a is challenged by the following:
• An unstable power supply;
245
Barasa, F.S. (no date). Promoting Open And Distance Learning In Africa: A Critical Reflection On Rhetoric, Real And Ideal.
Retrieved from http://events.aau.org/userfiles/file/corevip11/papers/fred_barasa_Promoting_ODL.pdf
246 African Development Bank Group. (2005). SADC Project Identification Report: Southern African Development Community
(SADC) Open and Distance Learning Capacity-Building Project. African Development Bank Group Draft July 2005.
247 Call for proposals - International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning Trends and Issues in Open and
Distance Learning in Africa. Co-edited by Dr. Rashid Aderinoye and Dr. Richard Siaciwena
248 Rumajogee, A. (2002). Distance Education and Open Learning in sub-Saharan Africa: A Literature Survey on Policy and
Practise. Adeanet. Retrieved 22 September 22 2008, from
http://www.adeanet.org/publications/docs/open%20learning%201.pdf.
249 Barasa, F.S. (no date). Promoting Open And Distance Learning In Africa: A Critical Reflection On Rhetoric, Real And Ideal.
Retrieved from http://events.aau.org/userfiles/file/corevip11/papers/fred_barasa_Promoting_ODL.pdf
80
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Some ODL institutions’ drive to accumulate wealth;
Drive to commercialize education to the detriment of educational quality;
High cost of ODL coupled with learners’ poor socio-economic situation leading to a reluctance to
invest in the technical facilities needed for learning;
Learners’ technological illiteracy, when they need to use modern technology for learning;
The rural location of many learners, who therefore have restricted access to the modern
communication facilities needed for learning;
Some lecturers and site tutors being party to fraud, bribery and corruption;
Foreign institutions’ neo-imperialism leading to cultural dilution and value distortion;
Inadequate counselling and mentoring of learners;
Inadequate provision of learner support.250
Thus, while ICT has created a revolution in ODL, offering new and more flexible learning
opportunities, there continue to be significant challenges, especially regarding the quality of
education and limited resources. And although many countries have policies and strategies for
implementing ODL, it has yet to realize its full potential.
250
Braimoh, D., & Osiki, J. (2008). The Impact of Technology on Accessibility and Pedagogy: The Right to Education in SubSaharan
Africa.
Asian
Journal
of
Distance
Education,
6(1),
53-62.
Retrieved
from
http://www.asianjde.org/2008v6.1.Braimoh.pdf
81
5 Open Educational Resources (OER) and Higher
Education
5.1 Open Licences
Open Educational Resources (OER) have gained significant currency around the world and become
the subject of heightened interest in policy-making and institutional circles, as many people and
institutions explore the concept and its potential to contribute to improved delivery of higher
education around the world. There are various licensing frameworks for OER use, some of which
simply allow copying, others which make provision for users to adapt the resources that they use.
The most commonly used licenses are the Creative Commons (CC) licences. Creative Commons is a
non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the range of creative works (cultural, educational
and scientific) available to the public for free, to share and build upon legally. They have developed a
set of user-friendly licenses which would enable creators to share their work under certain
conditions. These licenses allow creators to communicate which rights they reserve, and which
rights they waive for the benefit of recipients or other creators. The licenses help creators keep their
copyright while allowing certain uses of their work - a ‘some rights reserved’ copyright. CC licenses
gives creators the ability to dictate how others may exercise their (creators) copyright rights - such
as the right of others to copy their work, make derivative works or adaptations of their work, to
distribute their work and/or make money from their work. Creative Commons also permits creators
the ability to have a ‘no rights reserved’ alternative to copyright.
Creative Commons licences fall into different licence categories according to the following
conditions:
Licence Category
Attribution (by):
Symbol
Noncommercial:
No Derivative works
Share alike
Explanation
Allows others to copy, distribute, display, and perform your
work - and derivative works based upon it - but only if they
give you credit in a manner you specify.
Allows others to copy, distribute, display, and perform your
work - and derivative works based upon it - but the work
cannot be used for commercial purposes.
Allows others to copy, distribute, display, and perform only
verbatim or unmodified copies of your work, not derivative
works based upon it.
Allows others to distribute derivative works only under a
license identical to the license that governs your original
work.
Whilst the original Creative Commons licenses were written under the U.S. legal system, licenses for
jurisdictions outside of the US fall under Creative Commons International, this body has started to
port the various licenses to accommodate local copyright and private law.
5.2 The Power of OER
The sharing of resources as OER is guided by many principles, key amongst which are the right to
education by all, and making information and knowledge more accessible and useable for the good
82
of the public who want to consume this knowledge. The transformative power of the concept for
education revolves around three linked possibilities:
• Because OER removes restrictions around copying resources, they hold potential for reducing
the cost of accessing educational materials. In many systems, royalty payments for text books
and other educational materials constitute a significant proportion of the overall cost, while
processes of procuring permission to use copyrighted material can also be very time-consuming
and expensive (although some commentators have tended to overestimate the extent to which
content is a cost driver in education by assuming that free content is almost synonymous with
free education).
• The principle of allowing adaptation of materials provides one mechanism amongst many for
constructing roles for learners as active participants in educational processes, who learn best by
doing and creating, not by passively reading and absorbing. Content licences that encourage
activity and creation by learners through re-use and adaptation of that content can make a
significant contribution to creating more effective learning environments.
• OER have potential to build capacity by providing educators access, at low or no cost, to the
means of production to develop their competence in producing educational materials and
completing the necessary instructional design to integrate such materials into high quality
programmes of learning. Many educational systems are foundering because their employees
have become so overwhelmed by administrative tasks that they have lost the time and space to
exercise this critical creative capacity, and it will take time and investment to rebuild it. The
concept of OER has potential to facilitate this if the process of developing educational materials
is seen as being just as important as – maybe more important than – the final product.251
However, it should be noted that content is only one aspect of education. The effective use of
educational content also requires good educators to facilitate the process. Importantly, OER
provides an opportunity to engage higher education faculties and academics in structured processes
that build capacity to design and deliver high quality higher education programmes without
increasing cost. OER provide opportunities for pedagogical support in the form of student and
practitioner course access. Practitioners can update their course material and share it with others
who can update it and build on what they have produced. Without this growing institutional
capacity, OER will not be able to fulfil its transformative potential.
5.3 Use of OER
Educational resources that are shared, reviewed, and developed within a community of practice are
likely to be of a higher quality than those developed solely by individuals working in isolation.
Further, development of these materials for reuse is likely to enhance their quality, as well as
develop the capacity of those who engage in the development of the material. The quality of
materials made available to students, can be enhanced through adaptation and localisation of the
available open source materials. In this regard, OER have a major advantage over imported
textbooks that do not consider local context in their presentation of information.
The short-term costs of sourcing and adapting OER may be high, but there are reduced content costs
from open resources that can widen access to higher education. Use of OER will reduce textbook
costs as well as costs of other proprietary materials that are borne by students. For example,
internationally, there are growing trends such as textbook publishers producing content
simultaneously in multiple formats such as audio recordings and e-books, allowing for purchase by
chapter, print-on-demand, and traditional print. Increasing numbers of periodicals are making their
251
Butcher, N. (2011). A Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources (OER). UNESCO and Commonwealth of Learning.
Retrieved from http://www.col.org/resources/publications/Pages/detail.aspx?PID=357
83
databases easier to access and there has been a tremendous growth in Web 2.0 user-created
content. Increasingly, higher education institutions campus libraries are playing an important role in
the acquisition and distribution of institutionally licensed web based digital material.
Where institutions cannot invest heavily in content development, they can still get access to high
quality materials by using what is available through open access. Indeed, perhaps one of the most
promising developments relevant to research is the growth of Open Access Journals. Examples of
these include the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) (http://www.doaj.org/), which lists all
open access scientific and scholarly journals that use a quality control system to guarantee the
quality of content, and BioMedCentral (http://www.biomedcentral.com/), a publisher of 220 peerreviewed open access journals. Open access publication encourages findings to be verified,
enhanced, and/or critiqued and, therefore, the further development of understandings and
knowledge. Research opportunities are promoted in the OER movement, and some of this research
focuses on the role and forms of educational technologies used in higher education. . Institutions
can brand themselves through availing its resources for use and adaptability by others and
contributing to research. A study found out that 35% of new students at MIT knew about their open
courseware and this had influenced their decision to study with the institution.252 Whilst the
presence of such resources allows African academics access to articles at no cost, this does require
access to the Internet.
There are several OER initiatives focused on higher education in Africa, which seek to harness these
possibilities. Below is a selection of some good examples of best practice in OER.
The Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) initiative (http://www.tessafrica.net) is a
research and development initiative creating OER and course design guidance for teachers and
teacher educators working in Sub-Saharan African countries. The TESSA initiative aims to achieve the
MDGs and Education for All (EFA) goals and ensure that by the year 2015, every African child should
have access to Primary education. In order to achieve these stated goals, Sub-Saharan African
countries need four million trained teachers which cannot be achieved with the present
conventional ways of teacher training. The TESSA initiative therefore stands on three pillars:
• Affordability and accessibility of ICT;
• OER philosophy which allows materials to be put the net and accessible to all for free;
• Research studies in cognitive science which gives current information on how learning takes
place.
Since its inception in 2005, the TESSA consortium of 18 institutions has worked collaboratively to
design and build a multi-lingual OER bank to support school-based teacher education and training.
These materials are modular in format and focus on classroom practice in the key areas of literacy,
numeracy, science, social studies and the arts and life skills. Each of the 75 study units are designed
to directly improve teacher classroom practice and contain a series of activities for teachers to carry
out with their pupils. Each study unit has been adapted and versioned to the nine country contexts
of participating TESSA institutions, including translation to Arabic, English, French, and Kiswahili. The
design of the TESSA web environment is organized to enable each country/institution to have their
own web presence, and because of the current challenges in connectivity and access the study units
are provided in a range of formats. In addition, members of the TESSA community are encouraged to
252
Joshua, K. (2009). ‘Capturing Lectures: No Brainer or Sticky Wicket?’ Research Bulletin, Issue 24, 2009. EDUCAUSE
Center for Applied Research, Boulder, CO. www.educause.edu/Resources/CapturingLecturesNoBrainerorSt/192206
84
explore, share, adapt and add their own resources for teacher education. The website also includes a
forum platform for discussion.253
One of the institutions belonging to the consortium, University of Fort Hare (UFH) in South Africa,
has noted the positive benefits of participation in the TESSA consortium:
Participation in the TESSA consortium, including involvement in the development and
integration of TESSA OERs, has afforded UFH academics and students (both pre-service and
in-service) and relevant external stakeholders, such as the DoE, access to communities of
practice within the institution, across institutions, and across countries and generated a new
discourse of finding, adapting, and sharing educational resources. 254
The work of TESSA offers a considerable contribution towards overcoming the problem of scarce
resources in teacher education.
SAIDE established the OER Africa initiative (http://www.oerafrica.org), which focuses on supporting
and developing OER in a number of thematic areas. These include:
• Agriculture OER, an online space where a comprehensive set of resources suitable for African
higher education can be sourced and shared.255
• The African Health OER Network, focused on health resources developed by African higher
education institutions, and also featuring a comprehensive repository of resources from
reputable health education institutions and networks, for example MedEdPORTAL.256 The Health
OER Inter- Institutional Project (http://www.oerafrica.org/healthproject/) is a collaboration of
institutions seeking to develop a sustainable and scalable model for the systematic rollout of
OER to support health education on the continent. This collaborative effort was embarked on by
University of Michigan, OER Africa, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
(KNUST), the University of Ghana (UG), the University of Cape Town (UCT), and the University of
the Western Cape (UWC). The OER materials produced in this initiative are made freely available
to students, faculty, and self-learners around the world through a Creative Commons licence. 257
• Foundation OER, an online space featuring resources meant to assist students with their
academic and social integration in higher education.258
• Teacher education, an online space with resources that can be used to plan and deliver teacher
education programmes.
OER Africa is involved in numerous projects supporting the adoption of OER in higher education
institutions across Africa, for example, the Saide ACEMaths project, which piloted a collaborative
process for the selection, adaptation, and use of OER materials on the teaching and learning of
mathematics for teacher education.259 The website not only allows access to African-developed
resources, but also allows users to follow a documented process of how the materials were created.
253
Thakrar, J., Zinn, D., and Wolfendon, F. (2009). Harnessing Open Educational Resources to the Challenges of Teacher
Education in Sub-Saharan Africa. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. (Vol 10, no.4).
Retrieved from: http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/705/1319
254 Thakrar, J., Zinn, D., and Wolfendon, F. (2009). Harnessing Open Educational Resources to the Challenges of Teacher
Education in Sub-Saharan Africa. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. (Vol 10, no.4).
Retrieved from: http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/705/1319
255 OER Africa. (no date). Agriculture OER. Retrieved from
http://www.oerafrica.org/agricultureoer/AgricultureOER/tabid/1466/Default.aspx
256 African Health OER Network. Retrieved from http://www.oerafrica.org/healthoer/Home/tabid/1858/Default.aspx
257257 Adam, L., Butcher, N., Tusubira, F.F.T., and Sibthorpe, C. (2011). Transformation-Ready: The strategic application of
information and communication technologies in Africa - Education Sector Study. Prepared for the African Development
Bank, the World Bank and the African Union.Annex 4
258 OER Africa. (no date). Foundation OER. Retrieved from
http://www.oerafrica.org/foundation/FoundationOERHome/tabid/853/Default.aspx
259 OER Africa. (no date). Teacher Education. Retrieved from
http://www.oerafrica.org/teachered/TeacherEducationHome/tabid/933/Default.aspx
85
The IADP-SADC Digital Resources project (http://www.oerafrica.org/malawi) looks to extend the
International Association for Digital Publications (IADP) ‘Affordable Access’ project running in South
African higher education institutions into universities in Malawi and Botswana. It has two main
thrusts: first, to provide discounted digital texts to staff and students accessed from digital reading
rooms as well as private laptops, and second, to promote the creation, adaptation and remixing of
OER into texts to support the student body by providing cheap quality texts.
The University of Cape Town’s OpenContent (http://opencontent.uct.ac.za) directory is the web
portal for accessing open teaching and learning content from UCT. Produced by the Open
Educational Resources project in the Centre for Educational Technology at UCT with the support of
the Shuttleworth Foundation, the directory aims to showcase the teaching efforts of UCT academics
and encourage the publication of open resources.
In Uganda, the ELATE programme was initiated in May 2007 as a professional development initiative
to enhance secondary teacher training in Uganda. Materials found on the ELATE website have been
prepared for Senior years 1-4, which lead up to the Uganda National Examinations Board O-level. All
materials are grouped by topic, but materials do not require the use of computers by students. All
topics include a Teacher’s guide and Student activities in easily downloadable format.
As another example, the University of Malawi (UNIMA) embarked on an OER project at the Bunda
College of Agriculture (BCA) to develop a textbook on Communication Skills. In this project staff of
BCA’s Language and Communication for Development Department intended to use OER to address
specific problems:
• While the Communication Skills course was a core one for all first year students, they did not
have access to all of the textbooks used by the staff. This was due to there being no set textbook
for the course syllabus. In addition, lecturers tended to use more than one text to teach the
syllabus, and students generally did not have access to all of these titles.
• Students could not always access the ‘recommended reading’ textbooks that accompany the
syllabus outline, as the library did not have, or had an insufficient number of, these texts.
BCA staff therefore decided to create a paper textbook from freely available OER that would cover at
least 75% of the first semester course content and would be easily replicable for up to 200 students
and staff per annum. A series of writing workshops facilitated by OER Africa/International
Association for Digital Publications (IADP) assisted BCA staff to source, analyse, and adapt a variety
of existing OER to help craft the textbook. The workshops also intended to act as a model for
expansion into other departments in the college facing similar needs. The team members wrote new
materials but also used and adapted material from all around the English speaking world to suit the
specific needs of this course.260 The project resulted in the compilation of a first year communication
skills textbook.261
Second, at KNUST located in Kumasi, Ghana, the College of Health Sciences (CHS) launched an OER
initiative, supporting the production and use of OER. Its OER project (http://web.knust.edu.gh/oer),
funded by the Hewlett Foundation, began in 2008 as a collaboration between KNUST, University of
Ghana, University of Michigan, University of Cape Town, University of Western Cape, and OER Africa.
KNUST’s CHS identified three strategic priorities for health education, which are the basis for their
OER activities.
260
Moore, A and Preston, D. (2010). The Use of Open Education Resources at the University of Malawi (UNIMA). Retrieved
from: http://www.oerafrica.org/ResourceResults/tabid/1562/mctl/Details/id/38573/Default.aspx
261 The textbook can be retrieved at:
http://www.oerafrica.org/foundation/FoundationOERHome/BundaCollegeofAgriculture/tabid/878/Default.aspx
86
•
•
•
To develop contextually relevant textbooks as many medical textbooks and publications
originate in Western countries and therefore use photographs and examples that are not always
suitable for the Ghanaian context.
To increase student engagement with the local curriculum as growing class sizes limit the inperson interaction between lecturers and their students. In order to supplement the limited
time they have with students for classroom and clinical training, several CHS faculty were
interested in creating interactive, self-guided learning materials that students can work through
on their own and in their own time.
To strengthen the core curriculum as the limited contact time and faculty availability makes it
difficult to cover all the necessary topics within the confines of the classroom and with locally
developed resources. OER was viewed as an alternative method for delivering difficult topics to
students.
One of the greatest accomplishments of the KNUST OER team is that it has successfully passed a new
policy in support of OER. In addition, it has trained faculty and other staff in OER policy and
production, content development, and open licensing, and fostered the creation of a dozen
comprehensive, interactive OER modules. KNUST distributes OER electronically, either online or via
CD-ROM, which enables the students to access the materials on a computer at their convenience. To
date, CHS has completed twelve OER modules which include learning objectives, animations,
laboratory demonstrations, surgery videos, case studies, and self-assessment quizzes.262 An
additional 18 modules are currently in development, with another 17 proposed by the end of 2011.
Furthermore, KNUST has purchased video cameras, drawing pads, laptops and software licences to
enable multimedia production for OER and have developed their own OER production process. The
project has seen many other positive results, for example, there is an increased awareness and
support for OER with many of the early participants in OER at CHS having now become advocates for
OER, and those who have created OER are keen to produce additional modules.263
Yet another notable initiative is based at the AVU, which runs an ICT‐integrated Teacher Education
Programme for Math and Sciences. The focus of this project is to increase the quantity and quality of
Mathematics, Science, and ICT teachers through the use of ICT. The programme is contributing to
attain the Millennium Development Goals. It is funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and
partly by the UNDP and is being implemented in Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique,
Senegal, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The objective of this project is to:
• Improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools through use of ICT;
• Increase the number of Mathematics, Science, and ICT basic skills teachers;
• Develop and promote research in teacher education to inform future curriculum reform; and
• Establish and strengthen relevant partnerships with other teacher education initiatives in
Africa.264
The materials development process was regarded as the most complex aspect of the project
involving:
• The training of the authors to write for open distance learning
• Use of a standard template for all the modules
• Drafting of the modules
• Involvement of consultants to support authors
262
These resources can be found on the KNUST OER site (http://web.knust.edu.gh/oer) as well as on the African Health
OER Network space on the OER Africa website (www.oerafrica.org/healthoer).
263 Ludewig-Omollo, K. (2011). Growing an Institutional Health OER Initiative: A Case Study of the Kwame Nkrumah
University of Science and Technology. Retrieved from
http://www.oerafrica.org/FTPFolder/Website%20Materials/Health/case_studies/2011.05%20Knust_Low_Res.pdf
264 The AVU OER Strategy. Retrieved from http://oer.avu.org/about
87
•
•
•
Peer review of the modules
Participation of instructional designers, editors and graphic Designers
Involvement of a Materials Development Coordinator to oversee and coordinate the entire
process
• Involvement of an academic advisor.265
Through the programme, the AVU has completed the development of four full Bachelors of
Education in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology, as well as modules for ICT basic skills and
Integration of ICT in Education. The programmes were developed using a collaborative approach. A
total of 12 universities, 146 authors and peer reviewers from 10 countries in Anglophone,
Francophone and Lusophone countries were fully involved in the process. The AVU has developed 73
modules in French, English, and Portuguese (making it a total of 219) as follows: 46 Math and
Sciences, four ICT Basic Skills, 19 Teacher Education professional courses and four related to the
integration of ICT in Education and integration in respective subject areas This project is regarded as
a success story for OER in Africa as these materials were prepared by African Academics. 266
In line with the AVU Business Plan 2009-2014, the AVU started developing an OER Repository in the
first quarter of 2010. OER@AVU serves as a platform where the 73 modules are published
(http://oer.avu.org). The AVU’s intent is to assemble the various relevant OER initiatives under one
single OER Architecture aimed at facilitating and expanding the use of OER in African tertiary
education and training institutions. Their OER portal contains resources developed together with the
twelve universities in ten African countries. Through the portal, AVU enables academics throughout
Africa and beyond to share, distribute, and disseminate their resources globally and thus contribute
towards Africa’s economic development through education.
The African Virtual University’s (AVU) Open Education Resources repository, OER@AVU, is an
opportunity for African educators to share open educational resources with each other, and
the world. High quality resources can serve to inspire teachers, be directly used by students,
and be improved upon, or localized by others. The AVU has seeded the repository with 219
high-quality modules, written by educators from many countries in Africa, but the repository
depends on your contributions and participation.267
The objectives of the AVU OER Repository are to:
• Enhance the use of the modules developed, consequently increasing the impact of the project
beyond its implementation life;
• Facilitate accessing, using, adapting, and sharing of AVU Open Education Resources;
• Contribute to dissemination of African tertiary educational content in the World Wide Web and
provide links to other tertiary educational content on the web; and
• Build synergies between the AVU OER portal and other OER bodies such as OCW, MIT-LINC, and
MERLOT.268
The repository seeks to provide resources of the highest quality. Contributions are peer-reviewed,
but users are also encouraged to provide feedback on modules that they access. Currently, the
repository accepts material in English, French, and Portuguese, and users are encouraged to
translate the material into other languages.269
265
Diallo, B. (2011). Experience of the AVU in Developing OERs in Math and Science Teacher Education Collabboratively
with 12 African Universities and 10 African Countries. DETA Conference: Maputo August 4th - 2011
266 The AVU OER Strategy. Retrieved from http://oer.avu.org/about
267 African Virtual University (2011). The African Virtual University’s Open Education Resources (OER) Policy. Retrieved
from: http://oer.avu.org/bitstream/handle/123456789/265/AVU%20OER%20policy%20final.pdf?sequence=1
268 The AVU OER Strategy. Retrieved from http://oer.avu.org/about
269 African Virtual University (2011). The African Virtual University’s Open Education Resources (OER) Policy. Retrieved
from: http://oer.avu.org/bitstream/handle/123456789/265/AVU%20OER%20policy%20final.pdf?sequence=1
88
5.4 OER policies
Institutions harnessing OER usually need to review several policies in order to ensure the
effectiveness and sustainability of OER. Several policy issues are usually considered when examining
commitment to OER development and use at higher education institutions. There are at least four
main policy issues:
5. Provision in policy of clarity on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and copyright on works created
during the course of employment (or study) and how these may be shared with and used by
others.
6. Human resource policy guidelines regarding whether or not the creation of certain kinds of work
(e.g. learning resources) constitutes part of the job description for staff and what the
implications are for development, performance management, remuneration, and promotion
purposes.
7. ICT policy guidelines regarding access to and use of appropriate software, hardware, the Internet
and technical support, as well as provision for version control and back-up of any storage
systems for an institution’s educational resources.
8. Materials development and quality assurance policy guidelines to ensure appropriate selection,
development, quality assurance, and copyright clearance of works that may be shared. 270
Institutional OER policies usually include a focus on IPR and copyright issues. IPR is a broad term
involving issues of copyright, trademarks, patents and other claims for ‘ownership of a resource.
Copyright is a form of IPR which provides that people cannot reproduce, copy, or transmit copyright
material to the public without the permission of the copyright owner. In the higher education
setting, such policies typically focus on issues regarding works created during the course of
employment and how these may be shared with and used by others. These policies may outline the
respective rights of the institution, its employees, sub-contractors, and students regarding
intellectual capital. They may also indicate whether or not research and educational products will be
treated any differently by the institution .There are also human resource policy guidelines regarding
whether or not the creation of certain kinds of work (for example, learning resources) constitutes
part of the job description for staff and what the implications are for development, performance
management, remuneration, and promotion purposes. This also typically involves a reward system
for creating or adapting OER, such as acknowledging time spent creating OER. OER is also affected by
ICT policy guidelines regarding access to and use of appropriate software, hardware, the Internet,
and technical support, as well as provision for version control and back-up of any storage systems for
an institution’s educational resources. Additionally, it may be necessary to review materials
development and quality assurance policy guidelines to ensure appropriate selection, development,
quality assurance, and copyright clearance of works that may be shared. 271
The presence of OER policies at higher education institutions can accelerate the adoption and
creation of OER and assist in ensuring the sustainability of OER. However, despite the growth of OER
at institutions worldwide, this has not necessarily yet led to the development of specific policies that
address or support development, sharing, adaptation, and use of OER. Nevertheless, a few African
institutions that have embarked on OER initiatives have taken several steps to develop OER
amenable policies. For example, the University of Cape Town recently updated its Intellectual
Property (IP) policy so that it now specifically covers issues relating to the creation and licensing of
OER. Section 9.2 of the policy provides support for publication of materials under Creative Commons
licences:
270
Butcher, N.(2011). A Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources (OER). UNESCO and Commonwealth of Learning.
Retrieved from http://www.col.org/resources/publications/Pages/detail.aspx?PID=357
271 Butcher, N. (2011). A Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources (OER). UNESCO and Commonwealth of Learning.
Retrieved from http://www.col.org/resources/publications/Pages/detail.aspx?PID=357
89
UCT supports the publication of materials under Creative Commons licences to promote the
sharing of knowledge and the creation of Open Education Resources. UCT undertakes certain
research projects that seek to publish the research output in terms of a Creative Commons
licence.
• 9.2.1 Author(s) of Copyright protected materials that are listed in clauses 8.2 272 and
8.3273 is free to distribute their material under a Creative Commons licence.
• 9.2.2 Author(s) of Copyright materials that are listed in clause 8.1 274 should seek
permission from RCIPS, who on behalf of UCT, may grant permission for the material to
be distributed under a Creative Commons licence (University of Cape Town, 2011, pp.1516). 275
The policy notes the adoption of open licences as a default for research and teaching related to
software development at the university. It also highlights that an IP Advisory Committee is to be
established to manage processes relating to IP for UCT. The policy further includes IP related to the
creation and licensing of films as a teaching learning medium/tool.276
The University of Ghana and KNUST have both embarked on creating relevant policies. These two
Ghanaian institutions were introduced to OER through a grant-funded Health OER project, which
began with the Colleges of Health Sciences in the two universities producing a significant number of
e-learning materials as health OER. However, they soon faced challenges such as faculty time
commitments, technological and infrastructural constraints, shortage of technical expertise, lack of
awareness beyond the early adopters and a non-existent system for OER dissemination and use.
These challenges revealed the need for institutional policy and integration to ensure effective
implementation and sustainability of OER efforts.277
272
UCT automatically assigns to the author(s) the copyright, unless UCT has assigned ownership to a third party in terms of
a research contract, in:
• Scholarly and literary publications
• Paintings, sculptures, drawings, graphics and photographs produced as an art form
• Recordings of musical performances and musical compositions
• Course materials, with the provision that UCT retains a perpetual, royalty-free, nonexclusive licence to use, copy and
adapt such materials within UCT for the purposes of teaching and or research
• Film.
273 UCT assigns the copyright in a Student’s thesis, to the Student author (or in the case of a work of art that is submitted
for examination purposes to the IP Creator of the work of art), subject to UCT retaining a royalty-free right to publish a
thesis in any form. Whilst the Student has the right to enter into agreements with the publishers who may wish to publish
the thesis in whole or in part, the Student shall ensure that UCT’s rights are acknowledged by the third party and
maintained and shall with the consent of their supervisor(s) ensure that such publication is not in conflict with any past, or
planned future, assignment of rights to another publisher, e.g. of a journal article, or other literary publication.
274 8.1 UCT holds copyright in:
• Banks of multiple choice test and examination questions
• Syllabuses and curricula
• Computer software developed at, or commissioned by UCT to support academic or research administrative processes or
the general operational management of UCT
• All UCT produced publications (e.g. but not limited to The Monday Paper, Varsity, Research Report, etc.) including
electronic media and content on the UCT websites
• Photographs and digital images taken by Employees for UCT media or publicity or specifically commissioned by UCT
• Specifically commissioned works and course materials that fall outside the scope of normal academic work
• Computer Software developed as part of a research project, unless assigned by research agreement to another party.
275 University of Cape Town (2011). University of Cape Town Intellectual Property Policy. Retrieved from
http://www.uct.ac.za/downloads/uct.ac.za/about/policies/intellect_property.pdf, pp/15-16/
276 University of Cape Town (2011). University of Cape Town Intellectual Property Policy. Retrievedfrom
http://www.uct.ac.za/downloads/uct.ac.za/about/policies/intellect_property.pdf
277 Tagoe, N; Donkor, P; Adanu, R. et al. (2010). Beyond the first steps: Sustaining Health OER Initiatives in Ghana. In Open
Ed 2010 Proceedings Barcelona: UOC, OU, BYU. Retrieved from
http://openaccess.uoc.edu/webapps/o2/bitstream/10609/4849/6/Tagoe.pdf
90
At the University of Ghana, the College of Health Sciences (CHS) initiated a process to update its
academic recognition policies to support OER. This review started around the same time that the
institution was undergoing a cyclical revision of its statutes, which is conducted every three years.
The committee responsible for policy development, comprising academics and librarians reviewed
existing university policies and drafted a new OER policy - ‘Draft Policy for the Development and Use
of Open Educational Resources for University of Ghana’. The draft policy is divided into eight
sections: infrastructure, availability and accessibility of materials, Internet access, organizational
structure, quality assurance, copyright, reward system for OER production, and time protection.278
Whilst the draft policy reaffirms the university’s copyright to materials produced by faculty and staff,
it establishes the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence as the default licence for all OER,
and gives authoring faculty the right to select their preferred Creative Commons licence. It also
proposes the creation of a production unit for OER staffed by technology professionals, and a server
to host the completed OER. Lastly, it suggests that OER be reviewed by contributing departments
prior to publication, that faculty get time earmarked for creating OER, and that authoring faculty
receive academic recognition for their OER.279. At the time of writing, the policy was still in draft
form waiting to go through the approval of various university boards at different levels of the
university administration (such as the Academic Board and University Planning Committee).280
KNUST recognized that, if it were to grow a successful OER initiative beyond its College of Health
Sciences, an OER policy would be needed to ensure the growth and sustainability of OER across the
university. In addition, to the challenges mentioned above such as lack of administrative, technical
and infrastructural support for faculty, wider institutional awareness, interest and support were
lacking due to the project being based in the College of Health Sciences. It therefore became
apparent that an OER policy was needed to ensure the growth and sustainability of OER at the
university.281
During the early stages, a workshop was held for the relevant administrative heads at KNUST to
introduce the concept. Additionally, a review of the current institutional policies identified the need
for an appropriate policy framework for OER. A committee was set up in 2009 to draft a policy on
OER which was approved by the KNUST Academic Board in 2010 and published online in 2011. The
purpose of the policy is to:
•
•
•
•
•
Guide the development and review of OER materials prior to sharing them on a
worldwide scale
Clarify publication rights and licensing issues
Outline policies regarding the use of required infrastructure (information technology,
library, etc.) and other support services
Identify human and other resources to support faculty in developing OER for teaching
and learning
Define collaborations within and without the university and the intent to allow access
(Kwame Nkrumah University Of Science And Technology, 2011).
278
University of Michigan and OER Africa. (2009). Health OER Inter-Institutional Project - Formative Evaluation of Health
OER Design Phase
279 Ludewig Omollo, K (2011b). Growing an Institutional Health OER Initiative: A Case Study of the University of Ghana.
Retrieved from:
http://www.oerafrica.org/FTPFolder/Website%20Materials/Health/case_studies/2011.05.11%20UG_Low_Res.pdf
280 University of Michigan and OER Africa. (2011). 2010-2011 African Health OER Network – Phase 2 Evaluation:
Consolidation and Sustainability.
281 Donkor, P. (2011). Experience with OER at Kwame Nkrumah University. Retrieved from:
http://etransformafrica.org/blog/experience-open-educational-resources-oer-kwame-nkrumah-university
91
The KNUST OER policy seeks to cover issues regarding copyright and licensing, human resource and
budgetary allocation, infrastructure, collaborations, technical support, systems for production
(authoring), delivery (sharing), review process and quality assurance, access, potential liability,
motivation and academic rewards. For example, the policy states KNUST’s adoption of the Creative
Commons licenses. The policy also addresses some of the challenges mentioned above and paves
the way for the institution-wide adoption of the OER initiative.282 The new policy formalized the role
of the OER coordinator, as well as the technical support role of the Department of Communication
Design (DCD). The university maintains copyright ownership for OER and other instructional
materials developed. Faculty members may, however, select the Creative Commons licence they
prefer. Most notably, the policy established a reward structure for OER production: it proposed that
faculty receive the same credit for OER modules as for peer-reviewed publications and that the
university allocate time for faculty to devote to creating OER. Although the policy has been
approved, the policy committee questioned whether there were adequate internal funds to support
the part-time staff members who assist in media production. The committee recommended that the
university continue to seek external funding for this, and also encouraged departments within CHS
to earmark some funds for OER in their budgets.283
One of the remarkable outcomes of KNUST’s involvement in OER has been the influence it has had at
a national level. KNUST, in partnership with the AAU and
KNUST, in partnership with the AAU
with funding from Electronic Information for Libraries
and with funding from Electronic
(EIFL) has embarked on an advocacy campaign to raise
Information for Libraries (EIFL) has
awareness of open access with government officials and
embarked on an advocacy campaign
the research community. A meeting was held with the
to raise awareness of open access
Ministry of Education to discuss am action plan to move
with government officials and the
the Open Access agenda forward. A notable outcome of
research community. A meeting was
this engagement is that the KNUST institutional repository
held with the Ministry of Education
was designated as the national Open Access repository.284
to discuss am action plan to move
the Open Access agenda forward. A
At a continental level, the ACDE has established a formal
notable
outcome
of
this
Policy on Collaboration, which includes a strong
engagement is that the KNUST
commitment to OER. This Policy, which was approved by
institutional
repository
was
the ACDE Board in 2011, addresses five broad areas:
designated as the national Open
1) Sharing intellectual property
Access repository.
2) Maximising human capacity
3) Collaborating on learning and teaching (focusing on PhD studies as well as materials
development and programme design and delivery)
4) Collaborating on research
5) Collaborating on developing and sustaining enabling systems (focusing on quality assurance and
use of ICT).
It provides an excellent example of an inter-institutional commitment to collaboration and sharing of
intellectual capital, providing also for ACDE members to share their course materials on a voluntary
basis through the ACDE Technical Committee on Collaboration.
282
Donkor, P. (2011). Experience with OER at Kwame Nkrumah University. Retrieved from:
http://etransformafrica.org/blog/experience-open-educational-resources-oer-kwame-nkrumah-university
283 Ludewig-Omollo, K. (2011a). Growing an Institutional Health OER Initiative: A Case Study of the Kwame Nkrumah
University of Science and Technology. Retrieved from
http://www.oerafrica.org/FTPFolder/Website%20Materials/Health/case_studies/2011.05%20Knust_Low_Res.pdf
284 Electronic Information for Libraries. (2011). Ghana: The first results of OA advocacy campaigns. Retrieved from
http://www.eifl.net/news/first-results-oa-advocacy-campaigns-eifl-part
92
5.5 Challenges in Policy Implementation and Practice
There are several challenges in using and creating OER in an African context:285
• Being able to access OER requires adequate infrastructure and a robust and fast connection to
the Internet, which is lacking in many African institutions.
• Due to unfamiliarity with the OER model, there is a need for lobbying around the benefits of OER
to encourage buy in from African academics to use OER.
• The staff workload needs to include time to source and adapt materials as most lecturers have
to balance teaching obligations, clinical service requirements and research expectations.
• Available OER may not always match methods or subject matter as taught locally.
• There is a need to train and capacitate additional staff to source and adapt OER.
• OER are free to access but not free to produce. African institutions may face the challenge of
lack of funding to cover the time required to do the searching and adaptations. There are also
hidden costs, such as the time taken to search for appropriate OER as well as the time needed to
do the adaptations and production costs.
• It may create technological bias, as using OER demands new skills for both educators and
students.
In addition, many OER projects remain predominantly donor-funded with major funders including
the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Andrew W
Mellon Foundation, and the Shuttleworth Foundation. Whilst Foundation funding has been an
essential component of establishing the OER field, it has been argued that such funding cannot be
relied on for ongoing development, operations, and sustainability, with many OER initiatives
struggling to establish and transition to a future independent of Foundation funding.286
Recent work at UNISA revealed challenges around funding related to publishing work as OER. At an
OER sensitization workshop for staff in the Department of Curriculum and Learning Development at
UNISA, it was noted that academics would be unwilling to publish articles in journals with Creative
Commons licences because the Department of Higher Education and Training in South Africa does
not recognize these for funding purposes.287
In instances where OER practices in institutions are as part of ‘projects’ rather than integrated or
institution-wide processes, practitioners face time constraints as they are required to complete this
work in addition to their already heavy teaching workloads.288
In addition, there are also challenges with regard to OER policies:
• Few institutions have yet adopted new, or adapted existing, policies to reflect OER practices or
to explicitly encourage and formally endorse such practices at institutions.
• Universities are complex, autonomous institutions in
It may be expected that there will
which curriculum and operational changes are made
be acceleration in the creation of
only after deep and careful consideration – and after
supportive policy environments for
going through several institutional processes that are
OER as the breadth and depth of
often time-consuming. Thus, it may be expected that
OER practices matures globally.
285
Adapted from Adam, L., Butcher, N., Tusubira, F.F.T., and Sibthorpe, C. (2011). Transformation-Ready: The strategic
application of information and communication technologies in Africa - Education Sector Study. Prepared for the African
Development Bank, the World Bank and the African Union.
286 Stacey, P. (2010). Foundation Funded OER vs. Tax Payer Funded OER – A Tale of Two Mandates. Retrieved from:
http://edtechfrontier.com/2010/10/26/foundation-funded-oer-vs-tax-payer-funded-oer-a-tale-of-two-mandates
287 Welsh, T. (2011). Open Educational Resources at UNISA. Blog entry December 5, 2011. Retrieved from:
http://blog.saide.org.za/2011/12/05/open-educational-resources-at-unisa/
288 Hoosen, S. (2009). Communities of Practice – Case Study One: Skills for a Changing World (SFCW). South African
Institute of Distance Education: Johannesburg.
93
•
•
•
•
there will be acceleration in the creation of supportive policy environments for OER as the
breadth and depth of OER practices matures globally.
OER initiatives at most universities appear to be largely project-driven rather than an institutionwide integrated process, and thus perhaps accounting for lack of relevant policies. In most
institutions, OER appears to be funder-driven and are ‘projects’ which are likely to have driven
OER at the institution
In contexts where universities are mainly funded by the government (such as the cases of UG
and KNUST), funding in general is often a challenge. Friesen (2009) in Tagoe et al (2010) suggests
that tangible benefits of OER should be linked to core institutional priorities, thus making a case
for institutional funding. Thus, in the African context at least, it is likely that such initiatives will
need to be supplemented by alternate funding models in addition to institutional budget
allocations.
Institutions differ as to whether they provide incentives to faculty for participating in OER
creation. For example, at KNUST and UG, the policy makes provision for incentives for OER
creation and for research. However, few universities appear to provide incentives for faculty
members to participate in OER initiatives (this includes UCT). In addition, only a few policies
(such as KNUST) make explicit mention of the notion of monitoring quality.
It is also possible that lack of policies is due, in some instances, to lack of leadership support for
OER. An example of leadership support is the case of UCT, where the signing of the Cape Town
Open Education Declaration by the then Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Martin Hall
represented a ‘visible symbolic act demonstrating UCT’s institutional commitment to sharing
teaching and learning materials to date’. This served to explicitly support the notion of OER at
the institutional level (Hodgkinson-Williams, 2009).
However it should be noted that policy fulfils a limited function, and issues such as sustainability and
faculty buy-in and involvement are of equal importance. This point can be illustrated in the example
from the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in South Africa, which passed an ambitious Free
Content, Free/Open Courseware Policy, in 2005 aimed to remove institutional obstacles to the
publication of OER.289 It initiated the Free Courseware project towards implementation of this
strategy. However, if one views the UWC repository http://freecourseware.uwc.ac.za/), there are
only nine courses available, providing little evidence that the policy has gained traction amongst
faculty. This provides an example of a policy that has been created, but with little evidence of
consistency between policy and practice.
5.6 Opportunities
As highlighted earlier, adopting OER in an African context can have positive impacts on the teaching
and learning environment as adopting this model requires institutions to invest in programmes,
course and materials development, and thereby begin to incorporate notions of quality. The
challenges of growing access, combined with the ongoing rollout of ICT infrastructure into
educational institutions, indicates that it is becoming increasingly important for them to support, in
a planned and deliberate manner, the development and improvement of curricula, ongoing
programme and course design, planning of contact sessions with students, development of quality
teaching and learning materials, and design of effective assessment – activities all aimed at
289
Keats, D. (2005). A Free Content and Free and Open Courseware implementation strategy for the University of the
Western Cape. Retrieved November 22, 2011 from http://ics.uwc.ac.za/usrfiles/users/8990060109/Strategies/freecourse0.4.pdf
94
improving the teaching and learning environment – while managing the cost of this through
increased use of resource-based learning. 290
OER approaches can also assist in alleviating funding constraints by acknowledging the benefits of
integrating OER practices with any content/material development process. Sourcing existing OER as
part of the process of investing in high quality learning resources that meet curriculum needs can
save costs. In contexts of national support for OER, such approaches formally support and encourage
institutions to create OER. Additionally, such support for OER provides an increased likelihood that
such efforts are sustainable.
OER also opens several other opportunities for enhancing higher education in Africa. These include:
• Advancing knowledge by making educational resources available.
• Generating new educational opportunities by providing an opportunity for teachers to access
material to use in teaching their classes or to complement a course.
• Allowing for sharing of support, resources, experience and best practices.
• Increasing student and educator access to educational materials, as, when OER are distributed
electronically, they are easy to access via a computer, to copy and to share.
• Promoting innovation and the improvement of teaching resources used by faculty.
• Providing an opportunity to re-examine the curriculum, learn new teaching methods and to
rethink teaching approaches. Faculty may use OER from elsewhere to inform their own teaching,
and likewise, creating OER for a global audience may encourage faculty to re-examine their own
teaching practices before codifying them as OER.
• Familiarizing teachers with using ICT, increase comfort with the web, broadening their skills
base.
• Providing an opportunity for author recognition for those creating and sharing OER. For
example, at KNUST CHS, faculty view OER as a way to enhance their personal reputations as
publishing OER presents an opportunity for faculty to showcase their expertise.
• Providing a high quality body of content that allows people to improve their knowledge,
competencies and practices.
• Enhancing an institution’s reputation and brand image. Whilst many institutions may be initially
hesitant about sharing their educational materials online, evidence is now starting to emerge
that institutions that share their materials online are attracting increased interest from students
in enrolling in their programmes. This in turn brings potential commercial benefits, because the
sharing of materials online raises an institution’s ‘visibility’ on the Internet, while also providing
students more opportunities to investigate the quality of the educational experience they will
receive there. For example, at KNUST, OER was seen as a way to enhance institutional
reputation by sharing its curriculum. In late 2009, KNUST added a Creative Commons Attribution
licence to the university’s website footer as part of a broader strategy to use Wikipedia and
Google to help increase the institution’s web traffic. The KNUST webmaster believes that the
licence is responsible, in part, for increasing the university’s ranking in the Webometrics Ranking
of World Universities.
• Lowering cost for student access to educational materials. Unlike traditional textbooks and
journals, OER do not require licensing fees. Although OER are not free to produce, they are free
to access. There may still be a marginal cost for distributing OER (e.g. for printing or for
removable media such as CDs), but it is a fraction of the standard licensing fees.
• Decreasing faculty time on materials development. Harnessing open content can reduce faculty
time required to produce content. OER makes it easier for educators to preview how others in
290
Adam, L., Butcher, N., Tusubira, F.F.T., and Sibthorpe, C. (2011). Transformation-Ready: The strategic application of
information and communication technologies in Africa - Education Sector Study. Prepared for the African Development
Bank, the World Bank and the African Union.
95
•
•
•
•
•
their field teach a given topic. Faculty can use OER created by others – in whole or in part – to
develop their own lecture slides or other teaching aids.
Easing the development of new programmes. OER may be particularly useful when a university
is looking to expand its curriculum by offering new courses and degree programmes. OER allows
faculty to preview how a topic is taught at other institutions and open licensing allows faculty to
contextualise and translate OER to suit local needs.
Enabling students to use OER for review and revision purposes, to complement class material,
plan a course of study and to prepare for formal studies.
Providing potential for anyone to study a course to develop their personal knowledge.
Providing additional information on subject matter, as an alternative for thousands of students
with HE interests.
Providing alumni access to content – the KNUST provost views OER as a method for creating and
sustaining the university’s alumni networks. Alumni can use OER as a means of sharpening their
skills, whether informally or formally (for example, through continuing medical education), or
simply to stay connected to their alma mater.291292293
Thus, experience shows that, when an institution makes its courses/materials publicly available
online (assuming it is of quality and relevance), this can attract new students, facilitate
accountability (through its transparency), advance institutional recognition and reputation, and
support the public service role of institutions. It may also further the dissemination of research
results and thereby attract research funding. 294 However, the strategic advantages of having an OER
policy are not yet clearly articulated in existing research.
291
Carson, S. (2010). Benefits of the Use of MIT Courseware. eMadrid. Retrieved from
http://www.emadridnet.org/en/emadrid-seminar-on-open-educational-content/benefits-use-of-mit-courseware
292 Mestre, R. (2009). Toward a Utopia: Open Educational Resources in Higher Education. Paper presented at Virtual
conference - International Technology, Education and Development Conference. Valencia. Retrieved from
http://uv.academia.edu/RosannaMestrePerez/Papers/90311/Foward_a_Utopia_Open_Educational_Resources_in_Higher_
Education
293 Miyagawa , S. (2006). OpenCourseWare at Home. MIT Faculty Newsletter (Vol. XVIII No. 3 January / February) retrieved
from http://web.mit.edu/fnl/volume/183/miyagawa.html
294 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and Commonwealth of Learning (COL)
(2011). Guidelines for Open Educational Resources (OER) in Higher Education. Retrieved from
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002136/213605e.pdf
96
6 General Areas for Action: Harnessing the Potential
of ICT, ODL, and OER
6.1 Introduction
The status of higher education in Africa continues to be a concern for governments, higher
education bodies and donors. The persistent challenges of enrolment and HE participation rates,
gender disparities, HIV & AIDS, brain drain, and the digital divide mean that Africa continues to be at
a disadvantage in several key respects. The EFA Goals highlights the need for African education
systems to provide meaningfully for lifelong education. This means that educational opportunity can
no longer be confined to traditional modes requiring students to attend fixed locations at fixed times
for specific periods. The growth of interactive technologies due to increasing Internet access in many
parts of Africa opens up a range of opportunities to enhance higher education provision in Africa.
ICT has the potential to ensure rapid, cost effective and reliable communication, networking and
access to and publication of information which, in turn, should enhance productivity, education and
development:
Learning processes are increasingly dependent on ICTs because they connect students and
researchers to the global knowledge community. In a globalized world, it is unthinkable that
a higher education institute could become a centre of excellence without a reliable and up-todate ICT infrastructure. Any university’s strategy for the future must include ways to acquire
this infrastructure and ensure that it is used in the most efficient and effective ways. 295
E-learning can offer the practitioner various opportunities to enhance his/her established practices.
Student learning can be transformed through e-learning, by giving them more learning options and
flexibility of use. In residential settings in African universities, e-learning can be useful for addressing
common teaching and learning challenges like large classes and diverse classrooms. Student
diversity in higher education presents challenges of differentiated student preparedness for higher
education, which in turn affects student participation during lectures.296
In recent years, African governments have expressed growing commitment to the development of
ICT and the use of these for ODL, with indications that ODL is becoming more central to education
policies in many African countries.297 Despite commitment to the development of ICT, the amount
needed for investment in higher education in Africa is huge, which is why ODL and OER are viable
and affordable strategies for improving access and increasing the availability of teaching materials,
especially given the plethora of challenges that impede the rollout of higher education in Africa.
The most critical influence on the quality of tertiary education is perhaps the availability of learning
resources.298 All countries and higher education institutions need to be making investments in
295
Teferra, D and Greijn, H.(eds). (2010).Higher Education and Globalization Challenges, Threats and Opportunities for
Africa. Maastricht University Centre for International Cooperation in Academic Development (MUNDO), Maastricht, the
Netherlands, and International Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA), Center for International Higher Education
(CIHE), Boston College, USA.
296 Jaffer, S., Ng’ambi, D. & Czerniewicz, L. (2007). The role of ICTs in higher education in South Africa: One strategy for
addressing teaching and learning challenges. International Journal of Education and Development using Information and
Communication Technology, 3(4): 131 – 142.
297 UNESCO. (2002). Open and Distance Learning: Trends, Policy and Strategy Considerations. p40-44. Retrieved from
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001284/128463e.pdf.
298 Mufutmari, N. (2010). Expanding the frontiers of access: Distance and ‘privatized’ higher Education. In Teferra, D and
Greijn, H.(eds). )Higher Education and Globalization Challenges, Threats and Opportunities for Africa. Maastricht University
97
materials development to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Costs include the time of
people involved in developing curricula and materials, adapting existing OER, dealing with copyright
licensing as well as associated costs, such as ICT infrastructure (for authoring and content-sharing
purposes), bandwidth, running content development workshops and meetings, and so on. However,
these costs are a function of investing in better teaching and learning environments, not a function
of investing in OER. Thus, within the framework of investing in materials design and development,
the most cost-effective approach is to harness OER. This is because:
• OER eliminates unnecessary duplication of effort by building on what already exists elsewhere;
• OER removes costs of copyright negotiation and clearance; and
• Over time, OER can engage open communities of practice in ongoing quality improvement and
assurance.
Given the promise of ICT, OER, and ODL, it would be remiss to not seize upon the opportunities they
offer. The paper therefore focuses now on outlining key areas of action to promote ICT, OER, and
ODL in higher education, taking into account that different African countries have their own unique
needs and they have already taken what are often very different approaches to ICT investments in
education.
6.2 Areas for Action
6.2.1 Investing in the Policy Environment
The potential of ICT, ODL, and OER can only be realized when it is embedded in a context that is
open to innovation and supported by a favourable policy environment. Government policy often
determines the parameters of such initiatives through laws, regulations, and allocation of funds. The
absence of a clear national policy is likely to result in efforts not being sustainable, particularly if the
intervention is donor-funded and/or if no cognisance is given to context. The creation of a strong
enabling policy environment requires that African leaders are sufficiently capacitated and informed
about the potential of ICT, ODL, and OER. Some of the critical policy questions around the use of ICT
in education relate to access, equity, finance, and best practices in scaling-up.299 Integration into
broader national and regional policy priorities is thus central to success and sustainability.
Perhaps the most effective way to accelerate open licensing and sharing of higher education
resources would be adoption/adaptation and approval of an appropriate national open licensing
framework, with clearly defined options for use by all higher education stakeholders, ideally as part
of an overarching policy framework on IPR and copyright in higher education that spans both
research and teaching activities. Such a licensing framework may also cover the copyright and IPR
status of educational materials produced by government departments and agencies.
For institutions, where they do not yet have these, institutions will benefit from putting in place
clear, detailed plans for implementing technology, while educational administrators should be
willing to review technological implementation plans regularly and revise them as necessary. This
will require involvement of all stakeholders so that there is a common vision and shared ownership
of policies and plans. Policies and plans should be flexible enough to facilitate regular updating in
Centre for International Cooperation in Academic Development (MUNDO), Maastricht, the Netherlands, and International
Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA), Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston College, USA.
299 Adam, L., Butcher, N., Tusubira, F.F.T., and Sibthorpe, C. (2011). Transformation-Ready: The strategic application of
information and communication technologies in Africa - Education Sector Study. Prepared for the African Development
Bank, the World Bank and the African Union.
98
response to new ICT developments, and strong leadership is required to convincingly communicate
these plans to all constituents.300
There is also an opportunity to develop and implement formal OER and Open Access policies to
increase the reach and impact of the intellectual efforts of faculty, staff, and students. Contextual
differences across institutions present different levels of opportunity for policy engagement. With
regards to OER, most efforts tend to provide an optional and voluntary condition for faculty and
students. It may, therefore, be worthwhile to provide incentives for academics to participate in OER
initiatives. This would also entail ensuring that staff workload models allow for curriculum, course,
and materials design and development, as well as for research activities. Furthermore, institutions
will benefit from establishing and maintaining a rigorous internal process for validating the quality of
educational materials prior to their publication as OER.
Adequate funding and business planning is required to ensure the long term sustainability of
programmes and institutions. ICT, ODL, and OER should not be considered as ‘add-ons’ but rather be
integrated into university structures and university funding models to ensure their sustainability.
Funding efforts might, therefore, focus on the following issues, amongst others:
4) Sustainable investments in ICT infrastructure, in terms of acquisition, maintenance, and regular
replacement of obsolete equipment;
5) Promoting awareness of potential cost benefits of OER, e- and m-learning, and ODL (with
concrete examples) to create good understanding of costing;
6) From a national perspective, placing mandates on institutions to license materials developed
with public funding under an open licence.
6.2.2 Development of Strategies at the Regional Level
Due recognition should be given to RECs and regional higher education associations, many of which
have already embarked on the process of harmonization of higher education and promoting
collaboration among the institutions through academic mobility in their respective region. Likewise,
initiatives such as the UbuntuNet Alliance have illustrated the value of regional collaboration.
Indeed, such regional associations can become critical building blocks of a continental AHERS. In this
regard the following is suggested:
• Regional higher education bodies and RECs may consider developing regional ICT and ODL
strategies that create an explicit link with higher education. These strategies should maintain
coherence with continental initiatives but seek to address region specific issues.
• The creation of regional platforms for sharing information on ICT policies and courseware and
exchanging experiences is a useful way of increasing the positive contribution of ICT to
education.
• Affordability poses real problems for accessing ICT in higher education institutions in Africa. As a
result, regional collaboration might focus on strategies to determine how limited resources may
best be pooled or used to provide:
̶
Access to hardware
̶
Access to affordable/reliable high speed Internet connections,
̶
Technical and training support; and
̶
Applications and content.
300
Wright, D.R., Dhanarajan , G. and Reju, S.A. (2009). Recurring Issues Encountered by Distance Educators in Developing
and Emerging Nations. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning Volume 10, Number 1.
99
6.2.3 Widening Access
ICT infrastructure is a prerequisite for all ICT in education applications, as well as effective use of
OER and development of ODL programmes (whether they are offered via print or e-learning). To
participate in online learning communities and to tap into the massively expanding base of content
that is increasingly accessible on the Internet, academics and learners need to be able to connect to
those communities via broadband Internet connections. It is therefore becoming increasingly
important to establish robust, scalable, affordable ICT connectivity networks to allow every higher
education institution to become connected. With this in mind, a sustained political drive needs to be
undertaken to provide connectivity throughout the education system to facilitate deeper and wider
access to the Internet, online resources, and institutional systems. Particular emphasis needs to be
placed on under-serviced areas, where telecommunications infrastructure is weak or non-existent.
There may also need to be changes in the telecommunications regulatory environment aimed at
driving down the price of connectivity. This should form part of the vision of national education
systems to ensure that every educator has access to a relevant computing device and associated ICT
peripherals.
While an open and competitive market will ensure that infrastructure will generally develop in high
density areas, policy interventions will be required to ensure that under-serviced areas receive
infrastructure investment and remote schools also get connected to a telecommunications
networks. The promotion of NRENs is one possible solution to this issue, but this often requires
regional entities to negotiate access with larger networks in Europe and elsewhere. Taking a
continental approach and developing a continental strategy for improving bandwidth and internet
access speed could provide a more harmonized approach and a strong bargaining position that could
yield reduced costs and complexity for all higher education institutions on the continent.301
Furthermore, all students, regardless of their geographical location or income level, need to be
provided access to the necessary resources (harnessing all media as appropriate) and available
learning opportunities to enable them to complete their studies successfully. This is particularly
important for students enrolled in ODL programmes. Learners with special requirements (such as
those with barriers to learning or those in remote or rural areas) and their educational support staff
may require access to specialized resources and to networks of specialist support.
From this perspective, it becomes critical to open access to content, so that it can legitimately be
used and manipulated by learners to support their learning. This will require a significant shift in
thinking, as most educational content generated for use in education systems is protected by
inflexible laws of copyright, which explicitly prevent this kind of use and manipulation.302 Finally,
educational and governmental bodies should clearly define their commitment to the goals toward
which the technology will be applied, ensuring that issues regarding accessibility and equity are
covered, developing measurable objectives and realistic timelines, assigning specific responsibilities
to individuals and groups who will facilitate the change process, and providing the necessary
resources.
301
Butcher, N. (2010) ICT, Education, Development and the Knowledge Society, retrieved from
http://www.gesci.org/assets/files/ICT,%20Education,%20Development,%20and%20the%20Knowledge%20Society(1).pdf
302 Butcher, N. (2010) ICT, Education, Development and the Knowledge Society, retrieved from
http://www.gesci.org/assets/files/ICT,%20Education,%20Development,%20and%20the%20Knowledge%20Society(1).pdf
100
6.2.4 Capacity Building
The implementation of ICT and/or ODL methods to enhance education requires leaders who are
flexible, open to new ideas, and willing to make decisions. In many African countries, the decisionmaking process is sometimes hampered by the involvement of decision-makers who have limited or
no experience with technology, distance education, OER, and change management,303 and thus
there is a need to build capacity in African leaders and administrators to ensure that leveraging ICT
for a knowledge society is both a top-down and bottom-up process. Those making significant
decisions about technology should ideally be those who use it on a daily basis, have some
experience with the specific equipment or programmes they are selecting; be aware of the potential
impact of the technology upon learning, instruction, and administrative systems; and keep abreast
of emerging trends.
Related to the above, is a need to focus on professional development of higher education
practitioners and academics. A range of relevant ongoing professional development activities should
be made available to all educators to enable them to acquire the skills and competencies necessary
to use ICT to perform their jobs effectively and productively. Educators will need hands-on training
in the use of the technology and its potential benefits to education and research. Support in the use
of ICT infrastructure, as well as relevant software applications, should be made available. In addition,
the quality of ODL programmes is dependent on the design of instructional materials and educators’
ability to facilitate knowledge construction, which means that educators involved in ODL need to be
well trained and grounded in ODL methods. As indicated above, this requires that educators be
provided the necessary resources (harnessing all media as appropriate), tools, and information for
teaching to create effective learning opportunities for students. Incentives should be provided to
encourage or, where appropriate, require the use of ICT by relevant personnel. In addition, the time
and effort required to develop and support ODL and e-learning courses needs to be recognized.
Without this, professional development investments are likely to have limited effect.
As part of this capacity building effort, there is value in creating and sustaining effective
communities of practice to enable educators and students to benefit from exposure to quality
teaching and learning methodologies, a range of support services, professional dialogue with peers,
and ongoing sharing of information, ideas, and resources. This can assist in fostering collaboration
between African higher education institutions, and has the potential to assist in the sharing of
learning materials as OER. Such collaboration has additional potential side benefits of improving
quality (through reviewing and vetting others’ materials), increasing access and reducing costs
through sharing. Such an approach also has the potential to encourage partnership and
collaboration in design and development of programmes and courseware across African borders.
Finally, consideration needs to be given to how the private sector can engage with institutions of
higher education to build ICT capacity and assist in the progress towards knowledge based societies
and economies in Africa. There are some great examples, such as that at Makerere University in
Uganda where the private sector has been integral to building infrastructural capacity. Given the
degree of expertise and capacity that exists for ICT in the private sector, African universities should
actively seek partnerships with the private sector to create a stable financial and ICT support
environment.
303
Wright, D.R., Dhanarajan , G. and Reju, S.A. (2009). Recurring Issues Encountered by Distance Educators in Developing
and Emerging Nations. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning Volume 10, Number 1.
101
6.2.5 Quality Matters
In ensuring the quality of ODL and OER, there is a need to build a common understanding of quality
through broad consultation, introduce mechanisms for programme accreditation and institutional
audits against sound criteria, ensure collaboration and partnerships in setting quality criteria, and
promote internal and external forms of quality assurance in order to prevent poor practice and to
stimulate innovation. In addition, it may be useful to consider following up on the development of a
continental QA framework and ensuring that issues of ODL and OER are integrated into the
framework.
Institutions will also benefit from periodic reviews of institutional OER and ODL practices to
determine the value of their policies and practices. This could include reviewing the extent of use of
openly licensed educational materials in higher education programmes and assessments its effects
on the quality of educational delivery, and its impact on the cost of developing/procuring high
quality teaching and learning materials for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
At the national level, ODL offerings in most African countries appear predominantly to be
undifferentiated from conventional offerings, and there are few separate or specific QA guidelines
for ODL. This calls for a need to focus on preparing separate QA of ODL or ensuring that QA of ODL
forms part of broader educational QA guidelines and policies. Where countries and institutions do
not have or are developing their QA frameworks, there is a potential to include ODL and e-learning
elements early in the formation of such frameworks, thus making it easier to ensure that innovation
and QA go hand in hand. If national and institutional QA systems use the same QA frameworks for
conventional and ODL education, this may help to dispel negative stereotyping of ODL and elearning. However, dedicated policies can ensure that specific ODL QA issues such as quality of
course and materials development, student and technology support receive the necessary attention.
Regardless of which approach is adopted, it is clear that additional QA focus on ODL is required
within continental, regional, national and institutional frameworks. And as demands for ODL in
Africa increases, there is likely to be a more pressing need to focus on QA of ODL specifically. The
role of the ACDE QAAA and the AAU will be of particular importance in this area.
6.2.6 Enhancing Management, Administration, and Operations
The Internet can connect Ministries of Education to higher education institutions. Thus, it is
important to consider how technologies can be used to improve the efficiency of operations of the
underlying systems of education. The successful application of ICT in improving systemic efficiency
and operations can lead to improvements in delivery of higher education, regardless of what
teaching and learning strategies are finally being used to communicate with students. In particular,
investments should be made in developing applications that significantly improve the quality of
management information systems (at national and institutional level) and the ability to use these
systems to support strategic decision-making and policy implementation; and contribute to
stimulating free flow of information throughout the education system. This can facilitate better
planning, monitoring, and resource allocation. Improved use of the Internet, computers and mobile
and wireless technologies can also enhance data gathering, analysis and use at universities.
Institutions can use an electronic management system to manage their day-to-day operations. This
should generate required national Educational Management Information System (EMIS) data
automatically, so that no additional work is required to meet national, regional, and continental
reporting requirements.
102
6.2.7 Content Creation and Knowledge Management
Key players in African higher education may want to consider judicious investments in content
creation to ensure compliance with African curricula, or local language demands, motivating usage
by teachers and learners. These materials would ideally be released using open licences to facilitate
re-use and ongoing adaptation. Furthermore, it may be necessary to ensure that investments in ICT
for education and development involve long-term planning that take into account sustainability and
the developments that ICT-enhanced education may bring. Over the years, development partners
have invested large sums of money in many innovative initiatives, which have produced excellent
and important products, either in the form of software applications, research outputs, educational
resources, or other similar forms of intellectual capital. In a small minority of instances, there has
been a good reason to allow the project grantee to retain full copyright of this intellectual capital in
order to establish a viable long-term business model. More often than not, though, over time, this
intellectual capital has simply been lost due to restrictions in its re-use and subsequent poor
curation of the intellectual capital in a suitable repository.
While some governments and donors have started to impose requirements that funded projects
release their intellectual capital under an open license and have develop websites to store the
products of such projects, the majority still do not do this, with the result that – in the long term –
the full value of those investments is lost to education in Africa. Consequently, adopting policies that
lead to release of intellectual capital under open licenses (unless there are valid reasons not to do
so) and ensuring that this is stored in a sustainable online repository would help significantly to
reduce wastage and duplication of investment.
In addition, they can invest in open access journals that drive innovation and meet the needs of
scientific research at institutions. Related to this is the potential to invest in knowledge management
systems and strategies to store, curate, and share educational content. Ideally, to ensure costeffectiveness, this would be done as part of a coordinated regional strategy or in partnership with
emerging global OER networks and repositories. An online repository of case studies, evaluation
findings, trends in ICT, and models and tools for financial planning and evaluation would support
capacity building for African leaders, while creating a managed online environment for them to
publish and network with each other. In addition, an online resource that collects best practices for
integrating ICT into higher education will ensure that international lessons and examples of good
and innovative practice are communicated and fed back into capacity development programmes.
6.2.8 Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation
Development of research is vital for Africa, and is a core function of higher education systems – the
one needs to reinforce the other.304 Thus, it is vital to invest in a continuous process of evaluation of
ICT-related interventions in education, ODL programmes, and use of OER. This should include:
• Planning, implementation, reflection, refinement, effectiveness, and user acceptance;
• Benchmarking the quality of initiatives against international studies, standards, and best
practices;
• Ensuring that international lessons and examples of good and innovative practice are
communicated and fed back into capacity development programmes for African leadership;
304Mohamedbhai,
G. (2011). Lessons from Europe: Towards an African Higher Education and Research Space. Retrieved
from:
http://www.insidehighered.com/layout/set/popup/blogs/the_world_view/lessons_from_europe_towards_an_african_hig
her_education_and_research_space.
103
•
•
Investing in knowledge-sharing events and innovative ways of publishing and distributing
research findings, so that growing numbers of African professionals have access to research,
monitoring, and evaluation findings, and are themselves producers of knowledge and lessons to
share globally; and
Improving the knowledge base of successful ODL and OER initiatives and promoting them so that
they are easily accessible.
The availability of open access publications means that African academics have the opportunity to
disseminate their research fast, with world-wide coverage, allowing them recognition as their papers
are read and cited by others. In addition, they have quick, free access to articles of interest (although
it should be noted that a prerequisite would be good Internet access). This growing availability of ebooks and open access journals has potential to meet the needs of African institutions which often
work within a context of limited resources. Critically, though, it is important to ensure that African
universities make a growing contribution to these knowledge bases, as African research experience
and output is currently highly under-represented in these emerging global knowledge networks.
6.2.9 Awareness-raising and advocacy
Advocating the benefits of ICT, ODL and OER is important to realize benefits of their potential and
promise and to address misperceptions. In particular, it may be worthwhile preparing a sound
rationale and vision for ODL and OER to advocate and promote their adoption. For institutions
starting ICT-based, OER, and/or ODL initiatives, awareness creation is likely to be essential to drive
institutional adoption of, e- and m-learning, OER and/or ODL. This may include holding consultations
and workshops with relevant stakeholders. Furthermore, it is important that such policies be aligned
to institutional mission and objectives to ensure buy-in.
104
7 Implications for an African Higher Education and
Research Space
This report has sought to provide a comprehensive overview of progress, opportunities, and
challenges associated with the use of ICT, ODL, and OER in African higher education. Drawing on this,
it has identified some broad areas for action for consideration by role players in the sector. In this
final section, it draws together these analyses to reflect on the potential implications for an African
Higher Education and Research Space (AHERS). Necessarily, there is some degree of repetition of
issues already laid out in previous sections, but the analysis below provides a summary of key issues
for consideration in establishing an AHERS. This has two components: first, exploring how ICT, ODL,
and OER can contribute to establishing and maintaining an AHERS; second, discussing possible ways
in which an AHERS, when it is established, can contribute to effective use of ICT, ODL, and OER in
higher education in Africa.
7.1.1 Roles of ICT, ODL, and OER in Establishing and Maintaining and AHERS
Drawing from the above analysis, it is possible to identify several ways in which the practices
outlined in this document can support the establishment and maintenance of an AHERS. These are
outlined below.
7.1.1.1
Harnessing ODL and e-Learning to Strengthen Teaching and Research Capacity
Possibly the most obvious contribution that ICT, ODL, and OER can make to establishing and
maintaining an AHERS is to support development of the critical teaching and research capacity in
higher education on the continent. The AHERS Concept Note highlights many of the key capacity
constraints in higher education systems in terms of both teaching and research capacity. Continental
coordination in the design of effective ODL, e-learning, and/or blended learning programmes could
make a significant contribution to developing this capacity.
Operating independently, it will be difficult for individual agencies or institutions to make a
significant contribution to resolving this problem, but a coordinated approach to developing suitable
programmes would enable much larger-scale implementation in a significantly more cost-effective
fashion. Importantly, if these programmes can harness existing curricula, materials and teaching and
learning methodologies already developed on the continent for such professional development,
their development should be very cost-effective. Further, if the resulting course and programme
materials can be released as OER, they can be cheaply translated and adapted to different contexts
without having to pay significant fees. Such an activity could potentially be coordinated by the AAU,
possibly with key support from the ACDE and its member institutions. If developed with the
involvement of a wide network of institutions, such programmes could serve to demonstrate in
action the power of developing and offering joint qualifications between institutions.
Another key capacity gap is in the qualifications of academics in many institutions. Again, ODL, elearning, and flexible learning programmes offer opportunities for academic staff to be able to
upgrade their qualifications without having to travel elsewhere to study full-time. Enrolment in such
programmes is already a key feature of professional upgrading in many universities, although its
success depends heavily on academic staff being released from academic duties for enough time to
be able to manage the workload of postgraduate programmes. However, a coordinated approach to
delivery of these programmes and matching of supply with demand would serve to accelerate these
professional development initiatives, thus supporting the development of an AHERS. For this to work
successfully, the AU’s Harmonization of Higher Education Strategy has a key role to play in ensuring
105
equivalence of qualifications across the continent, thereby facilitating mobility of academics across
countries. Likewise, successful implementation of quality mechanisms such as the AU Quality Rating
Mechanism and the ACDE’s QAAA can make a significant contribution to ensuring that ODL and elearning qualifications available via ODL and e-learning are of a high standard and will be recognized
by the institutions at which participating academics are working.
Finally, ICT can play a significant role in supporting capacity building by enabling academics to work
together on research and educational activities without having to be in the same institution and/or
country. This is critical to capacity development as it can enable academics who have limited access
to particular kinds of expertise within their own institutions to enter into mentoring relationships
that enable them to gain access to this expertise without having to travel or move institutions. This
kind of partnership is readily facilitated by effective use of online communication and collaboration
tools. Again, to work effectively, this will benefit from regional and/or continental coordination, so
that people with similar educational and research interests can find each other through, say, a web
platform that matches people by these interests. Several of the continental agencies identified in
this report would be well placed to launch such an initiative.
7.1.1.2
Developing Appropriate Continental Database Systems
ICT has created massive opportunities in online sharing of data, information, and resources, which
have propelled uses for the Internet that could scarcely have been imagined even five years ago.
Several of these hold great promise for building an effective AHERS. These include the following:
• The AAU’s DATAD, which holds significant promise to make accessible large volumes of African
intellectual capital in the form of theses and dissertations, which are currently next to impossible
to access as they are only available in hard copy in university libraries. Implemented in parallel
with institutional efforts at digitization of research products and their sharing through
institutional repositories, this liberation of African intellectual capital for open access across the
continent has huge potential to develop an effective AHERS.
• Open Access Journals, which are identified in this report and in a Paper on ‘Strengthening the
Research Component of the Space of Higher Education in Africa’ as an important contributor to
improving access to research generated in African universities (which is often effectively lost to
the continent when it is published in hard-to-access proprietary journals). Although there is a
growing number of highly respected open access journals, greater effort is required both to
support (both in policy and financially) the establishment of open access journals in key areas
and to encourage academics to publish their research in open access journals. There are already
several efforts of this kind underway on the continent, so the priority should be to bolster these
rather than to create new initiatives.
• OER Repositories, such as those established by individual institutions, OER Africa, and the AVU.
Like open access journals, these online repositories are making available growing numbers of
high quality OERs that have been produced by and for African higher education programmes.
Further support of these initiatives and encouragement to both academics and whole
institutions to share their resources under open licences can make a significant contribution to
building an effective AHERS, for all of the reasons highlighted in this report. If this can be
complemented by initiatives of International Governmental Organizations (IGOs), development
banks, and donors to provide access to their intellectual capital under similar conditions (as the
World Bank has recently done), the contribution to African higher education could be significant,
as this creates a strong and ever-growing platform of readily available intellectual capital on top
of which to further develop higher education systems on the continent.
• The AU Quality Rating Mechanism and associated online systems (including the ACDE’s QAAA),
which hold enormous potential to make accessible – through a single online platform –
important information about educational programmes available across African universities, their
educational quality, and the opportunities these programmes generate for cross-border
106
•
academic mobility. Generation and sharing of information about quality of higher education
programmes is a critical component of creating an effective AHERS.
The AU Education Observatory, which has a key role to play in gathering, analysing, and sharing
information about key trends in African higher education. Unfortunately, this information tends
to be slow to emerge and hard to collate, but efforts by the Observatory and its key
implementation partners are helping to make this information easier to access, more up-to-date,
and more accurate. ICT plays a major role in these statistical and analytical exercises.
7.1.1.3
Adoption of Open Licences for Sharing Educational Resources and Research Outputs
As has been highlighted above, open licences make sharing and re-use of intellectual capital
significantly easier and more cost-effective. As a consequence, many institutions and other agencies
involved in higher education are making commitments to share their intellectual capital online under
open licences, with significant ramifications for ease and cost of access to information. From this
perspective, establishment of an AHERS would be facilitated by the following activities taking place
within and across higher education systems in Africa:
• Ensuring that countries and institution have in place robust, enforceable IPR, copyright, and
privacy policies, the terms of which are accurately reflected in all legal contracts and conditions
of employment. As part of this policy process, it would be useful to consider the relative merits
of creating flexible copyright policies that apply open licences to content by default, but that also
make it easy for staff to invoke all-rights reserved copyright or other licensing permutations
where this is justified.
• Investing in ongoing awareness-raising, capacity-building, and networking/sharing activities to
develop the full range of competences required to facilitate more effective use of open licences.
These activities could aim to encourage a shared vision for open educational practices within
higher education institutions, which would ideally be aligned to those institutions’ vision and
mission.
• Ensuring that academics and students have ubiquitous access to the necessary ICT infrastructure
and connectivity to access the Internet and develop or adapt research and educational materials
of different kinds (with such access being available at all locations where materials development
work might take place, including offices, meeting rooms, and teaching venues).
7.1.1.4
Use of Social Networking Tools to Facilitate Collaboration
Finally, a critical role for ICT in supporting effective creation of an AHERS is deployment and use of
the burgeoning range of social networking tools available online to facilitate collaboration. Already,
there is a growing range of online Communities of Practice that provide vibrant and effective
networks of sharing of expertise in different aspects of higher education, both in terms of operations
and across many different disciplines and subjects. Unfortunately, though, presence of African
academics in many of these Communities is very minimal, while often those established specifically
for African higher education are not especially active (although there are significant, highly
successful exceptions to this). Effective, development of an AHERS will be significantly enhanced by
more effective use of social networking tools to facilitate collaboration, combined with concerted
efforts to encourage (or, in certain circumstances, require) more active engagement by African
academics in these online Communities. As this research has illustrated, there is generally not a need
to establish new online communities – these are already available in abundance – but rather to
coordinate efforts to use these tools to facilitate sharing of expertise and collaborative online
approaches to problem-solving, research, and even teaching and learning. Where these online
communities can be integrated with evolving tools that facilitate translation of text, they might also
help to facilitate dialogue between African academics who speak different languages.
107
7.1.2 Roles of an AHERS in Supporting Effective Use of ICT, ODL, and OER
7.1.2.1
Collaboration, Coordination, and Partnerships
This report has highlighted the breadth and range of organizations supporting effective use of ICT,
ODL, and OER in higher education in Africa. It is naturally essential that an AHERS should seek to
coordinate, rather than duplicating, these efforts. Thus, its activities will need to be underpinned by
a strong commitment to engaging the wide range of players and stakeholders in the sector in order
to work out strategies to facilitate collaboration, coordination, and partnerships between them.
There are several benefits to increased coordination and collaboration, most usefully preventing the
duplication of efforts thus saving costs and time. In this regard, the following is suggested:
• An AHERS should seek to ensure that there are appropriate forums, short courses, and
leadership capacity programmes so that growing numbers of African leaders are capacitated to
support and make decisions which seek to leverage ICT, ODL, and OER effectively.
• An AHERS should encourage a continental/multilateral initiative for the integration of ICT and
OER into higher education, with an emphasis on partnerships between the private sector and
institutions with established experience in effective use of ICT.
• An AHERS should facilitate the work of the ACDE to further develop and maintain a
comprehensive database of ODL and OER providers, experts, and initiatives to increase visibility
of various activities, share expertise, and to coordinate efforts. As the ACDE has already
commenced this work, there is no need to duplicate the effort, but strong support will be
necessary to ensure that it is sustained and kept up to date. Partnerships can also be forged in
this regard with other relevant initiatives, such as the AAU’s DATAD, the AVU OER Repository,
and OER Africa.
• Support should be provided to the further development of a suitable continental monitoring and
evaluation programme for Higher Education, which incorporates metrics related to ICT, ODL, and
OER. The AU Education Observatory is in a unique position in this regard to work with partner
institutions to expand a set of indicators developed for the Second Decade of Education for
Africa 2006-2014 initiative to measure progress of RECs, continental and regional partners,
member states, and institutions.
• An AHERS might function as a mechanism to stimulate the launch of a series of specialized
Communities of Practice related to ICT, ODL, and OER.
7.1.2.2
Awareness-Raising and Advocacy
As this report has highlighted, there are many agencies already actively engaged in advocacy, at
continental, regional, national, and institutional levels, in ICT, ODL, and OER. Nevertheless, there
remains a strong need for ongoing advocacy, ideally by supporting these existing initiatives and
finding ways to amplify their reach and effectiveness. Specifically, it is important, within an AHERS
to:
• Sensitize governments about the potential of ICT, ODL, and OER to enhance access and improve
the quality of higher education in Africa. Whilst there have been efforts towards, and
achievements gained with regards to ICT in general and ODL in particular, more emphasis needs
to be placed on sensitizing governments about the potential of OER. In addition, there is a need
for increased lobbying around the benefits of OER to encourage buy-in from African academics.
• Ensure that African leaders have a good understanding of ICT, ODL, and OER and are capacitated
to make informed policy and investment decisions to harness ICT, ODL, and OER to support
higher education development.
• Help governments to review national ICT/connectivity policies and strategies for Higher
Education, given the centrality of ICT to accessing and sharing content online and, increasingly,
108
•
•
to effective use of ODL. Such reviews could focus on ensuring sustained provision in connectivity
and staff/student access to ICT within higher education systems.
As part of the above, expand the reach and impact of National and Regional Research and
Education Networks to ensure that all institutions of higher education have access to stable and
fast internet.
Increased coordination and resource-sharing between African institutions should be beneficial as
institutions move to fully integrate ICT into their teaching and learning, while regional platforms
for sharing information on ICT policies and courseware and exchanging experiences are useful to
increasing the positive contribution of ICT to not only to higher education but all levels of
education.
7.1.2.3
A Focus on Open Licensing
Given the importance of open licensing and the potential contribution of open access publishing and
sharing of OER to the development of higher education in Africa and sharing of African knowledge
with the world, it is suggested that an underlying principle of all activities within an AHERS be that
resources are shared under a suitable open licence. For example, ADEA may adopt supportive OERrelated practices such as developing a policy to release AHERS materials under a Creative Commons
license, and encourage its partners to do the same. This will facilitate free sharing and flow of
knowledge within and beyond the Space, thereby facilitating its core functions of developing higher
education on the continent and raising the profile of African higher education globally.
It will be important for an AHERS and all participating organizations and individuals to be familiar
with the shifting terrain of IPR and copyright and understand the range of licensing options available
for research and educational materials. An AHERS should aim to be attentive to how the emergence
of the Internet, mushrooming of access to freely available online content, ease of sharing digital
content, and availability of different licences under which content can be shared create both
opportunities and challenges for higher education.
An AHERS should also create opportunities for stakeholder-driven debates about the likely effect of
these changes and how they might influence national higher education systems and qualifications
frameworks in higher education. Although this may seem unnecessary, there is evidence in many
countries that higher education systems and institutions are not yet grappling effectively with
several of the changes being ushered in by the developments described in this report. The AHERS
will be ideally placed to facilitate discussion on these topics and begin proactive processes of
analysing what effects they might have on higher education.
Specific actions within an AHERS with regard to open licensing might include:
• Highlighting examples of good practice to motivate institutions to adopt open access publishing
and sharing/use of OER.
• Ensuring that countries and institutions have in place robust, enforceable IPR, copyright, and
privacy policies (addressing possible full-time, part-time and contract staff as well as students
any and all of whom might become involved in a team-based curriculum and materials
development process).
• Determining the most cost-effective ways to facilitate the organization, electronic management,
and online sharing of open access publishing and OER. Options would include hosting content on
institutional servers, establishing a shared repository for all higher education providers and
109
joining regional/global efforts to develop open access and OER repositories and directories
rather than replicating these investments.305
A good way of motivating institutions and organizations to adopt OER policies and practices is for an
AHERS to adopt an open licensing approach itself, thereby modelling and encouraging a culture of
sharing. Thus, in this regard, to adopt and support the use of content management and authoring
tools (web content editing tools, content management systems), templates, and toolkits that
facilitate the creation of adaptable, inclusively designed educational resources would be a good
starting point for an AHERS. Any new materials commissioned for development by the AHERS should
be licensed under a suitable Creative Commons licence so that they can be freely copied and
adapted, by the public, but with proper recognition. Examples of organizations that have adopted
such an approach include the World Bank, Saide, and CoL. For example, CoL’s OER policy encourages
and support governments and institutions to establish supportive policy frameworks to introduce
practices relating to OER and releases its own materials under the most feasible open licenses
including
the
Creative
Commons
CC-BY-SA
license
(see
http://www.col.org/progServ/policy/Pages/oer.aspx for more details).
7.1.2.4
Developing Appropriate Policies and Plans
An AHERS can play an active role in promoting the development of both national and institutional
ICT policies and strategic frameworks that consider the role of ICT, ODL, and OER in curriculum
delivery. Using the detail presented in the above report and several other related resources (see
Report Reference List) might form a useful guide for effective policy development. It is especially
important to ensure that these policies and plans, at the very least, invest in ongoing policy cycles of
planning, implementation, reflection, refinement, effectiveness, and user acceptance. They should
ideally also include performance indicators so that progress can be measured.
At the continental level, the African Union can be a driver of the connection between higher
education and ICT. Already, this relationship can be see through the Second Decade for Education in
Africa (2006-2014) Plan of Action that stipulates that ICT development in higher education should be
pursued.306 This is meant to motivate regional and national governments to undertake initiatives in
this area. Continental partners could work with the AU to develop a continental strategy document
for integrating ICT into higher education.
African leaders could also benefit from access to a dynamic repository of policy frameworks, case
studies of African and international experience, legislative frameworks, and monitoring and
evaluation outcomes relating to the use of ICT for education and development, as they could learn
from best practices and understand the necessary policy mechanisms required to build ICT capacity
in higher education. Bandwidth options, the legislative frameworks for telecommunication licences,
and how to enforce e-rates and social service delivery, while keeping these attractive to private
sector investors and companies, are also important topics that policy makers could consider.
The following questions, amongst others, may be useful to assess whether national and institutional
ICT and education policies are effectively considering use of ICT, ODL, and OER:
305
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and Commonwealth of Learning (COL)
(2011). Guidelines for Open Educational Resources (OER) in Higher Education. Retrieved from
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002136/213605e.pdf
306 African Union. (2006). Second Decade of Education for Africa (2006-2015 ) Plan of Action revised August 2006. Tertiary
Education, Activity Nine. Retrieved from
http://www.nepad.org/system/files/Second%20Decade%20of%20Education%202006-2015.pdf
110
1) Do investments in ICT and ODL in higher education involve long-term planning that take into
account necessary investment and ongoing sustainability?
2) Do policies and plans consider how technologies can be used to improve the efficiency of
operations of the underlying systems of education? In particular, do they make provision for
investments in developing/deploying applications that significantly improve the quality of
management information systems (at national and institutional level) and the ability to use
these systems to support strategic decision-making and policy implementation; and contribute
to stimulating free flow of information throughout the education system?
3) To what extent do current policies motivate educators to invest at least a portion of their time in
creation of effective teaching and learning environments within courses and programmes, and
development, sourcing and/or adaptation of high quality teaching and learning materials?
4) Is the country/institution tackling ICT and/or ODL human skills capacity shortfalls by establishing
institutional support and training strategies and, where appropriate, dedicated units?
5) Do national and institutional policies and practices reward creation of materials more highly
than adaptation of existing materials? How much is collaboration valued?
6) What is an appropriate starting point for initiating a sharing culture and encouraging movement
towards sharing of OER and open access publishing?
7) Are curriculum producers equipped to design or adapt educational resources so that they can be
easily modified, adapted, and reconfigured for a variety of delivery mechanisms or learner
needs?
8) Do higher education managers and stakeholders understand copyright issues and the different
ways in which they can harness openly licensed resources?
9) Recognizing that teaching ‘ICT literacy’ is not sufficient, and that higher order skills of how to
participate as citizen, worker and scholar in a knowledge society are required, are institutions
developing curricula that develop the following skills in learners:
a) Information, visual, and technological literacy;
b) Skills to create meaningful content with today’s ICT tools;
c) The ability to read and evaluate what is read;
d) Writing and communication, especially the skills of ‘complex communication’, or making
effective oral and written arguments and eliciting information from others;
e) The use of abstract models; and
f) Expert thinking, the ability to solve problems that lack explicit rules-based solutions?
10) Do technologies adhere to common open standards that facilitate integration and interoperability?
11) Are adequate systems and structures in place to prevent cyber attacks and viruses from
destabilizing networks?
12) Is the quality of ICT, ODL, and OER initiatives and activities benchmarked regularly against
international studies, standards, and best practices?
7.1.2.5
Building Capacity
There are many ways in which an AHERS can contribute to building capacity in ICT, ODL, and OER, of
course working in partnership with those agencies and institutions already active in these areas on
the continent. These might include:
• Developing common, openly licensed course and programme materials that can be adapted and
used in professional development initiatives;
• Supporting the aggregation and release under open licences of digital learning resources
produced in African countries in order to widen and deepen the pool of available educational
content that is specifically designed with African educational contexts in mind;
• Supporting the development of National and Regional Research and Education Networks, and
deployment of associated data networks and applications (grid-computing, video-conferencing,
e-learning, and so on);
111
•
•
Developing the capacity of policy makers and regulators to enable them to establish more
effective ICT in education policies, strategies, and regulatory frameworks;
Investing in ongoing awareness-raising, capacity-building, and networking/sharing activities to
develop the full range of competences required to facilitate more effective use of educational
resources in education delivery.
7.1.2.6
Strengthening the Focus on Research
Given the centrality of research to the concept of an AHERS, it is important that emphasis should be
placed on research in the fields of ICT, ODL, and OER. Drawing on case studies and expertise existing
in Africa, AHERS can, amongst other research activities:
7) Invest in a continuous process of research and evaluation of ICT-, ODL- and OER-related
interventions in higher education. A key focus in this regard should be on ensuring that the
resulting research is formally published, in order to widen access to knowledge from Africa
(which, based on the literature reviewed for this report, remains relatively very
underrepresented in global knowledge networks). Examples of relevant research questions
might include:
a) What role does collaboration play in stimulating innovation in the fields of ICT, ODL, and OER
and how can collaboration be nurtured and maintained?
b) How can ODL itself be used to develop competency in the development and delivery of ODL?
What blended approaches could be effective? What programmes would be most effective
for various groups such as educational leaders, teachers, technical support personnel, and
learners?
c) How can ICT, ODL, and OER be used nurture constructivist and problem-solving approaches
to pedagogy rather than the teacher-centred approaches often employed in Africa?
d) How can use of OER be implemented and maintained in Africa? Can these resources be
localized and integrated into national education systems at a lower cost than developing
them locally?
e) Since mobile telephones have become ubiquitous in all African countries, how can mobile
devices be used effectively to provide or support collaboration, social networking, and
interactive learning?
f) How can ODL and OER programmes be monitored and evaluated effectively? The dispersed
population in many parts of Africa and the lack of accessible and reliable
telecommunications can make it difficult to monitor and assess distance learning
activities.307
g) How is growing access to low-cost devices shifting patterns of access in Africa and what
implications does this have for African higher education systems and institutions?
8) Invest in knowledge-sharing events and innovative ways of publishing and distributing research
findings, so that growing numbers of African professionals have access to research, monitoring,
and evaluation findings, and are themselves producers of knowledge and lessons to share
globally.
9) Support the development of regional, national, and institutional knowledge management
systems and strategies to store, curate, and share educational content. Ideally, to ensure costeffectiveness, this would be done as part of a coordinated national, regional, or continental
strategy and be done in partnership with emerging global OER networks and repositories. This
should ideally be accompanied by ongoing investments to ensure that teaching staff have access
to the necessary ICT infrastructure and connectivity to access the Internet and develop or adapt
educational materials of different kinds.
307
Aderinoye, R., Siaciwena, R., and Wright, C.R.(2009).A Snapshot of Distance Education in Africa. The International
Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. Vol 10, No 4 (2009). Retrieved from
http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/764/1350
112
Ensure that donors and governments invest in open access journals that drive innovation and
meet the needs of scientific research at institutions.
11) Develop resources that showcase and research best practices for integrating ICT, ODL, and OER
into higher education, which can be shared across the continent. These can then be used to
develop guides to integrating ICT, ODL, and OER into higher education, drawing on case studies
and expertise existing in Africa.
12) Coordinate through appropriate partnerships, investment in pilot projects that test the use of
new and innovative technologies, ensuring that these experiments are well evaluated and the
results widely shared. As new educational opportunities emerge with the rapid development of
technology, it is important that there are controlled ‘experiments’ occurring on a regular basis in
order to test the potential educational applicability of these new technologies and approaches,
examine their total cost of ownership, and establish their strengths and weaknesses.
10)
The AU could play an important role in organizing and conducting monitoring and evaluation of
regional and member state ICT initiatives. Particularly, the AU Observatory is well positioned to fulfil
such a role and already does so in the context of the Second Decade of Education for Africa 20062014. Member states and Regional Economic Communities (REC) could work with the AU
Observatory and its partners to develop a process and capacity for collecting information on efforts
to achieve ICT in higher education (a key activity of the Second Decade Plan of Action). Here, a more
comprehensive set of indicators for ICT in higher education could be established as a means to build
understanding and awareness of successes and continued gaps.
7.2 Conclusion
This report has aimed to provide a detailed summary of key activities, opportunities and challenges
in African higher education with respect to the use of ICT, ODL, and OER in the sector. It has
demonstrated clearly that ICT, ODL, and OER are an integral and essential part of the higher
education landscape on the continent and that there are already several agencies and institutions
actively involved in each field. It also becomes clear from this analysis that the three fields are
closely intertwined, and all increasingly influenced by rapid development of technology and
increasing penetration of low-cost devices and ever-cheapening connectivity. Within this framework,
the report has identified several key areas for action, and then drawn from these a concrete set of
implications for an African Higher Education and Research Space. We hope it makes a useful
contribution to forging this space to the advantage of all students currently enrolled in African
universities, as well as for those generations of students who will enrol in, and graduate from, our
higher education institutions in the future.
113
8 References
About AAU. Retrieved from http://www.aau.org/?q=about
About ADEA. Retrieved from
http://www.adeanet.org/adeaPortal/action/getPresentationAdea;jsessionid=F9221EAF18CAB9560B
BC703C33040680?method=getPresentationAdea
About e-learning. Blog post Monday, October 15, 2007. Retrieved from http://aboutelearning.blogspot.com/2007/10/open-vs-distance-learning-is-there.html
About NOUN. Retrieved from
http://www.nou.edu.ng/noun/About%20NOUN/contents/About%20us.html
Abrioux, D.A.M.X. (2006). Strategic Issues in Single- and Dual-mode Distance Education: The
Organizational Blending of Two Canadian Distance Universities. Commonwealth of Learning.
Academic Registration Information Systems. Retrieved from http://aris2.udsm.ac.tz/
Adam, L. (2003). Information and Communication Technologies in Higher Education in Africa:
Initiatives and Challenges. JHEA/RESA Vol 1, No. 1, pp. 195–221
Adam, L. (2007). Technical, organisational, regulational, regulatory, political and financial issues of
national and regional research and educational networks. Accra: Association of African Universities.
Retrieved from http://www2.aau.org/renu/docs/ren%20policy%20brief.pdf
Adam, L., Butcher, N., Tusubira, F.F.T., and Sibthorpe, C. (2011). Transformation-Ready: The strategic
application of information and communication technologies in Africa - Education Sector Study.
Prepared for the African Development Bank, the World Bank and the African Union.
ADEA Working Group on Higher Education. (2011). Creating an African Higher Education and
Research Space: Concept Note. Retrieved from
http://www.scidev.net/uploads/File/Final_AHERS_Concept_Note_English.doc
ADEA. (2004) Working Group on Higher Education. Retrieved from
http://www.adeanet.org/adeaPortal/adea/workgroups/en_wghe.html
Aderinoye, R., Siaciwena, R., and Wright, C.R.(2009).A Snapshot of Distance Education in Africa. The
International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. Vol 10, No 4 (2009). Retrieved from
http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/764/1350
Africa and Europe in Partnership. (no date). Science, Information Society and Space. Retrieved from
http://www.africa-eu-partnership.org/sites/default/files/science_roadmap_final_1.pdf
African Brains. (2011). Morocco Universities introduce Communications Training Certificate.
Retrieved from http://www.africanbrains.net/2011/02/28/morocco-universities-introducecommunications-training-certificate/
African Council for Distance Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency. Objectives.
Retrieved from http://www.nou.edu.ng/noun/acde-qaaa/objective.html
114
African Development Bank Group. (2005). SADC Project Identification Report: Southern African
Development Community (SADC) Open and Distance Learning Capacity-Building Project. African
Development Bank Group Draft July 2005.
African Development Bank Group. (2005). SADC Project Identification Report: Southern African
Development Community (SADC) Open and Distance Learning Capacity-Building Project. African
Development Bank Group Draft July 2005.
African Health OER Network. Retrieved from
http://www.oerafrica.org/healthoer/Home/tabid/1858/Default.aspx
African Union and Economic Commission for Africa. (2005). African Regional Action Plan for the
Knowledge Economy Framework. World Summit on the Information Society Bamako Bureau.
Retrieved from
http://www.uneca.org/aisi/docs/arapke%20version%20of%20september%202005.pdf
African Union. (2006). Second Decade of Education for Africa (2006-2015) Plan of Action revised
August 2006. Retrieved from
http://www.nepad.org/system/files/Second%20Decade%20of%20Education%202006-2015.pdf
African Union. (2008). Reference Framework for Harmonisation of Telecommunication and ICT
Policies and Regulations. Retrieved from http://www.itu.int/ITUD/projects/ITU_EC_ACP/hipssa/docs/presentations/AUC%20-%20Z.%20Bonkoungou%20%20Reference%20Framework%20for%20Harmonization%20of%20ICT%20Policies%20EN.pdf
African Virtual University (2011). The African Virtual University’s Open Education Resources (OER)
Policy. Retrieved from:
http://oer.avu.org/bitstream/handle/123456789/265/AVU%20OER%20policy%20final.pdf?sequence
=1
Analysis of eLearning and Distance Learning Polices in Zambia. Paper presented at 5th eLearning
Africa Conference, Mulungushi International Conference Centre, Lusaka, Zambia. Retrieved from
http://educationandtrainingissues.blogspot.com/2011/11/analysis-of-elearning-anddistance.html#!/2011/11/analysis-of-elearning-and-distance.html
Association for the Development of Education in Africa. Higher Education Publications. Retrieved
from:http://www.adeanet.org/adeaPortal/adea/publications/en_pubs_wghe.html
Association of African Universities. (2012). DATAD Database. Accessed from
http://www.aau.org/datad/database
Association of African Universities. Research and Education Networking Unit. Retrieved from:
http://www.aau.org/?q=content/research-and-education-networking-unit
Balasubramanian, K., Clarke-Okah, W., Daniel, J., Ferreira, K., Kanwar, K., Kwan, A., Lesperance, J.,
Mallet, J., Umar, A., and West. P (2009). ICTs for Higher Education. Background paper from the
Commonwealth of Learning. UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education. Retrieved from
http://www.col.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/ICTs_for_Higher_Education_Unesco_July2005.pdf
115
Barasa, F.S. (no date). Promoting Open And Distance Learning In Africa: A Critical Reflection On
Rhetoric, Real And Ideal. Retrieved from
http://events.aau.org/userfiles/file/corevip11/papers/fred_barasa_Promoting_ODL.pdf
Beebe, M.A. (2003) Partnerships, alliances and networks for e-learning, in: M. Beebe et al. (eds)
AfricaDotEdu: IT Opportunities and Higher Education in Africa. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill.
Bon, A. (2010). Information and Communication Technologies in Tertiary Education in Sub-Saharan
Africa. In Teferra, D and Greijn, H.(eds). )Higher Education and Globalization Challenges, Threats and
Opportunities for Africa. Maastricht University Centre for International Cooperation in Academic
Development (MUNDO), Maastricht, the Netherlands, and International Network for Higher
Education in Africa (INHEA), Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston College, USA.
Braimoh, D. and Lekoko, R. (2005) ‘The Need for Policy Framework in Maintaining Quality in Open
and Distance Education Programmes in Southern Africa’. Turkish Online Journal of Distance
Education-TOJDE, Vol. 6 No. 4.
Braimoh, D., & Osiki, J. (2008). The Impact of Technology on Accessibility and Pedagogy: The Right to
Education in Sub-Saharan Africa. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 6(1), 53-62. Retrieved from
http://www.asianjde.org/2008v6.1.Braimoh.pdf
Butcher, N. (2010) ICT, Education, Development and the Knowledge Society. Retrieved from
http://www.gesci.org/assets/files/ICT,%20Education,%20Development,%20and%20the%20Knowled
ge%20Society(1).pdf
Butcher, N. (2011). A Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources (OER). UNESCO and
Commonwealth of Learning. Retrieved from
http://www.col.org/resources/publications/Pages/detail.aspx?PID=357
Butgereit, L. (2007). Math on MXit: The medium is the message. Retrieved from:
http://resourcespace.csir.co.za/dspace/bitstream/10204/1785/1/Butgereit/2007.pdf
Call for proposals - International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning Trends and
Issues in Open and Distance Learning in Africa. Co-edited by Dr. Rashid Aderinoye and Dr. Richard
Siaciwena
Carr, T., Cox, G., Eden, A., & Hanslo, M. (2004). From peripheral to full participation in a blended
trade bargaining simulation. British Journal of Educational Technology, 35(2): 197-211.
Carson, S. (2010). Benefits of the Use of MIT Courseware. eMadrid. Retrieved from
http://www.emadridnet.org/en/emadrid-seminar-on-open-educational-content/benefits-use-ofmit-courseware
Centre for Educational Technology. Projects. Retrieved from http://www.cet.uct.ac.za/projects
Centre for Educational Technology. The Opening Scholarship Project. Retrieved from
http://www.cet.uct.ac.za/OpeningScholarship
Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire. Retrieved from http://www.csrs.ch
CGNET. (2009). Situation analysis of ICT capability and infrastructure in RUFORUM universities (Final
Report). Menlo Park, CA: Author. Retrieved from
116
http://www.ruforum.org/sites/default/files/RUFORUM%20Situation%20Gap%20Analysis%20final%2
0report.pdf
COMESA. Regional ICT Support Programme. Retrieved from
http://comesa.assure.danishictmanagement.dk/
Commission of the European Communities. (2001). Communication from the European Commission
to the Council and the European Parliament: The elearning action plan. Designing tomorrow’s
education. Brussels, 28.3.2001.
Commonwealth of Learning. (2005). Creating Learning Materials for Open and Distance Learning: A
Handbook for Authors and Instructional Designers. The Commonwealth of Learning: Vancouver
Commonwealth of Learning. (no date). BOTSWANA - COL activities in 2003-2006. Retrieved from
http://www.col.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/Botswana_03_06.pdf
Commonwealth of Learning. Higher Education. Retrieved from:
http://www.col.org/progServ/programmes/education/higherEd/Pages/default.aspx
Cottrell, L. (2010). New E. Coast of Africa Fibre. Retrieved from
https://confluence.slac.stanford.edu/display/IEPM/New+E.+Coast+of+Africa+Fibre
Council for Higher Education. (2006). ICTs and the South African Higher Education Landscape.
Section 4. Retrieved from http://www.che.ac.za/documents/d000127/7ICTs_HE_Landscape_Jul2006.pdf
Czerniewicz, L. (ed). 2007. Report on Higher Education ICTs and e-Learning in Egypt, p.4. Cape Town:
CET
Dalvit et al. (2005). Computers and African languages in education: An ICT tool for the promotion of
multi-lingualism at a South African University. Perspectives in Education, 23(4): 123 – 129.
Daniel, J., Kanwar, A. and Uvalić-Trumbić, S. (2009) Breaking higher education’s iron triangle: Access,
cost and quality. Change: the Magazine of Higher Learning, March/April. Retrieved from
www.col.org/resources/speeches/2009presentation/Pages/2009-MarAprEdition.aspx.
Dhlamini, N. (2011). E-content capacity development – RUFORUM network Experiences. Distance
Education 32 (2): 295–302
Diallo, B. (2011). Experience of the AVU in Developing OERs in Math and Science Teacher Education
Collabboratively with 12 African Universities and 10 African Countries. DETA Conference: Maputo
August 4th - 2011
Donkor, P. (2011). Experience with OER at Kwame Nkrumah University. Retrieved from:
http://etransformafrica.org/blog/experience-open-educational-resources-oer-kwame-nkrumahuniversity
Education for a Digital World - Advice, Guidelines, and Effective Practice from Around the Globe.
Retrieved from: http://www.col.org/resources/crsMaterials/Pages/edDigitalWorld.aspx
117
Ekhaguere, G.O.S. (1999) African Higher Education and Training: Opportunities and Challenges.
Presented at the conference Access or Exclusion? Trade in Transnational Education Services. Global
Alliance for Transnational Education (GATE ), Melbourne, Australia.
Electronic Information for Libraries. (2011). Ghana: The first results of OA advocacy campaigns.
Retrieved from http://www.eifl.net/news/first-results-oa-advocacy-campaigns-eifl-part
Euro-Africa ICT. About. Retrieved from http://euroafrica-ict.org/about/
EuroAfrica-ICT Database. (2012). Africa Nazarene University. Retrieved from http://euroafricaict.org/database-research-institutes/
EuroAfrica-ICT Database. (2012). Catholic University of Mozambique. Retrieved from
http://euroafrica-ict.org/database-research-institutes/
EuroAfrica-ICT Database. (2012). Cheikh Anta Diop University. Retrieved from http://euroafricaict.org/database-research-institutes/
EuroAfrica-ICT Database. (2012). Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT. Retrieved from
http://euroafrica-ict.org/database-research-institutes/
Farrell, G., and Isaacs, S. (2007). Survey of ICT and Education in Africa: A Summary Report, Based on
53 Country Surveys. Washington, DC: infoDev / World Bank. Retrieved from
http://www.infodev.org/en/Publication.353.html
Farrell, G., Isaacs, S., and Trucano, M (2007). Survey of ICT and Education in Africa (Volume 2): 53
Country Reports. Washington, DC: infoDev / World Bank.
Fernando R, Gulamo T and Louisette C. (2011). Promoting distance education in higher education in
Cape Verde and Mozambique Distance Education 32(2): 159–175.
Frith, V., Jaftha, J. & Prince, R. (2004). Evaluating the effectiveness of interactive computer tutorials
for an undergraduate mathematical literacy course. British Journal of Educational Technology, 35(2):
159 -171.
Gerhan, D.R and Mutula, S.M. (2007). ‘Testing a Recent Model of ICT in Development: Botswana and
Its University.’ Information Technology for Development, 13(2):177–197.
Getao, K.W. and Wausi, A.N. (2009). Organizational Cultural Dynamics and Information and
Communication Technology Adaptation in a Developing Country: The Case of the Kenyan Joint
University Admission System. Information Technology for Development.15(3):224–232.
Government of Ethiopia. (2004). Plan for Accelerated and Sustainable Development to End Poverty.
Retrieved from http://www.imf.org/external/np/prsp/2002/eth/01/073102.pdf
Government of Malawi. (2009). Education Sector Implementation Plan. Retrieved from
http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/upload/Malawi/Malawi_ESIP_FINAL.pdf
Government of Nigeria. (2009). Roadmap for the Nigerian Education Sector. Consultative Draft April
2009.
118
Government of Nigeria. (2012). National ICT Policy. Retrieved from
http://www.commtech.gov.ng/downloads/National_ICT_Policy_DRAFT_090112.pdf
Gray, E., and Willmers, M. (2009). Case Study 3: LitNet Akademies and OnScreen. Opening
Scholarship Project. Retrieved from.
http://www.cet.uct.ac.za/files/file/OS%20CaseStudy3%20_%20%20Final%20typeset.pdf
Gunga, S.O., and Ricketts, I.W. (2007). Facing the challenges of e-learning initiatives in African
universities. British Journal of Educational Technology 38(5): 896–906.
Higher Education Open and Distance Learning Knowledge Base. Retrieved from:
http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.phpURL_ID=22306&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html.
Hodgkinson-Williams, C., Slay, H. & Siebörger, I. 2008. Developing communities of practice within
and outside higher education institutions. British Journal of Educational Technology, 39(3): 433-442.
Hoosen, S. (2009). Communities of Practice. South African Institute of Distance Education:
Johannesburg.
Hoosen, S., and Butcher, N. (2010). Quality Assurance for distance Education in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In Jung, I., and Latchem, C.(eds). Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Distance Education and eLearning Models, Policies and Research. Routeledge: New York.
ICT for Development.(2008). Malawi ICT4D National Strategy. Retrieved from
http://d6.comminit.com/en/node/148481/307
IEG (Independent Evaluation Group). 2011. Capturing Technology for Development: An Evaluation of
World Bank Group Activities in Information and Communication Technologies. Washington, DC:
Independent Evaluation Group. The World Bank Group.
Internet World Stats. (2011). Internet usage statistics for Africa. Retrieved from,
http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats1.htm
Isaacs, S. (2011). Case Study: Rwanda. In Transforming Education: The Power of ICT Policies.
UNESCO, Paris. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002118/211842e.pdf
Isaacs, S. (2011). Case Study: Namibia. In Transforming Education: The Power of ICT Policies.
UNESCO, Paris. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002118/211842e.pdf
Jaffer, S., Ng’ambi, D. & Czerniewicz, L. (2007). The role of ICTs in higher education in South Africa:
One strategy for addressing teaching and learning challenges. International Journal of Education and
Development using Information and Communication Technology, 3(4): 131 – 142
Jokivirta, L. (2006). Foreign Higher Education Activity in Francophone Africa. World Education News
and Reviews, 19(2). Retrieved from http://www.wes.org/ewenr/06apr/feature.htm
Joshua, K. (2009). ‘Capturing Lectures: No Brainer or Sticky Wicket?’ Research Bulletin, Issue 24,
2009. EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, Boulder, CO.
www.educause.edu/Resources/CapturingLecturesNoBrainerorSt/192206
119
Kaino, L., Mtetwa, D., and Kasanda, C. (2011). ICT Research Output in Higher Education Institutions:
Utilization of ICT Knowledge at Some African Universities. Retrieved from
http://events.aau.org/userfiles/file/corevip11/papers/luckson_kaino_ICT_Role.pdf
Keats, D. (2005). A Free Content and Free and Open Courseware implementation strategy for the
University of the Western Cape. Retrieved November 22, 2011 from
http://ics.uwc.ac.za/usrfiles/users/8990060109/Strategies/freecourse-0.4.pdf
Lave, J., and Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. New York, NY:
Cambridge University Press.
Leary, J. and Berge, J.L.Z. (2007) Successful distance education programs in sub-Saharan Africa.
Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 8(2): 136-145.
http://tojde.anadolu.edu.tr/tojde26/pdf/article_12.pdf
Lesotho Ministry of Education and Training. Higher Education. Retrieved January 15, 2012 from
http://www.education.gov.ls/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23&Itemid=34.
Lighting Africa. What is Lighting Africa? Retrieved from
http://www.lightingafrica.org/component/k2/item/22.html?layout=item
Louw, J. (2008, September 4). Capacity Building in Open Distance Learning.
Ludewig-Omollo, K. (2011a). Growing an Institutional Health OER Initiative: A Case Study of the
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Retrieved from
http://www.oerafrica.org/FTPFolder/Website%20Materials/Health/case_studies/2011.05%20Knust_
Low_Res.pdf
Ludewig-Omollo, K. (2011b). Growing an Institutional Health OER Initiative: A Case Study of the
University of Ghana. Retrieved from:
http://www.oerafrica.org/FTPFolder/Website%20Materials/Health/case_studies/2011.05.11%20UG
_Low_Res.pdf
Mestre, R. (2009). Toward a Utopia: Open Educational Resources in Higher Education. Paper
presented at Virtual conference - International Technology, Education and Development
Conference. Valencia. Retrieved from
http://uv.academia.edu/RosannaMestrePerez/Papers/90311/Foward_a_Utopia_Open_Educational_
Resources_in_Higher_Education
Miyagawa , S. (2006). OpenCourseWare at Home. MIT Faculty Newsletter (Vol. XVIII No. 3 January /
February) retrieved from http://web.mit.edu/fnl/volume/183/miyagawa.html
Mkwate, M. (2011). Govt warns ‘diploma mills’. Zimpapers 12 March, 2011. Retrieved from
http://www.zimpapers.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2339:govt-warnsdiploma-mills&catid=38:local-news&Itemid=131
Mohamedbhai, G. (2011). Lessons from Europe: Towards an African Higher Education and Research
Space. Retrieved from
http://www.insidehighered.com/layout/set/popup/blogs/the_world_view/lessons_from_europe_to
wards_an_african_higher_education_and_research_space.
120
Moore, A and Preston, D. (2010). The Use of Open Education Resources at the University of Malawi
(UNIMA). Retrieved from:
http://www.oerafrica.org/ResourceResults/tabid/1562/mctl/Details/id/38573/Default.aspx
Mowes, D. (2008). Open and Distance Learning in Namibia - Country Report submitted to the
Advocacy Workshop on Distance Education and Open Learning, held in Mauritius from 10-11 April
2008. Retrieved from
http://ir.polytechnic.edu.na/bitstream/10628/71/1/Mowes.%20ADEAa.%20Open%20and%20distan
ce%20learning%20in%20Namibia.pdf
Mtebe, J.S., Dachi, H., and Raphael, C. (2011). Integrating ICT into teaching and learning at the
University of Dar es Salaam. Distance Education 32(2): 289–294
Mufutmari, N. (2010). Expanding the frontiers of access: Distance and ‘privatized’ higher Education.
In Teferra, D and Greijn, H.(eds). )Higher Education and Globalization Challenges, Threats and
Opportunities for Africa. Maastricht University Centre for International Cooperation in Academic
Development (MUNDO), Maastricht, the Netherlands, and International Network for Higher
Education in Africa (INHEA), Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston College, USA.
Muyinda, P. B. & Lubega, J. T. (2008). Mobile research supervision initiative (MRSI) at Makerere
University: Lessons to learn. International Journal of Computing and ICT Research, 1(1): 48 – 59
National Universities Commission (no date). Guidelines for Open and Distance Learning in Nigerian
Universities. p.1 Retrieved January 24, 2012 from
http://www.nuc.edu.ng/nucsite/File/ODL%20REVISED%20GUIDELINES%20FOR%20NIGERIAN%20UN
IVERSITIES.pdf
Ngugi et al. (2007). ICTs and higher education in Africa. Cape Town: Centre for Educational
Technology.
Ngugi, C. (ed). (2007). ICTs and Higher Education in Africa. Cape Town: Centre for Educational
Technology.
Nix, J., Russell, J., Keegan, D. (n.d.). Mobile learning/SMS (Short Messaging System) academic
administration kit. Retrieved from: http://www.edenonline.org/contents/publications/SMS/Ericsson.Mobile.A5.pdf
OER Africa. (no date). Agriculture OER. Retrieved from
http://www.oerafrica.org/agricultureoer/AgricultureOER/tabid/1466/Default.aspx
OER Africa. (no date). Foundation OER. Retrieved from
http://www.oerafrica.org/foundation/FoundationOERHome/tabid/853/Default.aspx
OER Africa. (no date). Teacher Education. Retrieved from
http://www.oerafrica.org/teachered/TeacherEducationHome/tabid/933/Default.aspx
OER Africa. PHEA ETI. Retrieved from
http://www.oerafrica.org/phea/PHEAETIProjectHome/tabid/170/Default.aspx
Okebukola, P. (2009). African Higher Education and Quality Assurance. Presented at the CHEA 2009
Annual Conference. Retrieved from
121
http://www.chea.org/pdf/2009_IS_African_Higher_Education_and_Quality_Assurance_Okebukola.p
df
Okojie, J.A. (2009). Building Capacity For The Optimisation Of Open, Distance And E-Learning In The
Nigerian University System. Building Capacity For The Optimisation Of Open, Distance And ELearning In The Nigerian University System
OpenLearn. (no date). ICTs in everyday life. Retrieved from
http://labspace.open.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=371982
Pityana, N.B. (2008). A Decade of Development and Education in Africa: The Promise of Open and
Distance Learning. Keynote Address at the Pan Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning of the
Commonwealth of Learning held in collaboration with London University and UNESCO, London, 1416 July 2008, under the theme: Access to Learning for Development
Punie, Y., and Cabrera, M. (2005). The Future of ICT and Learning in the Knowledge Society - Report
on a Joint DG JRC-DG EAC Workshop held in Seville, 20-21 October 2005. Seville: European
Commission Directorate-General Joint Research Centre
Republic of Kenya. (2008). Strategic Plan 2008-2012: Quality Higher Education, Science, Technology
and Innovation for National Prosperity and Global Competitiveness. Ministry of Higher Education,
Science and Technology. Retrieved from
http://chet.org.za/manual/media/files/chet_hernana_docs/Kenya/National/MHEST%20Strategic%2
0Plan%202008-2012.pdf
Republic of Mauritius (2008). Draft Education and Human Resources Strategy Plan 2008-2020.
Ministry of Education, Culture and Human Resources. Retrieved from
http://chet.org.za/manual/media/files/chet_hernana_docs/Mauritius/National/DRAFT%20EDUCATI
ON%20and%20HR%20STRATEGY%20PLAN%202008-2020.pdf
Republic of Rwanda. (2000). Rwanda Vision 2020. Retrieved from
http://www.gesci.org/assets/files/Rwanda_Vision_2020.pdf
Republic of Rwanda. (2008). Higher Education Policy. Ministry of Education
Republic of South Africa. (2011). Department of Science and Technology Strategic Plan for Fiscal
Years 2011-2016. Retrieved from http://www.dst.gov.za/publications-policies/strategiesreports/DST_STRAT_PLAN_2011.pdf
Republic of South Africa. (2012). Green Paper on Post-School Education and Training. Department of
Higher Education. Retrieved from
http://www.agriseta.co.za/downloads/Green_Paper_PDF_Final.pdf
Research ICT Africa (RIA), Comparative Sector Performance Review 2009/2010. Retrieved from,
http://www.researchictafrica.net/publications/Policy_Paper_Series_Towards_Evidencebased_ICT_Policy_and_Regulation_-_Volume_2/Vol_2_Paper_5__Comparative_Sector_Performance_Review_2009_2010.pdf
Researching Virtual Initiatives in Education. Zambian Open University. Retrieved from
http://www.virtualcampuses.eu/index.php/Zambian_Open_University
122
RUFORUM. Retrieved from http://www.ruforum.org/
Rumajogee, A. (2002). Distance Education and Open Learning in sub-Saharan Africa: A Literature
Survey on Policy and Practise. Adeanet. Retrieved 22 September 22 2008, from
http://www.adeanet.org/publications/docs/open%20learning%201.pdf.
SARUA. (2011). A Southern African University Research and Development Fund. Conference of
Rectors, Vice Chancellors and Presidents of African Universities, Stellenbosch, South Africa, May 30 –
June 3 2011.
SARUA. Higher Education Executive Programme for Finance and ICT Prioritizing Higher Education ICT
Connectivity: A SARUA Perspective. Retrieved from
http://sarua.org/files/Events/HE%20Finance%20ICT%20Event/Presentation_MarkBurke_6-8-10.pdf
SciELO South Africa. Retrieved from http://www.scielo.org.za/
Sibande, B.G. (2011). Open and Distance learning and Access to Higher Education in Southern Africa:
The Botswana Experience. Retrieved from http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-10112011094424/unrestricted/00front.pdf
South African Institute of Distance Education, About Us. Retrieved from
http://www.saide.org.za/AboutUs/tabid/1431/Default.aspx .
Southern African Development Community Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (no
date). Retrieved from: http://www.sadc.int/attachment/download/file/74
Stacey, P. (2010). Foundation Funded OER vs. Tax Payer Funded OER – A Tale of Two Mandates.
Retrieved from: http://edtechfrontier.com/2010/10/26/foundation-funded-oer-vs-tax-payerfunded-oer-a-tale-of-two-mandates
Tagoe, N; Donkor, P; Adanu, R. et al. (2010). Beyond the first steps: Sustaining Health OER Initiatives
in Ghana. In Open Ed 2010 Proceedings Barcelona: UOC, OU, BYU. Retrieved from
http://openaccess.uoc.edu/webapps/o2/bitstream/10609/4849/6/Tagoe.pdf
Technical Experts Meeting on the use and Application of Information and Communication
Technologies in Higher Education Institutions in Africa. 17th - 19th May, 2000. University of Dar es
Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Retrieved from http://rc.aau.org/files/english/documents/aauictreport-p31.htm
Teferra, D and Greijn, H.(eds). (2010).Higher Education and Globalization Challenges, Threats and
Opportunities for Africa. Maastricht University Centre for International Cooperation in Academic
Development (MUNDO), Maastricht, the Netherlands, and International Network for Higher
Education in Africa (INHEA), Center for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston College, USA.
Thakrar, J., Zinn, D., and Wolfendon, F. (2009). Harnessing Open Educational Resources to the
Challenges of Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa. The International Review of Research in
Open and Distance Learning. (Vol 10, no.4). Retrieved from:
http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/705/1319
Thatcher, A. & Mooney, G. (2008). Managing social activity and participation in large classes with
mobile phone technology. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies, 2(3): 41 – 51.
123
The AVU OER Strategy. Retrieved from http://oer.avu.org/about
The Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis. Retrieved from www.bidpa.bw
The Inter-University Council for East Africa (2009). Information and Communication Technology
Policy Plan 2009/10-2014/15. Retrieved from
http://www.iucea.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=105&Itemid=74
The IUCEA ICT Policy. Retrieved from
http://www.iucea.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=105&Itemid=74
The LINK centre. Retrieved from http://link.wits.ac.za/
The Open University of Mauritius Bill. Retrieved from
http://www.gov.mu/portal/goc/assemblysite/file/bill1909.pdf
The Open University of Tanzania. Retrieved from www.out.ac.tz
Thutoetsile, T. (2005). Report of the Southern African Regional Distance Education Centre:
Situational Assessment of ODL Institutions. SADC-CDE. Retrieved September 19, 2008, from
www.sardec.org.bw/reports.htm.
Tusubira, F. (2011). Transformation-Ready: The Strategic Application of Information and
Communication Technologies in Africa. Annex 6: National Research and Education Networks.
Retrieved from http://etransformafrica.org/sites/default/files/eTA%20-%20Education%20%20Final%20report%20-%20Supplementary%20-%20Annex%206%20-%20NREN.pdf
UbuntuNet Alliance for Research and Education Networking. About Us. Retrieved from
http://www.ubuntunet.net/about
UN News. (2011). West African nations to boost universities with virtual library.Africa The Good
News.Monday, 14 February 2011. Retrieved from:
http://www.africagoodnews.com/development/education/2442-west-african-nations-to-boostinformation-technology-in-universities.html
UNDP in Somalia. (no date)/ Online Distance Learning initiative increases skills. Retrieved from
http://www.so.undp.org/index.php/Somalia-Stories/Online-Distance-Learning-initiative-increasesskills.html
UNESCO (2002). Open and Distance Learning: Trends, Policy and Strategy Considerations. p3.
Available at http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001284/128463e.pdf.
UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education (2004) Guidebook 1 - ICTs in Education and
Schoolnets. Retrieved from http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ict/ebooks/SchoolNetKit/guidebook1.pdf
UNESCO. (2002). Open and Distance Learning: Trends, Policy and Strategy Considerations. p40-44.
Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001284/128463e.pdf.
UNESCO. (2005). Towards Knowledge Societies. Paris: UNESCO
124
UNESCO. Education quality and mobility. What is open and distance learning (ODL)? Retrieved from
http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.phpURL_ID=22329&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. (no date). Harnessing Information for
Development. Retrieved from http://www.uneca.org/aisi/
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and Commonwealth of
Learning (COL) (2011). Guidelines for Open Educational Resources (OER) in Higher Education.
Retrieved November 11, 2011 from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002136/213605e.pdf
University of Botswana. Blackboard Learning System. Available at
http://elearning.ub.bw/webct/entryPageIns.dowebct
University of Cape Town (2011). University of Cape Town Intellectual Property Policy. Retrievedfrom
http://www.uct.ac.za/downloads/uct.ac.za/about/policies/intellect_property.pdf
University of Michigan and OER Africa. (2009). Health OER Inter-Institutional Project - Formative
Evaluation of Health OER Design Phase
University of Michigan and OER Africa. (2011). 2010-2011 African Health OER Network – Phase 2
Evaluation: Consolidation and Sustainability.
University of South Africa (UNISA). Retrieved from www.unisa.ac.za
University of the Witwatersrand. (2011). Vision 2022 Strategic Framework. University of the
Witwatersrand. (2010). Teaching and Learning Plan. University of the Witwatersrand. (2010). ELearning Strategic Plan.
University of the Witwatersrand. Elearning Support and innovation. (2011). Wits e-Adopted.
Retrieved fromhttps://elearn.wits.ac.za/home/default/sidebarnews/formalsakai
Unwin, T. (2008). Survey of e-Learning in Africa. UNESCO Chair in ICT Development.
Unwin, T., Kleessen, B., Hollow, D., Williams, J.B., Mware Oloo, L., Alwala, J., Mutimucuio, I.,
Eduardo, F., and Muianga, X. (2010). Digital learning management systems in Africa: myths and
realities, Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, 25(1):5-23.
Viljoen, J., du Preez, C. & Cook, A. 2005. The case for using SMS technologies to support distance
education students in South Africa. Perspectives in Education, 23(4): 115 – 122.
Welcome to eYethu! Retrieved from http://schools.coe.ru.ac.za/index.php/Main_Page
Welsh, T. (2011). Open Educational Resources at UNISA. Blog entry December 5, 2011. Retrieved
from: http://blog.saide.org.za/2011/12/05/open-educational-resources-at-unisa/
Wikipedia. Learning management system. Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_Management_System
125
Williams, M.D.J., Mayer, R., and Minges, M. (2011). Africa’s ICT Infrastructure Building on the Mobile
Revolution. World Bank: Washington. Retrieved from
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INFORMATIONANDCOMMUNICATIONANDTECHNOLOGIES/Reso
urces/AfricasICTInfrastructure_Building_on_MobileRevolution_2011.pdf
World Bank. (no date). Governance and Structure – Single Mode Institutions, Global Distance
Educationet.
Wright, D.R., Dhanarajan , G. and Reju, S.A. (2009). Recurring Issues Encountered by Distance
Educators in Developing and Emerging Nations. International Review of Research in Open and
Distance Learning Volume 10, Number 1.
126