Transcript Document

EDUCATION FIT FOR PURPOSE
FIT FOR POLICY
3 DECEMBER 2008
ODL and development
 ODL is fast becoming an accepted and indispensable part of the
mainstream educational systems in developing countries for offering
access and opportunity for historically disadvantaged social groups.
 It is seen as as a force contributing to social and economic
development.
 ODL should form a component of national efforts aimed at achieving
the EFA goals, adopted at the World Education Forum (Dakar,
Senegal, April 2000).
 In particular it addresses the learning needs of young people and
adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and
life-skills programmes (EFA Goal) and through harnessing new
information and communication technologies to help attain those
goals (EFA Goal) and reducing illiteracy by 50% (EFA Goal).
Presently there is no policy in SA
 There is a workgroup under the auspice of the Minister of
Education to work towards policy.
 Educational policies need to include the role of ODL in the
national development plans in general educational policies in
particular.
 There is a need to define appropriate policies and strategies to
ensure they make the best use of available distance learning.
 Presently in South Africa all the components of legislation are
drawn upon for informing ODL – from quality assuring to funding!
 ODL needs its own policy.
Components of all distance learning systems
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Basic education for all
General education
Teacher education (pre- and in-service)
Vocational and continuing education
Non-formal education
Higher education
Areas of focus for policy
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The types of institutions and their roles
the development of expertise and resources,
the financing of distance provision
quality assurance
monitoring and evaluation of the performance of distance
education providers.
 The role of open and distance learning in educational innovation
The significance of ODL for the African continent
 NEPAD’s philosophy for the future development of the continent
brings a renewed committment for establishing partnerships with
African Governments.
 NEPAD and the AU strives to ensure capacity building, skills
training, collaborative research across the Continent
 UNESCO’s deliberations of Article 14 and 16 which focus on the
transmission of education, arts and culture will have implications
here.
 This has implications for Regional Qualification Frameworks and
for MOUs and should be based on local policy.
Knowledge based societies
 There is a significant trend towards intensifying globalization.
Institutional and inter-governmental cooperation
 the global classroom has been realized in quite a number of
projects, particularly in connection with emerging global
communications networks.
 Governmental leadership concerning network development and
access will be essential in this sphere.
What is the digital divide?
 Open and distance learning are based on its overall priority to
ensure the right to education for all.
 The growing digital divide is leads to greater inequalities in
development through a paradoxical situation where those who
have the greatest need for information - rural communities,
illiterate populations or even entire countries do not have access
to the tools which would enable them to become full-fledged
members of the knowledge society.
 Support is also given to open and distance learning to meet the
special needs of the disabled, migrants, cultural and linguistic
minorities, refugees, populations in crisis situations, who cannot
be efficiently reached by traditional delivery systems.
Diverse modes of ODL
Distance education at the tertiary level shows a two-fold development
pattern.
 On the one hand, a single dedicated ODL institution exists
alongside - Increasing numbers of traditional universities have
begun to offer their programmes also through dual mode – a trend
reinforced by ICT.
 Country drives for ODL and policy should emphasise the need for
roads, electricity and other necessary infrastructure, as well as the
role of the public broadcaster.
Economics of open and distance learning
 The cost structures in open and distance learning are quite
different from cost structures in conventional education. Capital
investments usually substitute for high recurrent costs, making
economies of scale a decisive factor.
 Large distance-learning programmes may produce graduates at
lower costs than conventional institutions.
 The costs of open and distance learning vary a great deal
according to the use of learning materials, media and
technologies, and types and organization of student support
services.
 In South Africa, use is made of throughput rates for subsidies.
 ODL policy needs to address costing factors in relation to
conventional methods.
Three service delivery programmes
Practitioners in
adult education
Community development
practitioners
Practitioners for
literacy campaign
Practitioner training using ODL
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Training using ODL but including substantive tutor support.
Groups of 1: 50
Contact sessions
Learners placed in working situations where they are monitored by
centre managers or supervisors in municipalities who receive
assessment guidelines and support.
 In this way we have a dual form of capacity building.
 Text based, but uses SOL, DVD.
Fitness for purpose – contributing to the South
African Mass Literacy Campaign
Policy and planning
 To enable 4.7 million illiterates to read by the end of 2012.
 The Constitutional right of all South Africans to basic education in
their own language is unfulfilled.
 The country was is not reducing the number of illiterates fast
enough.
 The numbers of adult illiterates are actually increasing.
 To meet the DAKAR EFA goal of reducing illiteracy by 50% by
2015.
Campaign timetable & targets
as approved by Cabinet (p4)
Year # of learners
Purpose
# of coordi- Phase
# of VEs # of supervisors
nators
None
None
None
Gear up
2007
None
2008
300 000
24 000
2 400
150
Pilot Phase
2009
1 220 000
80 000
8 000
800
Mass roll-out
2010
1 220 000
80 000
8 000
800
Mass roll-out
2011
1 220 000
80 000
8 000
800
Mass roll-out
2012
740 000
49 000
4 900
490
Mop up
This timetable would have enabled the Campaign to achieve its goals within
the period identified for the United Nations Decade of Literacy (before 2015).
Note that VEs stand for volunteer educators
Human resources
185
Coords
3 290 Supervisors
Each responsible for 10
educators
31 180 Educators
Each teaching 15 learners
357 161 learners
in classes of approx 15
The Implementation tiers & ratios
Coordinators at
provincial level
Supervisors at
district level
Volunteer educators at
teaching & learning sites
1:20
1:10
1:15
Coordinator :
supervisors
Supervisor : volunteer
educators
Volunteer educator :
learners
Learners per province
44853
LIMPOPO
NORTH WEST
30561
MPUMALANGA
GAUTENG
31534
40326
2990
FREE STATE
NORTHERN
CAPE
17644
KWAZULU
NATAL
67435
EASTERN
CAPE
WESTERN
CAPE
5762
116090
Learners by gender (79% female)
(p13)
Learners by mother tongue – proportional
breakdown of languages per province
Proportional breakdown of learners by age by
province
Age breakdown of volunteers (p19)
Learning wherever you are
Schools
Churches
Homes
Home garages
Community centres
Farms
Rondawals
Roofed verandas
Under trees
Technical colleges
Containers
Markets
Pre-schools
Traditional offices
Municipal halls
Community halls
Business premises
Prisons
Old age homes
YMCAs
Imikhukhu
Libraries
Clinics
Kha ri gude wherever you are
Stakeholder participation
Engagement of other ministries.
• Dept of Labour
• Correctional services
• Department of trade and industry
• Department of Education
• Department of defence
• Extended public words
• The formation of District Literacy Units comprising relevant
stakeholders including chiefs, members of the disability sector,
women’s organisations, NGOs, CBOs, etc.
• 30000 Volunteers from impoverished households/unemployed
receive a stipend in exchange for service.
Interactive materials
Activity driven materials
Literacy Manuals in 11 languages