EDUCATION FIT FOR PURPOSE FIT FOR POLICY 3 DECEMBER 2008.

EDUCATION FIT FOR PURPOSEFIT 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

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

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

Practitioners for literacy campaign

Community development practitioners

Practitioner training using ODL

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.

Purpose# of VEs

Campaign timetable & targetsas approved by Cabinet (p4)

# of learnersYear

80 0001 220 0002011

49 000740 000 2012

1 220 0002010

1 220 000 2009

300 0002008

NoneNone

2007

80 000

Phase

Gear up

Pilot Phase

Mass roll-out

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

Mass roll-out

Mass roll-out

Mop up

24 000

80 000

# of super-visors

None

# of coordi-nators

None

2 400

8 000

8 000

8 000

4 900

150

800

800

800

490

Human resources

185Coord

s

3 290 SupervisorsEach responsible for

10 educators

31 180 EducatorsEach teaching 15 learners

357 161 learnersin 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 provinceLIMPOPO

GAUTENG

FREE STATE KWAZULU NATAL

EASTERN CAPE

WESTERN CAPE

NORTHERNCAPE

2990

5762

116090

17644

NORTH WEST

30561

67435

31534

44853

40326

MPUMALANGA

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

SchoolsChurchesHomesHome garagesCommunity centresFarmsRondawalsRoofed verandasUnder treesTechnical collegesContainers Markets

Pre-schoolsTraditional officesMunicipal hallsCommunity hallsBusiness premisesPrisonsOld age homesYMCAsImikhukhuLibrariesClinics

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