The Commonwealth of Learning

THE TRANSFORMATION OF DISTANCE EDUCATION IN AFRICA

Dr. Gbolagade Adekanmbi, Senior Lecturer, Centre for Continuing Education
University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana

This paper examines the transformation of distance education in Africa against the background of various developments in the field. Based on some parameters of transformation, it submits that over the years, distance education has witnessed major changes in terms of the programmes provided, the clients served, the media used, and the nature of the collaboration enlisted. The research thrust in distance education in Africa appears thin while the development orientation of the system is still tilted in favour of teacher preparation. The paper concludes that in the new millennium, Africa will have to address the implications of global and virtual university offerings, self-directed learning, and new media initiatives, and attempt to develop new models to ensure greater autonomy in practice.

THE MANAGEMENT OF DISTANCE EDUCATION IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES: ACHIEVEMENTS, PROBLEMS, AND PROSPECTS

Professor Bade A. Agboola, Head,
Department of Foundations and Arts and Social Science Education, University of Abuja, Nigeria

The government of Nigeria accepts distance learning as a process through which additional formal educational qualification can be earned. This belief has been demonstrated through the recognition and co-ordination of distance and correspondence teaching institutions in Nigeria. Some Nigerian universities also embrace distance learning as a viable route to formal educational qualifications through the establishment of distance teaching units for both degree and non-degree programmes. It is thus necessary to study the management of these units to appreciate their achievements as well as those problems that militate against better achievements for guiding future performance. Specific management task areas covered in this paper include:

•objectives of the university distance teaching unit;

• the determination of the status of the distance
teaching unit within the university setting; and

• policy formulation and implementation on
crucial issues.

Three Nigerian universities will be used as references to represent the oldest and the newest, as well as ‘consultancy-based’ distance teaching units. Suggestions made include the re-establishment of the National Open University, and the funding of all university distance teaching units by the Nigerian Universities Council.

ONE YEAR OF VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE AT MAKERERE UNIVERSITY IN UGANDA

Jessica N. Aguti, Lecturer, Department of Distance Education, Makerere University, Uganda

The demand for higher education in Uganda has been increasing rapidly and yet the places available at the existing universities are far too limited. Distance and Open Learning are therefore becoming viable options with some programmes using information technology. One such example is the African Virtual University Project.

This is a distance education project currently being funded by the World Bank. It involves a number of countries in French- and English-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa. In June 1997, equipment was installed at three sites in Uganda: Uganda Polytechnic Kyambogo; Uganda Martyrs University, Nkozi; and Makerere University.

On 22 October 1998, Makerere approved the integration of the pilot phase activities of the African Virtual University Project into its university programmes. Since then the virtual university has run three semesters. A total of 20 credit courses have been transmitted from different institutions in the United States, Canada, and Ireland, but Makerere has participated in only 12 of these. Besides the non-credit courses, various seminars covering varying areas of specialisation have also been run.

Although the virtual university students and the students who have taken similar university courses show no significant differences in performance, some challenges indicate that considerable infrastructure needs to be put in place for Uganda to effectively and efficiently use the ‘virtual university’ approach.

THE FIRST GRADUATES OF THE MAKERERE UNIVERSITY EXTERNAL DEGREE PROGRAMME IN UGANDA

Jessica N. Aguti, Lecturer,
Department of Distance Education
Makerere University, Uganda

Makerere University is the oldest university in Uganda. It was started in 1922 as a technical school and gained full university status in 1970. Until recently, it was the only university in the country. Makerere University has today grown to include nine faculties and eleven institutes.

The demand for education, especially higher education, has been steadily growing while funding for higher education has been decreasing and the number of places available in the universities are inadequate to the needs. Uganda is therefore now considering distance education as an alternative mode of satisfying this demand and coping with the decreased state funding of higher education.

As a response, in 1991 Makerere University launched the External Degree Programme, which runs two degree courses, Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Commerce. A total of 306 students have graduated through this programme over the past seven years.

At the time of launching this Programme, some people voiced misgivings about using distance education to train graduates. They felt that distance education students would not be able to cope with the demands of university education, especially since most of them were working adults. However, despite the challenges these students faced, many were able to complete the programme and are now holding key positions in government and other institutions and departments. Some were even able to pass with Upper Second Class Honours and are today employed at the University as Assistant Lecturers. This testifies to the fact that distance education is indeed a viable option for offering higher education in Uganda. It is true that there is a lot that Makerere University still needs to do to ensure that graduates of this programme excel, but the future for distance education in Uganda certainly holds great promise.

STAFF TRAINING IN DISTANCE EDUCATION AT THE BANGLADESH OPEN UNIVERSITY

Md. Shafiqul Alam, Deputy Director
Training, Bangladesh Open University
Gagipur, Bangladesh

Bangladesh Open University is the first learning institution of its kind in Bangladesh. To develop distance education skills among both academic and non-academic staff, all of whom come from traditional institutions, Bangladesh Open University has completed two comprehensive staff training and consulting projects. This paper describes the outcomes of these projects, defines the training needs of a newly formed distance learning institution and explains how the project outcomes are utilised in a strategic employee training plan for a distance learning institution.

NON-FORMAL EDUCATION PROGRAMMES IN BANGLADESH: A FIRST STEP FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Dr. A.K.M. Alamgir
Senior Medical Officer & Co-ordinator,
B.Sc.-in-Nursing Programme
Bangladesh Open University, Gagipur, Bangladesh

The scenario for educational programmes in developing countries differs from those in developed countries in many ways. Inadequate infrastructure, poor equipment, less availability of technology transfer, and socio-economic constraints have been identified as the primary reasons for lack of education among Bangladeshi communities. The traditional education system could not improve the high mortality indices, low literacy rates, and poor productivity in Bangladesh. Consequently, distance education has been prescribed as the most practical means of providing non-formal education among this geographically dispersed population. Using electronic and networked technology for non-formal education may add a new dimension to learning for this population group. Bangladesh Open University has made a good start in embarking on this path and is optimistic about keeping up the momentum.

EVALUATION OF SOME DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMMES AT NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES

Professor Anthony Ali
Director, Institute of Education
University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria

This paper reports on a study that involved empirically determining the nature and scope of the human and material facilities available for teaching and administration in two non-full time undergraduate degree distance learning programmes provided by two universities in Nigeria. The facilities evaluated included academic and non-academic staff; classroom, laboratory, and workshop spaces; library, instructional materials and instructional delivery systems; evaluation methods; times and frequencies of lectures, workshops; and laboratory classes; and student numbers. Another aspect of the evaluation was to find out from employers of previous graduates as well as the graduates of these programmes, their levels of job satisfaction. Data were collected from institutional records, questionnaires, and on-site observation records. A major finding was the haphazard organisational insufficiency and inappropriateness of the facilities used for such programmes. The paper discusses the implications of these findings and suggests how to firm up the programmes.

ACADEMIC STANDARDS OF EXTENSION AND SATELLITE PROGRAMMES OF NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES: MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL

Professor Anthony Ali
Director, Institute of Education
University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria

The recent proliferation of extension and satellite undergraduate and post-graduate degree programmes mounted by Nigerian universities has been a mute point in Nigeria. In 1986, there were only 16 such programmes involving 11 undergraduate degree programmes and 687 studies. By the end of 1997, there were 900 programmes involving 27 undergraduate degree programmes and 11 master’s programmes, with an enrolment of 69,000 students spread all over Nigeria and overseas. This sudden proliferation of programmes, unprecedented increase in student enrolments, need to organise such programmes over a wide area, and by institutions also running full in-residence programmes, have created management problems. Transportation, communication, information management, and infrastructure facilities for distance learning in some Nigerian universities in this study were investigated and found to be grossly inadequate and or substandard. The need for downsizing, no further expansion in extension and satellite programmes, and their monitoring and evaluation – all major lapses which negatively affect the academic standards and the students undertaking the programmes – are highlighted in this study.

OPENING UP ADULT EDUCATION: WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT IN NAMIBIA

Dr. M.B.M. Avoseh
Lecturer, Department Of Adult And Non-formal Education, University of Namibia

The Republic of Namibia has taken many gender-sensitive and gender-positive steps within her short history. Namibia has also given priority to adult education in the context of national development. However, contributions and discussion at the recently concluded Namibia follow-up conference to Confintea V reveal a wide gap between women’s access to education and women’s empowerment.

This paper argues that for women’s access to adult education to be meaningful. To really address the problem of the marginalisation of women, adult learning must open up avenues of empowerment. In advancing this argument, the paper examines the present status of adult education for women in Namibia. While admitting a commendable degree of access and openness of adult education for women, the paper concludes that for women’s access to adult education in Namibia to be really relevant and useful it must incorporate the empowering elements that recent perspectives in adult education offer.

SUPPORTING OPEN LEARNING STUDENTS IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY: A SOUTH-AFRICAN EXPERIENCE

Paul Beneke, Organisational Developer
Vista University, Pretoria, South Africa

This case study refers to research carried out with students of the Distance Education Campus of Vista University. The focus at this campus has been on the upgrading of disadvantaged teachers. Following a brief introduction to provide the reader with a general perspective, the paper argues that institutions are compelled to obtain a detailed profile of their ‘invisible’ students if the quality of interaction and support is to be meaningful. It outlines research carried out over the past decade to obtain this information. The paper then illustrates how biographical detail, student domestic circumstances, and the possession or lack of technology impact directly on the provision of support to these students. The paper concludes with a brief reference to new initiatives in South Africa for institutions to collaborate, and the potential of such collaboration to improve student support.

A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF LEARNER SUPPORT SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE ZIMBABWE OPEN UNIVERSITY

Julius G. Mugadzaweta, Regional Co-ordinator
College of Distance Education
Zimbabwe Open University, Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe

A study to critically assess the learner support services provided by the Zimbabwe Open University was conducted in three of the ten regions in Zimbabwe. Thirty tutors and 510 students engaged on second and third year courses through distance education were interviewed and/or asked to complete survey questionnaires. The paper singles out learner support services as one of the most critical determinants of quality in the provision of distance education. A comprehensive working definition of learner support services covering academic, social-psychological needs, and the interests of students is presented.

The study revealed that students are satisfied with the general disposition of tutors in the provision of academic support and the opportunities provided for face-to-face contact between tutors and students. However, distance education students and tutors encounter a wide array of problems, which include high travelling costs, long distances to the regional study centres, lack of adequate reference books, and limited access to library facilities. In addition, students express concern at the lack of urgency in setting up district study centres in all regions. It is recommended that district study centres be set up to provide effective and efficient student support services.

MULTI-PURPOSE LEARNING CENTRES IN AN OPEN LEARNING ENVIRONMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA

Ginger Bester
Deputy Chief Education Specialist
National Centre for Education Technology and Distance Education, Pretoria, South Africa

In South Africa, fundamental changes are currently occurring in education. Among these are the integration of education and training, an emphasis on open, lifelong, learner-centred and outcomes-based learning approaches and the use of information and communication technologies to address education and training needs. Existing formal education institutions are generally inadequately equipped or unsuitably structured to begin reflecting these changing approaches in their educational practice.

Community centres are private institutions that have featured in disadvantaged communities in South Africa for close on two decades. During this period, they have assisted in providing tuition and education facilities, a range of information services, and a variety of empowerment and development programmes to marginalised communities when these aspects were seriously neglected in an era of official discrimination. As the social, economic, and other needs of communities change within the new South African dispensation, so too must these centres adapt and redefine their focus. From observations made in these centres, they are ideally suited to reflect the changes and new approaches occurring in the education and training environment. This paper focuses on some of the possibilities and issues that need to be considered when looking at community centres as possible support structures for open learning.

THE CONNECTED LEARNING COMMUNITY IN SOUTH AFRICA: A CLASSIC CASE FOR OPEN LEARNING

Ron Beyers, Director of Technology
St. Alban’s College, Pretoria, South Africa

Microsoft’s vision for the role of technology in education is ‘a linked educational environment in which network connections allow dynamic interaction between colleges and universities, other educational institutions, homes and information resources throughout the world’. Overcoming the problems of physical connectivity can pave the way to the introduction of the concepts of open learning, which in turn can induce a paradigm shift in the educational models being employed. This vision is about to become a reality through the development of a Connected Learning Community at St Alban’s College in collaboration with Microsoft, Dimension Data, and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. These fundamental changes can transform an institution of instruction to one in which learning is given greater focus in a constructivist paradigm. The time is right to employ technology as a vehicle to promote collaboration and co-operation on a level that teachers could only dream was possible. Parents, pupils, and teachers will have access to an information hub that will facilitate interactions using Web-based technologies. Ultimately, the wider St Alban’s community and other learners and teachers will benefit from the project by gaining access to all the curriculum material that is made available.

THE TRAINING IMPLICATIONS OF THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTION ON SECONDARY MATHEMATICS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Douglas Butler, Director
Centre for ICT Training and Research
Oundle School, Peterborough, United Kingdom

Mathematics is possibly unique among school subjects: not only it is taught the world over, but school children in nearly every country learn much the same content. The language of delivery of course varies, but a growing number of mathematics teachers are now beginning to discover what the information and communication technologies revolution has to offer, not only in their own personal productivity, but as a teaching aid in the classroom. This papers aims to summarise some of the variety that can be added to a lesson if the teacher is trained and has access to appropriate software and hardware. Some of the methods are cross curricular (for example, the use of the Internet, spreadsheets, and data), but others are specific to this subject: dynamic geometry and symbolic algebra systems, graph plotters, and graphic calculators. The corresponding visualisation of the subject can dramatically improve student motivation.

Training teachers to use these new methods is not trivial. Classroom hardware and software need to be budgeted for and in place, and teachers need to be convinced that it is worthwhile. Direct instruction by professional trainers is likely to be the first option, but the only practical way to train the world’s mathematics teachers will be through Internet based programmes.

MODELS OF DELIVERY IN OPEN AND DISTANCE EDUCATION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Dr. Judith Calder, Senior Lecturer
Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom

There is an increasing choice in the range of media used for the delivery of open and distance learning materials. If their use is to be optimised, we need to develop a greater understanding of the potential of different course and training delivery structures to reach potential students.

This paper discusses an eclectic set of delivery models which have been developed by both educational institutions and corporate training providers in the United Kingdom. These models are constructed following analysis of the sequencing of key components in a UK-based study of basic training that has been provided through open learning. It shows how the construction of different delivery models can help us to move beyond simple descriptions of training programmes to offer a basis for the classification and meaningful comparison of open learning programmes while maintaining a high level of detail. The models offer a framework for exploring the assumptions providers make about their trainees and students and about their readiness for this type of provision; at the same time, the models suggest ways of structuring open learning provision to take account of the variation in students’ learning styles.

COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY FOR ENHANCEMENT AND TRANSFORMATION OF OPEN EDUCATION: THE EXPERIENCE AT THE INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY IN INDIA

Dr. Sohanvir S. Chaudhary, Joint Director EMPC, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, India

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is a mega-open university which caters for the educational needs of the people within and beyond India. From its inception, IGNOU has adopted multiple media approaches in its delivery of courses. With the increased access to a variety of communication technologies in homes or at learning centres, IGNOU is able to reach out and deliver quality distance education to its learners. But the fact remains that due to the lack of easy access and the high costs, the potential of communication technologies cannot be exploited fully by either the teachers or the learners. The problem is even more acute in rural areas with difficult terrain. The attitudes of some teachers, academic counsellors, and learners toward communication technology also remains a crucial factor in optimising its utilisation. Collaboration and co-operation among institutions involved in education and training in both distance and face-to-face learning is essential to make increased access to quality mediated education at lower cost. Institutions can share the cost of designing, producing and delivering learning materials. Collaboration can be also take the form of sharing learning materials, designing common curricula and organising joint courses. Moreover, technology appropriate from the point of view of cost, access, and pedagogy, systematic planning, quality courseware, monitoring, and periodical evaluation will enhance and strengthen mediated open and distance education throughout the country.

NON-FORMAL ADULT AND COMMUNITY EDUCATION CERTIFICATE PROGRAMME IN FOOD AND NUTRITION IN INDIA

Professor Prabha Chawla, Director
School of Continuing Education
Indira Gandhi National Open University,
New Delhi, India

In today’s developing world nutrition has become an area of prime importance. The Certificate Programme in Food and Nutrition is a post-literacy level awareness programme designed for people with basic reading and writing skills. The programme has considerable relevance for people who need increased knowledge, understanding and skills regarding food and nutrition. The programme aims to acquaint learners with the role of food in ensuring healthy living for the individual, family, and community, hence making them promising and responsible citizens.

The programme has been offered in a unique and flexible format. It is the only multilingual programme offered by the University. The learning package comprises simple, self instructional material supported by regular counselling sessions and an innovative multimedia approach that comprising audio and video cassettes and radio and television programmes for sound contextual understanding. The course discusses the relevance of nutrition through all the stages of life from infancy to old age. The study material provides practical education that is both scientific and authentic. Thus, the Certificate Programme in Food and Nutrition is a programme with a difference and with its emphasis on relevance to contemporary living, cost effectiveness, environment awareness, and multilingual presentation, it reaches almost the entire nation.

STUDENT-CENTRED EVALUATION OF DISTANCE EDUCATION COURSE MATERIAL IN SCIENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA

Wendy Dilys Coetzee
Instructional Designer and Staff Developer, Department of Institutional Development
Vista University, Pretoria, South Africa

There have been few studies of the problems that South African speakers of other languages encounter when they study tertiary-level programmes at a distance through the medium of English. Yet a deep understanding of these problems is essential if they are to be addressed through improved instructional design. By identifying the problems learners experience, new principles can be derived and others confirmed. The procedures that some academic writers in South Africa follow may need to be modified to accord with the design principles recommended.

This research project focuses specifically on course material in the biological sciences. A multi-methodological approach has been adopted. A dossier of data has been assembled from interviews with students and staff in this discipline, together with the views of experts in the fields of language and linguistics. This qualitative research has generated much rich data, which will be woven into the restructured course material and evaluated by a more quantitative approach. Short diagnostic tests will be administered to a new target group to see whether and to what extent the modifications have been effective.

ISSUES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF ON-LINE TERTIARY EDUCATION PROGRAMMES IN AUSTRALIA

Dr. Emory Mclendon, Graduate Co-ordinator
Department of Further Education and Training
University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia

Since 1996, the Department of Further Education and Training at the University of Southern Queensland has taught and managed a Graduate Certificate and a Master’s in Open and Distance Learning exclusively via the World Wide Web. This move to on-line delivery has been accompanied by actions to increase flexibility in student access and progression beyond that which was available previously with University of Southern Queensland distance education programmes.

These developments toward a more open learning environment using on-line delivery have generated a range of tensions which challenge the University’s existing policies and procedures for academic programme management.

This paper reports on a sample of such issues which have arisen from the Department of Further Education and Training’s recent experience with on-line distance education delivery. For each of these issues, existing University of Southern Queensland policies and procedures and the challenges generated by on-line delivery are briefly outlined and a number of possible management, policies and procedural changes are suggested to maximise the benefits of developments in on-line delivery.

This case study concludes by suggesting that if any tertiary institution wishes to maintain a market leadership role in distance education it has few options in the solutions it adopts. Thus, it will need to make a consequential paradigm shift in its academic management policies and practices.

DEVELOPING A CERTIFICATE COURSE IN COMPUTING FOR DELIVERY VIA THE INTERNET IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Jonathan Darby, Director
Technology-Assisted Lifelong Learning
University of Oxford, United Kingdom

Increasing numbers of adults throughout the world use computers routinely at work, but with little understanding of how the computer does what it does and what else it is capable of. The University of Oxford is developing a two-year, part-time course that can be studied anywhere in the world through the Internet. The course started in January 1999 with approximately 60 students. On completion of this course, students will have a sufficiently detailed understanding of the principles of computing and be able to play a full part in decision-making about information technology at their place of work. The case study examines the thinking that lay behind the creation of this course (including two underpinning research studies), the process of developing it, and the experiences of tutors and students working with it. The case study also considers the applicability of the course’s open learning model to other subjects and situations.

LEARNER SUPPORT IN COURSE DELIVERY AT THE TECHNIKON FREE STATE AND TECHNIKON SOUTHERN AFRICA

Jaco W. Mostert, Academic Manager
Technikon Southern Africa, Bloemfontein,
South Africa

As in many developing African countries, South African higher education is very much distorted. In South Africa, the numbers of Technikon learners are increasing more rapidly than those of universities. Needs-driven research is thus necessary for new models of learning to render academic services through distance rather than residential programmes. The main characteristics of the distance education programmes of Technikons in South Africa are founded upon open learning systems. ‘Flexible learning’ developed from the concept of open learning as a wide range of possibilities offered to learners and a degree of learner autonomy in choice of what to study when and how, and is also known as ‘flexi-study’. While distance education deals with the collection of delivery systems of teaching and learning, open learning deals with the philosophy of the educational system itself. In this sense, tutors in a flexible learning system also practise a dual role that could be compared with a variety of principles of supplemental instruction modes, or even basic adult education. Alternatively, the ‘tutor’ is not a person at all. It is a course design in which syllabus content is made available to the learner by media (ideally multimedia) other than the spoken word. ‘Support’ for the learner is provided by a wide range of organised structures like the multimedia course itself; regionally based counselling; study centre facilities; peer support groups; ‘summer’ school opportunities; and computer networks.

A CASE STUDY IN SHARING MATERIALS IN NAMIBIA

Professor Tony Dodds
Director, Centre for External Studies
University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia

A central principle behind the establishment of the Commonwealth of Learning was to increase access of students in one Commonwealth country to courses from others. One of the earliest and most successful examples of such sharing was the Open Learning Institute (OLI) of Hong Kong. By controlled buying-in of existing courses from distance and open learning institutions, the OLI launched a variety of degree programmes to meet local needs at a speed and at costs that could not have been otherwise achieved.

Namibia is very different from Hong Kong. The Centre for External Studies of the University of Namibia (UNAM), however, is seeking to replicate the OLI model for some similar and yet very different reasons.

This paper presents a case study of initial UNAM external degree programmes. It explores various approaches to the sharing of open learning materials and draws tentative conclusions about the speed of offering, meeting needs, quality, relevance and costs of course development and course sharing.

The paper compares the pros and cons of different approaches to sharing and buying-in programmes from the wider market of neighbouring South Africa - and of local origination. Looking at these approaches over time, the paper recognises the peculiarity of circumstances and the fickleness of various models of education. But sharing, exchange, and collaborative development must be the pattern of the future if distance and open learning are to realise their potential and their comparative advantage in the universalisation of quality education into the next century.

DISTANCE EDUCATION FOR RURAL COMMUNITY BASED ORGANISATIONS: CORRESPONDENCE COURSES FOR RURAL CO-OPERATIVES IN TANZANIA

Professor Leo Nsena Donge
Distance Education Co-ordinator
Co-operative College, Moshi, Tanzania

Distance education as a teaching method is very effective for people who are at a distance, disadvantaged in training facilities, cannot afford to join schools and leave their work, have to attend to family matters, or do not want to trade off their lifestyle. Distance education is also useful for rural communities; it allows them to farm and study at the same time.

Distance education is provided through the use of selected instructional media, both traditional and innovatory, which can promote self-teaching. It has been proved to be useful for learners who are dispersed, who are not served by good infrastructure It is also flexible, cost effective, practical, and convenient.

In Tanzania, correspondence courses organised by Co-operative College were preferred by the rural co-operatives. These co-operatives required co-operative education in order to raise members’ awareness and consciousness, to enable them to participate constructively in management and promotion of their co-operative undertaking, and to equip employees with knowledge and skills to manage the co-operatives. The target groups for these correspondence courses were the Co-operative Societies of Tanzania. The dominant group of these co-operatives were the Rural Co-operatives, which constituted 7,681 of the total number of co-operatives in 1980. Now there are 2,525 rural co-operatives. The number of rural co-operatives has fallen following amalgamation.

Distance education helped to raise the level of literacy. The government had its own literacy programme. The other distance education institutions were the Institute of Adult Education for teachers and employed people, the National Correspondence Institute for rural-based employed people and employees, and now the Open University of Tanzania for those who require advanced studies.

Correspondence courses used to be administered at the College’s head office and through the Wings College Branches. The College also used to run traditional radio programmes to supplement the correspondence courses. Correspondence courses were shown to be very useful for rural-based co-operatives and communities, but the enrolment is now falling due to frequent government policy changes. The income of the College has fallen, tutors cannot visit and counsel students as required and the College has been unable to adopt the newer technological advances of television and teaching systems. The distance education system is appropriate but it requires a lot of money to invest in new technologies.

OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING FOR BASIC AND NON-FORMAL EDUCATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Dr. Palitha Edirisingha, Research Fellow
International Research Foundation for Open Learning, Cambridge, United Kingdom

The paper is concerned with the use of open and distance learning to provide basic and non-formal education for the millions of disadvantaged and marginalised children and adults in the developing world. Despite proclamation after proclamation, the international community has failed to give serious thoughts to these populations and has failed to achieve universal basic education. This paper identifies the lack of policy guidance, based on educational and economic data, for the decision-makers in ministries of education and funding agencies as one reason for this. A two-year research project aimed at providing such guidelines on the use of open and distance learning for basic and non-formal education in developing countries has been undertaken by the Cambridge-based International Research Foundation for Open Learning with funding from the Centre for British Teachers. This paper presents the rationale, the research questions, and the progress of the research.

A CHANGING ROLE FOR TEACHERS ON-LINE: A CASE STUDY IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA

Professor Glen Postle
Faculty of Education
The University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia

Over the past two years, the Faculty of Education at the University of Southern Queensland, in conjunction with the USQ Distance Education Centre, has developed and offered the Graduate Certificate in Open and Distance Learning, which is taught fully via the World Wide Web. All content presentation, teacher-learner and learner-learner interactions, assignment submission, and feedback are done on-line and via e-mail. As well, the faculty and University have sought to enhance flexibility in student access to, and progression through, this programme. This graduate certificate has now been further developed into a master’s degree, which is offered solely on-line.

The delivery of these programmes via the World Wide Web has highlighted a changing role for teaching staff and a level and nature of teacher-learner interaction that differs from the pattern in distance education programmes previously delivered via print and other non-Web media.

This case study examines the nature of these differences and explores the complexities of teaching on-line. The paper concludes with comments on the possible role of, and demands upon, university teachers who design and teach courses for the ‘virtual university’.

EDUCATIONAL AUDIO IN DISTANCE EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY FROM INDIA

Hisamuddin Faruqui, Senior Producer
Indira Gandhi National Open University,
New Delhi, India

In developing countries especially, audio may be of great use but this medium has been under-utilised in most countries. In India, audio is used for educational purposes in both broadcast and non-broadcast modes, but few research studies had been carried out to know the outcomes of audio programmes.

The paper looks not only at different practices and methodologies for developing audio programmes, their delivery and feedback systems, and their cost effectiveness, but also evaluates their outcomes in urban, semi-urban, and rural areas of India.

COLLABORATION BETWEEN OPEN UNIVERSITIES IN THE COMMONWEALTH: SUCCESSFUL PRODUCTION OF THE FIRST EVER SRI LANKAN NURSING GRADUATES AT THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF SRI LANKA THROUGH DISTANCE EDUCATION

Professor J.N. Oleap Fernando
Dean, Faculty of Natural Sciences &
Senior Professor of Chemistry
The Open University of Sri Lanka, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka

Athabasca University in Canada, which for many years has been offering a post registered nursing degree programme by distance study, in 1993 was able to obtain financial sponsorship from the Canadian International Development Agency to launch the first ever Bachelor of Science degree programme in Nursing in Sri Lanka. As a result of this collaborative endeavour between two open universities in the Commonwealth, the Open University of Sri Lanka was therefore able to fill an important void and produce in 1997 the first batch of 21 graduate nurses to be produced in Sri Lanka. The production of nursing graduates in Sri Lanka is indeed more than an historic event since it has already enabled paramedical personnel to assert their rights and obtain recognition as professionals.

Four cohorts of nurses have so far been admitted to the programme and the second group will graduate shortly. The Open University is confident that the nursing graduates produced will be able to assume leadership roles in hospitals and community settings, administration, supervision, teaching, and research focusing on current health needs.

COMMONWEALTH OF LEARNING INITIATIVE TO EMPOWER MIDDLE LEVEL PERSONNEL THROUGH DISTANCE EDUCATION: AN ADVANCED CERTIFICATE PROGRAMME IN LABORATORY TECHNOLOGY AT THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF SRI LANKA

Professor J.N. Oleap Fernando
Dean, Faculty of Natural Sciences &
Senior Professor of Chemistry
The Open University of Sri Lanka, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka

The initiative set in motion by the Commonwealth of Learning at a regional workshop sponsored by the Commonwealth Secretariat and held in May 1996 at Indira Gandhi National Open University in New Delhi enabled the Open University of Sri Lanka to inaugurate, in October 1998, a one-year Advanced Certificate Programme in Laboratory Technology. This programme, during the first experimental cycle, is confined to university technical officers and will be opened up for others subsequently.

This Commonwealth of Learning initiative has filled an important void in the training of middle-level laboratory personnel in Sri Lanka and thus satisfies a long-felt need. The modular programme for this advanced certificate will include laboratory techniques in chemistry, physics, and biology as well as provide a general module in laboratory organisation, management, and safety; a continuing education module in computer studies ill also be obligatory. The programme is intended to provide participants with the necessary knowledge, technology, and training and also enable them to obtain the necessary skills to operate and maintain laboratory equipment. Support from the Commonwealth of Learning, other external sources, or both, is earnestly anticipated in order to enable a Diploma Programme in Laboratory Technology to be offered in the future.

RESEARCH STUDIES THROUGH DISTANCE EDUCATION: EXPERIENCES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES OF THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF SRI LANKA

Rajapakshe Menike
Senior Lecturer, Academic Co-ordinator Research Report
The Open University of Sri Lanka, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka

A research project is one of the core courses offered for all academic programmes offered by the Department of Management Studies of the Open University of Sri Lanka. The purpose of the research project is to develop the skills learners need to apply the managerial concepts and theories they have acquired to real-life situations, with special reference to their work environment. The ultimate learning outcome of the research project is to orient learners to a fact-finding exercise with a view to solving a problem or improving a situation in the workplace.

The Open University of Sri Lanka uses distance learning course material, workshops, supervision and guidance and a work-plan for this research project. Yet a survey carried out as a research project for the Diploma in Management programme has revealed that only 50% - 60% of the students registered during an academic year are eligible to submit the final report.

SELECTED ISSUES IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE COLLEGE OF ARTS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INTO THE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, JAMAICA: CONSIDERATIONS IN DEVELOPING A LEARNER-CENTRED CURRICULUM AND QUALITY ASSURANCE MEASURES FOR OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING

Dr. Nancy A. George, Director
Curriculum Development and Evaluation
University of Technology, Kingston, Jamaica

Emerging from the former College of Arts Science and Technology (CAST), the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) is in the process of developing into a technical university to serve the needs of Jamaica and the wider Caribbean region. The process of transformation necessitates intensive curriculum restructuring, identification of appropriate delivery mechanisms for programmes and courses, the establishment of quality assurance mechanisms to ensure international acceptance of UTech’s programmes and degrees, and upgrading and training of staff to meet requirements of UTech’s new mandate. Most critical is the need to accomplish such transformation without losing the traditional emphasis on skill development for which CAST is renowned.

The case study describes the background and developments to date in some major aspects of the University’s transition in philosophy and offerings. These developments include staff-led curriculum revision, exploration of the potential of open learning and distance education, an infrastructure to assure the quality of its programmes and courses, and strategies for staff development.

As this case study reveals, open learning and distance education strategies are critical components in UTech’s medium- and long-term plans for increasing access to its programmes and building its reputation nationally, regionally, and internationally.

THE TANAMI NETWORK: PLACING THE TECHNOLOGY IN THE HANDS OF THE REMOTE CENTRAL AUSTRALIAN DESERT COMMUNITIES

Peter Holt
Network Manager, Tanami Network, Australia & Financial Officer, Outback Digital Network

In the early 1990s remote Central Australian desert communities were first gaining access to telephone and radio services. Within months television re-broadcast was added and the Warlpiri and Pintupi people began to make local news and information programmes. But this was not enough. Soon they wanted to broadcast these programmes to other communities and families over an area of half a million square kilometres across the Tanami Desert in the southwest Northern Territory. Discussions got under way with telecommunication providers and interested community service organisations to find a way to broaden access to communication facilities over this vast area.

By 1992 the communities had voted to allocate their mining royalties to develop a seven-site videoconferencing network, the first in the Northern Territory and one of Australia’s first outside the board rooms of ‘big business’ and academia.

Seven years later, the Tanami Network has run extensive trials of secondary education from Darwin (1500km north), extending community access to education by two years, and tele-medicine from Adelaide (1500km south), linking the Territory’s most remote community with specialist doctors and health educators. The Tanami Network has also provided regular prison links to allow families to stay in contact with incarcerated family members, as well as videoconferencing for staff recruitment for community positions. In addition, the Network links these communities to their local towns, to national and international conferences, to art galleries and museums, and directly to the rest of the world.

The development of the Tanami Network has brought a minor revolution to in-service delivery to remote Australia, largely because technology has been placed in the hands of the end users, those who have the most to gain.

The Australian government has recently funded an extension to this project across four states and into more than 100 remote Aboriginal communities. Now the real revolution begins.

ACTIVE LEARNING AND OPEN LEARNING

Professor Judith Greene
Department of Psychology
The Open University, Milton Keynes,
United Kingdom

This paper focuses on the importance of learning by doing and applies to every sector of education. University students, technicians, and paramedics all need to acquire knowledge that can be implemented as informed skills. Good texts, broadcasts, and other media try to include activities but students often fall back on passive learning.

The UK Open University organised a pilot Virtual Summer School in which a limited number of students interacted on-line with tutors and each other. It was successful in encouraging project work but there were substantial costs.

Is it possible to devise a low-tech type of project work that will be suitable for both developed and developing countries? The crux is to get students to work together in groups with guidance from a tutor. We developed ‘guided projects’ which allow students to contribute to their own acquisition of usable knowledge.

CD-ROMs and on-line virtual educational experiences are valuable in their own right. The overall aim must be to use these media to learn by doing rather than by responding passively to information-rich texts and technologies.

T.S. Fernando, Senior Lecturer
Department of Education
Open University of Sri Lanka, Nugegoda,
Sri Lanka

In any country, university faculties of education represent the vital link between primary and secondary schooling and university education. The Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL) is the only university providing teacher training at a distance in Sri Lanka. Consequently, OUSL caters to the needs of teachers dispersed in all nine provinces with a minimum amount of dislocation from their schools. This paper describes the OUSL initiatives to enhance the quality of primary and secondary schooling through its teacher education programmes.

The teacher education programmes of OUSL focus on teachers at different levels of the education system, ranging from pre-school to college level. The Bachelor of Education (Natural Sciences) and the Post Graduate Diploma in Education programmes train teachers in secondary schools, while the Master’s of Education programme draws its clientele from educational administrators and staff of other higher educational institutions. All these programmes use audiovisual material to supplement print material. OUSL has also launched a project to use information technology to improve learners’ access to information in the near future.

This paper examines the effectiveness of these teacher education programmes in catering to the needs of a widely dispersed student teacher population, specifically inquiring into the constraints affecting their effectiveness.

RESEARCH AND EVALUATION IN OPEN LEARNING: THE CASE OF THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF SRI LANKA

Professor Chandra Gunawardena
Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Open University of Sri Lanka, Nugegoda,
Sri Lanka

Higher educational institutions that sacrifice research for the sake of teaching are doomed to sterility and will not perform as vibrant institutions ushering in social change. Research is a vital process for investigating scientific and social issues pertinent to the academic disciplines and educational issues of an institution. Research helps the university to understand the constraints on its effectiveness and to search for solutions to overcome them.

The Open University of Sri Lanka’s priority has been the development of programmes of study to improve the effectiveness of distance education and to expand student numbers. A search for strategies to improve both equity and excellence at OUSL has pinpointed the critical role that research and evaluation can perform. Especially in view of the wide heterogeneity of our student population, research into distance education on issues of imbalance in representation, non-participation, drop-out rates, patterns of performance, and graduates’ careers, as well as evaluation of teaching and course materials, can greatly contribute to enhancing the quality and relevance of its educational programmes.

This paper describes the multi-pronged strategy used by OUSL with support from the Department of International Development in the United Kingdom to improve OUSL’s research capabilities. The measures include supportive policy decision-making, staff training in research methodology, the improvement of infrastructure facilities, the development of a management information system, the conduct of research seminars and the launch of a research journal to disseminate research findings. The paper also focuses on the difficulties encountered in implementing these measures.

FAST, FLEXIBLE AND FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR LEARNERS IN AUSTRALIA

Carol Hampton, Principal Lecturer
Onkaparinga Institute of TAFE, Australia

Learning packages developed using CD-ROM-Internet hybrids have provided great flexibility for learners in rural and remote areas of South Australia. This technology has combined the communication functions of the Internet with the capacity and power of the computer and its compact disk drive. The incorporation of streaming audio and video together with print and graphic learning materials provide comprehensive learning resources for even the most complex and practical subjects. The combining of multimedia in its various forms is the basis of captivating and interactive learning materials complete with quizzes and computer marked assessments. The computer disks are inexpensive to reproduce and easily distributed.

The Flexible Delivery Unit at Onkaparinga Institute of Technical and Further Education has established a low-cost unit to produce quality products to meet diverse training needs. The ability to simply customise the product is an additional feature. The early successes of the unit are an encouragement to others to embrace this technological approach to flexible delivery.

FACILITATING SELF-DIRECTED AND COLLABORATIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES FOR ADULT DISTANCE LEARNERS IN BANGLADESH

Professor Hasibul Haque
Open School, Bangladesh Open University, Gazipur, Bangladesh

Adult distance learning in Bangladesh is considered an effective means of coping with the limited resources and increased demand for higher education and training throughout this country. As in many developing countries, distance learning in Bangladesh predominantly follows behaviourist principles in course design and an ‘industrialised form of education’ in the production and delivery of courses. Although such well-structured designs and pre-prepared course materials are useful in achieving economies of scale, they often fail to respond to individual learner’s needs or incorporate home, workplace, community and other potential resources for learning into the learner strategies. This paper argues that redesigning distance learning instructional materials from a structured-didactic-behaviourist approach to a more flexible-experiential-constructivist approach that sufficiently incorporates real life problems, cases, and projects may encourage learners to recognise, compare, and construct their own learning through sharing and collaboration with other learners. The distance education institution can facilitate such learning strategies by providing learners with training in necessary skills, organising self-directed study groups, and using information and communication technologies to promote self-directed learner readiness. The paper is based upon the findings of independent research conducted at the Commonwealth of Learning from January to August 1998.

SECOND CHANCE: AN OPPORTUNITY TO STEP FORWARD IN PAKISTAN

Syede Najeeba Batool, Evaluation Co-ordinator
Institute of Mass Education
Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Pakistan

In Pakistan, education and literacy are the privilege of the few, and for men in particular. Current literacy rates in Pakistan range from 27% in Baluchistan province to 45% in Sindh province. Only 51% of men and only 27% of women are literate. Further disaggregation reveals sharper imbalances. Only 23% of educated women have access to education beyond primary school. The lack of infrastructure, teachers, relevant syllabuses, the absence of co-operation from elders and transport and the overall social and cultural circumstances have hindered women in their involvement in continuing education.

The Allama Iqbal Open University in 1986 initiated a programme for female middle level dropouts to give them a second chance at secondary level education (ninth and tenth grade) through distance education. The staff working for the programme were sensitive toward the problems of the female learners. Therefore, the University provided services in the best interests of the learners. The system has built-in flexibility, which help learners continue their education. A variety of functional, needs-based courses are offered: besides the compulsory core courses, about 16 courses are offered in groups that automatically guide learners to go for their subject area; for example, the Technical Group, Agriculture Group, Home Economic Group, Health Group, and the Education Group.

The study package comprises textbooks that are supplemented with ‘vision books’, audio and television programmes, self-assessment questions, and so on. The learners receive the study packages at their home addresses. The name of the study centre at which they are to attend weekly tutorials is also enclosed, along with the name of the part-time tutors in their subject.

After one semester of study over four and one-half months, the learner sits a final examination. In four semesters, eight credits can be completed. If a learner wants to discontinue, they can rejoin the studies after a break of one or two semesters. Now the University is planning to open this opportunity to male learners as well, and for these some subject areas of male interest are being added to the programme.

USING THE WORLD WIDE WEB IN DISTANCE EDUCATION PROGRAMMES IN AUSTRALIA

Anna Boyd, Associate Lecturer
Centre for Educational Advancement
Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia

Learning Link is Curtin University’s Web-based, computer-mediated communication environment for distance education and open learning students. The aim of Learning Link (www.curtin.edu.au/learn/) is to improve the quality of communication between distance education and open learning students and their unit controllers, tutors, and other students. In addition, Learning Link provides access to a range of university facilities such as the library and campus-wide information systems. Learning Link aims to increase the level of communication through the use of computers linked by modems to help reduce the social and academic isolation felt by some distance education students. The system has been offered to students at Curtin over a period of four years. This paper outlines some of the underpinning understandings that have guided the design and implementation of Learning Link. The paper outlines strategies that have been successful in particular on-line learning environments and how various student groups have been encouraged to work. The case study presented also provides on-line examples of teaching units that have Web-based teaching and learning components.

BRITISH MANAGEMENT OF OPEN LEARNING PROGRAMMES FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL-LEAVERS AND EMPLOYMENT IN CAMEROON

Yobo A Koue Fidele Honorine
Regional Co-operation Officer
British College of Professional Management, Douala Akwa, Cameroon

The British College of Professional Management (CPM) was established well over four decades ago to meet the demand for modern, professional management training for ambitious men and women in countries all over the world. The College of Professional Management’s flexible programmes can be followed at home or in the workplace. Substantial and well-produced training materials have been designed and written by experts with wide experience gained over many years of teaching managers. Successful trainees gain the prestigious CPM diploma and become college graduates at International Baccalaureate, Associate of Science Degree, and Specialisation levels.

The British College of Professional Management has recently established a campus in Cameroon, and CPM has developed three unique and modern methods of training in this country:

• full-time or regular campus study;

• intensive campus study; and

• self-study.

These successful methods of open learning also enable men and women from low income families to access high quality training at a cost within the reach of most and have a direct effective and positive influence on the national development process of education.

Professor Monira Hossain
School of Education
Bangladesh Open University, Gazipur, Bangladesh

The classroom portions of the school science curriculum in Bangladesh are far from effective. According to contemporary learning theories, the study of science is no longer merely a question of understanding and learning a collection of facts and ideas. Rather, the study of science suggests a set of processes through which learners can investigate themselves and the world around them. Process-based science requires children to learn through handling materials, investigating and thoroughly observing at their own pace to gain first-hand experience upon which to build a firm knowledge base. In a developing country like Bangladesh, the resources and techniques to provide effective science learning are hardly at hand. Even the present curriculum (running since 1996), although highly knowledge-based, has very little room for effective practical work despite suggested changes. These limitations of conducting practical classes and other shortcomings of the school science curriculum can probably be addressed by different education faculties of the Bangladesh Open University. The open university’s academic faculties are in a good position both academically and technically to provide help in the fields of teacher education, production of audiovisual teaching aids, enrichment of classroom learning by introducing school broadcast programmes, and the new cutting-edge area of ‘regional and national networking’ of school science teachers.

PRIORITIES IN OPEN AND DISTANCE EDUCATION RESEARCH: OPINIONS OF EXPERTS AND PRACTITIONERS WITHIN THE COMMONWEALTH

Professor Olugbemiro Jegede
Director, Centre for Research in Distance and Adult Learning
Open University of Hong Kong

If appropriately and effectively pursued, research has the potential of empowering educators with the necessary information in the effort to use open and distance learning for national development. However, several factors such as a lack of co-ordination and focus and a lack of serious regard for the central role research plays in policy, management, and the daily provision of education at a distance have negatively affected the impact of research and its constant review. As part of a larger international study, this paper reports on the views of distance educators in the Commonwealth on areas needing research; it also gives an order of priority to each research area.

The study used a total of 62 distance educators and practitioners from 23 countries of the Commonwealth who responded to a questionnaire, which had an alpha reliability coefficient of .89. Results indicated the need to concentrate efforts in almost all areas of distance and open learning. The priority suggested for the various areas of research are discussed in relation to their practical implications for professional, institutional, national, and global needs for research in open and distance learning.

TRANSMISSION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY IN INDIA

Dr. Ila S. Joshi, Reader
Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, India

The University Grants Commission on August 15, 1984 started the regular INSAT television programmes for higher education known as Country Classroom. The telecasts aim to enrich, update, and upgrade the quality of education for undergraduate students. A series of content analysis and feedback studies were conducted from 1987 to get a feel for the development of the system.

Overall, it is deduced from the analysis that the transmission in 1998 is more like the initial years of Countrywide Classroom except for couple of the variables such as removal of foreign programmes and a ‘trying-out quiz’ format. The probable reasons for the regression are:

• the increased load of hours of transmission.

• the effect of higher expectations mainly due
to comparison with other transmissions.

Although the students were never satisfied with the quality of the programmes and always complained about the difficulty in finding programme that matched their particular interests, they relied on Countrywide Classroom for enrichment of knowledge especially in the sciences and help in their studies. The programmes in English as well as in the national language and the morning timings have proved convenient for the students.

It is impossible to meet the educational needs of a huge country with varied educational systems. Countrywide Classroom has taken up this challenging task and has survived in a competitive world. Youth with an urge for knowledge have always found Countrywide Classroom very useful.

CHALLENGES OF COURSE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION IN A DUAL MODE INSTITUTION IN BOTSWANA

Judith W. Kamau, Senior lecturer and Head
Distance Education Unit
University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana

The main challenges to be addressed during course development and implementation of distance education programmes in dual-mode institutions include policy interpretation, budgetary constraints, full-time and part-time staff development modalities, materials development procedures and processes, and acquisition of requisite equipment. Traditional staff workloads militate against their desire to participate in the creation of study materials, provide programmes not offered by traditional departments and faculties, and administrative and organisational structures. A brief comparison of single- and dual-mode provision is given to place the discussion in context. The paper analyses the advantages and limitations of dual-mode provisions, drawing examples from the University of Botswana and other tertiary institutions in the region. The paper then advances some suggestions for improving the organisation, management, and administration of distance education programmes in dual-mode institutions.

ISSUES IN COURSE DEVELOPMENT: THE EXPERIENCE AT THE INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY IN INDIA

Professor Asha S. Kanwar
Director, School of Humanities
Indira Gandhi National Open University,
New Delhi, India

In more than a decade since its inception, Indira Gandhi National Open University has established leadership in the design and development of self-instructional materials for open learning. Currently three different models of course development are used for developing academic, professional and vocational programmes. This paper examines the basic question of how to develop quality materials relevant to the needs of a diverse corpus of learners from both the structural and the pedagogical viewpoints.

In face-to-face learning, student enrolment is standardised in terms of entry qualifications, achievement levels and learning ability; other disparities in student capability are tackled by the teacher in the classroom. But in an open learning situation, how does one design course materials to:

• cater to the different levels of students ranging
from the indifferent to the mediocre, and to
the very bright and adjust the presentation to
capture attention across the board?

• ensure comprehensibility of language so as not
to discourage or demotivate? This is
particularly relevant in multi-lingual contexts;

• make the study material interactive and
thought-provoking so as to hone the critical
capabilities of the students? and

• provide consensus in conflict? Different
courses may be written from different
ideological standpoints and a distance learner
may fall into confusion and doubt. How can
course materials enable the learner to evolve
his or her own perspective with some degree
of confidence?

This paper aims to share the IGNOU experience and generate discussion on how to design and develop course materials within the parameters of relevance, innovation, flexibility, interactivity, and the questions of language and quality.

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR AN ON-LINE COURSE: A CASE STUDY IN MALAYSIA

Multimedia Development Centre
University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The aim of this paper is to discuss the design aspects of a template developed for putting courses on-line. The paper asserts that while on-line learning enables new ways of presenting instructional materials to students, learning is not guaranteed in the absence of sound design and support. The on-line template designed by a team with different expertise at the Multimedia Development Centre is made available to all lecturers at the University. Lecturers can access the template from anywhere using a Web browser. Five design features of the template, specifically, course information, notes, tutorial, announcement, and discussion, are discussed, followed by a review of methods for the creative and flexible generation of materials. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the template and related concerns.

Atawe Koigiri, Head
Department of Open and Distance Learning
The Papua New Guinea University of Technology, Lae, Papua New Guinea

The Papua New Guinea University of Technology, through its Council and Academic Board approved the creation and establishment of the Department of Open and Distance Learning as one of its academic departments. This was in response to a genuine need of students graduating from provincial high schools to continue on to matriculation studies before entering universities and colleges.

The department currently offers two academic programmes, Adult Matriculation and a Diploma in Commerce. Through the Department of Open and Distance Learning the University will establish university centres around the country and later extend these to our Pacific neighbours.

Most teaching will be delivered from the university’s main Taraka Campus via an appropriate delivery technology. This paper discusses the development of academic programmes and delivery methods using one or more technologies.

The installation of audio conferencing equipment in Manus province is used as an example to support the author’s contention that extra care must be taken when choosing an appropriate delivery technology for Papua New Guinea.

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE INDIAN OPEN UNIVERSITY DISTANCE LEARNERS’ ACADEMIC SELF-CONCEPT, STUDY HABITS, AND ATTITUDE TOWARD DISTANCE EDUCATION:
A CASE STUDY AT THE INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY IN INDIA

Dr. Anil Kumar, Junior Programme Officer
Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, India

This paper presents the findings of an empirical research study conducted into the academic self-concepts, study habits, and attitudes toward distance education of open university distance learners in relation to their academic performance.

Analysis of the background characteristics showed a varied nature in the distance learners at the first-degree level. The distance learners exhibited an ‘above average’ academic self-concept, ‘good’ study habits, and a positive and ‘above average’ attitude toward distance education. Significant differences in the study habits of distance learners were found when compared on the basis of marital status, social class, academic stream, employment status, and experience in distance learning. Significant differences in academic self-concept were noticeable only for the background variables of academic stream and employment status. Significant attitudinal changes were seen only between married and unmarried distance learners. A moderate positive correlation (r=0.4714) was found to exist between academic self-concept and academic performance. However, the coefficients of correlation between academic performance with study habits and attitude toward distance education were 0.27 and 0.24 respectively, which characterised a low positive relationship. Further, it was found that academic self-concept appeared to be an important predictor of academic performance for distance learners. The results of the study offer various suggestions to improve the performance of Open University distance learners at the first-degree level in India.

TRAINING THE TRAINERS: THE EXPERIENCE OF THE NATIONAL OPEN SCHOOL IN INDIA

Sandhya Kumar, Faculty Member
National Open School, New Delhi, India

Face-to-face contact sessions provided by a tutor at a study centre seem to be the most viable and crucial student support in an open leaning system. The role of the tutor in a study centre is usually to complement or supplement learning materials. The managers of such study centres, often called ‘co-ordinators’, play an important partnership role by providing appropriate help and resources and by ensuring the smooth running of the study centres.

Tutors and study centre co-ordinators are drawn from the traditional system and usually have no or little knowledge of open learning. Their previous experience as teachers or managers often proves to be counter-productive, and they continue to be authoritative and resistant to change as in the traditional system.

In any organisation, investment in human resource development has an asset value measured in terms of both current and potential performance. This paper illustrates the strategies adopted by the National Open School to develop a trained pool of tutors at its study centres across the sub-continent.

OPEN LEARNING STRATEGIES FOR ENHANCING ON-CAMPUS TEACHING:
AN EXPERIMENT IN INDIA

Professor Veena Kumar, Head
Educational Technology
Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India

Thanks to the Internet, open and distance learning is becoming charged with new energy, theory is actually explained through application and the virtual has become the real. By contrast, on-campus education is giving way under the ever-increasing burden of an exploding knowledge base, reduced financial resources, larger classes and a dearth of quality faculty. On most campuses, minor disciplines such as language learning do not figure anywhere on the priority lists of either the institute or the student. Can the excitement of the Internet be harnessed to resolve the real problems of students on campus? Can the strong features of on-campus and open learning systems be combined to develop an even more powerful delivery system?

This experiment attempted to answer these questions. The experiment undertook to design and set up an innovative system of delivery for an on-campus course in open learning using computers in different configurations. It was a virtual class on a real campus. The initial results are very encouraging and indicate that similar initiatives in other disciplines where there are similar problems (e.g., a large number of students with very diverse entry level competencies in a subject such as Mathematics) may be well worth exploring.

COURSE MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT AND DELIVERY IN DISTANCE EDUCATION IN BOTSWANA

Dr. Gangappa Kuruba, Senior Lecturer
Centre for Continuing Education
University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana

Distance education has emerged as a viable and appropriate option in meeting the educational needs of people at all levels in today’s society. It saves much of the infrastructure costs of the formal system and operates flexibly with easy access to as many learners as possible. It is considered the best alternative to traditional classroom learning. Among learner support services, self-instructional course material has become a very important requirement of the distant learner. Thus the need to develop quality course material is critical as is the choice of an appropriate delivery system.

The development and delivery of course material in the Centre for Continuing Education, University of Botswana, and the Distance Education Division, Ministry of Education, is presented as a case study in this paper. Although the two institutions have more or less followed the same process in the development of course material and delivery, an integrated approach to the development of course material is needed when the programmes and student numbers grow over a period of time. The integrated system, while highlighting the different stages of course material development, focuses on the need for course material development and its delivery. This necessitates collaboration in course material development from among institutions within the country and also institutions in different countries. The efforts made by the Distance Education Association of Southern Africa (DEASA) are outlined. A recent meeting between interested institutions in Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland has established the collaboration necessary to begin course material development that will yield all-round benefits.

MALAWI COLLEGE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION TO MOVE TO RESOURCE- BASED LEARNING

C.F. Laymaman, Editor and Senior Producer
Malawi College of Distance Education, Chichiri

This case study outlines the factors that have made the Malawi College of Distance Education (MCDE) operate a pilot project aimed at revitalising teaching and learning in the distance education centres where more than two-thirds of Malawi’s secondary education takes place. The paper looks at the historical background, mission statement, objectives and strategies that have been used in the past to provide education to more than 150,000 active students. The paper also outlines the objectives and strategies in course production and delivery, which the College has been using for over 30 years. It analyses the conduct of the pilot project and recommends an open learning system for Malawi. The main reason for this recommendation is to improve the declining education in the country and provide more access to secondary education by the masses. This consideration is made on the basis that in the years 2002-2003, the College will be forced to enrol more than 300,000 students. This pressure will come from the 1994 free primary intake of 3.4 million as opposed to the previous intake of 1.9 million, which made MCDE enrol more than 150,000 students.

Although MCDE’s mission statement, objectives, and strategies were reviewed in 1996 to reflect a concern for quality and the provision of relevant programmes through realistic and affordable strategies, the College has not managed to improve education in the distance education centres. And since it is not clear whether MCDE fully understands its mission as an educational organisation with a large secondary education market, moving to a system of open learning may help MCDE redirect its efforts to provide education that can lead to positive development through usable education. This paper considers the areas of distance education centre management, teaching, and learning and materials improvement, which are strategically important, and if improved and well managed, can produce the desire results.

IDEAS AND INSPIRATION: LOW AND HIGH TECHNOLOGY FOR TEACHING CONTEMPORARY CANADIAN ART

Lynda Arnusch
Arts Education Consultant
Saskatchewan Education, Canada

This paper illustrates how the most advanced art practices in Canada can be viewed and discussed by both students and teachers in rural and urban settings.

A group of 100 works of art that represent the diversity and the most advanced art practice in Canada were selected in slide format. A teachers’ and students’ manual was constructed starting with a post-modernist view to art and education. The works of art are discussed from contemporary critical viewpoints such as formalism, Marxism, feminism combined with social issues, and identity and cultural studies. Open-ended questions and discussion topics allow the students and teachers to develop discourses on identity, environment and place, gender and sexuality, and so on. Art is not viewed as elitist. Included in the art slides are works by ceramic artists, furniture makers, architects, clothing designers, advertising illustrations, and cartoonists. This low technology version was then enhanced to a CD-ROM version.

While including the same works of art, the CD-ROM format allows the artists to talk about their work and the contexts of its making. Through a virtual reality tour of an artist’s studio, the student begins to understand the working conditions of an artist. Additional information on the artist, the context of the work, its possible interpretations and the medium of its production is available to the student or teacher using links within the CD-ROM. The students can interact with the CD-ROM by creating their own exhibition from the works of art in the collection, comparing and contrasting works and placing works of art in thematic or historical contexts. Students are encouraged to transfer their understanding of a work of art to their projects and questions from a personal context. The student’s responses are recorded for the teachers’ assessment and evaluation.

ACHIEVEMENT OF LANGUAGE STUDENTS IN DISTANCE LEARNING IN HONG KONG

Dr. Yin-bing Leung
School of Education and Languages
The Open University of Hong Kong

Chinese and English language enhancement courses were first offered by the Open University of Hong Kong in October 1998. Such distance education courses are often viewed with some skepticism by local language educators and students, their biggest criticism being the limited amount of classroom interaction and peer group support, which are considered essential in language learning.

This paper reports on the progress made by a group of students in learning Putonghua (Mandarin) at a distance from October 1998 to February 1999. Their language proficiency was recorded at the beginning of the course and their progress was monitored closely. Their performance is compared with the ‘benchmark’ for Putonghua proficiency stipulated by the Hong Kong Examinations Authority, and with the results of students in local traditional universities. One of the aims of this study is to find out whether the relatively infrequent classroom interaction hampers the learning of a second language. A better understanding of the students’ progress in distance learning could improve the quality and the development of such language courses in the future.

DEVELOPING MANAGERIAL SKILL THROUGH AN OPEN MODE MBA PROGRAMME: AN APPROACH FOR THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, BANGLADESH OPEN UNIVERSITY

Professor Mohammad Ayub Islam
Department of Accounting
University of Chittagong, Bangladesh

Bangladesh is emerging from state socialism and entering the open market economy with strong privatisation. This changing situation has significant impact on management practices. The new requirements for managers in business are creativity, knowledge, and quick decision-making ability. But during this transition in the Bangladeshi economy and its enterprises, many managers are ill-equipped to deal with the numerous changes and problems. This case study shows that most managers do not even have any business education. Further, the case study shows that a good number of professional managers working in public and private sector enterprises are interested in developing their managerial skills. But because of time and other constraints, they are unable to participate in a traditional education programme. So, they are looking for a part-time management education, preferably a Master’s of Business Administration programme.

This case study reports on the proposed MBA programme on open learning at Bangladesh Open University by comparing it with other distance mode MBA programmes in developed countries. Such examination discloses that the proposed MBA does not have the requisite features or facilities to maintain a good quality education. The study also includes some suggestions concerning the infrastructure and technological constraints of the country.

DISTANCE EDUCATION MODEL: THE EXPERIENCE OF UNIVERSITI TELEKOM (MULTIMEDIA UNIVERSITY) IN MALAYSIA

Shaharimah Ibrahim
Assistant Director, Centre of Instructional Resources and Distance Education
Universiti Telekom (Multimedia University), Melaka, Malaysia

This paper focuses on the course development and delivery models adopted by Universiti Telekom’s (Multimedia University) Distance Education Programme in Malaysia. First, the paper gives an overview of distance education. Second, it discusses the various concerns and issues a distance education programme faces. Third, it outlines Universiti Telekom’s (Multimedia University) Distance Education models.

The distance education concept adopted by this programme is that a ‘student can learn at anytime and at any place’. No regional centres are provided. Instead, students can interact among themselves and with instructors through e-mail or more traditional modes of communication. The University still uses printed learning materials to serve students without Internet access. At present, a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Management is offered over a minimum of three years to a maximum of six years. The paper also explains the procedures for implementation, the production of learning materials and course delivery. Also included are an indication of the various methods and techniques used in delivering learning materials. Finally the paper discusses the issues and problems in dealing with distance education, including human resources, readiness of the student, technology interfaces, and quality control mechanisms.

OPEN LEARNING FOR ADULTS WITH LITTLE OR NO FORMAL EDUCATION IN ZIMBABWE

Professor Meshack Jongilanga Matshazi
Dean of Studies
Bindura University College of Science Education, Bindura, Zimbabwe

This paper presents a case study of the University of Fort Hare Basic Education Project in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, which started in 1992 as both a research and course development and delivery effort. The initial research thrust sought to gather information about the people in the University’s catchment area: their problems, aspirations, and what they wished to learn that would be of benefit to their lives. From this information gathering about its target communities, the University of Fort Hare was able to come up with a ‘four sector model’ or definition of ‘adult basic education and training’ to include:

• family and community education;

• craft and vocational skills;

• school equivalency;

• and literature and numeracy.

To further its aim of harnessing the resources of the University for the benefit of ordinary men and women living in urban communities in the area, the Project identified open learning techniques as better and more suitable for providing basic education and training to adults with little or no formal education. Hence, the case study explains how, through the open learning thrust, the Project was able to demonstrate to adults that they could study and learn knowledge and skills that would be useful to them, even if they had little or no formal education and could not read or write.

TELE-EDUCATION NB AND THE TELE-CAMPUS ON-LINE COURSE DATABASE: BUILDING THE LEARNING INDUSTRY IN NEW BRUNSWICK

Rory McGreal, Executive Director
Department of Education
TeleEducation, Fredericton, N.B., Canada

The TeleCampus on-line database aims to be the world’s leading World Wide Web site for students seeking information about on-line courses and programmes, and for educational institutions and training companies wishing to promote their offerings. It is a comprehensive multilingual on-line database of courses and programmes available world wide on the Internet, including primary, secondary, community college, university, and specialised training courses. The database is limited to those courses that can be taken fully on-line from anywhere in the world and that have an Internet connection. An analysis of the available courses demonstrates that nearly 77% of these courses originate in the United States. More than 44% of these are at the university level. Fully 96% are in English. Other statistics are available. Interested parties can view the database at http://database.telecampus.com.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT THROUGH DISTANCE EDUCATION IN SRI LANKA

H. Ramya Gamage, Senior Lecturer &
Head, Department of Management Studies
The Open University of Sri Lanka, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka

This paper deals with the outcomes of two research studies on the entrepreneurship development programme conducted through open and distance learning by the Management Studies Department of the Open University of Sri Lanka. The programme is called the Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management. The objective of the programme is to motivate participants to start small businesses and to give them the necessary knowledge and skills in small business management.

According to the two studies so far conducted, the programme has enjoyed a certain amount of success during the 16 years of its existence. It has a widely expanding clientele of various age groups and different educational levels, extending into every region of the country. To mobilise such a group and motivate them within one year of academic studies is difficult. Distance education has become the cynosure of a large sector of the population which is unable to enter a traditional university to receive higher education.

CURRICULUM REFORM AND EMPOWERMENT IN MALTA

Dr. Joseph Mifsud
Head, Department of Primary Education
University of Malta, Msida, Malta

ONE MESSAGE, MANY AUDIENCES: THE DEVELOPMENT OF DISTANCE EDUCATION COURSES IN RECORDS AND ARCHIVES MANAGEMENT FOR COMMONWEALTH-WIDE DELIVERY

Dr. Laura Millar, Managing Editor
International Council on Archives, Paris, France
International Records Management Trust, London, United Kingdom

The Management of Public Sector Records (MPSR) Project, managed by the International Records Management Trust and the International Council on Archives, seeks to empower Commonwealth countries and regions in the developing world to raise their standard of records and archives education and thus improve the care of their information resources. The Project’s objectives include the development of an integrated series of 15 educational modules on records and archives management, which may be used for self-study, as part of a distance education programme, or as resource tools for face-to-face or workshop teaching.

One of the Project’s greatest challenges has been to develop training materials which are sufficiently generic to be adaptable to Commonwealth countries around the world, and then to participate in their adaptation for use in specific countries. But records and archives management is a topic very much bound by the cultural, political, and technological realities of a specific country or region. Computer applications to record keeping in one country may be meaningless in another. Centralised administration of information may be at the core of one government’s organisational structure; the concept may be unacceptable in another. The development of this distance education programme has therefore required flexibility in content, presentation and style, while ensuring that the central message of the training programme is preserved: that the effective management of recorded information is essential to accountability, efficiency, transparency, and good governance. This presentation outlines some of the challenges faced by the Project team and discusses:

• the need to adapt instructional design principles to instructional methods and technological and educational requirements in different countries;

• the importance of international participation in the MPSR Project;

• the need to be responsive to change while still retaining the integrity of the message;

• the use of language, illustrations, and examples relevant in different cultural contexts;

• the value of case studies to teach concepts in a regionally meaningful fashion; and

• the use of manuals and videos to supplement instructional information.

QUALITY ASSURANCE AND STANDARDS IN OPEN AND DISTANCE EDUCATION: THE CURRENT EXPERIENCE OF THE OPEN UNIVERSITY, UNITED KINGDOM

Roger Mills, Regional Director
The Open University, East Anglia, United Kingdom

This case study describes the conduct and impact of external quality assessments on the UK Open University over the last six years. Currently, two main approaches to the quality assurance of teaching and learning are adopted in the UK: a general institutional quality assurance audit (at the institutional level) and a teaching quality assessment (at the subject level). This paper describes the experience of the UK Open University which has been involved in two institutional quality assurance audits and more than ten teaching quality assessments during this period. It also reports briefly on some of the developing ideas for the further refinement of the audit process in the UK, including the new draft guidelines for distance education.

SUSTAINABLE TRAINING AND LIVELIHOODS FOR RURAL POOR AND MARGINALISED COMMUNITIES IN SOUTHERN AFRICA: A CASE STUDY

Professor Gisela Prasad, Director
Institute of Southern African Studies
National University of Lesotho

With advances in information technology, open learning was expected to reach out to the poor and the marginalised and offer them an opportunity to learn. Instead, the market-driven technologies primarily serve the urban rich and educated who can afford access to them. The rural poor are completely left out because they are poor and unconnected to basic infrastructures. The gap between the technology and knowledge ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ is widening rapidly.

In Southern Africa in general, and in Lesotho in particular, the major marginalised groups are retrenched miners and farm workers, unemployed youth who were never employed, herdboys, adults with ‘irrelevant’ education, and ‘graduates’ from circumcision schools. Women are particularly socially and legally disadvantaged.

To empower the poor, marginalised and remote rural communities, a tripartite partnership within the community, Lesotho University, and the donor or government has been formed with the aim of setting up rural technical and business skill centres. The objectives are to acquire, master, and maintain technologies that enable these communities to access the open education and training of their choice; and to create sustainable livelihoods relying mainly on indigenous human creativity and local natural resources.

Musema Zombo Morris
Regional Representative for West Africa
Cambridge Tutorial College, Douala Akwa, Cameroon

The Cambridge Tutorial College has been involved in training millions of people around the world, in over 130 countries, and has expertise and experience in doing so for over 40 years. Cambridge Tutorial College is an international distance training college and a full member of the British Association for Open Learning, accredited and recognised by countries throughout the world.

Most modern managers must learn to provide effective leadership, how to organise, how to motivate and control subordinates for the best results, and how to do so without arousing dissatisfaction or causing disputes. The objective of this training programme for Cameroon-based corporations is to enhance professionalism in companies with the hope of reinforcing and developing necessary competence that will boost the productivity of enterprises that desire a sustainable future. The participants can be business executive supervisors, office management assistants or general employees of any business industry.

Each programme is taught intensively by experts from the British Career Colleges, drawn from a worldwide network. Different methods of training are implemented in order to fill local needs:

• three-day in-plant modular training;

• three-day off-the-job modular training;

• up to 12 months of distance learning; and

• 12 modules in discontinuing vocational training.

The main areas of training include hospitality, business, management, secretarial skills, and accounting.

RESERVING A PLACE FOR TRADITIONAL MEDIA IN GUYANESE SCHOOLS

Hazel Moses, Head (ag)
Distance Education and Information Unit
Ministry of Education, Georgetown, Guyana

The reality of the average Guyanese classroom is one replete with inadequacies that challenge the effective delivery of the instructional programme. This scenario naturally challenges the competence and dedication of even the most committed of our teachers. In an effort to provide continuous support for classroom teaching, the Distance Education and Information Unit has taken responsibility for designing programmes for direct teaching by radio which will help minimise the instructional deficit. These programmes address the content of the core subjects for ages five to thirteen and also offer the development of aesthetic appreciation through the fine arts, thus enabling learning through a wide range of intelligence.

The content of the academic subjects is directed largely by the curriculum as it serves the specific needs of the classroom teacher and the needs of the students. Radio, the medium that provides the direct link with the classroom, forges an intimacy with the listening audience, indirectly instructs in the rudiments of language competence, facilitates opportunity for educational advancement, provides guidance in methodologies, and offers classroom and social contact. Used in conjunction with the radio are the tape-recorder, cassette, and the Learning by Radio booklet. These relatively affordable tools can facilitate schools in even the most remote areas experiencing difficulty in receiving the transmission signals. These tools also give the teacher the opportunity to apply formative evaluation and promote sensitivity to the learning styles of the individual. They help the teachers prepare the students and themselves before the broadcasts, provide useful information for the extension of content and follow-up activities, and clarify and support concepts taught on the programmes. Further, they are retrievable and realistic in communities where the pace of development is slow and often hampered by social, geographical, economic, cultural, and political constraints, Radio, a traditional and relatively unsophisticated means of communication, is an important instructional tool in this context.

DESIGN AND DELIVERY OF MATURE AGE ENTRY PROGRAMMES: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PERCEPTIONS OF MATURE AGE ENTRY IN FIVE UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

Dr. Stanley Mpofu, Senior Lecturer
Department of Adult Education
University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana

This study sought to determine mature students’ perceptions of the design and delivery of entry schemes for mature students in five universities in Southern Africa: the universities of Botswana, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, and the National University of Lesotho. A convenient sample of 137 former and current students was chosen for the study.

The study revealed that mature students across the five institutions were generally positive about the design and delivery of mature age entry schemes. A much more representative study needs to be undertaken to obtain more valid data for the region. Nevertheless, the study finds two practical implications:

• institutions that have mature entry schemes should continue to run them along the same lines; and

• the general positive perception suggests that many mature students could join via the scheme if it were made available on a larger scale.

The study reveals that those institutions that have the scheme in place could expand it, while those that do not have the scheme could consider adopting it.

DISTANCE EDUCATION IN ZIMBABWE

T. Benza, Regional Co-ordinator
College of Distance Education
University of Zimbabwe, Bindura, Zimbabwe

Although distance education has grown in importance as a cost-effective strategy to address national human resources needs and demands for university level education in both developed and developing countries, Zimbabwe has embarked on this strategy only very recently.

This presentation describes the introduction and development of distance education at the University of Zimbabwe. The presentation explores the country’s demographics and expansion in education at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, including the main sources and reasons for the demand for university education.

The genesis of distance education at the University of Zimbabwe is then traced, beginning with the studies and commissions that determined the feasibility of introducing distance education programmes at the University of Zimbabwe. The aims and objectives of distance education at the University of Zimbabwe are presented, as are the suggested dual model of operation, the current programmes and student enrolments at the University College of Distance Education (UCDE), the student characteristics, the delivery system, the administrative and organisational structures currently operating at the UCDE, and the student support services. The key factors identified in a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) analysis of distance education at the UCDE are also given.

DISTANCE EDUCATION IN THE COMMONWEALTH CARIBBEAN: SURVIVAL OF THE FIT-TEST

Dr. Krishnapillai Murugan
Curriculum Development Specialist,
Distance Education Centre
University of the West Indies, Bridgetown, Barbados

Institutional partnerships are increasingly inevitable as learning societies demand multi-tasking of their global citizens. Institutional ‘partnerships’, though, connote interdependence among equals in terms of assuring and maintaining quality in distance education. If quality is considered to be fitness for purpose, then survival depends on the endurance of the fittest. Distance education institutions, whether of the single or dual mode, should therefore reflect on their current practices. Taking stock of the situation under a mutually agreed framework of criteria would certainly help to benchmark the best practices in different areas of distance education operation. It would also allow relatively new institutions to learn from the existing wealth of learning experience.

Distance education practice, as offered today at the University of the West Indies, an institution which serves the Commonwealth Caribbean, is seen against this background. The University’s multi-campus operational structure, combined with a strong oral tradition, project culture, and more importantly complacency borne out of past experience in other forms of distance education, seem to obfuscate the potential of distance education. This paper sets the agenda for the future: staff orientation to change attitudes.

PARENTAL AWARENESS AND INVOLVEMENT IN PRIMARY EDUCATION: AN OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING STRATEGY FOR INDIA

Dr. M. Chandrasekharan Nair
Deputy Director, Centre for Extension Education
Indira Gandhi National Open University,
New Delhi, India

The achievement of universal elementary education still remains a distant dream for many developing countries like India. Despite numerous efforts to improve primary school education, the scenario in India continues to be dismal with low retention rates and low achievement levels. While most programmes designed to improve primary education give utmost importance to the role of teachers in moulding the future citizens of the community, the equally significant role of parents is often neglected. Preventative interventions designed to benefit young children in fact benefit the whole community by enabling these children to reach their full physical, mental, and emotional maturity. Therefore, higher levels of parental involvement in primary schooling must be ensured. This paper discusses open distance learning strategies for enhancing parental involvement in primary school. A suitable theoretical model, which can be adapted by Indian states to implement open distance learning strategies, is also explored in this paper.

DISTANCE EDUCATION AND EMPOWERMENT: THE CASE OF HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION AT THE INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY IN INDIA

Professor Pandav Nayak
Director, Human Rights Project
Indira Gandhi National Open University,
New Delhi, India

Post-modernism characterises the spirit of the contemporary age. We are ‘post-modernist’ following the decline of all disciplines and professions (including education) which started in the 1960s and 1970s as their unifying framework, modernisation, came under assault from diverse quarters. The ‘fragmentation’ of the modernist paradigm in education was aided by an increase in organisational flexibility and a heavy dependence on information technology. A new motto surfaced - Concern for ‘others’ -which is itself emancipatory. As a ‘fragment’, distance education can have all the solid advantages that arise out of the positive impact of post-modernism, but the negative effects need to be guarded against.

This paper cautions against over-identification with information technology in distance education and expresses a fear that distance education may lose an historic opportunity to overcome the accumulated problems of the developing world that result from failed ‘modernist’ remedies. Distance education must confront several new realities. Organisational barriers have arisen - distance education has been streamlined at the tertiary level - and the traditional format is inflexible to new demands in curriculum and delivery. This case study of Human Rights Education at the Indira Gandhi National Open University in India offers an example of a university providing education that makes people aware and active, so that the learning is a genuine and direct source of empowerment.

THE DISTANCE EDUCATION PROJECT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DSCHANG, CAMEROON: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Dr. Jana Janakiram, Co-ordinator,
School for Rural Extension Services
University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada

This paper presents a case study of the Distance Education Programme at the University of Dschang, Cameroon. Since independence in 1960, university education in Cameroon has been free; students have even received generous stipends. Patterned after the Grandes Écoles in France, professional schools in Cameroon have received special attention, conferring on their students privileges unparalleled in most tertiary educational systems in the world.

Admission into these Grandes Écoles was, and still is, by entrance examination. The National Advanced School of Agriculture was one such Grande École. Each year, about 6,000 applicants sat the entrance examination for 100 places; and the law outlawed the admission of private students into the programme. Therefore, many people who desired an agricultural education were denied access to knowledge.

In 1988, four Professors at the National Advanced School of Agriculture took the initiative to find innovative ways of democratising agricultural education in Cameroon. The Distance Education Programme is a Canadian International Development Agency-funded project that between 1988 and 1998, evolved into a programme at the University of Dschang. It now delivers a text-based distance education curriculum of 20 courses in three specialisations in agriculture - animal, crop, and management science - leading to certificate and diploma awards in tropical agriculture.

Problems encountered in implementation include academic conservatism, stonewalling, difficulties in organising practicals, programme delivery, institutionalisation and a national policy vacuum on distance education. This paper presents the lessons learned. The prospects and sustainability of the programme as well as implications for public policy are examined in light of emerging trends in distance education.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS AFFECTING DISTANCE LEARNING IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Dr. Andrew Chola Nyondo
Senior Lecturer, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Papua New Guinea University of Technology, Lae, Papua New Guinea

The Department of Open and Distance Learning at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology offers two programmes at a distance: a Matriculation programme and a Diploma in Commerce programme. This paper discusses the socio-economic factors that affect the learning of our distance learners, who come to the university from different backgrounds. The home environments and attitudes of the people in the communities in which our students live are some of the factors impacting on the experiences of our distant learners. We also look at other related factors such as attrition and failure rates and the social forces, which influence these.

DISTANCE EDUCATION AND THE NEW INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES: AN ANALYSIS OF PROBLEMS FACING A DEVELOPING COUNTRY

Ayoku A. Ojedokun, Subject Librarian
University of Botswana Library, Gaborone, Botswana

The new modes of distance education delivery through the use of the information and communication technologies continue to create flexibility in the delivery of education in relation to the time, place and pace of study and they provide learners with a highly interactive learner-centred environment. The success of the application of information and communication technologies, however, depends upon the ready availability of the necessary infrastructure (for example, telecommunication and power supply), economic circumstances and skilled human resources in the country. Many developing countries experience problems in meeting these requirements.

This paper identifies the new information and communication technologies for the delivery of distance education and discusses the problems in their application to distance education delivery, using Botswana as an example of the circumstances in many developing countries. The paper observes that these problems are capable of hindering the use of information and communication technologies for effective delivery of distance education programmes in Botswana. It then recommends measures for the effective use of informatio