OPEN LEARNING RESEARCH PROJECT (8)

APPENDIX: B

DISTANCE (CONTACT) TEACHING AT THE TECHNIKON OFS BRANCHES

Paper: ICDE Conference, Birmingham. 1995
Technikon Orange Free State

KEYPOINTS

This research paper deals with three intertwining aspects, namely:

* A general introduction to the generations of Distance Education models with emphasis onthe local campus facility system which the Technikon OFS (TOFS) uses to expand its services inthe subregions of the Free State, as well as Qwaqwa and the Northern Cape development regions.

Supplemental co-operation with the University of the OFS (UOFS), and Technical Colleges in an academic support and bridging programme with other post-secondary education (PSE) institutions regarding a possible open learning system based on community needs.

* A preliminary exploration of possible multilateral and international co-operation under theauspices of the UNITWIN project for higher-level distance teaching of UNESCO, e.g. with theInstitute for Extra-Mural Studies (IEMS) in Maseru, Lesotho, and collaborative schemes of theDevelopment Bank of Southern Africa between post-secondary education institutions in Namibia,Botswana and the TOFS In the Northern Cape.

INTRODUCTION

The Technlkon Orange Free State (TOFS) is the only residential technikon in the Free State/ Qwaqwa and Northern Cape region and is situated In the capital city of Bloemfontein. It provides distance education for the Faculty of Management to four branches in the agricultural maize triangle of the Northern Free State; In the mountainous Qwaqwa region; the highly industrialized Goldfields and also to a trans-provincial branch in the well-known diamond city of Kimberley In the Northern Cape region of South Africa.

The TOFS branches were established in 1987. It represents a classical dualism of a First-World technlkon education system within Third-World conditions. As is the case in many developing African countries, the contemporary higher educa­tion scene Is much distorted. A need-driven re­search programme is thus eminent.

GENERATIONS OF DISTANCE EDUCA­TION MODELS

Distance Education (DE) exists in two principal forms. It comprises either contact teaching at the institution plus an additional DE programme, or it is "solely devoted to teaching at a distance" (Croft 1992: 49). TOFS is not exactly such an institution, but rather an extramural off-campus system with assistance from part-time campus lecturers, gener­ally referred to in the literature as a Dual-Mode Dis­tance Education System (Mugrldge 1992).

By definition the TOFS programme does not totally compare with the well-known definition according to which DE is structured learning where the student and the lecturer are separated by space (Swift 1993). The students may be distant from the main campus in Bloemfontein, but they are not isolated. They still have a part-time lecturer nearby from whom they receive contact teaching and whom they consult after hours. In this regard the report of the South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE) Workshop agrees that: "The precise form of each feature will differ greatly across institutions because each must be designed to fit the specific practical, economic, academic and cultural in context which the courses are to be offered" (SAIDE Report 1994: 3).

TRENDS

Mugridge (1992) explains that growing student numbers and a growing use of DE technology, is a world-wide tendency. Especially in the Free State/Qwaqwa and Northern Cape regions, it is a matter of dealing with the question of resources which are becoming Increasingly vital within an ever-growing population explosion. The only difference is the scale, rather than the nature of the problem in the Third and the First World.

COST-EFFECTIVE SYSTEM

Cost-effectiveness prohibits a free-for-all system which could only develop Into a financial burden for the main campus. The ideal is to counterbalance the large student numbers of the TOFS branches with low unit costs. The answer according to SAIDE (1994: 5), is "to have a structure of student support that can make success possible for very large numbers of students in each course. Therein lies the key structural difference between modern distance education and correspondence education".

AN APPROACH TO OPEN LEARNING

While distance education deals with the collection of delivery systems of teaching and learning, Open Learning (OL) deals with the philosophy or concept of the educational system itself. The lecturers In the dual-mode system, such as in the TOFS branches, could also practise a dual role. Open learning is defined as follows: "It can be a person who 'instructs' orally, perhaps making use of one or more other media. Alternatively the 'teacher' is not a person at all. It is a designed (ideally multi-media) course in which syllabus con­tent is made available to the student by media other than the spoken word. Support for the stu­dent is given by a wide range of organized struc­tures like the multi-media course itself; regionally based counselling, tutorial and study centre faci­lities; peer support groups; 'summer' school op­portunities and computer networks..." (Swift 1993:1).

THE INDUSTRIAL MODEL

In 1969 the British Open University introduced the so-called industrial model, which is a mixture ofway study material to students with some cor­respondence feedback or a kind of contact teach­ing with tutorials. Since then, autonomous insti­tutions have developed with single-mode systems.

In this respect the TOPS dual-mode shows similar characteristics based on the industrialised model. Although smaller in student number, equal qualifi­cations could be obtained. Due to the high cost of interactive technological DE, however, students at the branches do not yet enjoy all the advantages of electronic information as in third generation DE.

INVITATIONAL EDUCATION

As foundation for a marginalised society, e.g. the theory of Invitational Education, it is as important to succeed with an open-learning system as it is to improve the quality of the lives and standard of living of the whole community in the various sub-regions. Although it is agreed that not all the technikon students will be employed, it Is still important to invite them. This is to prevent that "they decide to disinvite themselves in that they discourage and lower another's sense of personal worth" (Steyn 1994:53).

The Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) in South Africa could only be supported by an education and training system that ensures that people are enabled to realise their full potential in society (ANC 1994:59).

TOTAL SYSTEMS VIEW (of. Moore 1993)

The ever-changing global market conditions post-secondary education (PSE) institutions to deliver instruction on demand for business and industry. It also causes major obstacles for higher level DE programmes in relationship with PSE accreditation of courses and diplomas and linkages with the labour market (UNITWIN: 1993). Subsequently much is still to be dons to offer a universal model to link research and evaluation of the variety of DE programmes.

The interaction between andragogic education and the labour market within technikon co-operative learning programmes reduces the complexity of learning tasks and promotes traditional instruc­tional designs. Technikon learning and instructing thus depend more on facilitative instruction. By facilitating higher-level distance teaching in deve­loping countries, UNESCO initiated an interna­tional network through the UNITWIN project to re­inforce existing subreglonai, regional and Inter-re­gional co-operation. Needs can be met on the spot and "to foster the advancement of science and the transfer of knowledge by facilitating access world­wide to the expertise of outstanding specialists in important disciplines" (UNITWIN 1993).

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

In Sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia hosted the 21st anniversary of the International Extension College in 1992, which serves as an example of how DE has become the principal breadwinner in Africa. Therefore DE cannot afford second best status. It is the only way to defuse the global (African) higher education crisis (cf. The Namibian Conference on the 21st anniversary of the International Extension College 1992).

Teachers in Namibian DE programmes are already brought into contact with tutors operating in the various subregions. According to Mayo, "Distance education does not exclude face to face contact... The future may see a very different world where distance learning Is combined with personal super­vision and the barrier separating it disappears" (Times Higher 1992).

In Mozambique, at the Institute of Languages, the SADCC English Language Training Project, fi­nanced by the European Community, offers one-to-one courses In four of Its ten provinces. UNESCO also established a chair at the Univer-dado Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo to facilitate high-level DE from the Universities of Utrecht, Amsterdam in Holland to Mozambique.

Nearer to the OFS, the Secretary-General for the Lesotho National Commission for UNESCO in Maseru, facilitates contact education programmes between the National University of Lesotho at Roma and the Institute for Extra-Mural Studies (IEMS) In Maseru. IEMS has regional centres (branches) at Mohaleshoek (near the OFS town, Zastron), at Thaba Tseka (near the Katse Dam of the Highland Water scheme and at Leribe (Northern Lesotho) (cf. Lesotho National Commission for UNESCO 1993).

SOUTH AFRICA

A new educational model for South Africa will most definitely make use of more forms of DE pro­grammes. Both the National Education Policy In­vestigation (NEPI) and the Educational Renewal Strategy (ERS) of the former Minister of National Education (1994) reiterated the necessity of uti­lising external campus facilities. The ERS espe­cially referred to the roles of technikons to address the national personpower needs (ERS 1993).

The PSE Infrastructure of the OFS and Northern Cape Development Regions

The constitutional status quo is that South Africa has developed into nine geographical regions of which the OFS and Qwaqwa form one region. Its western border Is linked to the Northern Cape re­gion where Kimberley is the capital. (In the east the OFS shares the border with Lesotho.)Whilst Bloemfontein used to host all the main PSE institutions such as UOFS, TOPS, Teacher Training, Agricultural, Nursing and Technical Colleges, the status quo has changed immensely over the past decade. New concurrents such as Vista University and the aggressive marketing endeavours of the University of South Africa, Technlkon SA 0"SA), Technisa, the College of Education of South Africa (CESA) and non­governmental organisations that offer correspon­dence courses, triggered the impetus for TOFS and UOFS to exploit the PSE market In their immediate influence spheres other than only using their traditional residential services.

The Goldfields subregion

This subregion consists of an extensive multinatio­nal population due to the mining industry. Subse­quently students are recruited from workers' corps all over South Africa as well as from Lesotho, Malawi and Mozambique. The main area of interest Is in Personnel Management courses for the more advanced employees in the mining sector.

The Kroonstad subregion

Due to the highly competitive Vaal Triangle Techni-kon, in the Pretoria/Witwatersrand Goldreef pro­vince, this branch initially concentrated on Correc­tional Services training courses. However, it gradu­ally started to present other courses to serve the Northern OFS. Currently the branch is being transformed to fulfil the needs of the Recon­struction and Development Programme (RDP) for the agricultural sector.

The Kimberley branch

In the absence of sufficient PSE institutions in the Northern Cape, the TOFS branch in Kimberley is growing rapidly in fulfilling exactly these needs. Apart from the disciplines of the Faculty of Mana­gement, courses in Pathophysiology are also of­fered. A lively interest prevails in the Community Board of Kimberley for PSE about the possibilities of awarding B. Tech degrees and the training of teachers for technical education. This interest could culminate into a future satellite campus as an impetus for a kind of community college that may fulfil wider aspirations of the Northern Cape PSE Forum.

The Qwaqwa branch

The Qwaqwa branch serves the biggest student body (320) of all four branches. It meets the needs of a homogenic Southern Sotho cultural group in contrast to the multicultural character of the other branches. This fact contributes to a large extent to its success.

COMPONENTS AND TRENDS OF THE TOFS PROGRAMME

TOFS has a well-functioning administration system which is user-friendly towards its student clientele. This includes the following: Structured study guides; counselling services (academic support); feedback mechanisms; fully equipped library services; a proper staffing structure; and permanent administrative personnel and a continuing staff development programme.

Furthermore, the human and personal characteris­tics and needs of students and lecturers are taken into account on a more regular basis. Due to the risk subjects and multicultural character (an ap­proach to daltonism) of the student population at the different branches, an introduction to supple­mental instruction for risk courses has already been considered. In his research, Greyllng (1993) also emphasises the importance of interaction between the components of DE. The co-operative learning approach for the labour market compels technikons not to engage in teaching methods that are completely remote from the experience of first-year students. However, it has been agreed that the use of microprocessor-based telecommunication technologies in third generation DE will enhance learner autonomy, but only after gradual orientation and academic de­velopment of the student (Dillon & Gunawardena 1992). It is still the quality and content of teaching and not the medium (aids) that matters.

Interactive Television and Computer Based DE like the University of Pretoria (in a very rich neighbou­ring province), offers to its satellite campus in Witbank, proves to be a great success, but is very costly too.

Student needs at TOFS branches are rather to ex­pand its modular education system into more flexi­ble alternatives. The Ideal will be to enable students to have choices within a course to move through it at their own rate or even to interchange across courses. Students should be able to combine modules In any way, and to shift fields without losing credits, because all the modules must count. Unfortunately such a system will be very expensive due to higher administrative costs.

Co-operation with technical colleges and Technikon SA

Contracts for co-operation with the technical colleges in the various subregions are signed with TOFS for bridging, mobility of students and articulation purposes. The association with TOFS also appears to uplift the status of the technical colleges and increase student numbers.In courses where TOFS cannot offer certain subjects, good use is made of TSA. Excellent co­operation exists with the Director for Student Development and the Director of the Co-operative Education and Programme Development of TSA.

In preliminary discussions TSA mentioned a variety of mergers with TOFS and UOFS, such as a desire to establish autonomous satellite campuses which can accommodate a kind of comprehensive college system. As such it could provide an OL system, based on community learning needs, which could be linked with a life-long learning system by providing certification, curriculum and trainer support in Adult Basic Education (ABE), i.e. recurrent education for in-service training of technical teachers, nurses and managerial staff either on a full-time or a part-time basis. However, while educational planners in OL disagree about the means and the ends to establish such a system, the ideal is to provide a wide range of learning opportunities "that both aim to assist learners in gaining access to knowledge and skills they would otherwise be denied and to give learners the optimum degree of control over their own learning" (Rowntree 1994:13-14).

CONCLUSION

Authors on the subject vary in their formulations of instructional industrialism. Some see it as a student support sub-system (Granger 1994). This description is more applicable to the TOFS branches. The co-operative system of technikons and industry, after all, may really force the whole PSE system to move from a linear mechanical model of operation to a more flexible "systems" model which recognises the variable interactions among the different components, much the same as the different demands of students.

Bilateral extension with IEMS In Lesotho Is also possible because of the low population density on the OFS borders. Subsequently it would be more feasible to seek bilateral co-operation with IEMS in Lesotho to establish an IEMS-TOFS network. This possibility has already been tested with the local Secretary-General of the Lesotho National Commission for UNESCO.

Higher-level contact DE programmes like UNITWIN of UNESCO could also be expanded. It offers new programmes, serves new clientele and employs a range of new technologies, with significant results for the improvement of teaching and learning. In addition, the diversity and versatility of higher-level contact DE plays a key role in societal development and progress in both industrialized and developing countries. In this latter context, higher-level contact DE with Its potential for lower unit costs than traditional higher education, can contribute substantially to the solution of PSE problems in the OFS, Northern Cape and Qwaqwa Development regions (cf. UNITWIN 1993).

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