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Main country report by Gabi Witthaus, James Kay and Nick Jeans

>> Full report on OER in South Africa by Neil Butcher; PDF version of the report at File:OER South Africa Report-Dec2012-pdf.pdf

For entities in South Africa see Category:South Africa

Policies Survey notes:

Several South African institutions are involved in OER projects. For example, the University of the Western Cape is a member of the OpenCourseWare (OCW) Consortium and runs its own OpenCourseWare projects, the South African Institute for Distance Education (Saide) runs the OER Africa initiative and the Department of Basic Education manages the education resource portal (Thutong) with free and open resources for schools.
The Department of Higher Education and Training has included the development of an ODL policy framework in its strategic plan for 2010–2014, which will include OER. In addition, there is also a policy decision, through the process of the Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education Development, that all educational resources developed through funded projects have to be released under a CC licence.
The Southern African Development Community is currently developing an ODL policy and strategic plan that will see the region of Africa sharing learning materials at all levels of education.
South Africa’s e-Education white paper makes reference to OER in educational strategies.
The respondent to Policies Survey from South Africa noted in relation to South Africa's motivations for involvement in the OER movement that "Through the use of OER, the department can increase and improve access to education resources for all citizens irrespective of race, location, age, disability and economic status."

OER in South Africa: Map

Total number of Open Education Initiatives in South Africa/OER on Thursday, 16 May 2024 at 08:57 = 9 , of which:

  • 3 are MOOC
  • 6 are OER

Initiatives per million = Expression error: Missing operand for /."Expression error: Missing operand for /." is not a number.

Loading map...


Overview

South Africa, in full the Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of Africa. South Africa's coast borders both the Atlantic and Indian oceans. To the north of South Africa lie Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland, while the Kingdom of Lesotho is an independent enclave surrounded by South African territory.

South Africa is known for its diversity, and eleven official languages are recognised in its constitution. English is the most commonly spoken language in official and commercial public life, however it is only the fifth most spoken home language.

South Africa is ethnically diverse, with the largest Caucasian, Indian, and racially mixed communities in Africa. Although 79.6% of South Africa's population is Black, this category is neither culturally nor linguistically homogeneous, as they speak a number of different Bantu languages, nine of which have official status.

Population (2013): 52980000. Composition--black 79.8%; white 8.7%; colored 8.9%; Asian (Indian) 2.6%. (2013 Mid-Year Population Estimate Report at http://beta2.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0302/P03022013.pdf). This makes it quite large compared with the typical European country.

The main Cities are: Capitals--administrative, Pretoria; legislative, Cape Town; judicial, Bloemfontein. Other cities--Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth.


Further information

For further general information see Wikipedia:South Africa.

Education in South Africa

For a general description of education in South Africa see Education:South Africa.

In recent history, South Africa has seen major changes, both in governments, society and education as the Apartheid only came to a halt in 1994. Apartheid was a government-enforced system of racial segregation which had a very limiting impact on the everyday life, living areas, job opportunities and education of coloured people in South Africa. An example of this is the Bantu Education Act of 1953 (No. 47) which enforced racial segregation in education. The Apartheid lasted from 1948 to 1994, after which the Constitution was established and the educational system was revised to improve racial diversity and equality in education. Document of relevance: Wikipedia entry on Apartheid South Africa: A Country Study > Education, 1996 by Rita M. Byrnes, ed. for the Library of Congress, USA. Wikipedia's page on Bantu Education Act of 1953 (No. 47)

The Bill of Rights, contained in the Constitution, 1996, even mentions the need to redress the results of past racially discriminatory laws and practices (Section 29. Paragraph 2.3 ). The Bill stipulates that everyone has the right to a basic education, including adult basic education and further education, which the State, through reasonable measures, must progressively make available and accessible: 28. Children: Every child has the right (...) not to be required or permitted to perform work or provide services that ­(...) place at risk the child's well-being, education, physical or mental health or spiritual, moral or social development; 29. Education: Everyone has the right to a basic education, including adult basic education; and to further education, which the state, through reasonable measures, must make progressively available and accessible." Everyone has the right to receive education in the official language or languages of their choice in public educational institutions where that education is reasonably practicable. In order to ensure the effective access to, and implementation of, this right, the state must consider all reasonable educational alternatives, including single medium institutions, taking into account equity; practicability; and the need to redress the results of past racially discriminatory laws and practices. Everyone has the right to establish and maintain, at their own expense, independent educational institutions that do not discriminate on the basis of race; are registered with the state; and maintain standards that are not inferior to standards at comparable public educational institutions. Subsection (3) does not preclude state subsidies for independent educational institutions.

Sources & Related Documents: Bill of Rights > Section 28. Children > Paragraph 1.f.ii and Section 29. Education Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 and amendments South African Government Information - Education Policy (web page) Plan of Action Improving access to free and quality basic education for all (PDF), June 2003 by the Department of Education

The Council for Higher Education (CHE) has also published the Ministry of Education's Language Policy Framework for South African Higher Education (PDF) in 2001, which has the promotion of multilingualism as a central aspect. It also affects the language of each qualification certificate and transcript issued to a student within the South African higher education system, as stated in the Higher Education Qualifications Framework (HEQF) (PDF), 2007.

The National Education Policy Act, 1996 (Act 27 of 1996), empowers the Minister of Education to determine national norms and standards for education planning, provision, governance, monitoring and evaluation. The South African government is divided into departments instead of what we call Ministries. Department of Education is responsible for formulating policy, setting norms and standards, and monitoring and evaluating all levels of education and also in funding Higher Education Institutions through subsidies and by providing financial support to students through National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).

The government puts its focus on equity, quality of teaching and learning and literacy. As the Department of Education states on its site: "Our vision is of a South Africa in which all our people have access to lifelong education and training opportunities, which will in turn contribute towards improving the quality of life and building a peaceful, prosperous and democratic society" and part of its mission is "creating a vibrant further education and training system to equip youth and adults to meet the social and economic needs of the 21st century."

In 1994 The government-in-waiting’s commitment to increasing access to education through the use of distance education methods was evident in the 1994 Policy Framework for Education and Training (ANC Education Department, Johannesburg): The development of a well-designed and quality distance education system based on the principles of open learning is the only feasible approach to meeting the needs of the vast numbers of our people who were systematically deprived of educational opportunity in the past, while at the same time providing opportunities for the youth coming up through the educational system at present. It will allow people access to education and training and the ability to determine where, when, what and how they want to learn (ANC, 1994:78). Source: Designing and Delivering Distance Education: Quality Criteria and Case Studies from South Africa. Section One (PDF - EN - 17 pages, by Tessa Welch and Yvonne Reed with NADEOSA Quality Criteria Task Team

Formal education in South Africa is categorised according to three levels – General Education and Training (GET), Further Education and Training (FET) and Higher Education (HE). By mid-2007, the South African public-education system had 12,3 million learners, 387 000 educators, 26 592 schools, 2 278 Abet centres, 50 public FET institutions, 4 800 Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres and 23 HE institutions.

There are also policy frameworks in South Africa that focus on inclusion such as the Policy Framework on HIV and AIDS in October 2008, which was adopted by the Minister of Education (Naledi Pandor in 2009), and the 23 public sector higher education institutions in South Africa. HEAIDS is South Africa’s nationally co-ordinated, comprehensive and large-scale effort designed to develop and strengthen the capacity, the systems, and the structures of all HEIs in managing and mitigating the causes, challenges and consequences of HIV/AIDS in the sector and to strengthen the leadership role that can and should be played by the HE sub-sector.

Source: Higher Education South Africa (HESA) > HEAIDS, Strategic framework 2006-2009 and beyond (PDF). Related document: HESA > Press Release > SA higher education adopts policy framework to mitigate HIV and AIDS at institutions (PDF), Oct. 2008

Councils and advocacy groups: Higher Education South Africa (HESA) represents all 23 public universities and universities of technology. It is the successor of the South African Universities Vice-Chancellors Association (SAUVCA) and the Committee of Technikon Principals (CTP). The launch of HESA was in part driven by the restructuring of the higher education sector, which resulted in the establishment of new institutional types, but also by the need for a strong, unified body of leadership.

the African Council for Distance Education (ACDE)

the South African Council for Educators (SACE) aims to enhance the status of the teaching profession, and to promote the development of educators and their professional conduct

the South African Nursing Council (SANC) which focuses on nursing education and practice standards

the South African Council for English Education (SACE) promotes the use of English as one of South Africa's official languages. (If web site is offline, there is also information on myggsa.co.za)

the Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA) is an association for the 63 public universities in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region

the Association of African Universities (AAU) which strives to raise the quality of higher education in Africa and strengthen its contribution to African development by fostering collaboration among its member institutions

the Council on Higher Education (CHE) is an independent statutory body responsible for advising the Minister of Education on all matters related to higher education policy issues, and for quality assurance in higher education and training

the South African Qualification Authority (SAQA)

one of the roles of the South African Technology Network (SATN) is to provide a forum to discuss higher education issues in the universities of technology, including co- operative education, teaching, research training; technological innovation and technology transfer, advocate the needs, interests and purposes of technological higher education and their communities to government, industry and other groups and to develop policy positions and guidelines on various related higher education matters

Related Documents: South African Government Agencies and Policy Documents and Speeches on Education, up to 2004 Department of Education > Documents > Policies The South African Schools Act, 1996 (Act 84 of 1996) The South African Schools Act, 1996 (Act 84 of 1996) (PDF)


South Africa education system

The Constitution has vested substantial power in the provincial legislatures and governments to run educational affairs (other than universities and universities of technology), subject to a national policy framework. The national Department of Education is responsible for formulating policy, setting norms and standards, and monitoring and evaluating all levels of education. It also funds HE institutions through subsidies and by providing financial support to students through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).

Source: South African Government Information - National and Provincial Departments

Formal education in South Africa is categorised according to three levels:

General Education and Training (GET): consists of the Reception Year (Grade R) and schooling up to Grade 9 and the equivalent Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) qualification.

Further Education and Training (FET): consists of grades 10 to 12 in schools and all education and training from the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) levels 2 to 4 (equivalent to grades 10 to 12 in schools), and the N1 to N6 in FET colleges. After completion of level 1 of the NQF, a learner could achieve a GETC and after completion of level 4 of the NQF, an FETC.

Higher Education (HE): consists of a range of degrees, diplomas and certificates up to and including post-doctoral degrees

Educational levels

Primary School: Reception (Grade 0) to Grade 6 The age of a child entering grade 1 is age five turning six by 30 June in the year of admission. Grade R (reception year) or grade 0, the age is four turning five by 30 June in the year of admission.

Secondary School: Junior Secondary, Grades 7-9;

Further Education and Training (Grades 10-12)

Higher Education:

Certificates and Diplomas (generally 1-2 years of study) Bachelor Degree (from 3 years to 6 years of study, depending on course) Honours Degree (1 further year of undergraduate study, requiring a thesis) Masters Degree (2 years of post-graduate study) Doctorate (variable in duration with a minimum of 2 years, following a Master’s)

Grade 12 is the year of matriculation: the final exams of high school are administered by the government and are called "matric exams" so students in the final year of high school (grade 12 or the matriculation grade) are known as "matrics" and if they pass these exams they are called matriculants or it's said that they "matriculated". Becoming a matriculant is required (with certain minimum conditions) for tertiary education. Some private schools also offer a post-matric "sixth form" year which allows students to sit for A-level examinations.

The minimum requirement for admission to a higher education institution from 1 January 2009 is the National Senior Certificate. Related document: Minimum Admission Requirements - for Higher Certificate, Diploma and Bachelor's Degree, Programmes requiring a National Senior Certificate (EN – PDF), 2005, by the Department of Education

Government is bound by the Constitution to progressively improve access to further education and training (FET) (which is Grades 10 to 12 in schools).

Source: Plan of Action Improving access to free and quality basic education for all (PDF), June 2003 by the Department of Education


Teacher-student ratio

There is usually some correlation between class size and fees. The average teacher-to-pupil ratio in state schools is 1:33, as compared with 1:18 in private schools. At those state-aided schools where parents pay for extra teachers by way of school fees, and at the more expensive private schools, the maximum number of pupils is usually about 30. At poorer schools this is often higher, with as many as 40 to 50 children in a classroom.

Sources:

A parent's guide to schooling > How large will my child's class be? South African Government Information - Introduction (web page) Matriculation in South Africa (Wikipedia page) GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 5 OCTOBER 2007 Levels of education in South Africa, 2006.

The Further Education & Training (FET) institutions were affected by restructuring as they were reduced from 152 to 50 institutions. Source: South African Government - Information about Education:

Schools in South Africa

All South Africans have the right to a basic education, including adult basic education and further education. According to the Bill of Rights of the country's Constitution, the state has an obligation, through reasonable measures, to progressively make this education available and accessible. Under the South African Schools Act of 1996, education is compulsory for all South Africans from the age of seven (grade 1) to age 15, or the completion of grade 9. General Education and Training also includes Adult Basic Education and Training.

School life spans 13 years or grades, from grade 0, otherwise known as grade R or "reception year", through to grade 12 or "matric" – the year of matriculation. Grades 1 to 9 are compulsory, and classified as General Education and Training. Grades 10 to 12 are considered to be Further Education and Training. Grade 12 is the year of matriculation, which is required (with certain minimum conditions) for tertiary education. Some private schools also offer a post-matric "sixth form" year which allows students to sit for A-level examinations.

The Ministry of Basic Education focuses on adult basic education and training in addition to primary and secondary education. The central government provides a national framework for school policy, but administrative responsibility lies with the provinces. Power is further devolved to grassroots level via elected school governing bodies, which have a significant say in the running of their schools. Private schools and higher education institutions have some autonomy, but are expected to fall in line with some government policies – no child may be excluded from a school on grounds of his or her race or religion, for example.

The Further Education and Training (FET) branch is responsible for the development of policy for grades 10 to 12 in public and independent schools, as well as in public and private FET colleges. It monitors the integrity of assessment in schools and colleges, and offers an academic curriculum as well as a range of vocational subjects. FET colleges cater for out-of-school youth and adults. It also oversees, coordinates and monitors the system’s response to improved learner participation and performance in maths, science and technology. It also devises strategies aimed at the use of information and communication technology (ICT), and supports curriculum implementation through the national educational portal, Thutong (Setswana, meaning "place of learning").

The breakdown of schools includes 26 065 ordinary schools and 9 166 other education institutions – including special schools, early childhood development (ECD) sites, public adult basic education and training (ABET) centres, public further education and training (FET) institutions and public higher education (HE) institutions.

The total of 26 065 ordinary schools comprised 15 358 primary schools, with 6 316 064 pupils and 191 199 teachers; 5 670 secondary schools, with 3 831 937 pupils and 128 183 teachers; and 5 037 combined and intermediate schools, with 2 253 216 pupils and 74 843 teachers. Other educational facilities include 2 278 ABET centres, 50 public FET institutions, 4 800 ECD centres and 23 HE institutions. In state-funded public schools, the average ratio of pupils to teachers is 31.5 to one, while private schools generally have one teacher for every 17.5 pupils.

Compared with most other countries, education gets a large proportion of public spending – usually around 20% of total state expenditure. The greatest challenges lie in the poorer, rural provinces like the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Schools are generally better resourced in the more affluent provinces such as Gauteng and the Western Cape.

Illiteracy rates currently stand at around 18% of adults over 15 years old (about 9-million adults are not functionally literate), teachers in township schools are poorly trained, and the matriculation pass rate remains low.

Secondary schools involved in the NEPAD e-schools Initiative:

Isiphosethu High School

Thozamisa High School

Lomahasha Secondary School

Ipetleng Secondary School

Hendrick Makapan High School

Maripe Secondary School

Secondary schools involved in the iSchoolAfrica:

Thuto-Lesedi Secondary School, Vosloorus

Sunward Park High School, Boksburg

Tembisa Secondary School

Unity Secondary School, Daveyton

Germiston High School

Lethulwazi Secondary School, Vosloorus

General Smuts High School

Jeppe High School for Girls, Kensington

National School of the Arts, Braamfontein

Buhlebuzile Secondary School , Thokoza

Alabama Combined School, Klerksdorp

Are Fadimeheng Secondary, Klerksdorp

Technical High School, Klerksdorp

Sacred Heart College

Zonkizizwe Secondary, Katlehong

Kingsmead College, Rosebank

BEDU Schools

Khanya: Western Cape Education Department Technology in Education Project Sponsored Schools:

Wynberg High School

Cedar High School

Hatlani Muyexe Secondary, Muyexe

Dysselsdorp Secondary, Dysselsdorp

Further and Higher education

The Wikipedia List of universities in South Africa is informative at a general level as well as for details. It also provides comprehensive listings of the many other providers both domestic and foreign.

Public universities in South Africa are divided into: traditional universities, which offer theoretically-oriented university degrees; universities of technology, which offer practically-oriented diplomas and degrees in technical fields; while the list on Wikipedia also makes a distinction for comprehensive universities (indicated with a star), which offer a combination of both types of qualification.

There are also a large number of other educational institutions in South Africa - some are local campuses of foreign universities, or foreign HEIs that conduct classes for students who write their exams at the distance-education University of South Africa while other institutions offer unaccredited diplomas.

In 2004 South Africa started reforming its higher education system, merging the (university and non-university) HEIs into larger, regional unitary institutions which also caused a renaming of the so-called Technikons to Universities of Technology.

More information about this reform can be found on this page under the section on Higher education reform

Universities in South Africa

University of Cape Town (UCT), (Cape Town)

University of Fort Hare (UFH), (Alice), (East London)

University of the Free State (UOVS), (Bloemfontein)

University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), (Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Pinetown, Westville)

University of Limpopo, (Polokwane, Ga-Rankuwa)

North-West University (NWU), (Mafikeng, Mankwe, Potchefstroom, Vanderbijlpark)

University of Pretoria (UP), (Pretoria)

Rhodes University (RU), (Grahamstown)

University of Stellenbosch (SUN), (Stellenbosch)

University of the Western Cape (UWC), (Cape Town)

University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), (Johannesburg)

University of Johannesburg (UJ), (Johannesburg) *

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), (Port Elizabeth) *

University of South Africa (UNISA), (Pretoria - Distance Education) *

University of Venda (Univen), (Thohoyandou) *

Walter Sisulu University for Technology and Science (WSU), (Buffalo City, Butterworth, Mthatha, Queenstown) *

University of Zululand (Unizulu), (Empangeni) *

Universities of Technology (Polytechnics) in South Africa

There are 6 Universities of Technology (previously known as Technikons) Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), (Bellville, Cape Town)

Central University of Technology (CUT), (Bloemfontein, Welkom)

Durban University of Technology (DUT), (Durban, Pietermaritzburg)

Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT), (Durban)

Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) (Pretoria)

Vaal University of Technology (VUT), (Vanderbijlpark)

Relevant sources: SATN > Universities of Technology list the government's page on HEIs HESA > Public Universities (with overview of founding date and number of students)

Colleges in South Africa

Notable provider CIDA Foundation UK is a university that enables previously disadvantaged learners from taking up Higher Education. It depends on funding and sponsoring from companies and individuals and demands from its students that they go to their own communities and educate their peers. The students to fully appreciate their education they all contribute financially towards tuition: £31 in total for year one, and £13 per month in years two to four. This is 6% of the cost of attending other universities in South Africa. Students also help to run the campus by dedicating a minimum of five hours of their time each week. At the end of the course, rather than paying back a loan, students are encouraged to "pay it forward" by committing to funding another student from their hometown after they graduate and become employed.

Source: CIDA - About Us - Fees (web page) Relevant document: Register of Private Higher Education Institutions, 13 July 2009 (PDF - EN), 2009, by the Department of Education

e-learning

For a description more focussed to e-learning see E-learning:South Africa/OER.

ICT in education initiatives

In all the different facets of the ICTs for education prism, South Africa boasts about two decades of accumulated experience from its wide range of projects and programmes pioneered by noteworthy champions across the stakeholder spectrum of communities, the private sector, civil society, donor, development, and government agencies. ICT education policies are embedded within a broader national government economic, social, and development strategy which includes: Attention at the highest level in government to the role of ICTs in the promotion of economic growth, job creation, social development, and global competitiveness Linkages of South Africa’s strategy to a broader pan-African mandate as expressed in the commitment to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) programme and its dedicated project promoting e-schooling Overhaul in the education and skills development system at all levels A dedicated policy on the transformation of learning and teaching through the use of ICTs, particularly in the formal schools

Education Network and E-rate

The Department of Communications (DOC) leads all ICT initiatives in South Africa through its Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (ECA) of 2002, which is an extension of its Telecommunications Act of 1996 and 2001 and which promotes the establishment of a Universal Service Agency (now referred to as the Universal Service and Access Agency of Southern Africa (USAASA), a Universal Service Fund, an Education Network (EduNet), and an “e-rate,” all of which serve at least conceptually to support access to and use of ICTs in education institutions. The Education Network is to be an entity that would network all public schools and education and training institutions. The e-rate allows discounted access to Internet services to education institutions in South Africa. Section 73 of the ECA states that Internet services provided to all public schools and all public further education and training institutions must be provided at a minimum discounted rate of 50% of the total charge levied by the licensee. The discount includes, but is not limited to, any connectively charges for access to the Internet, charges for any equipment used for or in association with connectivity to the Internet, and all calls made to an ISP.

E-education White Paper

Policy development on ICTs in education date back to 1995, with the establishment of the Technology Enhanced Learning Initiatives (TELI) which was followed by the Feasibility Study for the Establishment of a Dedicated Educational Channel. In 2001, the National Department of Education and the Department of Communication jointly released a Strategy for Information and Communication Technology in Education, which is believed to have laid the basis for the e-Education White Paper adopted in 2004. The goal of the policy is that every learner in the primary and secondary school sectors should be ICT capable by 2013. To achieve this, schools are expected to be developed into e-schools consisting of a community of both teachers and learners. E-schools are further defined as having:

Learners who utilise ICTs to enhance learning

Qualified and competent leaders who use ICTs for planning, management, and administration

Qualified and competent teachers who use ICTs to enhance teaching and learning

Access to ICT resources that support curriculum delivery

Connections to ICT infrastructure


In such institutions, the teachers and learners are be able to function across three dimensions: Operational – referring to skills to use ICTs

Cultural – developing cultures that support the practices of using ICTs

Critical – ability by teachers and learners to challenge assumptions embedded in the success stories about ICT


E-education is defined as much more than just developing computer literacy skills and the skills necessary to operate various types of ICTs. It is also the ability to:

Apply ICTs, access, analyse, evaluate, integrate, present, and communicate information

Create knowledge and information by adapting, applying, designing, inventing, and authoring information

Function in a knowledge society by using appropriate technology and mastering communication and collaboration skills

There are organisations that are trying to enhance education with digital resources and connectivity such as the e-Schools' Network, founded in 1993 - a non-profit, self-funded, organisation that provides 1700 schools and the FET College community e-services such as SchoolMail, (a mailbox for each learner and educator in a school), connectivity and communication solutions and training support. Source: http://www.esn.org.za/

South Africa has a host of dispersed and unco-ordinated programmes and projects that promote education through the use of ICTs at various levels of the education system, particularly in the formal schools sector. A study by SchoolNet South Africa (2002) lists 34 different programmes and projects in the schools sector. Since then a few have fallen by the wayside and some have tended to collaborate more closely. The need for coordination remains. Some of the individual government departments of education have had their own provincial strategies, particularly in the schools sector. The major programmes in the schools sector currently underway in South Africa are listed below:

Community Education Computer Society (CECS) - NGO promoting access to training on ICTs in Southern Africa - http://www.cecs.org.za

ICDL Foundation - Certified courses based on an end-user standard on ICTs training - http://www.icdl.org.za

The AVOIR Project - The African Virtual Open Initiatives and Resources (AVOIR) Project, initiated by the University of the Western Cape (UWC), is a collaborative effort among several African higher education institutions. It attempts to create educational and business opportunities that contribute to the development of Africa through Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) development activities - http://www.avoir.uwc.ac.za

Sakai SA - Three South African universities, the University of Cape Town, University of South Africa and North-West University, are collaborating on the deployment and extension of the Sakai Collaboration and Learning Environment (CLE). Sakai is a global consortium of over 100 higher education institutions jointly developing an open source CLE which is used to support teaching and learning, ad hoc group collaboration, support for portfolios and research collaboration - http://www.sakaiproject.org

Media Works - Media Works is an established company that specialises in providing National Qualifications Framework-aligned training for Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) and learnerships. They provide both face-to-face classes and computer-assisted learning through multimedia programmes with workbooks and facilitator sessions - http://www.mediaworks.co.za

Women’sNet - is an NGO that promotes gender equality and justice in South Africa through the use of ICTs by providing training and facilitating content dissemination and creation that supports women, girls, and women’s and gender organisations and networks to take control of their own content and ICT use - http://www.womensnet.org.za

NEPAD e-schools Initiative South Africa is home to the NEPAD e-schools Initiative, a transnational ICT technology and skills enhancement initiative by the NEPAD e-Africa Commission, the ICT arm of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) which is based in Pretoria. It initiated ICT schooling in 16 countries in Africa through the demo NEPAD e-Schools Demonstration Project. The South African secondary schools involved in the demo are:

Isiphosethu High School

Thozamisa High School

Lomahasha Secondary School

Ipetleng Secondary School

Hendrick Makapan High School

Maripe Secondary School

Distance education in primary education

OLSET is a provider of Open and Distance Learning in South Africa specifically for primary school children. Committed to the goal of 'Education for All', OLSET, a South African-based NGO working in collaboration with the country's National and Provincial Departments of Education, actively supports the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through the considerable geographic outreach of its Interactive Radio Learning Programme. In 2008-9 OLSET's English In Action Radio Learning Programme reached over 1.8 million learners and 52,000 teachers in seven of South Africa’s nine provinces. A highly-regarded education provider, OLSET has worked and works in collaboration with, inter alia, South African Provincial Departments of Education, South African Broadcasting Corporation, UNICEF/Operation Lifeline Sudan, UNESCO IICBA, the British Council, DFID and the BBC. Source: http://www.olset.org.za


Mobile learning

According to a survey of high-school learners in South Africa by the Youth Research Unit at the University of South Africa (UNISA) 98-99% of high school learners across all school types owned a cell phone. In South Africa, Robinson in 2010 estimates conservatively that are approximately 10- to 12-million WAP-enabled cell phone users in SA, and Goldstuck (2010) reports that for 450 000 users cell phones are the primary form of access to the Internet. According to one study by two youth marketing agencies (Student Village & Interact RDT) 78% of SA students access the internet via their cell phones.

Source: 'Mobile Is My Soul': More About Cell Phones in the South of Africa' , Laura Czerniewicz, e-Literate blog, http://mfeldstein.com/mobile-is-my-soul-cell-phones-in-south-afric/, July 2011

iSchoolAfrica is an Apple project which supports a Youth Press Team in each participating school with hardware and software. iSchoolAfrica provides the schools with 1 mobile classroom containing 12 MacBooks with preloaded software, 12 video cameras and 1 projector, allowing learners to make movies, music, websites etc. The Youth Press Team involves teams in more than 20 schools across South Africa using the project to create newsworthy video content for TV. The Press Team project started with the World Cup 2010 in South Africa. For a list of participating schools, see iSchoolAfrica.

Thuthong Education Portal The Department of Education established the Thutong portal, with the aim to improve learning in the country through appropriate use of technology. It offers a wide range of resources on teacher development, curriculum, legislation, educational policy, administration, links to external web resources on the internet and more. Requires (free) registration. Source: http://www.thutong.doe.gov.za/

Mindset Network Mindset delivers free educational material via satellite broadcasts, with supporting multimedia material in print and on the internet. It focusses on high school, primary school and health care workers. Video content is broadcast on Mindset Learn to 1 000 high schools and over a million homes in southern Africa.

The Learning Channel

Coming out of an educational series on SABC television, the Learning Channel offers free downloadable workbooks for matric subjects, as well as interactive video tutorials in a comprehensive list of subjects for sale. There are also resources in an archived site. M-Web Learning This site requires M-Web, Tiscali or Iafrica membership and offers resources for school-goers of all ages: textbooks, past exam papers and school projects, while learners can use forum boards to ask questions of a panel of experts.

South African History Online This offers alternative perspectives of history, focusing on untold stories and giving learners a chance to construct their own oral histories. The Classroom section has comprehensive content for grades 4 to 12. There's also plenty of information for teachers, and a well-illustrated section on arts and culture. SA History Online aims to "break the silence on the historic and cultural achievements of the country’s black communities" and to celebrate the achievements of all those who "fought for the realisation of a common humanity, the building of a non-racial democracy and the celebration of our cultural diversity". (http://www.sahistory.org.za/) The website is linked to a school and community-based outreach programme. Other components of the programme, which is sponsored by the Ford Foundation and Ireland Aid, include an annual history competition using television, print and radio to encourage the public to record their histories

Internet Biology Education Project The University of the Western Cape's botany department, the Western Cape Schools Network and the Western Cape education department collaborate to improve the teaching and learning of biology with online assistance. The site hosts mailing lists and newsgroups, and contains a wide range of learning and teaching materials. http://www.botany.uwc.ac.za/Sci_Ed/

South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement

Saasta, part of the National Research Foundation (NRF), aims to promote public understanding and awareness of science, engineering and technology (SET), and to make science accessible and exciting to all South Africans. It seeks to build the quantity and quality of mathematics and science outputs at school level to expand the number of learners who will become scientists and innovators. South Africa was ranked very low in the 1993 and 1998/9 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, so the work done by SAASTA’s Education Unit is seen as important in encouraging young people to become scientists and engineers. Its work can be divided into three areas:

School science support, which includes educator and learner programmes, science enrichment projects and competitions.

SET careers, which exposes learners to career opportunities in science, engineering and technology.

Science resources, which includes resources to support the school science curriculum; enrichment materials; web-based materials; and online learning.

SAASTA derives its core funding from the Department of Science and Technology (DST). http://www.saasta.ac.za/

MST STRATEGY

An inter-governmental initiative is underway to develop an integrated Maths, Science and Technology (MST) Strategy, which links to the Government priority of skills development.

The Department of Basic Education hosted officials from the Departments of Higher Education and Training and Science and Technology, and other relevant stakeholders, to lay the groundwork for the integrated strategy on 18 March 2014.

The roundtable discussion touched on a number of key areas for the successful implementation of an integrated strategy such as teacher development, resource utilization and the training of teachers entering schools to ensure that the teaching of these key subjects at South African schools are of the highest standard. http://www.education.gov.za/Home/MSTStrategyDevelopment/tabid/1193/Default.aspx

SABC Education The SA Broadcasting Corporation's education division provides information on the SABC's various educational programmes, plus details on school competitions, school TV, games and colouring-in exercises for kids. http://www.sabceducation.com/

For further information on ICT initiatives in South Africa, follow the following websites:

http://www.intodev.org

http://www.computersforkids.co.za

http://www.edupac.co.za

http://www.telkomfoundation.org

http://www.linuxchix.org

http://www.unganaafrika.org

http://www.computeraid.org

http://www.digitallinks.org

http://www.eafricacommission.org

http://www.netday.org.za

http://www.learn.co.za

http://www.learnthings.co.za

http://www.naledi3d.com

http://www.riverbend.co.za

http://www.saide.org.za

http://www.santecnetwork.org

http://www.hp.com/einclusion/en/project/project_mogalakwena.html

http://www.ulwaziproject.co.za/

Quality procedures

Schools

The Independent Quality Assurance Agency (IQAA) provides quality assurance through evaluation of schools, and encourages internal self-evaluation in schools. It is based in Cape Town, South Africa and operates throughout the Southern African region.

Post-secondary

The South African Council on Higher Education (CHE) is an independent statutory body responsible for advising the Minister of Education on all matters related to higher education policy issues, and for quality assurance in higher education and training. Its statutory responsibility for the promotion and assurance of quality in higher education is carried out by one permanent sub-committee, the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC). The HEQC is responsible for evaluating and reporting on the effectiveness of the quality management systems of higher education institutions in relation to assessment, short courses, certification arrangements, and recognition of prior learning (RPL).

The Higher Education Act of 1997 (reference: [1]) states that the functions of the HEQC are to:

  • promote quality in higher education
  • audit the quality assurance mechanisms of higher education institutions
  • accredit programmes of higher education


National Qualifications Framework

In 2007 the Minister of Education published the Higher Education Qualifications Framework (HEQF) (PDF) as set out in the Schedule as policy in terms of section 3 of the Higher Education Act, 1997 (Act No. 101 of 1997). It recognized that separate and parallel qualifications structures for universities and technikons have hindered the articulation of programmes and transfer of students between programmes and higher education institutions. The HEQF is designed to facilitate vertical, horizontal and diagonal progression and provides the basis for integrating all higher education qualifications into the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and its structures for standards generation and quality assurance.


South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) is a body of 29 members appointed by the Ministers of Education and Labour with two major functions: to oversee first of all the development of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF), and second of all the implementation of the NQF



Accumulation of credits towards qualifications

Matriculation Board is a project from Higher Education South Africa (HESA) and strives to administer the Matriculation Board regulations as required by law for the 2006 and 2007 Senior Certificate examinations, and entry into public HE in 2007 and 2008, and via HESA it advises the Minister of Education on the minimum general admission requirements for first bachelor’s degree studies.


Credit accumulation and transfer (CAT) is the process whereby a student's achievements are recognised and contribute to further learning even if the student does not achieve a qualification.

The framework has nine qualification types mapped onto the six levels of the NQF occupied by higher education qualifications. Some levels have more than one qualification type. The framework comprises the following qualification types:

  1. Undergraduate
    1. Higher Certificate (primarily vocational, or industry oriented and minimum entry requirement is National Senior Certificate)
    2. Advanced Certificate (primarily vocational, or industry oriented and minimum entry requirement is Higher Certificate)
    3. Diploma (primarily professional, vocational or industry specific and minimum entry requirement is National Senior Certificate or alternate the Higher Certificate or Advanced Certiticate in a cognate field]
    4. Advanced Diploma (minimum entry requirement is an appropriate Diploma or Bachelor's Degree)
    5. Bachelor's Degree (often referred to as "professional" Bachelor's Degrees, minimum entry requirement is the National Senior Certificate)
  2. Postgraduate (postgraduate specialisation, minimum entry requirement Bachelor Honours Degree)
    1. Postgraduate Diploma (minimum entry requirement is an appropriate Bachelor's Degree)
    2. Bachelor Honours Degree (minimum entry requirement is a Postgraduate Diploma)
    3. Masters Degree (minimum entry requirement is a Bachelor Honours Degree or alternate a "professional" Bachelor's Degree with a minimum of 96 credits at level 8 or a Postgraduate Diploma)
    4. Doctoral Degree (minimum entry requirement is a Master's Degree)


The minimum requirement for admission to a higher education institution from 1 January 2009 is the National Senior Certificate, whose specifications were approved by the Minister of Education (in the document National Senior Certificate - A qualification at level 4 on the National Qualifications Framework published in the Government Gazette, Vol. 481, 1\10. 27819, July 2005). Given the diversity of programmes and qualifications in higher education, the Minister has declared as policy the Minimum Admission Requirements for Higher Certificate/ Diploma and Bachelor's Degree Programmes (published in the Government Gazette, Vol. 482, No. 27961, August 2005) requiring a National Senior Certificate. These minima must be met by all applicants to entry level higher education qualifications. Applicants with different qualifications may only be admitted in they are judged equivalent by the designated equivalence-setting bodies.


Documents / web pages of relevance:

Internet in South Africa/OER

Due to the relatively high cost of landlines and widespread theft of copper cable, internet access is much more common via mobile phone than by PCs. This has important implications for the uptake of OERs in South Africa, but also more widely across the whole of Africa.

'Statistics South Africa' released its general household survey for 2012 on 22 August 2013, showing that less than 10% of South African households had access to the Internet at home.

Access to the Internet in the home was highest among households in Western Cape (20.3%) and Gauteng (15.3%), and lowest in North West (3.5%) and Limpopo (2.7%).

However 40.6% of South African households had at least one member who had access to or used the Internet either at home, work, place of study or Internet cafes.

Access to the Internet was highest in Gauteng (54.7%), Western Cape (54.3%) and Free State (42.1%) and the lowest in Limpopo (21.3%) and Eastern Cape (25.5%).

The places where the largest percentages of South Africans tend to use the Internet include:

At work: 18.9% Within the household/at home: 9.8% At school/university/college: 5.4%

The survey showed that less than seven per cent (6.3%) of households did not have access to either landlines or cell phones.

Households without access to cell phones or landlines were most common in Northern Cape (17.3%) and Eastern Cape (12.4%). Merely 0.3% of South African households used only landlines.

By comparison, more than three-quarters of South African households (79.5%) used only cellular phones in their dwellings.

The largest percentages were observed in Limpopo (90.2%), Mpumalanga (89.3%), North West (88.9%), and Free State (85.7%).

Western Cape had the lowest percentage of households who had only cellular phones in their dwellings (58.8%) and the highest percentage of households that were using only landlines (1.3%).

The use of a combination of both cellular phones and landlines in households was most prevalent in the more affluent provinces, namely Western Cape (33.2%) and Gauteng (17.1%).

(http://mybroadband.co.za/news/internet/85165-south-africas-internet-access-stats-revealed.html)

Internet in Education

Education Network and E-rate The Department of Communications (DOC) leads all ICT initiatives in South Africa through its Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (ECA) of 2002, which is an extension of its Telecommunications Act of 1996 and 2001 and which promotes the establishment of a Universal Service Agency (now referred to as the Universal Service and Access Agency of Southern Africa (USAASA), a Universal Service Fund, an Education Network (EduNet), and an “e-rate,” all of which serve at least conceptually to support access to and use of ICTs in education institutions. The Education Network is to be an entity that would network all public schools and education and training institutions. The e-rate allows discounted access to Internet services to education institutions in South Africa. Section 73 of the ECA states that Internet services provided to all public schools and all public further education and training institutions must be provided at a minimum discounted rate of 50% of the total charge levied by the licensee. The discount includes, but is not limited to, any connectively charges for access to the Internet, charges for any equipment used for or in association with connectivity to the Internet, and all calls made to an ISP. (1)

According to a survey of high-school learners in South Africa by the Youth Research Unit at the University of South Africa (UNISA) 98-99% of high school learners across all school types owned a cell phone. In South Africa, Robinson in 2010 estimates conservatively that are approximately 10- to 12-million WAP-enabled cell phone users in SA, and Goldstuck (2010) reports that for 450 000 users cell phones are the primary form of access to the Internet. According to one study by two youth marketing agencies (Student Village & Interact RDT) 78% of SA students access the internet via their cell phones. (1)

Organisations or Councils

  • SchoolNet SA is a non-profit educational organisation that creates learning communities of educators and learners who use ICT to enhance education in South Africa. Since 1997 SchoolNet SA manages a variety of projects covering all aspects of the use of ICTs, directed mainly at historically disadvantaged schools in South Africa.
  • The African Council for Distance Education (ACDE)(Kenya) is a continental educational organization comprising African universities and other higher education institutions, which are committed to expanding access to quality education and training through open and distance learning. Prof. Barney Pityana, Principal & Vice-Chancellor, Univ. of South Africa is Chairman of the board.


Umbrella institutions

1. To deliver specialised educational Information & Communications Technology (ICT) services to schools, tertiary institutions and other learning organisations with the focus on the effective use of ICT by students and educators

2. To create a robust, non-profit business structure that allows for innovation and high value services with the specific intent of replicating these services as proven solutions to schools, districts and provinces

3. To produce solutions that not only impact on learner outcomes, but also raise standards

4. To be known for its thought leadership and international best practice in the use of ICT in learning


Documents of relevance:

Copyright law in South Africa/OER

Copyright in South Africa is governed by the forms/Copyright/Copyright Act.pdf Copyright Act No. 98 of 1978 and its various amendment acts, and administered by the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission in the Department of Trade and Industry. The Copyright Act grants owners of copyright (authors and other creators of intellectual property) the right to:

Reproduce the work;

Create derivative works based on the original work;

Distribute copies of the work;

Perform the work, or

Display the work in public.

However, subject to certain conditions and within specific limits, the Act and Regulations allows teachers and students the right to make copies of copyrighted works without obtaining permission.

South Africa is a party to the Berne Convention and the TRIPS Agreement. It has signed, but not ratified, the WIPO Copyright Treaty. Section 2 of the Copyright Act, defines nine classes of original works are eligible for copyright protection in South Africa: literary works, musical works, artistic works, sound recordings, cinematograph films, broadcasts, programme-carrying signals, published editions and computer programs.

The Copyright Act automatically protects works created by South Africans or in South Africa. South Africa has, for the most part, implemented the standard protection terms required by the Berne Convention and other relevant international treaties and agreements. South Africa is not a party/signatory to the other relevant international copyright treaties such as the Universal Copyright Convention of 1952; the 1961 Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations; the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorised Duplication of Their Phonograms; or the Brussels Convention Relating to the Distribution of Programme-Carrying Signals Transmitted by Satellite.

For a work to be eligible for copyright, it must be original, and it must have been written down or recorded in some way (except for broadcasts and programme-carrying signals, which must have been broadcast or transmitted, respectively). "Originality" requires the work to have been produced by the exercise of skill and effort by the author(s).

For literary, musical and artistic works, except for photographs, the copyright term in South Africa is fifty years from the end of the year of the author's death, or fifty years from publication if it is first published after the author's death. Copyright in other works such as photographs, films and computer programs, the term is fifty years from first publication, or fifty years from creation if not published within fifty years. For sound recordings, broadcasts, programme-carrying signals and published editions, copyright is fifty years from first publication or transmission.

Anonymous works are protected for the shorter of fifty years from first publication or fifty years from the year when it is reasonable to presume the author is dead. In instances of works with multiple authors, the fifty years from death are calculated from the death of the last author to die. Government works are protected for fifty years from first publication.

The Copyright Act Regulations contains specific provisions for libraries and archives. Section 3 of the Copyright Regulations stipulates that a library or archives depot (or any of its employees acting within the scope of their employment) may reproduce a work and distribute a copy if:

The reproduction or distribution is made for non-commercial purposes;

The collections of the library or archive depot are open to the public or available to researchers; and

The reproduction of the work incorporates a copyright warning.

The library/archive reproduction rights in Section 3 of the Regulations are, in many cases, subject to the provisions of Section 2, which require that the reproduction must be of a 'reasonable portion' of the work and must 'not conflict with the normal exploitation of the work'. The Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act 51 of 2008 was prepared with the intention of facilitating better use of intellectual property emanating from publicly financed research and development and to establish a National Intellectual Property Management Office (NIPMO), an Intellectual Property Fund and technology transfer offices at relevant institutions. These institutions include universities and public research institutes such as the Medical Research Council, the Human Sciences Research Council, the South African Bureau of Standards and the Water Research Commission. Salient points under the Act are:

A recipient has a choice regarding retention of ownership of intellectual property emanating from publicly financed research and development. If electing not to retain ownership, subject to certain conditions, it will fall into the hands either of NIPMO, or a private organization that provided funding, or the creator.

Closure duties including ensuring that intellectual property emanating from the aforementioned funds is appropriately protected before the results of such research and development are published or publicly disclosed by other means as per Section 5(b).

A recipient must assess the intellectual property to determine whether it merits statutory protection and, where appropriate, apply for and use best efforts to obtain statutory protection.

A recipient has the duty to license and otherwise transfer rights in respect of the pertinent intellectual property, as well as manage commercialisation of the intellectual property.

Affected institutions must establish technology transfer offices.

Creators and their heirs are granted specific rights to portions of revenues accrued to the institution.

There is a preference for non-exclusive licensing and licensing to Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) entities.

For intellectual property relevant to the health, security and emergency needs of South Africa, the state must be granted an irrevocable and royalty-free licence authorizing the state to use the intellectual property anywhere in the world; and

For offshore transactions, NIPMO must be satisfied that there is insufficient capacity in South Africa to develop or commercialize the intellectual property locally and South Africa will benefit from such offshore transaction.

It has been argued that the Intellectual Property from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act, whilst intending to provide for more effective use of intellectual property emanating from publicly funded research, would have allowed greater access to knowledge had works resulting from government-funded research been mandated to be in the public domain or, publicly available at no charge within a reasonable time frame.

It has been noted that copyright law is only beginning to be recognized as an important aspect of development policy. As a result, copyright law in general and, more specifically, the correlation between copyright law and access to knowledge/learning materials, are under-explored in South Africa's (legal) secondary literature. Very few books are entirely devoted to South African copyright law, and it is often briefly discussed in single chapters in textbooks dealing with commercial law. Whilst mention is typically made of the legitimate interests of users safeguarded by copyright exceptions and limitations, access to learning materials is usually not specifically addressed in these chapters. Creative Commons South Africa offers Creative Commons licences tailored for the specifics of the legal system in South Africa. The focus is to promote Creative Commons licensing in the continent.

Copyright law in Education

The issue of access to learning materials has started to attract more attention in recent years in the South African copyright arena. However, only a few legal academics have participated in the discussion so far. The majority of the (few) legal academics dealing with copyright law and the issue of access to knowledge and learning materials appear to favour a less stringent copyright protection regime in South Africa in order to facilitate access to learning materials and foster education.

Copyright law in South Africa permits the making of limited numbers of copies without copyright permission for the purpose of research or private study, or for personal or private use. It is generally accepted that the copying of the whole or a major portion of the work in question is not reasonable and not compatible with fair dealing. Reproduction for Education Section 12(4) of the Act allows a work to be used without permission for teaching purposes: "The copyright in a literary or musical work shall not be infringed by using such work, to the extent justified by the purpose by way of illustration in any publication, broadcast or sound or visual record for teaching: provided that such use shall be compatible with fair practice and that the source shall be mentioned as well as the name of the author if it appears on the work."

Regulation 7 of section 13 of the Act allows for multiple copies for classroom use, not exceeding one copy per pupil per course. Regulation 8 allows the making of a single copy by or for a teacher for the purpose of research, teaching or preparation for teaching in a class. Reproductions are permitted only if not more than one copy of a reasonable portion of the work is made and 'if the cumulative effect of the reproductions does not conflict with the normal exploitation of the work to the unreasonable prejudice of the legal interest and residuary rights of the author'. Additionally Section 12(11) of the Act deals with translation and states that translation of works for the purposes of educational use is allowed.

It has been argued that the educational exceptions provided for in the Regulations present a few challenges. First, it is unclear what constitutes a 'reasonable portion', and thus students would often be unsure of how much they could lawfully photocopy. Furthermore, copies may not be made for purposes other than classroom use. This would prevent distance learning, where learners are not in possession of the original copy in order to exercise the right granted under the Regulations.

It has also been argued that the Copyright Act does not properly cover the digital environment and its challenges. Furthermore, the current set of copyright exceptions and limitations, particularly in relation to educational uses of copyright-protected materials, are vague, fragmentary and in many instances outdated. The use of modern technologies for educational purposes, for example in distance education, remains largely unconsidered.

In 2007, the South African Cabinet approved a policy and strategy for the adoption in government of free and open source software (FOSS). All new software developed for or by the government will be based on open standards and government will migrate all current software to FOSS. While the Policy refers specifically to the adoption of FOSS in government, it is believed that it will encourage all entities engaging with government to use compatible software. By endorsing open source software and open standards, this may lower barriers for schools' and libraries' access to ICT.

Additionally, in 2012 the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) released the Green Paper for Post School Education and Training which indicates commitment to consider an Open Licensing Framework for all education stakeholders.

Copyright and licensing issues permeate discussion and debate on creation and reuse of OER and are therefore are at the heart of OER as they have important implications for creators, users and institutions. These recent policy positions are thus promising as it indicates greater attention to open licensing and commitment to increasing access to learning materials.

OER Initiatives in South Africa/OER

Mindset Network delivers free educational material via satellite broadcasts, with supporting multimedia material in print and on the internet. It focusses on high school, primary school and health care workers. Video content is broadcast on Mindset Learn to 1,000 high schools and over a million homes in southern Africa. (http://www.mindset.co.za/programmes/learn) (1)

The Learning Channel - Coming out of an educational series on SABC television, the Learning Channel offers free downloadable workbooks for matric subjects, as well as interactive video tutorials in a comprehensive list of subjects for sale. There are also resources in an archived site. (http://learn.co.za/LC/index.php) (1)

South African History Online - This offers alternative perspectives of history, focusing on untold stories and giving learners a chance to construct their own oral histories. The Classroom section has comprehensive content for grades 4 to 12. There's also plenty of information for teachers, and a well-illustrated section on arts and culture. SA History Online aims to "break the silence on the historic and cultural achievements of the country’s black communities" and to celebrate the achievements of all those who "fought for the realisation of a common humanity, the building of a non-racial democracy and the celebration of our cultural diversity (http://www.sahistory.org.za/) The website is linked to a school and community-based outreach programme. Other components of the programme, which is sponsored by the Ford Foundation and Ireland Aid, include an annual history competition using television, print and radio to encourage the public to record their histories. (1)

Internet Biology Education Project - The University of the Western Cape's botany department, the Western Cape Schools Network and the Western Cape education department collaborate to improve the teaching and learning of biology with online assistance. The site hosts mailing lists and newsgroups, and contains a wide range of learning and teaching materials. http://www.botany.uwc.ac.za/Sci_Ed/ (1)

South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement - Saasta, part of the National Research Foundation (NRF), aims to promote public understanding and awareness of science, engineering and technology (SET), and to make science accessible and exciting to all South Africans. It seeks to build the quantity and quality of mathematics and science outputs at school level to expand the number of learners who will become scientists and innovators. South Africa was ranked very low in the 1993 and 1998/9 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, so the work done by SAASTA’s Education Unit is seen as important in encouraging young people to become scientists and engineers. Its work can be divided into three areas:

- School science support, which includes educator and learner programmes, science enrichment projects and competitions.
- SET careers, which exposes learners to career opportunities in science, engineering and technology.
- Science resources, which includes resources to support the school science curriculum; enrichment materials; web-based materials; and online learning.
- SAASTA derives its core funding from the Department of Science and Technology (DST). http://www.saasta.ac.za/ (1)

SABC Education The SA Broadcasting Corporation's education division provides information on the SABC's various educational programmes, plus details on school competitions, school TV, games and colouring-in exercises for kids. http://www.sabceducation.com/ (1)

The Research on Open Educational Resources for Development (ROER4D) project, based at the University of Cape Town, aims to provide evidence-based research from a number of countries in South America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. The primary objective of the programme is to improve educational policy, practice, and research in developing countries by better understanding the use and impact of OER. The project is subdivided into 12 sub-projects, each headed by a research lead embedded in the country or region to which the sub-project refers:

SUB PROJECTS

SP1: OER Desktop review

SP2: Survey on OER use

SP3: Academics’ views on sharing OER in India

SP4: Academics’ views on sharing OER in South Africa

SP5: Co-creation of OER by teachers and teacher educators in India

SP6: Co-creation of OER by teachers and teacher eductators in Colombia

SP7: OER integration for course development in India and Malaysia

SP8: OER adoption and use in Higher Education in Mongolia

SP9: Impact of OER use on first year students in Chile

SP10: Studies on impact of OER

SP11: Mapping of public funding for educational resources in Africa

SP12: Mapping of public funding for educational resources in South America

National OER initiatives

The South African Institution for Distance Education (SAIDE) established the pan-continental OERAfrica initiative, supporting higher education institutions across Africa in the development and use of OER to enhance teaching and learning, especially in Agriculture, Health and Teacher Education.
The Shuttleworth Foundation is headquartered in Cape Town. Together with the Open Society Foundations, they convened the gathering which created the Cape Town Declaration in 2007, a global initiative to promote open resources, technology and teaching practices in education.

SchoolNet South Africa offers "Free online professional development" (http://www.schoolnet.org.za/premium_member/index.htm). SchoolNet SA is a non-profit educational organisation that creates learning communities of educators and learners who use ICT to enhance education in South Africa. Since 1997 SchoolNet SA manages a variety of projects covering all aspects of the use of ICTs, directed mainly at historically disadvantaged schools in South Africa. (Website - http://www.schoolnet.org.za/) (1)

Thuthong Education Portal offers a wide range of resources on teacher development, curriculum, legislation, educational policy, administration, links to external web resources on the internet and more. Requires (free) registration. (http://www.thutong.doe.gov.za/) (1)

The African Virtual University (AVU) has made available 219 open educational modules in three languages (largely in maths and science) through its Open Education Resources Portal . These were developed by collaborative clusters in 10 African countries. The Portal was awarded the Best Emerging Initiative Award in the OpenCourseware People’s Choice Awards in 2011. However the last resource was added in 2011, which seems to suggest the initiative may have run out of steam since then. In July 2013 the AVU launched Multinational Project II at Kenyatta University as part of a multinational project funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) whose aim is to strengthen the AVU and its network of institutions to deliver ICT integrated education and training opportunities.

Siyavula (http://www.siyavula.com/) is developing mathematics and science textbook materials for use by secondary school students. Already 1 million books (excluding supplementary textbooks) have been distributed to all 9 provinces in South Africa in 2011 - 2013. These are openly-licensed workbooks, available in hardcopy, PDF, web books and EPUB, for desktop, tablets, mobile devices and Mxit (the social media app for mobiles which outstrips Facebook for popularity in South Africa). Siyavula's goal is to cover all Mathematics and Science subjects, across all grades by the end of 2016. It has also helped to set up The Thunderbolt Kids which has distributed 6 million books on Natural Sciences and Technology for Primary schools to all 9 provinces in South Africa. Available in English and Afrikaans, these are openly-licensed workbooks, available in hardcopy, but can also be downloaded for free as pdf files, web books and EPUB, for desktop, tablets and mobile devices.

Regional OER initiatives

Institutional OER initiatives

The Directory of Open Access Repositories (DOAR) lists the following repositories in South Africa:

• ASSAf (Academy of Science of South Africa) - http://www.assaf.org.za/

Scientific Electronic Library Online - South Africa (SciELO - South Africa) http://www.scielo.org.za/

• Cape Peninsula University of Technology - http://www.cput.ac.za/

Digital Knowledge at Cape Peninsula University of Technology http://digitalknowledge.cput.ac.za/xmlui/

• Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) - http://www.csir.co.za/

CSIR Research Space http://researchspace.csir.co.za/dspace/

• Durban University of Technology (DUT) - http://www.dut.ac.za/

DUT IR http://ir.dut.ac.za/

• National Research Foundation - http://www.nrf.ac.za/

South Africa Data Archive http://sada-data.nrf.ac.za/

• North-West University - http://www.nwu.ac.za/ North-West University Institutional Repository (Boloka) http://dspace.nwu.ac.za/

• Rhodes University - http://www.ru.ac.za/

Rhodes eResearch Repository (ReRR) http://eprints.ru.ac.za/

• SEALS Consortium - http://www.seals.ac.za/

SEALS Digital commons http://contentpro.seals.ac.za/iii/cpro

• Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) - http://www.saldru.uct.ac.za/ OpenSALDRU http://opensaldru.uct.ac.za/

• Stellenbosch University - http://www.sun.ac.za/

Stellenbosch University SUNScholar Repository http://scholar.sun.ac.za/

• University of Cape Town - http://www.uct.ac.za/

UCT Computer Science Research Document Archive (UCT CS Archive) http://pubs.cs.uct.ac.za/

UCT Lawspace http://lawspace.lib.uct.ac.za/

University of Cape Town Libraries - http://www.lib.uct.ac.za/

UCTLibraries resource discovery http://uctscholar.uct.ac.za/

University of Fort Hare - http://ufh.ac.za/

University of Fort Hare Institutional Repository http://ufh.netd.ac.za/

University of Johannesburg (UJ) - http://www.uj.ac.za/

UJDigispace https://ujdigispace.uj.ac.za/

University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) - http://www.ukzn.ac.za/homepage.aspx

Digital Innovation South Africa (DISA) http://www.disa.ukzn.ac.za/

ResearchSpace@UKZN http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/xmlui

University of Limpopo - http://www.ul.ac.za/

University of Limpopo http://ul.netd.ac.za/jspui

University of Pretoria (UP) - http://web.up.ac.za/

University of Pretoria Electronic Theses and Dissertations (UPeTD) http://upetd.up.ac.za/UPeTD.htm

UPSpace (UPSpace at the University of Pretoria) http://repository.up.ac.za/

University of South Africa (Unisa) - http://www.unisa.ac.za/

UnisaIR (Unisa Institutional Repository) http://uir.unisa.ac.za/

University of the Free State - http://www.uovs.ac.za/

University of the Free State ETD http://etd.uovs.ac.za/

University of the Western Cape - http://www.uwc.ac.za/

AHERO (African Higher Education Research Online) http://ahero.uwc.ac.za/

University of the Western Cape Research Repository (UWC Research Repository) http://repository.uwc.ac.za/xmlui/

UWC Theses and Dissertations http://etd.uwc.ac.za/

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg - http://web.wits.ac.za/

WIReDSpace (Wits Institutional Repository on DSPACE) http://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/

University of Zululand - http://www.uzulu.ac.za/

UZSpace (University of Zululand Repository) http://uzspace.uzulu.ac.za/

Vaal University of Technology - http://www.vut.ac.za/new/

VUT DigiResearch http://vut.netd.ac.za/


Unisa OER site
has some 5000 items to share and gets around 300 000 hits per month.

University of Cape Town (UCT): Centre for Educational Technology
The OER UCT project, run with the support of the Shuttleworth Foundation, aims to showcase the teaching efforts of UCT academics by encouraging the publication of resources as OER. Its OpenContent Directory (http://opencontent.uct.ac.za/) offers 142 resources from 48 disciplines in the university. One of these, 'Vulnerability to Environmental Change', was selected by the Open Couseware Consortium as a Course Award winner in 2012 for OpenCourseWare Excellence in the text and still images category.

University of Witwatersrand's library page on OER (contains links to OER resources in Africa)

University of the Western Cape - free courseware


University of Pretoria mentions "Open education resources (OER) as ‘public good’ and a tool for increased institutional visibility" in its Strategic Plan, 2005.

The AVOIR Project - The African Virtual Open Initiatives and Resources (AVOIR) Project, initiated by the University of the Western Cape (UWC), is a collaborative effort among several African higher education institutions. It attempts to create educational and business opportunities that contribute to the development of Africa through Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) development activities - http://www.avoir.uwc.ac.za (1)

Sakai SA - Three South African universities, the University of Cape Town, University of South Africa and North-West University, are collaborating on the deployment and extension of the Sakai Collaboration and Learning Environment (CLE). Sakai is a global consortium of over 100 higher education institutions jointly developing an open source CLE which is used to support teaching and learning, ad hoc group collaboration, support for portfolios and research collaboration - http://www.sakaiproject.org (1)

The University of Pretoria, the University of Fort Hare and South Africa University are part of the TESSA network.

Students on the Bachelor of Education programme at the University of Fort Hare in South Africa are creating their own learning pathways linking TESSA activities to their individual needs and areas for development. This model utilises the granularity of the TESSA resources to empower the students to develop their own learning. (2)

References

Web sites


Documents on the government’s information and DoE web site


Documents on other web sites


Reports

"Building an Effective ‘Open Education Resource’ (OER) Environment for Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: The TESSA Experience" by Jophus Anamuah-Mensah, 2008 (http://www.oerafrica.org/ResourceResults/tabid/1562/mctl/Details/id/36709/Default.aspx)

"Knowledge Dissemination in Sub-Saharan Africa: What Role for Open Educational Resources (OER)?" by Jorrit Mulder, 2008 (http://www.gg.rhul.ac.uk/ict4d/workingpapers/mulderOER.pdf)

"eLearning Africa 2013: In Review" (http://www.elearning-africa.com/pdf/report/postreport_eLA2013_lowres.pdf)

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