This document discusses open educational resources (OER) and their potential role in higher education in Africa. It provides background on OER Africa, an initiative that promotes OER on the continent. OER are defined as educational materials that are freely available online. The document notes challenges facing African universities, like increasing enrollment while facing budget cuts. It suggests that OER could help by allowing institutions to share course materials, reducing costs. Examples of health-related and skills-focused OER projects in African universities are described.

1. Higher Education in a time of Economic
Crisis:
OER as an equaliser?
GUIDE Association 6 th International
Conference, Megaron Athens, Greece
3 – 4 October 2013
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2. OER Africa is:
 An innovative initiative of Saide
 Headquartered in Nairobi,
Kenya
 Established to play a leading role
in driving the development and
use of OER in Africa.
 Funded by the William & Flora
Hewlett Foundation, the Bill &
Foundation
Melinda Gates Foundation, and
a variety of projects and
partnerships across Africa.
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3. What are OER?
Open Educational Resources (OERs) are any type
of educational materials that are in the public
domain or introduced with an open license.
The nature of these open materials means that
anyone can legally and freely copy, use, adapt
and re-share them.
OERs range from textbooks to curricula, syllabi,
lecture notes, assignments, tests, projects, audio,
video and animation.
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/access-to-knowledge/openeducational-resources/what-are-open-educational-resources-oers/
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5. HE Quality & Quantity
• African universities are dealing with
significant pressure to increase access
to HE programmes
• Most institutions are having to increase
enrolments despite structural underfunding to discharge their core functions
effectively
• Most programmes (including many at
postgraduate level) rely heavily on
lecturing as a primary mode of
transmission of content

6. Higher Education in Africa

7. GFC: Global Response re HE?
Possible government responses:
•Cut back / re-prioritise
•Maintain status quo
•Invest
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8. Running to Stand Still…
3 Key Factors in Support of HE in Crisis:
1.Govts should maintain status quo (in real terms)
or increase allocation
2.Institutions must restructure and revitalise HE
3.Individuals & households must invest, lest the
short-term unemployed become the long-term
unemployables
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9. Institutional Response:
African faculty providing
socially relevant and
culturally appropriate
training materials and
experiences for their
students
HEALTH OER
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10. Kamuzu College of Nursing PBL

11. Kamuzu College of Nursing
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12. Practicing Skills
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13. Practicing 21st Century Skills

14. Use / Possible use of OER in African HEIs
Openly share learning objects, modules, courses,
programs, OA research or other relevant OER
across institutions and thus:
•
realise economies of scale
•
encourage joint development of curriculum and
courseware
•
provide faculty and students with a similar standard
(high quality) of educational content
•
encourage student-centred learning
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15. Here at Last!

16. Use / Possible use of OER in African HEIs
Openly share skills-based relevant OER across
institutions and thus:
•
Encourage the development of 21st century skills
amongst students in-school and potential out-ofschool students / life-long learners to new
 Ways of thinking: Creativity, critical thinking, problem-
solving, decision-making and learning
 Ways of working: Communication and collaboration
 Tools for working : Information and communications
technology (ICT) and information literacy
 Skills for living in the world: Citizenship, life and
career, and personal and social responsibility
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18. Leadership
African Nobel Laureates
Madiba with Wangari Maathai
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19. This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Thank you
Catherine Ngugi
OER Africa Project Director
catherine.ngugi@oerafrica.org
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