Based on a SADC study on the capacity of open and distance learning (ODL) within four education sub-sectors - secondary education, teacher education, technical vocational education and training (TVET) and tertiary education –in Lesotho. Presented at the First International ODL Conference held at UNISA, Pretoria, 5 - 7 September 2012, the study highlights the potential for ODL to improve access to post-secondary education for marginalised community members while also raising challenges faced by ODL students in relation to poor infrastructural and pedagogic support, particularly in dual-mode institutions.

1. STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE EFFECTIVENESS AND
IMPACT OF CURRENT ODL DELIVERY IN INCREASING
EDUCATIONAL ACCESS FOR MARGINALISED MEMBERS OF
COMMUNITIES IN LESOTHO
‘Having to make do with whatever is left over in lecturers’
time and university’s facilities’
Thabiso Nyabanyaba
‘Malits’oanelo Thamae
‘Mats’epo Nyabanyaba
National University of Lesotho
Paper presented at the 1st UNISA
5-7 September international ODL Conference 1

2. Based on a SADC study on the capacity of
open and distance learning (ODL) within
four education sub-sectors - secondary
education, teacher education, technical
vocational education and training (TVET)
and tertiary education –in Lesotho
2

3. Context of Lesotho
 Geography and climate
 30,000 square kilometers landlocked by RSA
 Altitudes of over 1000 metres
 (highest lowest point)
 Socio-economic context
 Retrenchment of migrant mineworkers
 Revenues from provision of water to Gauteng
 Following a positive 2006 – 08 growth
 Uncertain Southern African Customs Union
(SACU) situation
 HIV, drought and unemployment rendering third
of population vulnerable
 Global recession 3

4. ODL provision
 Lesotho Distance Teaching Centre
(LDTC)
 National University of Lesotho (NUL)
 Institute of Extra-Mural Studies
 Institute of Education
 Various Non-Formal Education
institutions
 Some public & private
management/admin institutions and
technical and vocational education and
training (TVET) institutions 4

5. Approach
 Documentary analysis complemented
 Parallel mixed method applied
 Qualitative
 Quantitative
 Data collection
 14 Focus Group Discussions with ODL learners across
locations;
 10 in-depth interviews with officials and stakeholders, and
 101 self administered questionnaires from staff and
administrators in institutions.
5

6. Trends in education
 High dropout rates at all levels of the education system
 Net cohort survival at 60% at primary and 50% at secondary
 Poor provision (access rates) at post-primary across
locations
 Net enrolment rates at about 30% at secondary
 Difficult terrain exacerbates distance
 Growing numbers of learners from diverse backgrounds
 No longer business as usual
 Growing numbers enrolling at higher education
 Necessitating a rethink of delivery modes
 Growing number of learners needing to maintain work and
study status
 Increase relevance
 Increasing school interruptions from health and socio-
economic prerogatives
 Increase inefficiency
6

7. Imperative for ODL
 Lesotho has Share of education spending (recurrent)
been
characterised 100
by high 80
spending on Tertiary
60
tertiary TVET
(approx. 20 x 40 Secondary
Primary
primary), until 20
recently 0
1994/95 1996/97 1998/99 2002/3 2004/5
7

8. Major status finding
 Poor learner support
 No consideration into course outlines
 No course evaluation conducted
 Inequitable support
 Particularly for rural learners
 Especially in dual mode institutions
 Conventional learners prioritised
 Lack of communication across institutions
 While regional forums are highly valued
 Slow implementation of quality assurance framework
 Lack of monitoring mechanism
 Dubious status of ODL policy
 Local draft policy in limbo
 Regional policy framework initiative lost
 No strategic plan or binding legal framework
 No accompanying resources and funding
8

9. Teacher Education
 Lesotho College of Education’s (LCE) Distance Teacher
Education Programme (DTEP) is the main feature of
ODL provision
 Following Free Primary Education provision rather than intrinsic
value of ODL
 NUL’s offering
 Most DTEP graduates progress into the B ED (primary)
 Other initiatives from IEMS to bring ‘university to people’
 B ED (Adult Education), Bachelor of Business Arts Entrepreneurship
and Masters in Adult Education
 Loss of ODL advantage
 Highly dependent on face-to-face
 Teaching quicker
 Generally considered what lecturers do after their regular job
 ‘Fato-fato’ (loosely translated ‘poverty-alleviation occupation’)
 General absence of flexible modules
 High number of unguided photocopies
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10. Types of learners in ODL
 Generally mature learners
 Mostly learners who drop out of or are
unable to gain access to conventional
schooling
 A growing number of learners desiring
CPD
 Learners seeking a new career
structure in PGDE
10

11. Teacher Education
 Massive jump in enrolments LCE Enrolments 2002 - 2008
since 2005
 Partly to do with ODL 3000
provisioning 2500
 Improvement in internal 2000
Female
efficiency 1500
Male
 Crudely from 33% (2002- 1000
04) to 44% (2008 – 10) 500
0
 Male enrolments generally 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
constitute as low as 30% of
the total enrolments
11

12. Findings of survey on ODL
 Generally positive
feeling about ODL
DL materials development process
courses
 Providing a second
20
chance 15
 The greatest positive
response on ODL 10
n
u
q
F
y
c
e
r
materials, but 5
especially
 Highest in LCE and 0
Very Ineffective Modestly Effective Very Not
ineffective effective effective Applicable
lowest at NUL DL materials development process
12

13. Trends  Generally poor
infrastructure
provided,
ITC infrastructure
especially for
25
ODL institutions,
poorest in
20
 ICT
infrastructure
15
and e-mail
n
u
q
F
y
c
e
r
10
5
0
Very Ineffective Modestly Effective Very Not
ineffective effective effective Applicable
ITC infrastructure
13

14. Some conclusions
 Teacher education
 Reportedly became more accessible with ODL (DTEP, Adult
Education, B Ed) offerings
 Entrance requirements questioned
 No financial support for ODL learners Rural access remains poor in
all sub-sectors but teacher education
 But men lagging
 Apathy among men and
 Men tend to be sacrificed
 Disabled learners remain excluded, mainly due to
 Poor understanding by parents and fellow students
 Poor resources and infrastructure
 Lack of training among teachers
 Education, including tertiary, remains inaccessible to poor
 NMDS seen by some as favouring rich
 Lack of funding to ODL seen as anti-poor (Fees prohibitive)
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15. ODL as an alternative
 Seen as holding more advantages than conventional
 Extremely accessible
 Relevant to professional development
 Can keep families together
 ODL has made huge progress in teacher education
 NUL seen as holding vantage position, but
 Poor attention to ODL learners’ needs
 Clarion call for ICT and library
15

16. University support
 Poor in learner support material
 Teaching and examination timetable inflexible
 Fitin anywhere with no regard for learners
 Whatever is left after conventional learners have been
catered for
 Teaching faster means we link less with
 Mature learners’ experiences
 Working learners’ CPD desire and link to work
 Moving from pedagogy (leading) to andragogy (Self-
directed) (Knowles)
16

17. Practice related recommendations
for effective ODL
 Learner at the centre in administering the programme
 Including an administrator dedicated to ODL
 Developing a sense of connectedness among learners
 Group activities
 Regional tutorials
 Providing additional support to face-to-face sessions
 Via letter, e-mail and/or telephone
 Closer consideration of what learners already know
 RPL
 Reflecting on course content and learners experiences
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18. Practice related recommendations
 Induction
 Including
detailed course outlines with expectations
 Reason for (importance/application of) components
 Support towards independent and self-directed
learning
 Long break with formal learning = heightened anxiety
 Effective feedback
 Regular formative assessment
 Follow-ups on non-submission and low results
 Opportunity for participation
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19. Policy recommendation
 Explicit policy on ODL provisioning and greater support
to ODL provision at tertiary
 Focusing on capacity on Governance and QA
 Including administrators and lecturers
 In a context of financial constraints
 Harmonisation of understanding on ODL
 ‘teaching faster’
 ‘fato-fato’
 Sharing of capacity among SADC countries
 Regional policy to be accompanied by
 Support
 Legal framework to bind governments
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