The Digital Divide – implications for equity in higher education in South Africa
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We welcomed Dr Jeanette Botha (University of South Africa) to the Centre to conduct a presentation and a discussion on issues around the ‘digital divide’ within South Africa (something likely to be an issue in other countries around the world). The main thrust of the talk was: “Who are we teaching?” Dr Botha alluded to the issue of technology driving education vs education driving technology and highlighted numerous concerns of developing world ODL practitioners and students, contextualizing ODEL in South Africa in the current socio-economic framework, with reference to Unisa. The argument was made for the pragmatic consideration of the acquisition and use of appropriate technologies in line with these “real world” considerations.
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The Digital Divide – implications for equity in higher education in South Africa
- 1. THE DIGITAL DIVIDE: IMPLICATIONS FOR EQUITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA AND THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA (UNISA) IN PARTICULAR Dr JC Botha Director: Office of the Principal 14 September 2011
Editor's Notes
- This in a nutshell, encapsulates the challenge that we face in trying to provide quality higher education to an increasingly disparate student body. I often feel that we are so seduced by the potential of ICTs to resolve the many challenges that we face in ODeL delivery that we are willingly blind to the practical realities that need to be over come in their implementation, and that this has resulted in the frustrating lack of progress that is still so evident in our success and throughput rates.
- I would like us to turn briefly to some of the challenges that I have just alluded to. We all know them, but I think they will contextualise this discussion and so they are worth mentioning. As regards globalisation, I don’t want to get into the whole issue of hegemonies, because it is not pertinent to my presentation today, but suffice it to say it remains a burning issue as a perceived barrier to indigenous knowledge production and the development of a genuinely African canon. I have mentioned Scott here because in this article, he makes mention of an “anti globalisation” sentiment which I believe, touches on a growing sense of disenchantment amongst higher education practitioners at the role in which higher education is currently being cast. Of more recent relevance when it comes to internationalisation, is the deliberate targeting of foreign and top students by North America and Western Europe, in order to boost income and have the competitive edge. Once again, these policy decisions have serious implications for developing nations and could serve to further entrench the digital - and I thought I would also mention these briefly because they are globally (and nationally) relevant in terms of available teaching capacity. The profession seems to be shrinking while the demand is growing. Ant yet, it seems that increasingly our faculty are expected to be everything to everybody. This is one of the greatest challenges that higher education is facing and I would like to believe that is may be a key driver of the push for e-learning, which in theory at least, offers possibly the only solution to this dilemma. Of course this is compounded by the disparate student profile which I will refer to shortly.
- I’m sure that you are all au fait with these data, but they do serve to emphasise the enormous challenges faced by higher education globally, more so in the developing world. The global recession that began in 2008 continues to impact very severely on higher education in ways which we never anticipated. The question is, who is in control and whose agenda is being served? What are we going to do if these numbers continue to increase? Do we believe that ODeL will be the “saviour of the higher education universe?’”
- The reason why I have included this slide is because when we look at achievements by developing nations for example, in terms of the MDGs and Education For All, we often include China, and the significant impact that China makes on the stats tends to obscure the reality of the performance of other developing nations. When we disaggregate those data then the reality of performance is clarified and is often less rosy than what we initially anticipated.
- From my own cursory analysis, these data indicate that the ‘balance of power’ if you like, in terms of tertiary student enrolment has moved decisively from the combined ‘north’ (or the developed nations), which previously enrolled two out of every four students (now one out of every four), to the developing nations which now collectively enroll 3 out of every four students, representing an approximate 25%: 75% ratio. This provides clear evidence of the impact of increased access to higher education, and portends difficult challenges around quality higher education provision in a harsh socio-economic environment. Interestingly, one must begin to speculate what this means for the North, as the “owners” of ICTs. And perhaps the questions that I would have for you here today, are : How do you feel about this changed ratio? Will you go to where these students are? Do you feel that you have an obligation to do that? Or will you expect these students to come to you? I think that recent policy decisions, for example Canada, China, USA and the UK suggest that students will be expected to go to you. Of course, the next question that arises, is: Will that that increase or diminish the digital divide and the yawning gap between the “haves” and the “have nots”? And what does that say about social justice? As ODL practitioners, where do we stand? Do we believe that we have the solution?
- Most ICTs have been designed from a world view that is often alien to the lived experience of many people in the developing world, and oblivious of the more nuanced challenges that need to be overcome in their application and use “on the ground.” Most require access to the world-wide-web, which, while it is certainly improving in Africa, can by no stretch of the imagination be deemed satisfactory. Where access is available, there are often real challenges such as computer ownership and literacy, and the cost of uploading and downloading, all of which compromise effective and efficient ODEL delivery.
- Of course we have statistics that indicate age, gender, race, course enrolments, and so on, but to date there appears to be scant empirical research, especially in the developing world, on levels of computer and mobile phone literacy amongst ODEL students, actual ownership of computers and mobile phones (and if so, what models these are), affordable, regular and reliable access to the internet, and living conditions that might impede ODEL delivery. We cannot provide that support if we don’t know what their needs are. Making assumptions based on partial data could be costly over the longer term. One cannot for example, gauge student ownership of computers or access to the internet using hits on the student portal or the number of online registrations when there is no way of determining whose computers were being used during that access. Did they perhaps register at the university, at work, at a library, at an internet café? One could of course assume that post grad students would have acquired some stable means of access and competency, but when it comes to the large numbers of undergrads, and especially new registrations, existing data on these vital considerations, are unreliable, nonexistent or in the process of being gathered, which poses a significant challenge for effective, quality delivery So actually, in terms of the socio-economic indicators I mentioned above – we just don’t know yet.
- Many nations in the developing world are grappling with students who are completely underprepared for the rigours of higher education. This is particularly true where feeder systems are failing and where socio-economic conditions are declining rather than improving. Instead of getting a better calibre of student, it is likely that we will get a worse calibre, until the measures currently being implemented begin to come to fruition. The knock-on effect in terms of appropriate ICT acquisition, access and literacy are self-evident. At a university such as Unisa, which now has close on 350 000 headcounts and counting (374 000 if we include occasional students) these realities and challenges are magnified proportionately as we grapple with designing a “best-fit” architecture for the institution that will offer our disparate students an equal opportunity to develop as they learn, and to succeed. Rather than attempting to leap the digital divide in a single bound, I would like to suggest that a simpler, planned, incremental approach will achieve more solid gains over the longer-term. Comparatively speaking, our government is very generous with out education budget, but currently it could be well argued that our results don’t justify that spending. If one looks at this holistically, then we know that there is an extremely complex nexus of socio-economic and political factors that inform the status quo. But while they undoubtedly paint a grim picture, as educators they serve to reinforce our understanding that education is a core driver of socio economic development through the provision of appropriately skilled human resource capacity on the one hand, and through focussed research and other educational initiatives that will make a genuine, measurable contribution to, and impact on people’s lives and their wellbeing, on the other.
- Thus far it seems that internet uptake has been by so-called “privileged” South Africans and that this market is now saturated - as seen by a flattening out of growth rates since 2009.
- We are negotiating targets with the Ministry that we have already exceeded.
- It is a fact for example, and this has been the experience at my own institution, that in their desperation to improve their life circumstances, students, especially those in the rural areas, will lie about their access to computers and their computer literacy in order to be able to register for a particular course. When the time comes to complete an assignment online they arrive at our centres asking for help. They don’t have any computers, any access to computers or the Internet and they are not computer literate. That is our reality, and although they may be the exception to the rule at Unisa, I would like to suggest that this phenomenon is more common than what we would like to believe.
- Hendrikz discusses the University of Pretoria’s experience and approach to accommodating South Africa’s challenges in their unit for distance education. Their students are all teachers with a minimum three-year qualification. Almost 80% are women and more than 85% are older than 35. Just over 50% of the student population is graduate students. The majority, by far, lives and teaches in rural communities throughout South Africa (Hendrikz, 2011). Their delivery remains predominantly paper-based, with structured opportunities for face-to-face sessions and other student support services. Enrolled students’ profiles are analysed to direct the introduction of appropriate ICT to support and enhance learning. The technology profile of the distance education students in 2002 and 2003 showed that almost all students had access to, or owned a mobile phone. (The model of the phone is not known.) Very few students indicated that they had an e-mail address. Fewer than 5% of the students indicated that they had access to a computer at home or at work. Only 1% indicated that they had access to the Internet (Hendrikz 2011). These statistics were used in deciding whether or not to introduce the web based/online delivery mode for distance students and to explore ways of using mobile phones in its distance programmes. A decision was taken to load all the programme material, with the exception of the textbooks, on the University’s LMS (ClickUP), a non- interactive site aimed at enabling distance students to access their learning material, tutorial letters and administrative information. Despite providing information about the site and how to access it to all new and existing students, almost no students have ever accessed the site over the years (Hendrikz 2011). For the period 2004 to 2006, the mobile phone profile stayed the same and the number of students who had an e-mail address remained very low. This was also true for Internet access. From 2007 to 2009, the percentage of students with both e-mail addresses and Internet access grew. Internet access rose annually from 2% in 2007 to 7% in 2009, while growth in e-mail use grew from 20% in 2007 to 35% in 2008. However, it declined again in 2009 to less than 20%. There has however been noticeable growth in ownership or availability of computers for this cohort of distance education students from 2002 to 2010 (Hendrikz 2011). This profile underscores the realities that I have sketched above. There are those communities, especially in urban areas that have comprehensive and adequate ICT connectivity, while the majority of the population living in rural areas have limited or no ICT connectivity. Over the years, the University has carefully monitored the technology profile of its students and introduced – in a carefully planned manner – technologies that are accessible, dependable, and affordable to students, including SMSs and CDs. However, because not all students have access to a computer, the information on the CDs is not compulsory content, but information that will enrich their studies, for example, an e-library with recommended readings. The greater access to computers has resulted in more students submitting assignments online and it is anticipated that over time, the delivery will evolve in line with the profile and available technologies. However, it is not envisaged that this will happen in the near future. It was also clear from the start of the study that SMSs could not be used for in-depth academic conversations or to convey complex academic content, but revolved more around students’ perceptions and how they react when they receive an SMS from the University. The study concluded that the Internet and mobile phone penetration rate, as well as South Africa’s ICT Development Index (IDI), is reflected in the ICT profile of the University of Pretoria as a micro reflection of the reality of South Africa (Hendrikz, 2011).
- I concur.
- Second bullet: Excluding such devices as the Blackberry, Android and I-Phone which few of the poor can afford, she speaks of simple feature phones that have been customised by mobile phone makers for Africa. These phones mostly have basic browser capabilities and 2.25 inch screens. The users comprised eight women in an NGO collective, and the challenge was to train them how to access the internet on mobile phones they already owned.
- Three years later, Gitau now works in Kenya, with different users. But she faces exactly the same problems. She asserts unless these challenges are addressed, the poor will remain technically marginalised. There is very little reason to believe that The situation would be much different in South Africa. And while these women were not students, their experiences indicate quite clearly the challenges that ODL students would have to face if we were to use mobile phones in the way that far too many have suggested. We simply don’t know that ICT capacity and competency of our students.
- I hope that I have just provided an insight into the real world of ODL delivery in the developing world, and more particularly at Unisa. It tells a very complex and challenging story, and if one adds to that the political dynamics that are so close to our higher education home, then things become even more complex. ( I am sure that you all know that our current Minister of Higher Education and Training is simultaneously the Secretary General of the South African Communist Party). 1. Can we leap the digital divide? Well, we can certainly try. And there can be no doubt that we must move towards total inline provision. But how we do that is moot. I fear that is we go blindly down that road, then the divide will become a chasm into which the digitally challenged will fall, perhaps lost forever. And the implications for equity in higher education? I’m afraid that I have to say that if the current demand continues, equity will not be achieved in my life time, neither in South Africa nor in the world. On the contrary, I believe that the digital divide will increase as all nations struggle to ameliorate the effects of the recession, and come to grips with a world in transition. Determine the profile We might need to look at differentiated education Let the technologically proficient fly Start at ground zero for the rest and nurture them incrementally, to a point of transition to e-learning.