Title: Section 5: Regional Variations
Course: Introduction to Open Schooling > Section: Regional Variations in Open Schooling Practices

Open schooling practice and experience across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Pacific.

Learning Journey

There are five sections in this course, and each explores a specific aspect of open schooling principles and practices. Let's now begin with section 5. Overview of Open Schooling (Completed) Curriculum Issues for Open Schooling (Completed) Teaching and Learning Approaches for Open Schooling (Completed) Funding and Policy Issues for Open Schooling (Completed) Regional Variations in Open Schooling Practices (Up next) 1 2 3 4 5

Migration source: module06/p23

Evolution of Distance Education Practice in Africa

- Correspondence
- Broadcast media
- Use of Information and communication technology (ICT)
- Use of the Internet

Select Play to watch the video.
The video will open in another window.
NAMCOL Video Transcript.
The transcript will open in another window.

Video Attribution: Commonwealth of Learning under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence (international)

Although distance education is evolving in line with wider societal changes, diverse contexts mean that all generations of distance education and/or combinations thereof may be in place, including:

Related links

- Watch video

Downloads

- video3 namcol transcript.pdf

Migration source: module06/p25

Evolution of Distance Education Practice in Africa (Continued)

There are several open universities and open schools in Africa. Also, there are various challenges to open schooling. Select the buttons to know more. Open universities in Africa include:
- University of South Africa (Unisa)
- Open University of Tanzania (OUT)
- Open University of Zimbabwe (OUZ)
- Botswana Open University (BOU) and others

Some of the open schools in Africa are:
- Namibia College of Open Learning (NAMCOL)
- Malawi College of Distance Education (MCDE)
- Zambia College of Distance Education (ZACODE)
- Institute for Distance Education (INED) within the Ministry of Education in Mozambique
- Institute of Adult Education (IAE) in Tanzania
and others

Open schooling challenges in Africa are many and diverse:
- Limited investment in the digitisation of open and distance learning (ODL) systems
- Lack of quality policy frameworks in most African countries where ODL is taking place
- Inadequate funding for the development and implementation of ODL
- Limited personnel who are skilled in ODL pedagogy
- Growing commercialisation of distance education programmes at the cost of reduced openness
- Prohibitive cost of hardware
- Lack of technical support
- Lack of an accepted common language for learning (especially in West Africa)

Migration source: module06/p24

Open, Distance and e-Learning in Asia

Asia has moved strongly into the digital realm with the growing use of open education resources (OER) and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC's). Of the 40 countries in Asia, only Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Singapore and Sri Lanka are members of the Commonwealth. There is extensive use of open, distance and e-learning (ODeL) for higher education in Asia, but National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) in India is the largest of the many providers of open schooling.

Figure 14. Map of Asia showing different countries

Other notable open schools and universities include:
- Open Junior Secondary School, Indonesia
- Open Secondary School, South Korea
- Bangladesh Open University Open School
- Sri Lanka National Institute for Education

Some challenges are associated with these forms of education.

Migration source: module06/p27

Open, Distance and e-Learning in Asia (Continued)

The graph indicates that while impressive improvements were made in reducing the numbers of out-of-school children (OOSC) after the end of the 20th century, the reduction is flattening. Open schooling provision to be accelerated if Asia is to meet the Education for All goal at the schooling level by 2030. Challenges

Figure 15. A line graph that shows the number of primary and lower secondary out-of-school children in south Asia over time. The graph shows that from 1999 to 2014, the number of out-of-school children in south Asia decreased from 74.4 million to 31.9 million. And then from 2015 to 2030, the number of out-of-school children was expected to fall from 30 million to 20 million. In order to meet the sustainable development goal 4, the decrease in out-of-school students needs to be accelerated greatly.

Migration source: module06/p28

Open Schooling in the Caribbean

English-speaking countries in the Caribbean include the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the mainland nations of Belize and Guyana. Public education was started in the mid-19th century, mostly by religious bodies. Ministries of education began to take control of education provision in the mid-20th century. The main challenge here today is for boys not completing secondary schooling.

Figure 16. Caribbean map by Kmusser

Migration source: module06/p06

Open Schooling in the Caribbean (Continued)

Select the buttons to find out about who is involved and how open schooling is carried out in different regions. Some of the key open schooling players in the Caribbean are the following:
- The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) comprises 20 countries and represents some 16 million citizens. Although all members met the Millennium Development Goals for primary education provision, there was mixed success at the secondary level.
- In 2012, the Caribbean Regional Policy Framework for Open and Distance Learning was developed to address challenges experienced by the traditional education system.
- The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) leads curriculum development and reform, as well as the use of open education resources (OER).

In Belize, the provision of open schooling follows various models, in response to different needs and contexts:
- The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) comprises 20 countries and represents some 16 million citizens. Although all members met the Millennium Development Goals for primary education provision, there was mixed success at the secondary level.
- In 2012, the Caribbean Regional Policy Framework for Open and Distance Learning was developed to address challenges experienced by the traditional education system.
- The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) leads curriculum development and reform, as well as the use of OER.

- Evening classes
- Gwen Lizarraga High School, with different experimental models
- Kaina Online School
- Non-governmental organization (NGO) support to out-of-school children (OOSC)/youths
- Living Hope Preparatory School offers second-chance opportunities
- Independent High School offers a high school vocational certificate through blended learning

Migration source: module06/p30

Open Learning in the Pacific

Figure 17. Oceania by Wikimedia Commons

Open education in the Pacific is well developed in New Zealand (NZ) but less so in smaller Pacific nations. We explore case studies of open learning provision in:
- New Zealand
- South-West Pacific Region
- Papua New Guinea
- Vanuatu
- Fiji

Let’s study these regions in detail.

Migration source: module06/p01

New Zealand

New Zealand has well-developed facilities and infrastructure. We will discuss two institutions which offer open education to out-of-school youth. In the upcoming screens, you will learn more about these institutions.
- Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu
- Open Polytechnic New Zealand (OPNZ)

Migration source: module06/p07

Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu

There is no direct English translation available for the Maori name of the institution. For everyday use, the name is typically shortened to Te Kura. Te Kura was established almost 100 years ago as The Correspondence School of New Zealand. More than 22,000 students are enrolled annually, including those who are enrolled at other state education providers and those beyond compulsory school age.
Any young New Zealander between 16 and 19 years of age and not in employment, education or training can choose to enrol for free, allowing Te Kura to have a positive impact on a large number of students. In 2019, Te Kura enrolled almost 6,000 young adult students across the full range of offerings. Watch the video appearing on the next slide to learn more.
In response to Covid-19, Te Kura made its content and a copy of its learning management system (LMS) open to all secondary schools in New Zealand.

Migration source: module06/p36

Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu (Continued)

Select Play to watch the video.
The video will open in another window.
Te Kura Video Transcript.
The transcript will open in another window.

Video Attribution: Commonwealth of Learning under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence (international)

Related links

- Watch video

Downloads

- video4 te kura transcript.pdf

Migration source: module06/p38

Open Polytechnic New Zealand (OPNZ)

Although not directly involved with open schooling, OPNZ offers routes back into formal education for high school dropouts. Along with nationwide delivery, Open Polytechnic’s approach to open learning and access includes maintaining a programme portfolio designed to ensure entry points for all learners, irrespective of prior educational background. Fee-free work and life-skills programmes are offered at foundation and certificate levels, and OPNZ’s learner base includes significant numbers of people who are unemployed and/or have no high school qualifications, including those in prison.

Migration source: module06/p40

South-West Pacific Region

University of the South Pacific (USP) This is a regional university owned by and serving 12 island nations of the southwest Pacific region: Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Although it does not offer schooling courses, USP hosts the Pacific Centre for Flexible and Open Learning for Development (PACFOLD), which aims to empower communities in the region through flexible learning approaches.

Figure 18. Partnership for ODFL in the Pacific Open Online Course website homepage screenshot

PACFOLD is COL’s partner for its current initiative to promote and support open, distance and flexible learning (ODFL) in the Pacific Open Courses.

Related links

- Open resource on pacificopencourses.col.org

Migration source: module06/p41

Papua New Guinea

Flexible, Open and Distance Education (FODE), Papua New Guinea FODE in Papua New Guinea provides opportunities for children and youths who have been unable to access schooling, or who have dropped out of schooling, to complete their studies using an open and distance learning model. The combination of digital resources, tablets, and limited physically-distanced contact at centres ensures a nimble response to the challenges of education provision during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Migration source: module06/p43

Vanuatu

The percentage of out-of-school children (OOSC) aged four to five dropped from 56% in 2016 to 16% in 2018. In primary schools, the percentage of OOSC dropped from 13% in 2016 to 8% in 2018. However, as more children pass through primary levels, the demand on secondary levels increases. While the total number of secondary schools grew from 93 in 2016 to 104 in 2018, of the 98,488 students enrolled in 2018, 19,983 were in Years 7+. The geographically dispersed population living on an archipelago of some 83 islands means it is not financially viable to offer traditional brick-and-mortar, face-to-face schooling for all learners. However, some hitches were experienced leading to a setback in the progress of introducing open schooling.

Migration source: module06/p46

Vanuatu (Continued)

Setback Multiple disasters affecting Vanuatu in 2020, including Covid-19, Tropical Cyclone Harold, volcanic ashfall in schools, and drought, have resulted in the temporary suspension of open schooling programmes and activities that had been initiated in 15 pilot schools (Saide, 2020b, p. 6).

Migration source: module06/p47

Fiji

Figure 19. COL's short course developed in response to the pandemic

The course was the product of a collaborative project between COL and the Pacific Centre for Flexible and Open Learning for Development (PACFOLD) Learn initiative, hosted by the University of the South Pacific. Over 700 teachers in Fiji participated. A new initiative, financially supported by New Zealand, will support the expansion of open, distance and flexible learning (ODFL) in the region. The course was designed to support teachers with guidelines and resources for coping with school campus closures by using available online resources and applications. The focus of the course was on practical ways to address the challenge in the short term by scaffolding independent use of existing prescribed resources, supplementing prescribed resources with open education resources (OER), using appropriate technology to support communication and learning, and providing appropriate assessment and feedback. When Commonwealth of Learning (COL) received a request from the Ministry of Education in Fiji to support teachers with continuity of learning during school campus closures due to Covid-19, we developed a short course, Using Open Educational Resources for Online Learning: An Introduction.

Migration source: module06/p48

Conclusion

This concludes our introduction to open schooling. We learned that open schooling uses open, distance and e-learning (ODeL) approaches to provide more flexible pathways into and through schooling or schooling-equivalent learning opportunities. Select the numbers for a quick recap of the knowledge we gained.
At the heart, we need to make sure that learners have access to appropriate content based on the official school syllabus, or provide an alternative pathway, ongoing support and feedback on assessment in ways that do not necessarily require teachers and learners always to be in the same place at the same time. Making this possible and sustainable requires appropriate policy and funding as well as rigorous quality assurance, informed by appropriate monitoring and evaluation. There is no one right way to offer open schooling, it varies according to different learning needs and contexts. However, there are many examples of open schooling provision from which we can learn.

Migration source: module06/p49