MAPPING OF THE CURRENT ICT AND EDUCATION INITIATIVES

5MAPPING OF THE CURRENT ICT AND EDUCATION INITIATIVES

5.1Current Governance Structures

The ICT Steering Committee is responsible for the overall management of ICT and education Tech/Na! Implementation Plan. Established in 2004 by the MoE, it creates a single consultative forum intended to promote collaboration between projects, organizations, and partners. Seven directorates of the Ministry of Education (MoE) participate in the ICTS in Education Steering Committee: Directorate of Adult Basic Education, Directorate of Education Programme Implementation, Directorate of Higher Learning, Directorate of General Services, Directorate of Science and Technology, and Directorate of Vocational Educational Training.Error: Reference source not found In addition, the committee’s membership includes representation from the MoE regional offices, tertiary education partners, TRC network, civil society organizations, private sector partners, and donor and development organizations. The ICT steering committee is responsible for the overall management of the implementation plan, serving as a point of coordination for activities, providing input with regard to selection of new project and activities and where they should be employed, monitor and review project progress, facilitate procurement of technical assistance, and review policies as needed. Under the ICT steering committee is a coordination group and area working groups who implement the activities.

In 2000, the Namibian Open Learning Network Trust (NOLNet) was established through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the permanent secretary of the MoE and the ODL institutions. Its mandate is to coordinate ODL activities and programmes and ensuring that the appropriate quality control mechanisms are in place. NOLNet is managed through an executive board consisting of directors of UNAM, the Polytechnic, the MoE Directorate of Adult Basic, NIED, and NAMCOL Education. In addition there is a management committee and area specific standing committees that implement ODL activity. Major achievements of NOLNet include the establishment of NOLNet multipurpose centers that have access to library resources, internet access, and computer hardware to assist in ODL.

In 2006, the NOLNet e-learning center was established under the auspices of NOLNet. It has had considerable support from InWEnt (Capacity Building International, Germany) in developing its e-learning training programs. Through this partnership InWEnt has trained 40 educational stakeholders in Namibia in e-Learning. The course included training on instructional design, content development, e-learning management, and support and tutoring of virtual learning communities (VLC). Its mandate is to manage and coordinate all e-learning activities. In addition to facilitating the coordination between various institutions, the e-learning center carries out capacity building, content development, quality insurance, infrastructure development to ensure sustainable and relevant e-learning.

The Namibian Education Technology Services and Support Centre (NETSS) was established after consultative process as part of Tech/Na! Implementation Plan. It is responsible for coordinating access to ICTs for education institutions in Namibia including sourcing of hardware, refurbishment, installation, and technological support. NETTS provides continuous on demand support for schools through its national center and toll free number, but also conducts a once a year maintenance for all schools (August/September.) to ensure that ICT hardware is working properly. The design of the NETSS centre is based on models of support established previously by SchoolNet Namibia and Microsoft Pathfinder projects.

The Namibian Training Authority (NTA) provides services to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of vocational education and training in Namibia. It is undergoing a nation-wide standardization of vocational training curriculum and certification as well as supporting the expansion of training venues throughout the country.

Namibia Institute of Educational Development (NIED) is responsible for designing, developing and evaluating curricula for schools and teacher education, introducing approaches to teaching and learning, coordinating the development of instructional materials, conducting educational research, distributing teaching and learning resources and coordinating the development of pre-service and in-service teacher education programs.

The Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA) is a statutory body established by the Namibia Qualifications Authority Act No 29 of 1996.The NQA’s mandate is ensure the quality education and training in Namibia through the development and management of a comprehensive and flexible National Qualifications Framework. Quality is also promoted by the NQA through the accreditation of education and training providers in Namibia and their courses. The ICT literacy certification currently used in Namibia was approved and vetted by the NQA.

The Namibian College of Open Learning is a parastatal education institution created in 1997 to provide continuing education and learning opportunities for out of school youth and adults. It has developed distance education courses for grade 10 and grade 12 qualifications as well as several professional certification courses. NAMCOL is a leader in digital content creation in Namibia. In addition to participation in production of radio and video content for schools, digital content production in collaboration with UNESCO and the Commonwealth of Learning, NAMCOL has currently been contracted by the e-Learning Center under Tech/Na!/ETSIP implementation plan to produce twenty 30-minute interactive digital modules for grades 10 and 12 in the curriculum areas of mathematics, physical science, an English. NAMCOL has also put together a comprehensive multimedia strategy for the period of 2009-2011 which identifies strategies and partnerships in order to improve its capacity on the development of multimedia content.

CECS Namibia is not-for-profit organization that provides training and support for teachers and communities in ICT literacy. Their primary focus is basic ICT skills.

XNET Trust established EduNet in 2003. EduNet negotiates bandwidth on behalf of Namibian Education Institutions, relying on aggregation of demand and negotiating for volume discounts to obtain cheaper bandwidth for educational institutions. EduNet has entered into negotiations with Telecom and Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC). In 2006, Telecom pledged an in-kind contribution of N$13.5 million for a five year period towards Xnet’s objectives. Telecom has already provided discounted services towards SchoolNet’s objectives since December 2001 which has made provision for flat rate dial-up services for up to 150 schools where WLAN technology is not yet available. In 2008, MTC pledged N$20 000 and 500,000 Mbps towards the Xnet Development Alliance. The 500,000 Mbps will allow Xnet to connect 41 institutions, each with a 1Mbps 3G package similar to that of MTC's 3G 1000 lite product. In addition, Xnet will be able to offer the package at N$200, half the commercial price, to its beneficiaries. In return, Xnet will earn an additional income per month, which it can use to offset its overheads.