Management Issues Confronting DE Institutions in the 21st Century:

The African and Asian Experiences in Distance Education

Introduction
The readings and case studies in Module 2 exposed me to the different strategies employed by the
different distance learning institutions to ensure that their programs would succeed. Admittedly, I
never thought that there can be so many ways on how to set-up and manage a DE institution. I also
realized that DE institutions are predominantly large organizations. It dispelled my initial notion
that a person can run a DE institution singlehandedly.

The management strategies that impressed on me most about DE institutions are collaboration,
mixed source of funding, training and retraining, pedagogy over technology, contextualization,
licensing, and accreditation.

Discussion
Distance education programs are very well documented in English-speaking countries such as UK,
Canada, USA, and Australia. It is also known by several names such as correspondence education,
Independent Study, External Study, Open Learning, Open Education, Off-campus Programme etc.
(Chaugule, S.S.). It is not surprising that distance learning programs thrived in these countries
because the quest for knowledge and experimentation have been encouraged for years.
Furthermore, they have the technological infrastructure to support distance education; they have
access to high tech industries and manpower.

It is interesting to note that in well developed countries, such as USA, DE programs are offered
through an existing university, collaboration of different universities, and private organizations.
However, some of the DE institutions did not last long despite their initial multi-million dollar
funding. They simply did not have enough enrollees to sustain the operations especially in for-profit
DE institutions (Bates, 17-40). There is also the need to train and retrain the teachers, constant

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upgrading of equipments and learning materials, contextualization of the learning materials for the
target audience, and the need to acquire licenses and accreditations.

In this paper, I would like to concentrate on the five case studies from the developing countries such
as Dakar Francophone Digital Campus (Senegal), Botswana College of Distance and Open
Learning (Botswana), Netvarsity (India), Kenyatta University (Kenya), and UNITAR (Malaysia). I
am interested in these five examples because they are not really known to be at the forefront of
distance learning. My initial impression with these African and Asian countries is that they also
have internal problems and struggles similar to what we also experience here in the Philippines -
poverty, large population, very little job opportunities, expensive technology, etc.

These five case studies are quite interesting to read. I can think of one word that these DE
institutions are able to survive -- CREATIVITY. The people who are responsible to make these DE
institutions work have creative minds to utilize their available resources. In contrast to the well-
funded DE institutions in developed countries, their African and Asian counterparts offered short

MSc Student at Kenyatta University

courses that are very affordable to the people. If they cannot have the enormous amount of funds, at
least the students will pay in full or at subsidized fees. For example, Kenyatta University (http://
www.ku.ac.ke/) in Kenya was able to generate funds through its marketing scheme of computer
short courses (Juma, p. 13). Actually, as I was reading this case study, I thought of Nike’s famous
slogan - Just Do It! Their administrators and staff did not wait for the funds to come by. Surely, they
also applied for government funding. At the same time, they devised a plan to be able to cater to the
interest of their target learners for a fee.
The curriculum of Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning in Botswana (BOCODOL,
http://www.bocodol.ac.bw/) is very close to my chosen subject area, TLE, in my previous EDDE
projects. This DE institution gave priority to vocational courses to enhance the livelihoods of open
schooling graduates such as design and technology, metal work, leather work, home economics, and
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tourism and hospitality. Moreover, they believed that these courses will promote employability of
graduates. From what I have read, their tutors and part-time writers of interactive self-learning
materials were discontented on the way they were being taxed on their allowances (Abrioux and
Ferreira, p. 81). They felt it would be better if incentives were given to develop learning materials.
BOCODOL also relied on government funding and student fees to sustain their operations. They
also utilized ICT to enhance teacher-student interactions at every level.

The Dakar Francophone Digital Campus in Senegal was able to utilize ICT in distance learning
and contextualize the learning materials for their intended learners. They used French in delivering
the instructions for their French-speaking learners. They also gave a breakdown of their investment
cost, an average total US$500,000. With this amount. they were able to cover their expenses for
building construction, computer equipment, electricity, air-conditioning, cabling, and furnishing
through an active cooperation policy with other DE players working in Africa (Sagna, p. 27). They
also considered regular upgrading of computer equipments to be vital in maintaining their
operations.

Netvarsity of India (http://www.netvarsity.com) is a diverse learning institution. It is a well known

fact that India is one of the countries in the world that greatly benefitted from ICT. They were able
to produce computer programmers and became key players in various computer companies in the
US and the world. Like the other DE institutions, they capitalized on computer technology and
integrated it with education. They obtain funds from IFC, Citibank, and tuition fees. Their
competitive advantage is the capability to develop software and learning materials. Aside from
complying with the education standards, they also complied with the industry standards in software
development. They also recognized the need of a proactive learning program that will cater to the
different learning styles and pace of the Internet-based learner. Another suggestion is to offer
student loans scheme to assist students with limited resources.

The Universiti Tun Abdul Razak in Malaysia (UNITAR, http://www.unirazak.edu.my/) is also a

unique DE institution. Malaysia is a multicultural society, a blend of the Eastern and Western
cultures. According to their website, UNITAR is one of the private learning institutions in Malaysia
to receive the SIRIM certification of ISO 9001:2000. In addition, the university has been awarded
the prestigious MSC-status certification, which is a testament to the university's commitment in
integrating technology and innovation in its teaching and learning techniques. Not all schools would

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have the ISO certification. It requires an annual assessment to check the quality assurance of their
service to their clients. It also ensures efficiency of their daily operations.

As part of a cost-control strategy, UNITAR has local partner institutions to assist in delivering its
courses. Take note of their initial investment, US$8 million in 1998 and US$10 million in 1999.
They also aim to promote lifelong learning in Malaysia as well as in Asia and the Middle East. For
them, aside from high technology and constant upgrading of its syllabus, going global would also
mean the use of the English language as the medium of instruction.

Relevance of the case studies to the local sector: Blended Online Learning Design (BOLD) in
secondary public schools within the division of Quezon City -- possible or not possible?

Power and Gould-Morven (pp. 19-39) discussed the paradox of online learning in Head of Gold,
Feet of Clay. “Online learning (head of gold) is sometimes touted as the key to better higher
education. Yet, it has not been widely embraced by mainstream academia (feet of clay).” Some of
the reasons are the tedious tasks involved in developing online learning materials and boredom on
the part of the students. At the end, the suggestion is to integrate online learning design with
dialogue-rich design model.

Similarly, I chose the subject area TLE (ICT and Entrepreneurship) for my online learning materials
in my previous EDDE projects. It seems to be a good choice because of the incentive and support
given by the local government and the Department of Education. They currently promote
Alternative Learning System, Mobile Learning, and eSkwela for students who cannot go to school
regularly due to family or work responsibilities. It is also true that one of the challenges in online
learning that I encountered was the meticulous preparation of the learning materials. I had to
consider the available Web 2.0 applications that can be integrated with the educational material. The
next question is, would it be accessible to all learners? As a developer of instructional materials, I
can only hope for the best. There are some things too that I cannot control anymore such as efficient
Internet connection. Technological infrastructures would involve local governments, agencies, and
industries.

Currently, Quezon City is benefitting from the investments brought about by the business process
outsourcing industry (call centers). In return, the QC government viewed ICT as an important tool
for unemployment. As a consequence, they have included ICT as a mandatory training and the

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setting up of e-Libraries as part of their programs and projects. Even the basic education curriculum
now includes computer education to prepare the young learners for the challenges of the digital age.

Will BOLD work in secondary public schools in Quezon City? I am optimistic that it can. The city
seems to be ready for online learning because of the available Internet infrastructure. There are also
incentives and support (training, funding, etc.) from the local government and education sector.
Probably what is lacking are the people and educators who would be willing to take the challenge to
shift from their comfort zones and be retrained for the new digital mode of learning. Enhancement
of the online learning materials should also follow the suggestion of Power and Gould-Morven.

But then again, there is also digital divide. There are people who are unable to take part in this
social change and are left behind (urban poor). Perhaps the article of Selinger can serve as a
warning to us why paradox exists. According to Selinger, “Before ICT can even be considered as an
accelerator of educational reform or change, other factors need to be taken into account. . . These
basic enablers include such things as access to clean water, the availability of basic shelter, personal
safety, health of students, free or affordable costs of schooling and sufficient and well-trained
teachers” (p. 217–8).

Distance Learning in Higher Education (Philippines)

It seems to me that the Philippines is not lagging behind the Web 2.0 technology. Thanks to the call
centers which made the people become more aware of ICT. In my case, gathering research data is
easier because I don’t need to travel to the different universities like I did ten years ago. Some of the
universities are now offering distance education, online learning, and mixed-mode programs. In
Philippine Women’s University (PWU http://www.pwu.edu.ph/, PWU VLES http://www.pwu-
online.net/), they have BSBA and MAEd in DE mode. The Philippine Normal University (PNU,
http://www.pnu-online.net/) is also offering online learning programs in teacher education. The
Polytechnic University of the Philippines Open University, one of the pioneers in offering DE
courses (PUPOUS http://www.pup.edu.ph/OUS/), has academic programs in distance education and
professional studies. Similarly, the University of the Philippines Open University (UP http://
up.edu.ph/, UPOU http://www.upou.edu.ph/), has the most number of course offerings from non-
formal, undergraduate, and post-baccalaureate programs in varied disciplines. Truly, these DE
institutions encourage us to be lifelong learners!

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Other private and regional state universities that are offering programs related to Technology and
Livelihood Education and Home Economics at least have Web sites that I was able to surf into.
Some of them have learning management systems too. Thus, their isolation has been lessened, now
that they have joined the Web. Here are some of the colleges and universities: CEU http://
www.ceu.edu.ph/, TUA http://www.tua.edu.ph, UST http://www.ust.edu.ph, DLSU http://
www.dlsu.edu.ph, DLSU-IVLE https://ivle.dlsu.edu.ph/, SPUP http://www.spup.edu.ph/, TUP
http://www.tup.edu.ph, UPD CHE http://upd.edu.ph/~che/, AUP http://www.aup.edu.ph, ASCOT
http://ascot.edu.ph, SLPC http://www.slsu.edu.ph/, MSC http://msc-ph.webs.com, EVSU http://
www.evsu.edu.ph/, and USM http://www.usm.edu.ph/.

Conclusion
Will distance education stay in the Philippine scene? Probably yes. It would really depend on the
learners themselves if they will patronize this type of learning mode. Distance education has been
existing for years in the country and made popular today with the use of the Internet technologies.
Prior to online learning, people were already using mobile phones, e-mails, and social media to
communicate. It’s also a plus factor that majority of the people can understand English that enabled
them to be abreast with science and technology updates. There is also a long tradition of higher
education in the country.

Financial resources may not be a problem because existing private learning institutions have their
own funds while state colleges and universities are supported by the government. In some instances,
there are also private-public partnerships as well as foreign tie-ups. However, it might be a little
difficult to create a new and totally independent DE institution in the Philippines. If there will be
one, they must secure their own source of funds, have a properly trained staff, learning materials,
equipments, licenses and accreditations, student services, learning center/s, and maintenance
program to upgrade the equipments and instructional materials. New entrants might consider tie-ups
with other learning institutions or agencies who are interested in providing education. The program
offerings would also depend on the mission and vision of the new DE institution.

Administrators should also bear in mind the government policies and standards set by the
appropriate industry or education department. The case studies have shown that DE institutions
have varied strategies and programs for their target learners. Some of them created a new institution

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while others evolved from existing universities. In another case study, the DE institution purchased
the licenses and course programs from another learning institution for a certain time period. This
has saved them the time, money, and effort in developing the instructional materials.

Notes:

QC Programs and Projects (http://www.scribd.com/doc/56428719/Programs-and-Projects-QC)

Updates on QC Government’s Programs and Projects (http://www.quezoncity.gov.ph)
TLE (http://tle4.webs.com/tle4)

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