Do we stand to benefit from Open Educational Resources? Presentation by Swaziland Ministry for Education & Training Johannesburg, 22 May 2013

Swaziland’s current educational priorities According to Ministry of Education and Training Sector Policy(2011) Education and training plays a key role in Swaziland’s socio-economic development Commitment to provide quality education to all citizens at all levels through formal and non-formal approaches To make Swaziland a key regional provider of skilled human resources ►At primary/basic school level: To expand participation or access to quality education for all pupils regardless of socio-economic background To provide ‘free’ textbooks to all pupils at primary school level and other basic educational amenities such as infrastructure and educational grants To roll out the Free Primary Education Programme

Educational priorities cont. ► At secondary school level: To provide diversified curricula Increased access for all pupils Provision of basic educational amenities, e.g. infrastructure, teaching and learning materials and student support grants for orphaned and vulnerable children

Educational priorities cont. ► At post-secondary including tertiary education level To implement programmes to reduce access gaps To explore option for tertiary institutions to accumulate private or external funding for self- sustainability ► Cross-cutting priorities Provision of accessible quality education that is relevant and affordable Promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women

Current policy status and links to OER The Education and Training Sector Policy (2011) Draws specific attention to issues of access, quality, equity, efficiency, relevance and delivery (see EDSEC Policy Guiding Principles p.10) Review of curriculum to be relevant to needs of knowledge-and-skills driven society to promote all aspects of human development

Other Sub sector Policies (some still under development) Draft Swaziland ODL Policy ODL has some benefits which need to be recognised more widely: widening of access; independent learning opportunities; a more intimate interface with employment; the possibility of cumulative improvement in pedagogical quality; the staff development effect; and under certain circumstances lower costs Specific reference to OER: Relating to course materials and delivery- Policies must be clear with regard to ownership, use of course material, Open Educational Resources (OER) and copyright issues TVETSD Policy Goal To provide training of competent entrepreneurial and employable work force with relevant marketable skills

Policy links to OER EDSEC Policy Curriculum development policy issue rationale To develop curriculum and instructional materials to be used in schools so as to improve the quality, relevance, accessibility, affordability, equity and efficiency of education Curriculum to meet the diverse needs of learners Curriculum to integrate emerging issues e.g. life skills, ESD, ICT, HIV and AIDS, corruption, gender and others Curriculum development guidelines (e.g. textbook policy to direct design, provision, management and utilisation of instructional materials

Challenges and potential benefits from OER ►Some of the key weaknesses of Swaziland Education, Training and Skills Development Sector (ETSDS) indicated as follows: Low access especially beyond primary education; inequity of access and outcomes in favour of the non- poor; acute resource inefficiencies; doubtful development relevance; and insufficient delivery capacity… Current ETSDS does not adequately supply threshold of skills required by knowledge and technology driven growth (Marope, 2010) The Tertiary Education sector remains most challenging level to implement programmes that will reduce access gaps (EDSEC Policy, 2011)

Making a case for Open Educational Resources (OER) To redress weaknesses: The Education, Training and Skills Development Sector (ETSDS) can play a critical role because ► Swaziland is not natural resource-rich, as a result economic competitiveness is most likely to be knowledge and technology- driven; to also maximise regional and international opportunities through export of highly skilled labour for brain circulation purposes: OER can make a contribution

Some of the potential benefits of OER for Swaziland OER can increase availability of high quality, relevant learning materials that are peer reviewed OER allow for contextualised, localised and personalised adaptations of learning materials by educators and students alike By building the capacity of educators during creation and use of OER as part of professional development OER eliminate unnecessary duplication of effort by building on what already exists Remove costs of copyright negotiation and clearance Promotes culture of quality education through participating in open communities of practice for ongoing quality improvement and assurance

Potential benefits for Swaziland from OER Projects in Africa Open Content UCT- A web portal for accessing content. Showcases the teaching efforts of UCT academics and encourages publication of open resources OER Africa Projects: Founded in 2009 to facilitate OER creation in Education, Health, Agriculture and Teacher Education. African OER in Health Sciences from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana are being used at the University of Michigan in the USA, and OER in Nursing from Malawi are in use in universities across Africa. Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC) Project Swaziland is actively involved in the VUSSC OER development activities

Training using VUSSC OER OER on ‘Effective communication skills in tour guiding’ was used to train tour guides sponsored by Swaziland Tourism Authority (STA)  Training facilitated by UNISWA and SIMPA staff  Structured questionnaire administered to trainees after workshop, to probe how trainees find the VUSSC OER on effective communication in tour guiding

Meet the VUSSC OER trainees

Conclusion OER can make a contribution towards skills development in Swaziland OER can offer opportunity to the EDSEC to expand its educational programmes, enhance flexibility and reduce costs for students OER can provide up-skilling of staff across all EDSEC levels, such as on how to adapt existing OER, create and edit new OER and on managing and facilitating online learning At tertiary education level, institutions in Swaziland can benefit from the general course development and economic models that underlie OER