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In Africa the explosion in the demand for education that characterised. the advent of political independence in many African countries (see Kinyanjui 1995) can be credited for the rapid and extensive expansion of formal education systems and for the development of a variety of distance learning programmes in the 1960s and 1970s. Jenkins noted that 'as the former colonies became independent, new ministries of education saw the potential of correspondence study as a means both of expanding educational opportunity and of providing trained manpower' (1989: 44).
However, despite the important role distance education has played in widening access to all types of education in Africa, few African countries had by the end of the 1980s attempted degree level studies at a distance (Jenkins 1989). Indeed it is only during the last six years that an Open University in Tanzania has been established and distance learning programmes have been developed at other African Universities. One probable reason for the slow development of distance education in Africa is the high cost of establishing a distance education programme. Secondly, until recently not many politicians and ministry of education officials showed any strong commitment to distance education (Jenkins 1989).
Perhaps more importantly is the failure of older institutions such as the Universities of Zambia and Lagos to provide any positive lessons to the extent that the British Open University has served as a model for a successful distance teaching institution that has had a positive influence on the development of distance education world wide. Both universities have experienced problems arising mainly from their integrated structures of distance education (Siaciwena 1988; Fagbarniye 1995). At the University of Zambia efforts to deal with the operational problems associated with the distance learning programme have led to the creation of a new structure of distance education. This article gives the background to the organisational changes at the institution which have resulted in the creation of an autonomous distance-education unit which is responsible for the organisation, administration and co-ordination of all distance-learning courses offered by various teaching departments.
Such an appraisal is significant in two ways. First, every institution has to carry out a variety of functions and as Perraton pointed out, the way various functions 'are exercised, and the internal administrative structure required to control them, are determined or at least influenced by the governing structure of a distance teaching institution and by the nature of its audiences' (1987: 7).
Secondly, it is hoped that this appraisal will, in a small way though, contribute to the development of a theory relating to the administration of open and distance learning since 'in the administrative system, generalisations can be drawn from practice, which may offer useful heuristics and may, in time, serve as the basis for administrative theories' (Perraton 1987: 11).
Rumble stated that 'distance-teaching units set up in conventional educational institutions are often seen as marginal to their main purpose' (1986: 41). It is important therefore to locate and analyse the changes that have been made in the organisational structure of the distance learning programme at the University of Zambia within the existing institutional policies.
Policy context
The 1963 Report on the establishment of a university in Zambia (then Northern Rhodesia) which recommended the incorporation of correspondence education into the academic activities of the new University provided a broad policy framework for the development of distance education. Therefore, from its inception the institution has regarded it as its obligation to extend opportunities for university education beyond the ranks of those who could attend the university on full-time basis in order to, among other reasons, enable those who had left school before the opportunities for higher education in the country had come into existence to have the opportunity to realise their potential abilities to the advantage of themselves and the society as a whole.
As a means of operationalising the above obligation the Department of Correspondence Studies was established in 1966, the year the University of Zambia was created, to co-ordinate and administer correspondence courses and the first 152 correspondence students were enrolled in March, 1967. In the 1995/96 academic year there were 386 distance students.
Whereas the report on the creation of the University of Zambia provided broad aims, the institution's Strategic Plan: 1994–1998 offers more specific and more comprehensive policy provisions for the development of distance education. It states that the university will explore a wide variety of higher education provision for those willing and able to benefit and specifies that the university will continue to cater for distance students (The University of Zambia 1993a).
Through the establishment of the Directorate of Distance Education a new structure of distance education was created in September 1994 within the policy framework of the institution's Strategic Plan, to enable the University to re-shape and strengthen the entire programme.
The old structure
Before September, 1994, distance education at the University of Zambia was one of the three departments that constituted the Centre for Continuing Education (which was dissolved in August 1994). This arrangement did not make the management of the distance education programme any more efficient than when the Department of Correspondence Studies was autonomous prior to 1975, the year the Centre for Continuing Education was established. The Senate Ad-hoc Committee on Correspondence Studies appointed in 1979 noted the following problems with regard to the incorporation of the Department of Correspondence Studies into the Centre for Continuing Education:
- The Department of Correspondence Studies had no direct representation on the Senate (the highest academic policy making body);
- There were sometimes administrative delays in obtaining funds resulting from the need to send requests to the Bursar through the Director of the Centre for Continuing Education for prior approval. (The University of Zambia 1980)
It was also clear that the unique financial requirements of a distance education programme were, inevitably, blurred by the competing needs of other departments of the Centre for Continuing Education.
The Report of The Task Force established by the Vice-Chancellor to review the functions and activities of the Centre for Continuing Education in 1989 made similar observations and summarised the problems as follows:
it is difficult to see that the work of the Department has been made any easier or smoother through its incorporation into the Centre. In some respects the Department is actually at a disadvantage in belonging to the Centre in that its needs for the stationery and supplies without which it cannot function must be subordinated to the needs of the Centre as a whole and must be considered in competition with the needs of the centre's other departments. (The University of Zambia 1993b)
The new structure
From the above and other reports the Senate concluded that the structure of distance education in the University could not effectively perform its tasks. This and the Strategic Plan's reaffirmation of distance education as a central element in the University of Zambia's provision of higher education necessitated a fundamental review of the organisational structure of distance education in order to address the many problems identified through the experiences of the students and the Schools that provide distance-learning courses.
The University therefore created the Directorate of Distance Education effective 1st September, 1994 following the dissolution of the Centre for Continuing Education of which distance education was a part. The University recognised a need for greater emphasis on distance education to cater for a growing number of people who could not benefit from full-time courses. The new Directorate would enable the University to conduct the programme more efficiently and plan for its expansion more effectively (The University of Zambia 1995). Therefore, the new structure of distance education aims at:
- improved management structures, administrative procedures and controls;
- more efficient production and distribution ofstudy materials;
- better methods of developing course materials;
- improved provision of student services.
The reorganisation also saw the establishment of a Senate Committee on Distance Education chaired by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and whose other members are the Director of Distance Education, Deans of Schools offering distance learning courses and the Deputy Registrar for Academic Affairs.
As a means of strengthening the management capacity of the new Directorate three posts of Coordinator responsible for (a) Course Materials, (b) Student Services and (c) Research and Evaluation were created and the two posts of Course Adviser (Counsellors) abolished. Coordinators have substantive academic appointments. Compared to the old structure, the creation of the posts of Coordinators together with the introduction of monetary incentives appear to be facilitating greater professional input from the Directorate of Distance Education in the development of study material and in providing student support services. A post of Assistant Registrar has also been created in the Directorate to take charge of all administrative and personnel matters.
The elevation of distance education to the level of a directorate is most significant because it was done at a time when, as part of a programme of rationalisation, five research bureaux, institutes and similar units (including the Centre for Continuing Education of which distance education was a part) were closed. The change has enhanced its status and visibility in the new academic structure of the University which comprises nine schools, one institute and two directorates. The Director of distance education is, like Deans of Schools with whom she/he has equal status, accountable to the Vice-Chancellor and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor.
The Director of distance education is a member of the Senate and its Committees and the directorate is represented on the Boards of Studies of Schools offering distance learning courses. This is an important and positive development in a university where decision-making tends to be concentrated at the level of Boards of Studies and the Senate and, as Zuhairi stated, dual-mode universities 'can be considered to be largely "political institutions" in which different interests play key roles in most decision-making processes' (1995: 203).
The potential of the above organisational changes to improve the overall performance of the distance learning programme at the University of Zambia should be assessed in the context of what are considered to be conditions for success of a distance education system in a dual mode institution. Croft spelt out some base requirements for the success of distance education in a dual mode institution:
the administrative unit must have some level of authority, even if it is not academic; the unit must have some level of autonomy to set its own procedures and policies; other units in the institution must be willing to co-operate; adequate numbers of well-trained staff and faculty must be available; and a sound funding base must be provided on a consistent basis, under the control of the unit. These conditions will allow a distance education programme to exist, but not necessarily to become congruent with the resident organisational culture.
(Croft 1992: 58)
It is too early to determine the extent to which the new organisational structure will enable the institution to meet some or all of the above base requirements. However, it is evident that distance education at the University of Zambia now enjoys greater autonomy and authority than before. Organisational changes necessitated a review of other aspects of the system such as the residential school.
Timing and duration of the residential school
The residential school is an integral and compulsory component of distance education at the University of Zambia. This arises from the recognition of the importance of face-to-face contact on one hand and the difficulties of providing a viable alternative means of face-to-face sessions on the other. The residential school is highly valued, and considered an important and necessary academic activity, by both the students and their lecturers (Siaciwena 1990).
In response to the expressed needs and demands of the students and teaching staff (Siaciwena 1990), and taking advantage of the introduction of the semester system, the residential school is now held at the beginning of the academic year (instead of the end of the first or second term) for a period of four weeks. This change has a number of advantages:
- It exerts the necessary pressure on all those concerned to ensure that as many study units as possible are available to students at the beginning of the academic year;
- Because most of the study materials are given to students during the residential school, there is a great saving on postage;
- Pre-course counselling is now more effective as students have opportunities of face-to-face consultations with the relevant staff on all aspects of their degree/ diploma programmes;
- Students and lecturers tend to know each other right from the beginning and lectures serve as useful introductions to various courses;
- Students are able to get direct guidance on how to write assignments early in their course work and they find that they learn a lot from assignments and tests written and marked during the residential school.
The benefits that distance students derive from the residential school support Perraton's (1984) observation that distance students find it helpful to start their course with a residential session.
Allowances for distance teaching staff
The shortage of staff in teaching departments means that lecturers are responsible for excessively large numbers of both full-time and distance students. The over-heavy load placed on them, arising from understaffing, has had a negative effect on the preparation of study materials, the rate at which assignments are marked, and the quantity and quality of comments on the students' assignments. This is serious in a system in which lecturers serve both as course writers and tutor-markers.
It is in recognition of this fact that the University introduced allowances for distance teaching responsibilities. Academic staff are rewarded according to their effort and time. Thus they are paid for (a) each unit of study materials prepared; (b) every hour of lectures and tutorials during the residential school; and (c) each assignment and examination script marked.
While the allowances may not be quite commensurate with lecturers' distance-teaching responsibilities, they are symbolically significant as they show the university's concern for staff who have to do extra work in comparison with those who do not teach distance students. The principle of paying is perhaps more important than the levels of payment which can be increased from time to time. It is noteworthy that the university also pays allowances for extra full-time teaching responsibilities such as co-ordinating a course taught by more than one lecturer.
It is now possible to pay lecturers for distance-teaching duties because of savings on postage (most of the materials are given to students during the Residential School); vacant teaching positions; and reduction in the non-academic staff in the Directorate of Distance Education.
Some of the noticeable positive effects of the allowances are (a) a general increase in the level of commitment to distance teaching and (b) an increase in the rate at which assignments are marked in particular.
Since distance education payment claim forms have to be approved by the Director of Distance Education, the Directorate of Distance Education now has some amount of administrative and professional control over teaching staff. This also creates opportunities for the staff in the Directorate to provide the necessary input into course design and development and professional advice on marking and commenting on assignments.
Conclusion
Although the University of Zambia has been offering degree and diploma courses through distance teaching since 1967, the history of the programme is that of decline rather than growth. From six degree programmes and 60 full courses in the early 1970s, the University now (1996) offers about 31 full courses (at first and second year level only) leading to the award of the Bachelor of Arts (B.A), Bachelor of Arts with Education (B.A.Ed) and Diploma in Adult Education.
The development of distance education at the University of Zambia has, over the years, been negatively affected by operational problems arising mainly from the organisational structure which did not allow distance education the necessary autonomy and authority required for maximising efficiency and effectiveness.
In order to increase access to higher education the University of Zambia has strengthened its distance education programme through the creation of a new organisational structure. Although there are clear indications that the reorganisation is having a positive effect on the development of distance education at the institution time is needed to access the full impact of the changes especially on the performance of students. It is important and necessary to monitor the performance of the programme and students very closely. A programme of professional development for teaching staff, through training workshops and seminars, is also required to improve the scheme's performance.
References
Croft, M. (1992) 'Single or dual mode: Challenges and choices for the future of education', pp.49–62 in Mugridge, I. (ed) Distance Education in Single and Dual Mode Universities, Vancouver: Commonwealth of Learning.
Fagbamiye, E. (1995) 'Survival of a distance education institute in a developing country', pp.73–76 in Sewart, D. (ed) One World Many Voices. Quality in Open and Distance Learning, Vol.1, Milton Keynes: International Council for Distance Education and The Open University, United Kingdom.
Jenkins, J. (1989) 'Some trends in distance education Africa: An examination of the past and future of distance education as a tool for national development', Distance Education 10 (1): 41–63.
Kinyanjui, P.E. (1995) 'Establishment of an infrastructure for distance education in Africa' pp.118–121 Sewart, D. (ed) One World Many Voices. Quality Open and Distance Learning, Vol.1, Milton Keynes: (International Council for Distance Education at The Open University, United Kingdom.
Perraton, H. (1984) Training Teachers at a Distance, London: Commonwealth Secretariat.
Perraton, H. (1987) 'Theories, generalisation and practice in distance education', Open Learning 2 (3): 3–12.
Rumble, G. (1986) The Planning and Management Distance Education, London: Croom Helm.
Siaciwena, R. (1988)' The External Degree Programn at the University of Zambia', Prospects XVIII (2).
Siaciwena, R.M.C. (1990) 'Lecturers' and Students' Perceptions of the role and value of the Residential School at the University of Zambia', Distance Education 11 (1): 150–160.
The University of Zambia (1980) Report of the Senate Committee on Correspondence Studies Unpublished Paper SEN/80/FO/34.
The University of Zambia (1993a) Strategic Plan, 1994–1998, Lusaka: The University of Zambia.
The University of Zambia (1993b) Report of the Task Force Established by the Vice-Chancellor to Review the Functions and Activities of the Centre for Continuing Education. Unpublished Paper SEN/3/93.
The University of Zambia (1995) Annual Report, 1994, Lusaka: The University of Zambia.
Zuhairi, A. (1995) 'A comparative study of single-mode and dual-mode distance teaching universities', pp.201&3150;204 in Sewart, D. (ed) One World Many Voices. Quality in Open and Distance Learning, Vol. 1, Milton Keynes: International Council for Distance Education and The Open University, United Kingdom.
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