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Tertiary Education and Training |
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| 1) Background |
| 2) Achievements |
| 3) Challenges |
| 4) Priority Components |
| 5) Component 1. To establish a functional National Council for Higher Education [N$3.3 million] |
| 6) Component 2. Implement the Teacher’s Education Colleges Act and related actions [N$5.4 million] |
| 7) Component 3. Develop and operationalise the teacher education reform programme [N$28.5 million] |
| 8) Component 4. Build capacity for graduate studies and research [N$12.6 million] |
| 9) Component 5. Develop pre-entry, foundation programmes and student support [N$15.6 million] |
| 10) Component 6. Improve the effectiveness and productivity of academic staff [N$19.5 million] |
| 11) Component 7. Introduce quality assurance processes [N$2.1 million] |
| 12) Component 8. Diversify financing sources [N$3.2 million] |
| 13) Component 9. Efficient resource use [N$1.1 million] |
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| 1) Background |
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| Tertiary education and training contributes to development in multiple ways. It informally sets quality standards for the entire education system. It produces high level technical and managerial personnel required for economic growth and competitiveness. It generates knowledge workers and researchers essential to knowledge-driven development. It provides enterprises with technical support and partnership to spur knowledge-based innovation. It delivers policy analysts and managers to the public and private sector. Thus, support for improving tertiary education is essential for the success of ETSIP. |
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| 2) Achievements |
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The sector is dominated by two institutions, the University of Namibia (UNAM) and the Polytechnic of Namibia (PoN) which are autonomous institutions, governed by their Councils, in which academic freedom is well respected. Four colleges of education also form part of the sector. UNAM has seven faculties covering a broad sweep of disciplines while the PoN has a technical focus but also addresses the national needs in economically significant areas such as hospitality and environmental management. The annual output of degree holders from UNAM is currently around 700 per year, of which only about 10% are science degrees. The total annual output of the PoN is around 1 000, about half of which is at national diploma level and the rest at certificate level. The PoN is actively seeking to build its capacity to offer graduate level studies, particularly in those areas such as engineering and ICT where it is the main centre for such studies nationally. Neither institution offers honours level studies. Structures are in place to ensure that the output of the institutions matches demand in both quality and quantity, but this is seldom achieved in practice and areas of national human shortages, such as science, engineering and agriculture, are characterised by relatively low enrolment and high dropout rates in both institutions. Both institutions are experimenting with a variety of remediation measures to help these students overcome the legacy of inadequate basic education.
UNAM and the PoN are primarily teaching establishments. Masters and doctoral level programmes exist but these are not significant either in their numbers or in their contribution to the national knowledge base. Most research, particularly in the scientific and environmental areas, is done in government research institutes and a variety of non-governmental and private research institutions. Given the size of the country, the overall research base is significant in both quality and quantity, but lacks coordination.
Teacher education is shared between UNAM and the four colleges of education which are governed by the MoE and all teach the same well-established three-year Basic Education Teachers Diploma (BETD) leading to specialisations in lower primary, upper primary or junior secondary levels. Some 600 teachers graduate each year from the full-time BETD programme while about 400 graduate from the BETD INSET Programme. UNAM trains teachers for the senior secondary level and currently graduates approximately between 150 and 180 students per year of which more than a third is mathematics and science teachers. In terms of an agreement with Zimbabwe, 800 teacher-diploma graduates in mathematics, science and agriculture will be returning to Namibia by 2008.
Three Acts of Parliament have recently entered the statute book designed to take different aspects of the management of the sector out of the political arena, but have not yet been fully operationalised. The Higher Education Act, establishing the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) will provide mechanisms for making tertiary institutions more directly responsive to national needs. The Teacher’s Education Colleges Act should bring to the colleges the level of professional and managerial autonomy enjoyed by UNAM and PoN. The Research, Science and Technology Act provides mechanisms for stimulating and supporting research activities in all institutions and also for linking research to development. |
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| 3) Challenges |
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Improve institutional development capacity of tertiary education: The NCHE should be established as a strong institution to spearhead policy reforms and implementation. Its functions should include co-ordinating intitutional collaboration to avoid duplication of programmes, strategic planning for the sub-sector, acticulating norms and standards, enhancing quality assurance, overseeing the work of the Advisory Council on Teacher Education and streamlining financing of tertiary education.
Improve equitable access and quality of tertiary education and training: The first step in improving quality at this level is to raise the quality of the intake. Pre-entry and foundation courses need to be expanded to increase rapidly the intake and improve its quality, particularly in languages, science and mathematics. These courses should be targeted to disadvantaged groups. Special courses offered to ease learning difficulties of already enrolled students should be expanded and reinforced. Staff development programmes should be expanded to improve the qualifications of a wider base of academic staff. Finally, quality assurance measures should be improved and applied across institutions.
Strengthen the research capacity of tertiary institutions: Research policies should be adopted that orient research to areas of strategic importance to Namibia’s economic growth and development. Graduate programmes at UNAM should be strengthened to promote the culture of research. Staff development should be launched to strengthen the research skills of academic institutions. In addition, competitive funding should be allocated for R&D in tertiary institutions and they should actively cultivate networking in the domain of R&D with specific reference UNITWIN and UNESCO Chairs.
Mobilise additional resources for tertiary education: First, means should be devised to make more efficient use of existing resources, including increasing the average number of students per lecturer and instituting normative financing as a basis for allocation of public funds among institutions. Second, means to mobilise non-government resources should be sought through greater cost-sharing with beneficiaries and the private sector. Finally, inter-institutional co-operation should be strengthened. |
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| 4) Priority Components |
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Strategic Objective A: Strengthen institutional capacity of tertiary education
Component 1: Develop the NCHE
Component 2: Implement the Teachers’ Education Colleges Act
Strategic Objective B: Enhance relevance and responsiveness of tertiary education
Component 3: Develop and operationalise the teacher education reform programme
Component 4: Build capacity for graduate studies and research
Strategic Objective C: Improve the quality of tertiary education and training system
Component 5: Develop pre-entry, foundation programmes and student support
Component 6: Improve the effectiveness and productivity of academic staff
Component 7: Introduce quality assurance systems
Strategic Objective E: Mobilise financial resources and use them efficiently
Component 8: Diversify financing sources
Component 9: Efficient resource use
(Note: Only the above mentioned strategic objectives of the 15-year ETSIP Strategic Plan will be covered in the first phase of implementation. The others will be dealt with in subsequent phases.) |
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| 5) Component 1. To establish a functional National Council for Higher Education [N$3.3 million] |
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Challenges: The tertiary education and training sub-sector lacks a central advisory and regulatory body that can interpret national development policies, priorities and goals. The sub-sector has experienced the following problems: lack of vision and coordination; lack of articulation of programmes; and lack of standards and procedures for accreditation and transfer of individual credits between institutions.
A National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) was formally established by a parliamentary act, Act 26 of 2003. The objectives for the council are to advise the Minister of Education on policies both on the Minister’s demand and on its own accord in questions regarding: (a) a coordinated system of tertiary education; (b) access with equity to tertiary education; (c) quality assurance in tertiary education; and (d) allocation of funds to public tertiary education. The council was launched towards the end of 2005 and several sub-committees have been established.
Objectives: (a) The NCHE, its secretariat and sub-committees have been established; and (b) NCHE has become operational and effective.
Component description: The component will support the establishment of the NCHE secretariat, its incremental operating costs and financing for its key initial tasks. The work programme of the NCHE includes the following activities:
Comprehensive strategic plans and policies for tertiary education and training. The NCHE will develop a comprehensive strategic plan for the sector which will co-ordinate all and guide all tertiary education and training activities, programmes and development. The strategic plan will articulate and use indicators of well-managed tertiary education institutions.
Coordination and accreditation. The NCHE, through its secretariat, will (a) review the present situation as regards accreditation of students’ qualifications and possible transfer of study results between institution and will propose measures for establishing a policy on accreditation; (b) review the present situation of organisation and administration of public institutions of HE and propose measures for a harmonised system; and (c) evaluate the registration of private providers of tertiary education and the accreditation of their courses and propose measures for stimulating high quality provision by the private institutions.
Access with equity. The NCHE will evaluate the present situation and propose measures for expanded access and equity as regards gender, geographical origin, disability and disadvantaged groups.
Quality assurance: The NCHE will suggest a system for quality assurance. The NCHE will advise on staff appraisal and staff development programmes and on the introduction of a quality assurance programme. These specific activities should be supported under ETSIP as key priority. One of the activities to be undertaken will be to conduct institutional audits of the sub-sector.
Allocation of funds. The NCHE will evaluate the funding formula and other principles for money allocation and propose a policy. The NCHE will work on diversified financing resources and the efficient use of money.
The Directorate: Higher Education will initially serve as secretariat for the NCHE. Within the first three years of ETSIP it is envisaged that an independent secretariat will be established. This will only be possible once amendments to the Higher Education Act are effected. The process of securing a legal practitioner to spearhead the amendments will commence in May 2007. In the meantime, the Public Service Commission has been approached for permission to fill, on a contract, four positions, including that of the head of the Secretariat. It is hoped that this move will strengthen the present Directorate: Higher Education staff who are failing to cope with the work due to the small number of staff in the directorate.
This secretariat will take on evaluations and minor field research projects that are needed as input for the advisory responsibilities of the council. The Secretariat will also serve the Advisory Council on Teacher Education and Training.
Implementation: The Directorate: Higher Education and its technical advisor are responsible for the establishment of the NCHE and its secretariat. The technical advisor has the explicit responsibility to support the capacity for the NCHE and its secretariat until early 2007.
Outputs: An operational and effective NCHE will lead to substantial improvements in building a coordinated system for tertiary education, access with equity, quality of teaching, learning and research and improved adequacy of money allocation to publicly funded institutions for tertiary education. The secretariat for the NCHE will be established. A comprehensive strategic plan will be available. |
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| 6) Component 2. Implement the Teacher’s Education Colleges Act and related actions [N$5.4 million] |
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Challenges: All research done on the state of teacher education indicates that the enhancement of the status of colleges and a change in institutional governance are prerequisites for improvement in the quality of the output of colleges. The current situation undermines the academic authority and autonomy of college lecturers, and colleges are at risk of weakening the professional staff of colleges and of eroding their academic and management capabilities. Colleges are experiencing an alarming brain drain of motivated and ambitious academic staff because of a lack of academic challenge and research possibilities, as well as poor salaries and working conditions.
Objectives: The purpose of this component is to fully implement the Teacher’s Education Colleges Act. Specifically, (a) the Advisory Council on Teacher Education and Training (ACTET) has been established and is functioning effectively; (b) the autonomy of colleges has been increased through the establishment of Boards and financial autonomy in conjunction with performance-based conditions of service similar to other tertiary education institutions; and (c) as a result of these changes, proper incentives have been introduced for staff development and research, as well as improved working conditions for academic status of colleges (less administrative work, fewer teaching hours). These changes have reduced dramatically attrition rates among academic staff. Operationalising ACTET will have created an appropriate foundation for the effective management of the development of teacher education across the sector.
Component Description: The Teachers’ Education Colleges Act (Act No 25 of 2003) provided, for the first time, a legal basis for the establishment and closing of colleges. It also includes provision for an umbrella body, ACTET. The functions of ACTET are to advise the MoE about directions for teacher education at colleges. In addition, the Act envisages marked changes in the governing and autonomy of colleges. The current college councils and management committees will be replaced by College Boards. The administration of colleges will be strengthened by creating a post of Registrar. The Act allows colleges to manage their own funds and also provides for the establishment of a Teachers' Education and Training Fund.
The MoE will establish and operationalise ACTET and its secretariat. It is envisaged that the NCHE secretariat will also serve ACTET. The operational framework and the regulations and procedures of ACTET will be clarified in preliminary meetings with relevant stakeholders and authorities, and members appointed. Technical assistance will be provided to assist in drafting the operational framework for the ACTET. ACTET will establish a task force to review teacher education (see Component 3).
Concurrently, ACTET will oversee the devolution of management responsibilities to the colleges of education. A plan of action will be developed to guide the smooth and implementation of the activities. The Boards of Colleges of Education will be established and operationalised. These Boards would govern the Colleges regarding all issues pertaining to students and staffing, academic monitoring and quality assurance, as well as managing the Teachers' Education and Training fund. Changes necessary in current management structures at colleges will be made in accordance with the Act and new positions (e.g. registrar, student counsellor, chief librarian, asset manager) budgeted. The administrative and student support services component would be strengthened to relieve the academic staff to engage more in academic research and development. The use of senior positions and the division of Academic Departments will be reconsidered and revised accordingly. Capacity development support will be provided for colleges in terms of financial and strategic planning. Functions previously provided by the MoE will be delegated to Colleges following appropriate training in financial and management control systems. Also during this phase a review will be undertaken regarding the grading and salary structure of college staff, as well as the entry requirements for these positions (It will be raised to at least Masters Degree level). At the end of this first phase, colleges should be governed as semi-autonomous bodies with the same tertiary status, facilities and salary structures as other tertiary education institutions.
Implementation: ACTET will be established as a first priority, before the end of February 2006. College Boards will replace current Councils by the end of 2006. New salary structures will be put in place by the end of 2007. A first review of the work of ACTET and the functioning of the new college structures will be commissioned by ACTET by 2010. It is envisaged that the NCHE will be responsible for review and monitoring of the ACTET.
Outputs: The two outputs of this component are (a) a well functioning ACTET able to offer coordination and direction to the teacher education service across the sector; and (b) well managed, semi-autonomous colleges of education, managed by Boards, with an appropriate staff structure supporting a motivated, competent and well qualified staff. |
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| 7) Component 3. Develop and operationalise the teacher education reform programme [N$28.5 million] |
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Challenges: Criticism of the quality of teachers produced by the colleges of education and UNAM is widespread. Issues such as lack of content, wrong content, lack of appropriate methodologies, poor delivery of the programme and poor response to the needs of the schools are cited, (albeit often without proper research and data). At present there are no clear guidelines on the content, quality or throughput by phase and subject and no umbrella body exists to provide such guidance to teacher education institutions. The NQA is developing regulatory structures for professional standards for teachers and teacher education institutions. These will be operationalised within the next five years and the reform programme will fall within, and will to a great extent, be dictated by these standards and structures.
Objectives: A comprehensive reform plan for teacher education is developed and operationalised for the 15-year period to 2020. The reform plan covers, inter alia, curricula, the qualifications of staff, the mandate of the different institutions, the underpinning philosophies, the delivery of programmes, projections of supply and demand, institutional capacity and some physical infrastructure.
Component description: A permanent teacher education task force with a range of sub-committees, reporting to ACTET, will be established to prepare a teacher education reform plan and to oversee and monitor its operationalisation. The terms of reference of the task force will be broad and include the following issues: (a) review responsibilities of all institutions for specific phases and subject areas; (b) review and revise teacher education curricula to reflect standards, competencies and skills as set by the National Standard Setting Body 05 (NSSB 05) of the NQA Council; (c) develop the necessary additional structures and programmes to operationalise the National Standards for the Teaching Profession established under NSSB 05; (d) mainstream ICT in teacher education programmes and ensure that facilities match the need, in line with the ICT in Education Policy; (e) develop training programmes, training capacity and facilities for emerging subjects (such as Computer Practice, Design and Technology and Entrepreneurship) as well as managing large class groups and multi-grade teaching; (f) propose and institute measures to enhance the internal efficiency of existing programmes and the optimal use of physical facilities; (g) ensure that institutions expand in line with supply and demand projections and that they have the necessary physical facilities; (h) ensure full articulation between teacher education qualification programmes; (i) review the minimum qualification requirements for teacher educators in all phases (including pre-primary education) and ensure that necessary professional development programmes exist; (j) review courses and conditions for certification; (k) review the role of the initial teacher education institutions in supporting continuous professional development; (l) ensure that appropriate training programmes and components are in place to meet the challenges of HIV and AIDS, i.e. HIV and AIDS mainstreaming and mitigating the impact of HIV through teacher training and teacher replacement needs; and (m) ensure that appropriate training programmes and components are in place to meet the demands of the national Special Education Needs (SEN) programme.
Following the devolution of professional and administrative responsibilities to the colleges a number of upgrading programmes will be required. These are: (a) an upgrading programme for the college library and information systems to raise them to national standards following specialist recommendations; (b) the creation of additional teaching and hostel space to meet the expanded demand and the requirements of emerging subjects.
Implementation: (a) The ACTET task force will be established in 2006 with reform implementations beginning shortly thereafter. (b) Training facilities for emerging subjects should be in place by 2008 and an expansion of the colleges to create teaching and hostel spaces for an additional 1200 students together with expanded student facilities should be in place by 2012. (c) The phased reform of the college library services will commence following the development of a costed blueprint in 2006. The computerising of databases and lending systems will run concurrently with the reclassifying of all library stock, according to the Dewey Decimal Classification system, and will commence in 2006.
Outputs: The expected outputs are as follows: (a) The ongoing reform of the BETD and B.Ed programmes will continue until subsumed by wider reforms; (b) The phased programme of reform of the teacher education sector will be completed in 2007 following the development of the standards for the teaching profession in 2006; (c) Training programmes for emerging subjects should be operational from 2008; (d) All teacher education graduates should be ICT literate and be able to integrate ICT into the classroom by 2009 in response to the activities provided for in the ICT in Education sub-programme; (e) HIV and AIDS mainstreaming in all curricula by 2009 (f) The first cohort of graduates from institutions implementing reformed programmes, able to respond adequately to the demands of the profession, and matching the demands in terms of numbers and subject areas, should be in the schools by 2012; (g) The new college library and information systems should be in place by 2008; (h) The physical expansion of the colleges to provide an extra 1 200 places, including hostel facilities, and to upgrade SRC and student recreational facilities will be complete by 2012; and (i) The first phase of the physical expansion of the UNAM to provide an extra 300 places, including science laboratories as well as a dedicated computer laboratory for Faculty of Education, hostel facilities, and to upgrade SRC and student recreational facilities will be complete by 2011. |
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| 8) Component 4. Build capacity for graduate studies and research [N$12.6 million] |
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Challenges: Knowledge creation and the strategic application of information communication technologies are central to economic growth and national development. High quality tertiary education is a sine qua non for national development and the transition to a Knowledge Based Economy. While tertiary education and training institutions offer graduate studies in a range of academic disciplines, the current ratio between graduate and undergraduate studies is sharply skewed in favour of undergraduate enrolment. Moreover, the current supply of highly qualified human resources in areas critical to national development such as agriculture, fisheries, information technology, science, engineering, geology, medical science, accountancy, and business management does not match the demand of the employment system in the long run - neither quantitatively nor qualitatively. UNAM does not offer a medical and engineering degree. Students who want to specialise in these fields, spend two years at UNAM and then proceed to universities in South Africa and abroad.
Namibia is at the periphery as far as the following aspects of KBEs are concerned: (i) quality, quantity and rate of publishing scientific papers in international citation academic journals (publication in local peer-reviewed academic journals is well developed in some fields); (ii) patent applications and registrations; (iii) published scientific papers per capita; and (iv) the use of personal computers and the internet.
Compared to other middle income countries in the SADC region, such as Botswana and Mauritius, research output and knowledge creation at tertiary education and training institutions are low. UNAM, which is at the apex of the system, has a limited capacity in basic and applied research. Inter-institutional co-operation in the domain of research is virtually non-existent. Most research takes place outside tertiary institutions in ministries and state-funded and/or independent research bodies such as the Desert Research Foundation of Namibia (DRFN), the Namibia Economic Policy Research Unit (NEPRU), Geological Survey and the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). With the exception of the DRFN, NEPRU and the IPPR, research mentorships are not that common, while the management of most research institutions is not preparing adequately to respond to future research demand. Policies in favour of quantitative growth at graduate level have to be accompanied by strategic interventions to strengthen the quality of teaching, learning and research infrastructure. Quantitative policies in favour of increasing enrolment at graduate level have to be supported by increased internal efficiency, an assessment of the cost of such programmes against graduate education the SADC region, improved research output, appropriate research infrastructure, incentives for research, quality and equity to bolster success rates at graduate level.
Objectives: This component has two key objectives. Firstly, developed graduate studies would increase the intake, output and quality of graduates in areas of national human resource shortages as identified in Vision 2030. These areas include: agriculture, engineering, information technology, accountancy, business studies, geology, marine biology and medicine. Secondly, research capacity would be developed in critical areas for Namibia to contribute to the KBE. Once achieved, these two objectives would in turn lead to improved overall performance of tertiary education institutions, improved quality in teaching, learning and research, improved output of graduate students and reduced inequality of study opportunities at graduate level.
Component description: Tertiary education and training institutions will critically review their existing graduate programmes and support infrastructure for research against improvements in enrolments, dropout rates, admissions from disadvantaged groups and regions, perceived weaknesses of students and staff, against fiscal and academic sustainability, and the human resource requirements of the labour market over the ETSIP time period and beyond. In the first instance, existing graduate programmes in areas of national importance must be consolidated so as to deliver relatively quick returns. A comprehensive national audit will then follow. A national audit by representatives of all tertiary education institutions, the MoE, the NCHE, the National Planning Commission (NPC), as well as the private sector, will be undertaken to evaluate the potential for institutional co-operation to maximise benefits from graduate programmes. Based on these reviews, realistically costed programmes will be mounted or revised and appropriate support systems for teaching, learning and research established.
All tertiary education institutions will develop research policies, determine research priorities relevant to national development needs and build appropriate research infrastructure and capacity (inclusive of linked data bases, archives, library holdings, research portals, laboratories, a mentorship system for young researchers and training in research methods for academic staff and students). Institutional research and subject-based applied research will be prioritised, for example in education, special education, languages and computing. Each tertiary education institution will build appropriate research networks, link research to technological development, establish inter-institutional task forces and engage in collaborative research. Appropriate incentives for research, such as performance-based funding, funding based on the approval of peer reviewed research plans and projects and publishing in peer-reviewed scholarly journals will be developed. Institutions will, where appropriate, establish research funds and access funds from the National Research Fund.
Implementation: The review of existing graduate study programmes and research capacity will be conducted by the Pro-Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs and Research, the Director of Postgraduate Studies with the Postgraduate Studies Committee, the Office of Strategic Planning, Deans and Faculty Boards and the Multi-Disciplinary Research Council (MRCC) (in the case of UNAM). In the case of the PoN, the Office of the Vice-Rector and the Strategic Planner will undertake the review. In the case of colleges of education, the Rector will appoint an appropriate person to undertake the task. In all cases, the review will take place in 2007 to allow critical planning and financial decisions to be made as soon as possible. Reconfigured and new programme development can then be started, initially allowing for a two-year period of transition for phasing out, (re-)designing and implementing. Recast, staffed and robustly supported graduate studies and research infrastructure will be operational by 2010/2011.
Outputs: The expected outputs and indicators, evident from 2009/10 onwards, in some cases earlier, are: (a) Expanded output of graduates with research and academic skills relevant to national development needs as articulated in Vision 2030; (b) All tertiary education and training institutions will have research policies and infrastructures that are sensitive to national development needs; (c) The National Research Council and CIET would be established and be providing direction to research at tertiary education level; (d) Inter-institutional research in areas of critical importance as identified above will be in place; (e) The ratio between undergraduate and graduate students will improve by 10 percent from 2008 and by a further 5 percent over the following five years; (f) 50% of research conducted within tertiary education and training institutions will be peer-reviewed and be published in local and international journals and this will be reflected in the promotion of academic staff; (g) Research will be reflected in teaching at both undergraduate and graduate level; and (h) An internationally benchmarked grading system based on research for academic staff will be developed and implemented by 2011. |
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| 9) Component 5. Develop pre-entry, foundation programmes and student support [N$15.6 million] |
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Challenges: The current programmes for producing graduate and diploma level students are characterised by low and biased admissions, high failure rates and an output whose competencies are not well-matched to needs. There is ample evidence that one cause of this is the failure of the basic and secondary education system at all levels to meet demands both in quality and quantity. Breaking the cycle of underachievement that this generates is a task that, if it is to be effective, must be tackled simultaneously at many points in the cycle, a significant one being the attempt to redress the mismatch between exit skills at secondary level and the required entry skills at the tertiary level through pre-entry (before entry) and/or foundation (after entry) programmes.
More specifically: (i) Information is largely lacking on both the demand for, and characteristics of, graduates in science and technology fields; (ii) Current admission and completion statistics into most science and technology related subjects show a marked gender bias as well as low admissions from the least advantaged groups; (iii) Guidance on, and information about, science-based programmes is currently lacking in schools and is required before critical career choice decisions are made at the end of grade 10; and (iv) Student facilities in the colleges are inadequate and inappropriate for their emerging structure as expanded self-governing tertiary education institutions.
Objectives: The intake in all tertiary education institutions, particularly in areas of national human resource shortages is increased and dropout rates reduced. Overall performance of tertiary education institutions is enhanced and the representation of regional, marginalised and designated groups in tertiary education is improved.
Component description: This component comprises a sequence of steps: (a) Each institution will review critically its existing pre-entry and foundation programmes against improvements in admissions, dropout statistics, admission numbers from disadvantaged groups, and perceived weaknesses of students; (b) A national review by representatives of all institutions, coordinated by the MoE, will evaluate the potential of institutional co-operation to maximise benefits from existing and future programmes; (c) Non-government sources of funding to support the establishment and also the running of pre-entry and foundation programmes will be explored by the institutions; (d) Each institution will develop and implement appropriate selection criteria for pre-entry programmes based on quotas and tried predictive tests; (f) Each institution will review its general student support activities and mechanisms and institute a phased and costed improvement programme. This will include study skills, social issues and HIV and AIDS issues; (g) the institutions, the Directorate: Higher Education and PQA will work out quality enhancement and enrichment programmes for grade 11 and grade 12 to supplement the normal teaching/learning in schools. These programmes will be of an extra-mural nature and have regional contact classes during school holidays. Guidance will be offered to learners in junior secondary grades; (h) for pre-entry programmes the MoE could include institutions such as TUSCIN and NAMCOL to offer programmes in the areas of languages, mathematics and science on a competitive basis using existing facilities; (i) expansion of the pre-entry programme at the Oshakati campus will be investigated and could be, depending on the feasibility of the strategic plan to be developed by UNAM, financially strengthened; and (j) for foundation programmes colleges of education, PON and UNAM would provide the service. It is envisaged that the pre-entry activities will run for a period of five years, while secondary education puts in place quality enhancement programmes in schools.
Implementation: The review of existing programmes will take place in 2006 to allow critical decisions, particularly related to budgeting, to be made as soon as possible. Modified or new programmes can be started soon thereafter, initially running in an ad hoc manner, making use, for example, of expatriate volunteer staff and local non-government interim funding.
Outputs: The expected outputs, evident from 2010/2011 onwards, and in many cases before, are: (a) significantly improved entry numbers to key programmes matching national targets; (b) dropout rates in science, engineering and technology reduced to below 10% overall; (c) an output from science-based programmes that shows a significant increase in the proportion of female graduates and increases in the numbers from the most disadvantaged groups; and (d) improved student support and counselling services. |
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| 10) Component 6. Improve the effectiveness and productivity of academic staff [N$19.5 million] |
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Challenges: Academic staff often do not have formal qualifications at a level sufficiently higher than the level at which they teach. In other cases academic staff have not been able to keep up with developments in their fields of expertise and their knowledge has become outdated. In addition, academic staff often do not have the skills necessary to do research, or - if they do - the time and resources to do research.
Objectives: The effectiveness and productivity of academic staff is raised in terms of research and teaching competencies through staff development programmes. The target would be to involve a percentage of staff at each institution annually in staff development activities.
Component Description: Academic capacity building and teaching skills will be developed as follows: The NCHE will establish a coordinating committee for staff development made up of members drawn from all tertiary institutions and the NCHE. The committee, with expert assistance, will develop guidelines for staff development at tertiary institutions. This will include setting priorities among the various disciplines, ideally based on the overall strategic plan for tertiary education, taking into account national priorities. Under the direction of the NCHE and the co-ordinating committee, and assisted by technical specialists, each tertiary education institution will: (a) establish standards and define performance criteria for teaching in key subjects; (b) conduct academic staff training needs analysis and use the results to guide staff development programmes; (c) prepare staff development programmes. These would cover both upgrading and periodic updating and could include such means as formal degree level training locally or, more likely, in SADC; short upgrading programmes locally or in SADC; sandwich programmes and block release; staff exchanges; attendance at international conferences deemed relevant; provision for access to international forums and journals; and mentoring by international or Namibian experts. The tertiary institutions and the Coordination Committee will monitor the implementation of the guidelines and evaluate the effectiveness of the staff development programmes. Staff development will be linked to performance appraisals, i.e. to promotions.
Implementation: The NCHE will have responsibility for overseeing implementation of the staff development programme through the Coordinating Committee. The management of each tertiary institution, including academic deans, would be responsible for meeting the targets established in the overall plan for each institution.
Outputs and Indicators: Expected outputs and indicators include: (a) formal qualifications of staff raised; (b) staff brought up-to-date with developments in fields of expertise; and (c) staff capacity to do research increased. Each of above is expected to contribute to teaching made more effective and an increase in quality of student achievements. Indicators: increase in qualifications; increase in research publications in peer reviewed journals; increase in teaching competence; improved learning achievements of students. |
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| 11) Component 7. Introduce quality assurance processes [N$2.1 million] |
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Challenges: Tertiary education and training is the pinnacle of any education system; it delivers highly qualified human resources in areas critical to national development. It is also the most expensive and prestigious. Quality assurance is essential to ensure outcomes that are internationally credible and nationally responsive and relevant. A key part for improving quality and relevance is a robust and internationally benchmarked quality system. Such a system safeguards quality of appointment, promotion, teaching, research and the employability of graduates. Currently quality assurance processes are either absent or deficient in the sense that they are not internationally benchmarked.
Objectives: Quality assurance processes institutionalised that improve the quality of academic staff, teaching, assessment and research at all tertiary education and training institutions. This in turn, will enhance the overall performance of tertiary education and training institutions and ensure their credibility nationally and internationally.
Component description: Every tertiary education and training institution will conduct a comprehensive audit of their existing quality assurance processes such as staff recruitment, appointment and appraisal systems, teaching evaluations by students, faculty advisory boards and examination assessment procedures, and amplify and improve these in line with international benchmarks. For this purpose, pre-audit activities will be carried out (inclusive of desk studies) and a clear framework and terms of reference for the audits developed. Work teams will be identified to conduct the audits and to engage in stakeholder meetings. Audit reports will be prepared and their recommendations submitted to the appropriate decision-making bodies for discussion and action. The recommendations contained in each audit will be translated into work plans for monitored implementation and oversight by the NCHE and the NQA. (Components 2 and 3.)
Implementation: The review of existing quality assurance processes will be conducted by the Office of the Vice-Chancellor (Academic Affairs and Research), Faculty Deans and Senate (UNAM), the Vice-Rector (PoN) and the Rectors (colleges of education) in association with the NCHE and the NQA. The review process will take place in 2007/8 and improved and internationally benchmarked quality assurance systems will be implemented by 2009.
Outputs: Quality assurance processes/systems implemented. Academic and administrative staff brought up-to-date with improved quality systems. Each of the above contributes to improved internal efficiency, an increase in quality of student achievements (15% in completion rates, reduction in dropout for academic reasons) and enhanced integrity of the overall system at tertiary level. |
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| 12) Component 8. Diversify financing sources [N$3.2 million] |
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Challenges: Tertiary education is costly per student, in part because of lower weekly teaching hours by staff compared with lower levels of the education system, smaller average class sizes, higher average salaries and more extensive requirements for facilities, including student boarding. The costs of tertiary education are borne at present almost completely by the public budget. The beneficiaries (graduates in terms of higher earnings and enterprises in terms of qualified workers) pay little if any of the costs. Moreover, opportunities exist to generate income through research grants, consulting and renting of facilities. Public financing of education including tertiary education faces constraints in view of competing priorities, such as financing the health costs of HIV and AIDS. Tertiary education, in particular, will have to finance a larger share of its operating costs from non-government sources. A comprehensive study is needed to identify potential sources and examine their feasibility.
Objectives: (a) A plan for financial diversification is completed, based on a comprehensive analysis of alternative means of raising non-public revenue; (b) Policy decisions taken on recommendations; and (c) Implementation plan completed on the policy measures and implementation started.
Component Description: The study will analyse the following aspects: (a) Literature survey, particularly previous studies on the subject, with analysis of outcome of recommendations; (b) Determine the actual cost of various programmes in tertiary education by type of institution; (c) Analyse the beneficiary-incidence of present public financing of tertiary education; (d) Study the cost-benefit of student loans at present (costs of administration, amounts disbursed, vs. recovery rates and interest obtained); (e) Examine the feasibility of expanded student loans with better collection mechanisms and market (or subsidised) interest rates, and the costs of administration - compare the projected returns with the costs of outright scholarships and bursaries; (f) Explore the costs-benefits and feasibility of differentiated tuition; (g) Explore the feasibility of expanding for-fee courses in evenings and during vacations; (h) Identify the feasibility of introducing a phased cost-sharing system together with increased scholarships and bursaries targeted at low-income students; (i) Identify possibilities for resource mobilisation through research grants or outside consultancies; (j) Identify possibilities and feasibility of mobilising contributions from the private sector and private individuals, possibly to an endowment fund; (k) Introduce matching grants to encourage institutions to raise substantial proportions of their total expenditures; and (l) Analyse the equity implications of recommendations.
The success of the study would depend, inter alia, on the full co-operation of the tertiary institutions in supplying information and statistics to the technical assistance experts. (2006-2007). The study would present options and alternatives for consideration by the NCHE and government, with an analysis of advantages and disadvantages. Government would decide on a strategy for resource mobilisation, including cost sharing with beneficiaries, raising income from the private sector and generation of own income by tertiary institutions (2008). Based on decisions by Government and NCHE, the experts would prepare a comprehensive plan, programme and implementation schedule for non-public resource mobilisation with full costing. This could include progressive implementation of cost recovery; undertaking campaigns to raise funds from private individuals and companies. Implementation of the policy measures is expected to start during ETSIP phase 1 (2009).
Implementation: The study would be implemented under the auspices of the NCHE, and would be directed by a steering committee composed of members of the tertiary institutions and the Ministries of Education and Finance. The experts would be assisted by the registrars and financial staff from each of the tertiary institutions. The NCHE would review the results and recommendations of the study, and recommend to the MoE a plan for increasing non-public resource mobilisation for tertiary education. It should be noted that the bulk of this component will be commissioned by the NCHE. The implementation will be done by the institutions.
Outputs: The component is expected to produce the following outputs: (a) Analysis of existing costs for various programmes in tertiary education; (b) identification of beneficiary-incidence of present tertiary public funding; (c) identification and analysis of the costs-benefits of various means of raising non-public revenue, including student loans; (d) based on government decisions, a full plan prepared for introduction of accepted revenue raising measures; (e) resource mobilisation offices established; (f) improved accountability for the use of resources mobilised by institutions; (g) a feasibility study undertaken to determine the progressive increase in the budget share of own source-revenues; and (h) implementation of policy measures stated. |
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| 13) Component 9. Efficient resource use [N$1.1 million] |
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Challenges: There are two ways to increase resources for priority activities: raise additional funds and make more efficient use of existing resources. For example, for the same amount of expenditure more students could be enrolled through the adoption of efficiency measures. Evidence of inefficient use of resources at present include high repetition and dropout rates from tertiary institutions, in some cases small department and class sizes and underutilisation of some facilities. As an example, the ratio of teaching staff to students is 1:12 in colleges of education compared with international norms which are more like 1:20.
Objectives: Study completed that: (a) identifies the main sources of inefficiency at present, and (b) proposes a workable plan for overcoming the causes of inefficiency; (c) Specific efficiency measures implemented, including normative financing; and (d) greater productivity in tertiary education, e.g. more students graduated from tertiary institutions for the same unit cost as at present.
Content Description: The component involves three parts: an initial study to document the extent of inefficiency in resources use; a plan for overcoming identified problems and making better use of resources; and the introduction of normative financing. Each is explained in sequence below.
Study the scope and extent for increased efficiency. This will include the following analysis: (a) Determination of repetition and dropout rates and their causes; in this context the validity of the assessment framework and lack of standard assessment framework will be examined as a contributor to student repetition and dropouts; (b) Determination of operating costs per student by field of study and especially recurrent costs per successful graduate (and establishment of baseline of costs per student and graduate), and identification of the principal drivers of student unit costs – e.g. ratio of teaching staff to students; (c) Determination of usage factors for physical facilities, including classrooms, laboratories and dormitories; (d) Comparisons of unit costs for similar programmes across institutions.
The success of the first phase depends crucially on the availability of data. Based on the analysis of efficiency, the study will examine, evaluate and propose alternative ways of making more efficient use of resources, including measures to reduce repetition and dropout rates. The proposals will spell out all requirements and implementation costs. For example, a requirement could be considered that all proposals for new programmes include a rigorous analysis of cost implications, both capital and recurrent. In addition, greater use of distance teaching (e.g. in teacher education) could help reduce unit costs per graduate.
Introduce normative financing as a means to provide incentives to institutions to economise in the use of resources. This will entail the following steps: (a) Establish baseline costs per programme and institution (see above); (b) Examine previous studies and recommendations on normative financing; analyse the current funding formulas used within UNAM and PoN; examine alternative formulas and norms for allocations from the government to tertiary institutions; and simulate their cost/enrolment implications - including stakeholder participation; (c) Adopt a funding formula that reflects national development priorities; (d) Prepare a phased implementation plan; (e) Train staff in the use of formula funding; (f) Establish data collection and reporting method; and (f) Monitor implementation, implications and effects of the formula funding.
Implementation: The study would be conducted under the auspices of the NCHE, under the specific direction of a Steering Committee named by the NCHE and composed of representatives of key tertiary education institutions. One or more persons will be assigned from each tertiary institution to work with the team on an on-demand basis.
Outputs and Indicators: (a) Written identification of the various sources and aspects of inefficient resource use and their causes; (b) written presentation of alternative means of increasing efficiency in tertiary education, and implementation costs/requirements; (c) plan of specific measures adopted to improve efficiency (including measures to reduce repetition and dropout, increase the average number of students per faculty and increase the utilisation rates of physical facilities); (d) plan written for implementation of normative financing; (e) normative financing implemented (as evidenced by monitoring and evaluation); (f) costs per graduate reduced (unit cost comparisons over time). |
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