A dominant set of principles in the White Paper on Education and Training reflect a commitment to the notion of open learning. It is, therefore, worth reflecting on what is meant by the term, particularly as the principles underpinning open learning are critical to the ideas contained in this document.

Internationally, in the twentieth century, there have been different understandings of the concept of ‘Open Learning’, some of which simply use the term as a synonym for ‘Distance Education’. This document, however, is based on an understanding of open learning as an approach to all education, the principles of which can continually inform educational practices in order to improve them. The principles themselves are not new; indeed, many have long educational histories and already form the basis of the Ministry of Education’s policy. Their incorporation under the common framework of open learning is, however, new.

Open learning, then, is an approach to education that seeks to increase access to educational opportunities by removing all unnecessary barriers to learning. At the same time, it aims to provide learners with a reasonable chance of success in an education and training system centred on their specific needs and located in multiple arenas of learning. This approach constitutes an attempt to realize the aims of ‘equal opportunities’ educational policy by creating a system which does not discriminate against those social groups generally excluded by traditional mass schooling systems. Open learning is a dynamic concept which, by pushing the limits of openness that institutions often set themselves, can effectively inform and transform all educational practice. The key principles are as follows:

1.Learner-Centredness
The notion of learner-centredness is the primary prerequisite of openness. The principle of learner-centredness, in essence, acknowledges that the learner should be the focus of the educational process and an active decision-maker in an interactive process. To be successful, it should build on learners’ own experiences, using these as the starting point and basis for any learning process. This, in combination with efforts to encourage independent and critical thinking, empowers learners to be able to interact confidently and effectively with society and to construct their own lifelong career of learning.

2. Lifelong learning
This concept is central to the notion of open learning. It argues that learning should continue throughout life (rather than being limited to childhood) and should be of direct relevance to the needs and life experience of learners. This, in essence, acknowledges that an understanding of education as an end-on preparation for life is no longer feasible.

3. Flexibility in learning
The concept of open learning entails increasing the flexibility of learning provision to cater for the needs of learners, allowing them flexibility in choosing what they want to learn, how they want to learn, when they want to learn, and the pace at which they wish to learn.

4. The removal of all unnecessary barriers to access
Such barriers would include geographical isolation, discrimination on the basis of race, gender, age, or physical disability, the inability to take time off work for a course, lack of ‘appropriate’ qualifications, and the use of pedagogical approaches that restrict accessibility to learning and expertise.

5. Recognition of prior learning experiences
In opening access to learning opportunities, it is important that relevant prior learning experiences of learners are recognized and credited where applicable. In so doing open learning extends the definition of terms such as ‘learned’, ‘knowledgeable’ and ‘competent’, and insists that institutions be transparent about their requirements for admission to and successful completion of, programmes of study. As part of increasing openness in education and training, learners should be able to accumulate credits, earned in the same or different learning contexts, which can lead to the achievement of national qualifications.

6. Learner support
Increasing the amount and flexibility of learning opportunity is not effective unless it is accompanied by adequate learner support by educational providers. Learner support is multi-faceted, and includes pre- and in-programme counselling, support given by tutors and facilitators, the encouragement of interaction between learners, support built into course materials, and provision of access to the necessary facilities.

7. Expectations of success
Offering learners a reasonable chance of success not only involves offering opportunities to complete learning programmes successfully, but also ensuring that the qualifications earned have value in the occupational marketplace.

8. Quality learning
An essential tenet of open learning is that the education offered should be of the highest quality, and that it should be evaluated and adapted on an ongoing basis. This requires well-structured quality assurance mechanisms to ensure that expectations of success created by open learning can be effectively met by educational providers.

9.Cost-Effectiveness
Cost-effective education is not simply education offered as cheaply as possible; it is education which uses the full range of resources available, in the most appropriate and effective educational combinations for different contexts, in order to offer the highest quality education to as many people as possible. The principle of achieving cost-effectiveness in education is the driving force behind an education and training system committed to open learning approaches. This is particularly important because inefficiencies are most heavily borne by institutions providing education for the poor and marginalized, where income from student fees is difficult to secure.

These principles, in combination with other values and principles contained in the White Paper on Education, do not provide simple solutions to any educational problems nor should they be regarded as a new doctrine to replace those developed during the years of colonial and apartheid rule. They do not amount to a coherent whole; indeed, there are often tensions and contradictions between them. Considered together, however, they provide a set of guiding principles designed to inform and improve education practice on a continuing basis, with the intention of developing self-improving education systems. They provide a direction essential to the successful transformation of South African education, as the country struggles to deal with the legacy of the past, while coping with the challenges posed by changing global contexts.