A Survey of Distance Education Programmes in Zimbabwe: 1996
Division of Research and Evaluation Department of Manpower Planning and Development Ministry of Higher Education

Context:
This is a draft copy of research conducted in Zimbabwe on distance education. It was conducted through interviews and review of documents by the Division of Manpower Research and Evaluation under the Ministry of Higher Education.

Source:
Ministry of Higher Education, Zimbabwe

Copyright:
Permission granted.

A Survey of Distance Education Programmes in Zimbabwe: 1996

ILLUSTRATIONS

ABBREVIATIONS

ACCA          Chartered Association of Certified Accountants
CIS               Chartered Institute of Secretaries & Administrators
CIMA          Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
LCCI            London Chamber of Commerce & Industry
LLB             Bachelor of Laws
IAC              Institute of Administration & Commerce
ICB               Institute of Certified Bookkeepers
lOB            Institute of Bankers
MBA           Masters in Business Administration
ZAAT          Zimbabwe Association of Accounting Technicians
ZJC             Zimbabwe Junior Certificate
UK              United Kingdom

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

A study of  this  scope would not  have  succeeded without  the cooperation of those in charge of the programmes studied.  The majority of the interviewees were willing to be interviewed at short notice, and to give as much information as they could. For many of the programmes, information pamphlets were also provided by the interviewees and these were useful in writing the report.

It is hoped that this study will lead to a major policy and new developments in the area of distance education. With the current demand for education and training and the costs for developing the human resources sector, distance education is likely to provide a realistic alternative.

1.         INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background and Purpose of the Study

  For a long time, distance education has been an important part of the Zimbabwe education system. 
  To date, efforts are under way to expand and improve distance education with a view to meet the demand 
  for education and training and to address the need for human resources development in the country.

Although no studies have been done at the school level, several have been undertaken to assess demand  
 for distance education at the tertiary level. First was the University of Zimbabwe Feasibility Study on  
 Distance Education conducted in 1986.  The  study  recommended  that  distance  education  be 
 introduced at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) to cater for the ever increasing number of school leavers in 
 search of higher education. The second was the Commission of Inquiry into the Establishment of a Second 
 University conducted in 1989. The study  also  recommended  the  need  for  distance  education 
 programmes to be established at UZ. The third was the Report of the Committee on Open University 
 prepared in 1994.  It identified the need for distance education programmes and called for the establishment of an open university.

Added to the findings of the reports, more organisations both local and external have become interested in establishing programmes on distance education in Zimbabwe. Of recent there has been a visit from the Assistant Director of the Open University of Learning in UK to assess the possibility of cooperating in the area. Australia, has also shown similar interest  and  the  Director  in  charge  of  Curriculum, Examinations and Distance Education under Higher Education went  on a visit  to  familiarise with the  development  of distance education in that country. This was with a view to discuss areas of cooperation.

With the potential thrust on distance education and the need to expand it, a study was called for by the Ministry of Higher Education.  The purpose was to take stock of the existing programmes and give advice for future. The need for the study was a arrived at during a Ministerial meeting on 22 January, 1996. This was to guide policy and planning and be able to understand what already was being implemented in the area of distance education in the country. This report is thus the outcome of the study which was conducted early 1996.

1.2      Objectives of the Study

      In undertaking the study the main objectives were:

1.2.1   To determine and assess the following:

 -  existing distance education programmes and the distribution nationally;
 -  ownership, origin and registration status of the programmes;
 -  the models of distance education followed by each programme;
 -  the legal framework in place for the programmes;
 -  capacity, target population and entry requirements;
 -  the courses and subject areas offered by the programmes and the levels at
    which they are offered;
 -  co-ordination and monitoring of the programmes;
 -  provision of resources and learning materials for the programmes;
 -  the examination system adopted by the programmes and
 -  the fee structures for the programmes;

1.2.2   Recommend areas of attention and the way forward on distance education in
           Zimbabwe.

1.3      Methodology of the Study

This survey was conducted through interviews and the review of documents. The documents included pamphlets which provided information on the programmes and the reports on distance education (see References). Visits were also made to several institutions  involved  in  distance  education  for  greater insight into the operation and scope of the programmes. The list of institutions visited and interviewees are given in Appendix 1.

1.4      Study Team

The study was conducted by the Division of Manpower Research and Evaluation under Higher Education.  The following officers conducted the study: T C MUDZI (Deputy Director), E MBERI (Education Officer), A TINARWO and J NYAMHOTSI  (Principal Manpower Officers).

1.5      Definitions

Programme: This is used to refer to a scheme or an institution offering distance education. If any institution or centre had several branches or offices these were considered as one programme.

Correspondence Education: There is need to distinguish between correspondence and distance  education. The Collin Dictionary defines correspondence education as follows:

Correspondence course is a course in which you study at home,   receiving your work by post and sending it by post.

UNESCO  (1979),  also had a similar view when  it correspondence education is as follows:

Correspondence  education  is  conducted  by postal services without face-to-face contact between the teacher and the learner. Teaching is done by written or tape-recorded materials sent  to  the  learner  whose  progress  is monitored through a written or taped exercises to the teacher, who corrects them and returns them  to  the  learner  with  criticisms  and advice.

Thus evident  in the above is the view of correspondence education, being merely conducted through the post, and the learner and the tutor never meeting to interact or engage in face-to-face teaching.

Distance Education: This is much broader and more encompassing than correspondence. Holmeberg (1982) in defining distance education, stated:

Distance education includes the various forms of study at all levels which are not under the continuous  immediate  supervision  of  tutors present with their students in the lecture rooms  or  on the  same premises  but which, nevertheless,  benefits  from  the  planning, guidance and tuition of a tutorial organisation.

Professor  Keagan  (1980)  had  the  following  as  the  main characteristics of distance education:

  -  the separation of the teacher and the learner;

  -  the use of the technical media to unite the teacher and learner and carry the
      educational content;

   -  the provision of two-way communication so that the student may benefit from or
      even initiate dialogue and

   -  the  possibility  of  occasional  meetings  for  both didactic and socialisation
      purposes.

Thus distance education goes beyond the mere transmitting of learning content with the learner and tutor never directly interacting in face-to-face teaching. In this case, distance education brings the learner more close to the tutor than correspondence  education  although  not  as  close  as  the conventional  system.  Keagan  further  underlined  the interaction between the learner and the tutor as necessary "for didactic and socialisation purposes". Also under the distance education approach and more so under correspondence, the problem of the learner feeling lonely or abandoned can be realistic and hence the need for some direct liaison between the learner and the tutor.

However,   for  the  purpose  of   this  study,   both  the correspondence and distance education programmes have been covered, while correspondence education is a form of distance education and many of the distance education programmes, also have a greater component of correspondence education.

2.        FINDINGS

2.1      Existing Programmes, Ownership, Location And When Established

Table  1  shows  the  above  areas  and  the  origin  of  the programmes

A  total  of  eleven programmes  were  identified  and  these included those involved in correspondence education. Although the officers responsible for the registration of colleges under the Ministry of Higher Education had given the Academy of Learning in Bulawayo and Harare as distance education programmes,  on contacting the programme authorities,  they emphasised  face-to-face  teaching.  On  this  basis,   the programmes were excluded from the study. Also ZDECO which was registered under the two Ministries of Education, was regarded as one programme.

The majority of the programmes (7), were registered with the Ministry of  Education  and only  four  (including Distance Education Centre at UZ) were under the Ministry of Higher Education. However, some of the programmes like CACC, RRC and IPM also offered certificate and diploma courses although they are registered under the Ministry of Education.

Six of the programmes were privately owned, two were under the university which is a parastatal and two were government. All the programmes except four had originated in Zimbabwe. Those with external origins were RRC, ICE, Open Learning Centre and Litraid which had roots in Britain and 1PM in South Africa. However, IPMZ is now locally owned, with a local membership. A few of the programmes including some locally established, had links with external institutions. ZDECO for example, had links with London University and other institutions, for its external programmes.

All the distance education programmes had their main centre in Harare  although two programmes namely ZDECO and CDE had regional centres in the main provincial towns like Gweru, Bulawayo and Masvingo. The most widely distributed were the Study  Groups,   which  covered  all  the  provinces.   The distribution of the programmes,  is further illustrated in Figure 1. Many of the programme authorities indicated Harare to be more central in terms of business and easy management of their programmes. However, a number of programmes like CACC, RRC,  Correspondence  School,  ZDECO  and  DEC,  had  a  wide catchment of student  including some from rural areas.

The oldest programme was RRC established in 1928. Three of the programmes, namely the Correspondence School, CACC and IPM, had also started before independence and the rest after 1980. Lit raid was  the most newly established.  Although  it had started earlier it became a distance education programme in 1995, when it joined CDE.

TALBE 1:  DISTANCE EDUCATION PROGRAMMES

*  The programme was registered with the MOE for the rest of the courses 
    offered and with MHE for the computer courses.

2.2  The Programme Models

       This section highlights the correspondence and distance education programmes
      and the approaches adopted in transmitting the learning content.

      TABLE 2:  DISTANCE EDUCATION PROGRAMMES

In Table 2 the correspoondence and distance educationprogrammes are highlighted.  Among the correspondence programmes are CACC, RCC, ICS and IPM.  The rest are distance education programmes although some combine both the correspondence and distance education approaches.

Under the Correspondence School, the face-to-face teaching is by parents and for the Study Groups this is done by mentors. Although the mentors had been given orientation courses, they were not qualified instructors. Their main role was to monitor and facilitate learning in the Study Groups. However, the majority were teaching and this had continued uninterrupted. The CACC also relies on parents supervision, for its primary courses i.e. Grade 5 -7.

In  terms  of  the  approaches  adopted  in  distance  or correspondence education the print, was most relied on. Only the Correspondence School and CDE had a combination of the print  and electronic media,  mainly the radio.  Under  the Correspondence School Radio 4 was used and during term time, a programme was on the air everyday between-10:55 hours and 11: 50 hours. Under CDE radio programmes had started to be used but problems were experienced. The problems were shortage of qualified staff to prepare the materials for broadcasting and the fee charged by ZBC was said to be too high.

From the majority of the programme authorities, the print media had several advantages. First, it was easy for students to buy and keep the materials for use when needed and on writing assignments. Second, they last long and can be used anytime, once acquired. Third, they are easy to distribute and handle. Fourth, the materials can be used in any location including where there is no electricity like in rural areas. Fifth, printed materials were cheaper, easily attainable than electronic equipment and can be readily shared among students.

However, several disadvantages were also echoed. For example, the production of materials was too demanding and volumes of materials had to be produced and distributed to meet the students' needs.

Generally the multi-media approach was preferred and noted as ideal by most interviewees. However, this had been difficult to afford hence the heavy reliance on the print media by many of the programmes. The electronic media, was difficult to use especially for students in rural areas with no electricity. The broadcast time would not be convenient for all students. Detailed  instructions  and  explanation would not  also  be possible  and  some  students  may  not  readily  follow  the programme announcer. An element of face-to-face teaching was also difficult for large programmes like RRC and CACC with large number of students registered nationally.

2.3    The Legal Framework

No single legal instrument was in place to facilitate the development,  monitoring  and  implementation  of  distance education in Zimbabwe. Only few statements were available in Acts which mainly covered education and training Systems. The following were some of the references found in the Acts:

- Statutory Instrument 23 of 1990 under Education Act No. 5 of 1987: Although there is a mention of "Distance and Adult Education11  the  main  focus  was  on  Regulations  for  the "Correspondence and Independent Colleges". As we have seen, correspondence education is not quite the same as distance education, which has a broader perspective and an element of face-to-face teaching. However, this is the only instrument that had some concern for the area and might explain the number of programmes registered with the Ministry of Education unlike for Higher Education.

- Section4(d) of the University of Zimbabwe Act 1982 states one  of  the mandates of  the  institution as:  'to provide correspondence courses and extramural courses to young persons and adults."

The Manpower Planning and Development Act,  1994 and the Council for Higher Education Act, 1990 which are administered by  MHE,  are  silent  on  distance  education.  No  specific reference is made to promote the area.

With this exclusion of distance education from the legal instruments efforts to promote the area have been more on individual  and  even commercial ventures  than a national requirement to be addressed by government. For this reason, government input in the area or machinery to guide development in the area, has not been forthcoming or put in place. All students in the distance education programmes at tertiary level for example, have had to pay their fees while those in other institutions directly administered by government are receiving  loans and grants from government to pursue their studies whilst this is unheard of in distance education. There has also been talk to treat those in private universities likewise and nothing said about those enrolled under the distance education programmes.

2.4     Level of Operation and Target Groups

Table 3 outlines the levels covered by the programmes. Four provide distance education at primary level. These were the Correspondence School, Study Groups, ICS and CACC. The first cover Grade 1 to 4, from Grade 5 for CACC and Grade 7 for ICS.

Except for the Correspondence School, most programmes covered secondary,  certificate and diploma levels.  These had the highest concentration. ZDECO, RRC and CDE had degree courses and ZDECO reached post degree level.

  TABLE 3: LEVEL OF OPERATION

From the data provided several programmes registered with the MOE were offering
tertiary education which should be monitored and coordinated by the Ministry of Higher Education.  The degree programmes had also not been cleared by the NCHE responsible for the area.

The target groups served by the programmes are in Table 4.   Most programmes were targeted at the primary and secondary school  leavers  followed  by  the  tertiary  levels.  The Correspondence School was unique in its population. The School was established to cater for children of commercial farmers and miners (mainly whites) too far from any primary school. The programme was based on parents teaching their children in Grades 1-4 at home and using materials provided by the School. These children would then join school at Grade 5 when they are older. However, 16 years after independence, and this being a government programme, the enrolment is still predominantly white and the School is not widely known nor advertised itself to attract the other races. Study Groups and CACC also offer primary education. The later starts from Grade 5 onwards. Programmes like ZDECO, RRC and ICS had  similar target groups and mostly focused on primary and secondary school leavers. Although the CDE programme had a specific target group, that of the school administrators, the study was informed of plans to diversify and cater for a wider group of students and offer more courses. Negotiation had started for the programme to cover areas in agriculture and health.

TABLE 4: TARGET GROUPS

2.5     Courses and Subjects Offered

The findings are focused on details of courses and subjects offered by each programme. With the magnitude of the data1 the details are presented per programme.

     CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL

Table 5A shows the subjects for the programme. These were not very different  from those  for  the  same  level  under  the conventional system. This made it easy for the children to join  Grade  5,  once  they  are  ready  or  finish  at  the Correspondence School.

TABLE 5A: COURSES AND SUBJECTS (CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL)

     STUDY GROUPS

Table 5B has the data. A variety of subjects were offered and these were mainly similar to the conventional school system. The  subjects were  also heavily supported by the written materials from RRC. Due to the lack of science laboratories the Zim-Science kit was mainly relied on to teach science.  In addition,  no  technical  subjects  like  art  and  craft  or technical graphics or drawing were taught.

      TABLE 5B: COURSES AND SUBJECTS (STUDY GROUPS)

     CENTRAL AFRICAN CORRESPONDENCE COLLEGE

The subjects and courses are in Table 5C. At the primary level, ZJC,  and "A' Levels the programme offers a variety of subjects similar to the conventional school curriculum. There is also a limited effort on technical subjects at this level, with technical drawing offered only at 0 Level.

A variety of courses are also offered at certificate level. Most of the courses are for basic survival and employment creation. Many are intended to provide rudimentary skills for those in the  informal sector.  This makes CACC unique as compared to other programmes whose focus in many cases is on the formal employment. CACC also offers two diplomas. These are in Salesmanship and Administration and Commerce.

TABLE 5C:  COURSES AND SUBJECTS (CACC)

      INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL

Table 5D shows the courses and subjects offered under ICS. The subjects offered at ZJC, 0 and A Level have a greater focus on science and commercial areas. A variety of basic courses which lead to certificate are offered and many have a technical element. The courses, which range from computer programming to journalism,  provide  rudimentary  theoretical  skills  for survival in the informal sector.  Both ICS and CACC have therefore attempted, to use distance education to train for the informal sector. Most of the training is through the print media,  with  minimum  or  no  facilities  for  the  hands  on practice.

TABLE 5D:  COURSES AND SUBJECTS  (ICS)

     RAPID RESULTS COLLEGE

The multiple courses and subjects offered by the programme are in Table 5E.  From ZJC to A Level, there is a variety of subjects, many of which are also offered in the conventional school system. At certificate and diploma levels, a variety of subjects are also offered. These can be seen in the fourth and fifth columns of the Table and include various business and marketing course. At degree level, only Law (LLB) is offered. This is under the University of London. Printed materials on many of the subjects covered by the programmes were sold and widely used by some of the distance education programmes and even the conventional institutions.  However,  there was no coverage of technical subjects under the programme.

TABLE 5E:  COURSES AND SUBJECTS (RRC)

     ZIMBABWE DISTANCE EDUCATION COLLEGE

Table 5F shows several courses and subjects offered by ZDECO. These ranged from "0' to Degree Level. Under "0" and "A" Level,  a number of science subjects are offered among a variety of other subjects.   Like RRC, ZDECO offers various certificate and diploma courses in the business field. It also offers  subjects  like  Law,  Management  of  Business  and Sociology.  The  degree  programmes  are  offered  under  the auspices of the University of London, except for MBA which is undertaken with other International Universities. Only one technical subject (technical drawing) was offered both at "0" and "A" Level.

TABLE 5F:  COURSES AND SUBJECTS (ZDECO)

     ZIMBABWE INSTITUTE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

Table 5G shows the course areas offered by IPMZ. There are three different diplomas in Personnel, Training and Labour. One has to pass one of them before proceeding to Higher Diploma  in Human Resource Management.   A certificate  is awarded for every subject passed. Despite the operation at the tertiary level IPMZ is still registered under MOE (see Table 1).

      TABLE 5G: COURSES AND SUBJECTS (IPMZ)

          Distance Education Centre

The  programme  was  initially  started  to  produce  support materials for the ZINTEC teacher training programme, which emphasized on the job training. Students spent a greater part of their training actually teaching in the schools and the programme was to produce the theoretical component of the training programme. To date the materials are also used for the conventional teacher training programme, both under the primary and secondary teacher colleges which lead to diploma. The subject areas for which modules are produced are outlined in Table  5H.  The  emphasis  is on the  core-course  areas, followed  in  the  primary  school  curriculum  and  teachers colleges for the same level. The modules produced by the centre,  are  valuable  to  both  lecturers  and  the  teacher trainees. Unlike other courses, Math was a single entity with no distinct subjects.

TABLE 5H:  COURSES AND SUBJECTS (DEC)

     OPEN LEARNING CENTRE

Table 51 shows the courses under Open Learning Centre. The programmes vary from Foundation to Professional Stage for ACCA and from Certificate to Advanced Diploma Level for CIX. A diversity of subjects were offered for each course area.

TABLE 5I:  COURSES AND SUBJECTS (OPEN LEARNING CENTRE)

     LIT RAID AND CDE

Table 5J indicates the course and subject areas for both LIT RAID and CDE.

For  LIT RAID the  focus was  on language and communication leading to a diploma. The programme was for qualified primary school teachers already in the school system. The focus was to further develop their skills in English and communication. With the current move to join CDE, the courses and target group, may be diversified.

Under   CDE,   the   greatest   focus,   was   on  educational administration with the programme having school administrators seeking to advance themselves to degree level as its main target.  For  this  reason,  course  and  subject  areas  were designed to address this particular focus.

TABLE 5J. COURSES AND SUBJECTS (CDE & LIT RAID)

      Registration Requirements

The entry requirements vary from one programme to another. This also depends on the level of the course offered. Table 6 gives the registration requirements of some of the programmes.

TABLE 6:  REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

Generally for most programmes one could register   if they had a basic education, are able to read and write and understand English. A second major requirement was the ability to afford the fees ~n:' a willingness to learn and remain committed.

Most  programmes  like  IPMZ,  Open  Learning  and  CACC  had consideration for mature entry. Under 1PM for example a person aged 23 6r above and possessing 3 "0' Levels including English Language could enrol for the diploma courses. For the Open Learning Centre if a person is 21 years old or above and has no academic qualification he or she could enroll for the ACCA diploma at  as long as the individual has sufficient grasp of the English Language to cope with the learning material and final  examinations.  Also  under  the  Open Learning  Centre students were given the opportunity to complete the course at their  pace  and  could  leave  and  rejoin the  programme  to complete  their  course.  This  flexibility  under  the  Open Learning Centre was also called for in The Report of the Open University (1994). The CDE programmes is also seeking to adopt some elements of the approach. The advantage is for students to work and complete the course at their pace. At the same time there are problems of some students slackening and never completing the course.

With this flexibility, distance education was said to be more flexible and readily accessible than the conventional system. Generally  no  proof  of  the  registration  requirements was demanded. This applied to programmes like RRC and CACC which expected a student to have a full "0" Level certificate before registering for "A" Level.

2.7     Capacity of the Programmes 

          Most programmes indicated that they had capacity to enroll as many students as possible as long as there 
          was demand and the students could afford the fees.  The emphasis was on more students enrolling for the 
          programmes and increase the profit. This would allow the programmes to sustain themselves, as many had 
          operated as private and business ventures. The possibility of large enrolments was feasible since many of 
          the programmes were focused on the correspondence approach with the greatest focus on the print. For 
          this reason, there was no need for physical  infrastructure  like classrooms  and  furniture  to accommodate   
          the  students.  All  that  was needed, was  to strengthen the material production and distribution to reach 
          the students in their homes and workplaces.

In  some  cases  several  students  had  enrolled  and  later disappeared either permanently or reappeared later. This was be due to either family problems or economic hardships and students  failing  to  afford  the  fees  required  for  the registration, materials and the examination fees. The problem of attitude also affected the enrolment for the programmes. The majority of the students joining distance education are those who would have failed to find places in the conventional system  while  distance  and  correspondence  education  are regarded as second rate.

To provide an indication of the number of students catered for under distance education programmes, Table 7 has the enrolment figures for 1995.  Unfortunately for some programmes, only estimates were available as they cater for large number of students. The Correspondence School which served a specific group had the lowest enrolment of 201. The approximate total for the programmes for which data was provided was 70 483.

However, for many of the programmes, the pressure especially from school leavers not able to join the conventional system, was high. The majority were for the secondary and tertiary courses and few for the primary level. The CDE programme for example,  was  facing  pressure  not  only  from more  school administrators seeking to register for the programme, but many teachers and individuals from other career professions seeking to acquire a degree.   From all the interviewees, there was a call for the expansion, strengthening and diversification of distance education in the country.

  TABLE 7: ENROLMENTS IN 1995

       * = estimates
       # = teacher trainees in all colleges

2.8     Examinations and Assessment

The examination approach was varied. A few programmes set and marked their examinations, but the majority especially at the secondary level did not offer examinations of their own. The students for example, sat the same public examinations as those  in  the  conventional  school  system.  Thus  once  the students  had completed their course they made  their own arrangements for the examinations at centres of their choice and pay the examination fees to that centre. At the tertiary level, a number of courses were also examined by external institutions  like  the  University  of  London.  However, arrangements for the registration,  setting and marking of examinations and the awarding of the certificates, were made and  coordinated  by  the  programme  authorities.  The  CDE programmes  which  had  initially  had  problems  on  the examinations and the granting of degrees to its students, has since made arrangements with UZ to set the examination and certificate the students. The first group of students will graduate in 1996.

Programmes like IPMZ had their own examinations and assessment system for both the certificate and diploma levels.

The Correspondence School did not have any public examinations but only assessments and progress reports for the pupils.

In terms of students performance, this was very difficult to get reliable information on. With many programmes relying on external examinations their records on the pass rates of their students were not only incomplete, but difficult to maintain. Only  IPMZ -which provides both the  learning material  and administer examinations was able to provide information on its output and pass rates. The data for the period 1990 to 1995 is in Table 8.

      TABLE 8: OUTPUT- IPMZ

Although the failure rate was not indicated, the pass rate averaged 66%  for the Diploma and 50%  for Higher Diploma courses for the period above. Thus for the same period 1990 to 1995 the programme had managed to churn out 987 graduates in personnel management through the distance education approach. A significant number achieved distinctions or credits and the performance had continued to improve.

Despite this problem of accurate data on students performance under distance education, the general observation under most programmes, was the high commitment of students and many were hard working. As a result, many were successfully completing their courses.