Can Open Learning Transform Society?

Professor Asha Kanwar, President & CEO

Dr K Balasabramanian, Vice President

Dr Sanjaya Mishra, Education Specialist: eLearning

KKHSOU, Guwahati – December 16, 2017

COL RIM

Empowering & Transforming Society

Image Sources (left to right): 1. CC BY-SA 3.0, File: CentralJail,Viyyur.JPG; 2 and 3. Man with disability and Toddler girl/Poverty CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Pixabay

Commonwealth Heads of Government MeetingVancouver, 1987

To help Commonwealth governments and institutions use technologies to improve and expand learning for sustainable development

Regional Office CEMCA

Bangladesh Brunei DarussalamIndiaMalaysiaPakistanSingaporeSri Lanka

ECONOMICGROWTH

SOCIAL INCLUSION

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

Learning for Sustainable Development

ECONOMIC GROWTH Raymond Loh: CEMBA Graduate - “…offering moving and relocation services to clients in over 40 countries.”

SOCIAL INCLUSION Women in India are part of COL’s L3F project, established companies in agriculture and livestock.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION ODL students have 1/10th carbon footprint compared to campus-based students

CONTEXT

The Commonwealth

52 developed and developing nations around the world

The Commonwealth

• population 2.4 billion, more than 60% under 29

Source: The Commonwealth Secretariat, Fast facts on the Commonwealth, retrieved on 7 November, 2017

• 1 in 3 young people (15 -29) live in Commonwealth countries

India: Youth Population (15-34 yrs)

1971 2011

Source: Central Statistics Office, Government of India, Youth in India 2017, published in March 2017

168million

422million

30.6%

34.8%

India: Unemployment, Youth Total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) 2006-2016

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Source: The World Bank Databank, Unemployment Youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) ILO estimate, retrieved on 7 November, 2017

India: ICT Statistics 2006-2016

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Internet users per 100 inhabitants Mobile subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

Source: ITU ICT Facts and Figures 2017, retrieved on 7 November, 2017

India: Tertiary Gross Enrolment Ratio 2005 – 2015

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, retrieved on 7 November, 2017

http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/statistics/ESG2016_0.pdf

http://niti.gov.in/content/gross-enrolment-ratio-higher-education

Assam’s GER in HE

12.8%

CATEGORY GROSS ENROLLMENT RATIO IN HE %

SC Male 20.0SC Female 18.2SC Total 19.1 %ST Male 15.2ST Female 12.3ST Total 13.7 %

‘The disparities in educational attainment by income are greater

in India’

Source: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/11/19-charts-that-explain-indias-economic-challenge/

Source: http://niti.gov.in/writereaddata/files/coop/IndiaActionPlan.pdf

Only 2.3% of India’s workforce has undergone formal skill training compared to:• Japan 80% • South Korea 96%

Higher Education and Skills Agenda

• Designation of World Class Universities

• Increased focus on vocational and profession led education

• Training 5 million apprentices by 2020

Source: http://niti.gov.in/writereaddata/files/coop/IndiaActionPlan.pdf

What truly separates developed from less developed countries is not just a gap in resources or output but a gap in knowledge….’

Joseph Stiglitz & Bruce Greenwald, Creating a Learning Society, Columbia University Press, 2014

Can Education lead to Sustainable Development?

• One additional school year can increase a woman's earnings by up to 20%

• 0.1% improvement in a country's education equality can raise its per capita income by 23%

• Six years of education improve by 20% the chance that a farmer will adopt sustainable farming practices

Sources:http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EDUCATION/Resources/278200-1099079877269/547664-1099079934475/547667-1135281504040/Returns_Investment_Edu.pdfhttp://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002231/223115E.pdf

Can Open Learning

Contribute?

Open Learning Usually Refers to

• Correspondence courses• Open and distance learning• Open universities• Democratising education• Reaching the unreached such as women,

people with disabilities

1. AIOU2. ATHABASCA3. BCOU4. BRAOU5. IGNOU6. OLA7. OUSL8. TELUQ9. UKOU10.UNISA

1. AIOU2. ATHABASCA3. BAOU4. BOU5. DrBRAOU6. GOU7. IGNOU8. KKHSOU9. KSOU10.MPBOU11.NOU12.NOUN13.NSOU14.OSOU15.OUC

16. OUM17.OU Mauritius18.OUSL19.OUT20.PSSOU21.TNOU22.UOU23.UNISA24.UKOU25.UPRTOU26.VOU27.VMOU28.SOU29.YCMOU30.ZAOU

Openness:An Evolving Concept

ACCESS

CONTENT

TECHNOLOGY

New Dimensions of ‘openness’: OER

• Free availability of quality content• Faculty time can now focus on learner

support

course development

New Realities

THEN NOW

Industrial model of operation

Institutional Teams

Student as consumer

Connected model of operation

Global Teams of course developers

Student as producer

New Dimensions of ‘openness’: MOOCs

Flexibility . Affordability . Fast-track

New Realities

THEN NOW

National or provincial jurisdiction

Limited interaction at study centres

Print+ (audio, video, online)

Global classroom

Increased use of Peer2Peer learning

and social media

Online+ (increased use of learning

analytics)

What has been the Role of ODL Institutions in this Context?

• ODL institutions played a minimal role in innovation and became followers

• ODL institutions yet to adopt, appropriate and domesticate OER & MOOCs

Can open learning address the challenges of

sustainable development?

The Philosophy of ‘Open-ness’

Open as to people, Open as to places, Open as to methods, and, finally, Open as to ideas

Lord Crowther

Open to People: Are we?

‘graduate and post graduate distance learners mostly belong to middle class family in UP’

Source: Suja, George in “A study of distance learners socio economic status, study habits and attitude towards distance learning in relation to their academic achievement” 2014 http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/24873 ; Image credit: Biswarup Ganguly (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Open_Discussion_-_Wikipedia_Students_Meet_-_Bengali_Wikipedia_10th_Anniversary_Celebration_-_Jadavpur_University_-_Kolkata_2015-01-10_3250.JPG, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode

People with Disability

• Only 0.56% seats in higher education go to disabled candidates though there's reservation to the extent of 3% in public institutions (2015 data)

• 0.21% students in higher education with disability as per the All India Survey of Higher Education (2015-2016)

http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/statistics/AISHE2015-16.pdfhttps://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/Disabled-get-only-0-56-of-seats-in-higher-education/articleshow/46810639.cms

Gender Parity in Enrolment

Is parity leading to equity?

• Sen (2010) found that ODL students in four Master’ level programmes in India subscribed to stereotypical views of gender based learning tasks. She observed that even in regions where gender parity was supposed to be high, these stereotypical views still prevailed.

56.87

49.70

62.83

52.8056.60

53.4751.00

27.40

58.97

44.37

61.9060.15

42.15

0.00

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

70.00

BRAOU VMOU NOU YCMOU MPBOU BAOU KSOU NSOU UPRTOU TNOU PSSOU UOU KKSHOU

Rural students

Open to Places: How Far? 52% of rural students enrolled in Open Universities

Source: http://cemca.org.in/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Status%20of%20The%20State%20Open%20Universities%20in%20India(1).pdf

Open to Places! How far?

https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/business-standard-september-1-2016-shyam-ponappa-digital-india-needs-these-policy-changes

• 50% of India's internet users will be rural

• 40% will be women by 2020

Economic Times Quoting Boston Consulting Grouphttps://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/sme-sector/50-of-indias-internet-users-rural-40-will-be-women-by-2020-bcg/articleshow/59802340.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Are we ready?

Open to Methods? How Good?

• Learner Support System: • Still urban-based: fewer rural students

benefit due to limited access to services• Mobile phone based learning:

• still to take off in Open Universities• yet to integrate Community based

approaches

Mehta, Neelima M . “A study of factors governing access and equity in open distance learning programmes: with special reference to distance mode institutes (DEIs) of dual mode universities in Western Maharashtra” 2011 http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/2484

Open University

Student per Teacher

BRAOU 27IGNOU 12KKSHOU 686MPBOU 8777NOU 947NSOU 17OSOU 7PSSOU 117TNOU 12UOU 229UPRTOU 71VMOU 2892

Student to Teacher Ratio

Output Rate 2016

16.06

7.93

16.77

5.73

31.24

38.96

4.93

2.22

33.05

30.14

32.13

15.07

17.23

7.52

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

BAOU

BRAOU

IGNOU

KKSHOU

MPBOU

NOU

NSOU

OSOU

PSSOU

TNOU

UOU

UPRTOU

VMOU

YCMOU

Qualifications Awarded Compared to Enrolment in the Previous Year

Dropout rate

• 80% of dropout in distance education happen due to non-completion of assignments (Pierrakeas, 2004)

• Two-way communication and Feedback strengthen learning (Holmberg, 1995)

• Instant feedback and regular engagement of students keeps them motivated

Source: Pierrakeas, et al (2004). A Comparative Study of Dropout Rates and Causes for Two Different Distance Education Courses, The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/183/265

Open to Ideas: Are We?

• Extent of Outreach?• Focus on Lifelong Learning?• Offering programmes specific to the

needs of labour market?• Combining academic content and

employable skills?

Open or Closed?

Scimago Institutions Rankings 2017

InstitutionPercentiles

Overall RankResearch Innovation Societal

The Open University UK

16 72 22 537

Open University of Israel

43 70 84 609

Open University Netherlands

48 86 14 615

Hellenic Open University

75 80 65 651

Source: Scimago institutions rankings 2017 Retrieved on November 21, 2017

Out of 5,250 ranked institutions:

Impact of ODL on Development

• mission statements of 12 major open universities focus on: access, equity, equality, democratization, social justice, transforming society, with an emphasis on development;

• “nowhere is there proposed a theoretical and substantive understanding of what development is, or how it works, nor …what should be done in terms of curriculum and pedagogy to support such aims” (Tait, 2014, p.8).

Source: http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1526

Towards Development

Photo credit: Abir Abdullah / Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha. Bangladesh

Photo credit: Abir Abdullah / Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha. Bangladesh

Makerere University’s Initiative in collaboration with COL in promoting Lifelong Learning through ODL using mobile phones and blended learning in Kabale district.

Mobile Phone Technology Improves Farmers’ Fortunes in Uganda WorldWatchInstituteBecause L3F Uganda adapts its educational tools to fit farmers’ lifestyles and technological capacities… the project can make real advances in empowering farmers and improving their livelihoods

I. Lifelong Learning for all

• Create bridge between formal, non-formal and informal learning

• Strengthen outreach• Innovative approaches

II. Build Capacity in

• Curriculum reform• Learner Support• Assessment

III: Holistic approach

• Appropriate curriculum with content and skills• Industry/labour market linked courses• Partnerships

Economic Growth

Environment Conservation

Social Inclusion

EDUCATION

EDUCATIONEDUCATION

Ecosystem Approach

To transform society, ODL must transform itself first

Professor Asha S. KanwarPresident & CEO

THANK YOU

www. col.org

Dr K BalasubramanianVice President

Dr Sanjaya MishraEducation Specialist: eLearning