Open Schooling for Secondary & Higher Secondary Education:

Costs and Effectiveness in India and Namibia

Greville Rumble and Badri N Koul

 Commonwealth of Learning, 2007

Commonwealth of Learning (COL)
1055 West Hastings Street, Suite 1200
Vancouver, BC V6E 2E9
Canada

INDEX
LIST OF CHARTS, FIGURES AND TABLES...........................................................................v
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS .....................................................................................ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................... xiii
REPORT LIMITATIONS...........................................................................................................xv
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................1
1

INTRODUCTION: BACKGROUND, OBJECTIVES AND CONDUCT OF

RESEARCH.......................................................................................................................5

THE DEVELOPMENT OF OPEN SCHOOLING ........................................................9

2.1
2.2

2.3
2.4

2.5
2.6
3

Open Schooling: a definition..................................................................................9

Development of Open Schooling .........................................................................10
2.2.1 ODL and non-traditional schooling ........................................................12
2.2.2 The introduction of technology................................................................13
2.2.3 Meeting the need for secondary education..............................................14
Effectiveness of Open Schooling and its outcomes .............................................14
2.3.1 Measuring gains and benefits..................................................................15
Costs of Open Schooling......................................................................................18
2.4.1 The Efficiency Ratio ................................................................................18
2.4.2 Cost structure of ODL .............................................................................25
2.4.3 Factors affecting costs ............................................................................27
2.4.4 ICT costs..................................................................................................29
International cost comparisons.............................................................................30
Conclusions ..........................................................................................................30

ECONOMY AND EDUCATION IN INDIA ................................................................33

3.1
3.2
3.3

3.4

Introduction ..........................................................................................................33
3.1.1 Financial challenges of universalising education...................................34
Demographic factors and secondary education in India.......................................34
3.2.1 Large numbers, insufficient funding........................................................39
Structure of the Indian education system .............................................................39
3.3.1 Introduction.............................................................................................39
3.3.2 Education in the Republic of India (the first 50 years) ...........................40
3.3.3 Outcomes of over 50 years of educational re-engineering .....................43
3.3.4 Primary and secondary levels of education ............................................44
3.3.5 Links with higher education ....................................................................47
3.3.6 Open and distance education initiatives .................................................47
3.3.7 Present challenges for secondary education in India ............................48
Secondary schooling and the India labour market ...............................................50
3.4.1 Introduction.............................................................................................50

3.5

3.4.2 Cost-benefits of education in India .........................................................52

Cost-benefits of the Secondary Education: the Indian case .................................56
3.5.1 The multiple roles of education ...............................................................58
3.5.2 The impact of lower levels of education ..................................................59

OPEN SCHOOLING IN INDIA:

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF OPEN SCHOOLING, NEW DELHI................61
4.1

4.2

4.3

4.4

4.5

The context of Open Schooling in India ..............................................................61

4.1.1
Need for Open Schooling in India .........................................................61
4.1.2 Policy prescriptions and commitments for secondary ODL operations..62
4.1.3 Open Schooling as an alternative schooling system ..............................66
Place and role of ODL and NIOS.........................................................................67
4.2.1 NIOS becomes an apex body ...................................................................68
4.2.2 Functions of NIOS ..................................................................................69
4.2.3
Secondary level courses and subjects offered by NIOS .........................69
4.2.4 Vocational courses offered by NIOS .......................................................70
4.2.5 Expansion of vocational courses.............................................................74
4.2.6 Livelihood, productivity and development ..............................................74
4.2.7 NIOS learner profile ...............................................................................75
Description of the NIOS system ..........................................................................78
4.3.1 Management and organisational structure ............................................78
4.3.2 Preparation of study materials ...............................................................80
4.3.3 Course delivery ......................................................................................82
4.3.4 Student support services .........................................................................83
4.3.5 Learner assessment and certification .....................................................84
4.3.6 Quality assurance....................................................................................85
Comparative Effectiveness of NIOS ...................................................................89
4.4.1 Secondary education initiatives of the Government of India ..................90
4.4.2 NIOS and the issues of access and equity ...............................................91
4.4.3 Comparative effectiveness/performance of NIOS, KVs and JNVs ..........95
4.4.4 Performance of NIOS students ................................................................96
4.4.5 Effectiveness of NIOS: position in the national profile .........................102
Cost-efficiency of NIOS ....................................................................................105
4.5.1 The First Cost Study: Open School (1982-86) ......................................105
4.5.2 The Second Cost Study: National Open School (1990-96) ..................110
4.5.3 The Third Cost Study: National Institute of Open Schooling
(2005-2006) .........................................................................................111
4.5.4 Computation of the cost-efficiency of NIOS ..........................................113
4.5.5 The approach adopted for computation in this study............................114
4.5.6 Basic facts that inform and guide the present cost computation...........115
4.5.7 Cost-efficiency of NIOS: the present study ..........................................117
4.5.8 Costs compared to two conventional day schooling systems ................126
4.5.9 Private cost of education at NIOS ........................................................129
4.5.10 Conclusions on costs .............................................................................133

ii

ECONOMY AND EDUCATION IN NAMIBIA ........................................................135

5.1
5.2

5.3

5.4
5.5
6

Introduction ........................................................................................................135
Demographic factors ..........................................................................................135
5.2.1 Education levels ....................................................................................138
5.2.2 Sources of income..................................................................................138
5.2.3 Access to technology .............................................................................139
5.2.4 Proximity to education ..........................................................................139
5.2.5 Hostel accommodations ........................................................................140
5.2.6 Household income .................................................................................141
5.2.7 Spending on education ..........................................................................144
Structure of the Namibian education system .....................................................146
5.3.1 Education challenges ............................................................................147
5.3.2 Improving efficiency in education .........................................................148
5.3.3 Potential of distance education recognised...........................................149
5.3.4 School enrolments .................................................................................150
5.3.5 Progression through the formal education system................................152
5.3.6 Funding of schools ................................................................................158
5.3.7 Primary and secondary education provision ........................................159
5.3.8 Implications of automatic promotions...................................................159
5.3.9 NAMCOLs approach ...........................................................................160
5.3.10 Senior secondary routes .......................................................................161
Secondary schooling within the context of labour market .................................164
5.4.1 Weaknesses in the education system .....................................................165
Cost-benefits of education..................................................................................166

OPEN SCHOOLING IN NAMIBIA: THE NAMIBIAN COLLEGE

OF OPEN LEARNING ................................................................................................171
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
6.6
6.7

6.8

6.9
6.10

Structure of NAMCOL.......................................................................................171
The origins and purpose of NAMCOL...............................................................173
6.2.1 NAMCOL is established ........................................................................175
The development of NAMCOLs pedagogic system .........................................177
NAMCOLs learners ..........................................................................................178
NAMCOLs Curriculum ...................................................................................183
Course materials development, production and distribution ..............................185
Learner admission, teaching, assessment, and support .....................................187
6.7.1 Regional structure .................................................................................188
6.7.2 Tutor recruitment and training..............................................................189
6.7.3 Student assignments ..............................................................................190
6.7.4 A higher drop-out rate...........................................................................191
Examinations and comparative performance..193
6.8.1 Analysis of underachievement ...............................................................199
6.8.2 Strategies for improving student performance ......................................201
Destination of NAMCOL learners .....................................................................203
Quality assurance ...............................................................................................206
6.10.1 Process of accountability ......................................................................207

iii

6.11
6.12

6.13
6.14
7

Unanswered Questions .......................................................................................209

Costs ...................................................................................................................210
6.12.1 Activity-based costing ...........................................................................211
6.12.2 Measuring student loads .......................................................................212
6.12.3 Cost calculation challenges ..................................................................213
6.12.4 Government funding..............................................................................214
Dr. Maropes 2005 assessment of NAMCOL ...................................................220
6.13.1 Commentary on Dr. Maropes report ...................................................221
Some Conclusions ..............................................................................................231

CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY ADVICE.................................................................233

7.1
7.2

7.3
7.4
7.5

7.6

Why bother with open schooling at secondary level? ........................................233

7.1.1 The implications of not meeting demand...............................................233
Defining "open schooling" and "open schools" .................................................233
7.2.1 A broader definition of Open Schooling................................................234
7.2.2 An alternative or a complement to formal education............................235
Using technology in the classroom ....................................................................236
Can technology be used to solve the schooling crisis at secondary level?.........237
Our results .........................................................................................................238
7.5.1 Population and economy .......................................................................238
7.5.2 Comparative national educational data................................................239
7.5.3 Origins of open schools in India and Namibia......................................241
7.5.4 NAMCOL as a Complementary system to the Formal system ..............242
7.5.5 NIOS as an alternative to formal schooling ..........................................243
7.5.6 Are the open schools doing enough?.....................................................244
7.5.7 Relative Effectiveness Ratio ..................................................................246
7.5.8 How has studying in an open school helped students? .........................248
7.5.9 Relative Efficiency Ratio .......................................................................249
7.5.10 How do the two open schools we have examined in this study
measure up against these criteria for low cost model?.........................253
7.5.11 Why should we have confidence in open schools? ................................256
Policy advice ......................................................................................................256
7.6.1 Sustainability.........................................................................................257
7.6.2 Quality assurance..................................................................................258
7.6.3 Access and equity ..................................................................................258

APPENDIX 1: Professor Koul's Programme .........................................................................261

APPENDIX 2: Professor Rumble's Programme .....................................................................263

iv

LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES

Charts
Chart 5.1
Chart 6.1
Tables
Table 1.1
Table 1.2
Table 2.1
Table 2.2
Table 2.3
Table 3.1
Table 3.2
Table 3.3
Table 3.4
Table 3.5
Table 3.6
Table 3.7
Table 3.8
Table 3.9
Table 3.10
Table 3.11
Table 3.12
Table 3.13
Table 4.1
Table 4.2
Table 4.3
Table 4.4
Table 4.5
Table 4.6
Table 4.7
Table 4.8
Table 4.9
Table 4.10
Table 4.11
Table 4.12
Table 4.13
Table 4.14
Table 4.15
Table 4.16
Table 4.17
Table 4.18
Table 4.19
Table 4.20
Table 4.21
Table 4.22
Table 4.23
Table 4.24

Population of Namibia, mid-2005 estimates, by age and sex.................................137

NAMCOLs emergent organisational structure .....................................................172
World Bank Key Development Data and Statistics ...................................................5
Key comparative statistics, NIOS and NAMCOL .....................................................6
Student success at schools level: comparative performance of distance and
conventional systems...............................................................................................16
Comparative costs per student of distance and traditional education systems ........21
Comparative costs per graduate in distance and traditional systems ......................24
Population of India as per Census 2001 ...................................................................35
Estimated child population as on 30 September 2002 .............................................36
Gross Enrolment Ratios at the primary level ..........................................................36
Number of schools and the stages of education .......................................................37
Enrolment in Classes XI and XII (including degree colleges) ................................38
Present structure of the Indian educational system ................................................44
Educational pattern in States/Union Territories .......................................................45
Progress made during 1950-2000 ............................................................................48
Coverage within the 6-24 age group ........................................................................49
Work participation and the structure of Indian labour force 1972/3-1993/4........52
Trends in the returns (per cent) to education in India1983-1993/4 ......................53
Earning differences within and across the various groups of population.................55
Studies on private rates of return in India ................................................................57
Secondary and senior secondary subjects available at NIOS ..................................70
Enrolment in the NIOS vocational courses ..............................................................71
Enrolment (2005-06) by region in vocational courses .............................................71
Enrolment by course in vocational courses (2005-06 ..............................................73
Enrolment by gender2001 to 2006 .......................................................................76
Enrolment by student category2004 to 2006........................................................76
Enrolment by age2004 to 2006 ............................................................................77
Traditional and Open Schooling: transactional differences .....................................82
Fee structure of KVs (INR per month).....................................................................90
Enrolment trend since 1990-91 ................................................................................92
Enrolment by region/state (an illustration)...............................................................93
NIOS fee structure ...................................................................................................94
Comparative performance (Classes X and XII): KVs, JNVs and Other Schools
affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) ........................95
NIOS examination results: April 2006.....................................................................96
Results by region (April 2006).................................................................................97
Profile of examination results: 1991-2006 ..............................................................98
Pass Percentage at the secondary level by subject ...................................................99
Pass Percentage at the senior secondary level by subject ......................................100
Corrected NIOS performance profile (a sample based on limited data) ...............101
National profile of secondary and senior secondary examination results (2004-05)102
Effectiveness/performance of NIOS: place in the national profile ......................104
Institutional profiles of institutions involved in comparison .................................106
Comparative Average Cost (INR per student per annum) .....................................108
Relative cost-efficiency of the institutions compared ............................................109
v

Table 4.25
Table 4.26
Table 4.27
Table 4.28
Table 4.29
Table 4.30
Table 4.31
Table 4.32
Table 4.33
Table 4.34
Table 4.35
Table 4.36
Table 4.37
Table 5.1
Table 5.2
Table 5.3
Table 5.4
Table 5.5
Table 5.6
Table 5.7
Table 5.8
Table 5.9
Table 5.10
Table 5.11
Table 5.12
Table 5.13
Table 5.14
Table 5.15
Table 5.16
Table 5.17
Table 5.18
Table 5.19
Table 5.20
Table 5.21
Table 6.1
Table 6.2

Cost comparison: NOS and other types of schooling (1990-91)............................110

Comparative costs per student at JNVs, KVs and NIOS .......................................111
NIOS enrolment and apportioning factors ............................................................117
Abstract of NIOS income and expenditure: actuals (INR millions).......................118
Abstract of NIOS plan expenditure: actuals (INR millions) ..................................119
NIOS expenditure for 2002-07: a reconstruction (INR): .......................................121
Expenditure at the Kendriya Vidyalayas2002-06 (INR millions) ......................127
Cost per student: Emmanuel Mission Secondary School,
Bhilwara, Rajasthan (INR) ....................................................................................128
Comparative costs per secondary student per course: NIOS, KVs and
EMSS (INR) ..........................................................................................................128
Enrolment by subject 2004-07 (an abstract)...........................................................130
Private cost per student per subject including examination costs
(NIOS secondary level) .........................................................................................131
Private cost per student per subject including examination costs
(NIOS senior secondary level)...............................................................................132
Private cost per student per course excluding examination costs: NIOS,
KVs and EMSS compared .....................................................................................133
2005 Mid-year population estimate by age and sex (000s), Namibia...................136
Population Dependency Ratio, 2006 ......................................................................136
School access to electricity and telephones, 2005..................................................139
Primary and secondary education hostel accommodation and hostel costs,
2005-2006..............................................................................................................141
Parental contribution to hostel costs, 2005-2006 ...................................................141
Annual consumption by highest level of educational attainment of
the head of the household ......................................................................................143
Parental contributions towards School Development Funds (NAD),
2004 Public Expenditure Tracking Survey data ....................................................145
Enrolments in the formal school system, 1999-2006 .............................................151
Proportion of female enrolments, 1999- 2005........................................................151
Formal system secondary school population and NAMCOL student-courses by
level, by national regions grouped into NAMCOL regions, 2003-2005; and
NAMCOL student-courses by level and by NAMCOL regions, 2006..................154
Numbers of new entrants, repeaters and re-entrants, Grades 1-12 (2005); school
leavers 2004; promotion, repetition and school-leaving rates, Grades 1-11
(2004 to 2005 transition); and survival rates to Grades 2 to 12 (2004) .................156
Rates of enrolment of 6 to 18 year olds, by grade, 2005........................................157
Net Enrolment Ratios (NER) and Gross Enrolment Ratios (GER), 2000-2005 ....157
Number of public and private schools in Namibia, 2005.......................................158
Proportion of NAMCOL students taking the JSC and IGCSE for the first time, or
for re-sit purposes, 1999, 2003, 2007.....................................................................161
Potential eligibility of Grade 12 graduates who entered Grade 11
with the minimum qualifications ...........................................................................163
Potential eligibility of Grade 12 graduates who entered Grade 11 with 27 points.163
Potential eligibility of Grade 12 graduates who entered Grade 11 with
Grades C, D, E and F in the JSCE .........................................................................163
Hourly wages (in NAD) by educational level, 2003 ..............................................167
Returns to education expressed as an index with no school equal 1. .....................168
Private and social IRR for different levels of education ........................................169
NAMCOL staffing .................................................................................................173
Number of full-time staff per learner .....................................................................173
vi

Table 6.3
Table 6.4
Table 6.5
Table 6.6
Table 6.7
Table 6.8
Table 6.9
Table 6.10
Table 6.11
Table 6.12
Table 6.13
Table 6.14
Table 6.15
Table 6.16
Table 6.17
Table 6.18
Table 6.19
Table 6.20
Table 6.21
Table 6.22
Table 6.23
Table 6.24
Table 6.25
Table 6.26
Table 6.27
Table 6.28
Table 6.29
Table 7.1
Table 7.2
Table 7.3
Table 7.4

Continuing and distance education provision in Namibia, 1991-1998 ..................175

Number of students enrolled on NAMCOL professional programmes, 03-06 ......177
Number of NAMCOL learners by level and by mode of study, 1999-2006 ..........179
NAMCOL students: average number of subject registrations by level, 99-06 ......180
Number of students by subject load, 2004 and 2005 .............................................180
NAMCOLs subject enrolments, by open learning mode ......................................181
Proportion of NAMCOL students who are female ................................................181
Age of NAMCOL students ....................................................................................182
Percentage of NAMCOL students not doing any paid work..................................182
Drop-out among NAMCOL JSC learners, 1999-2005...........................................192
Drop-out among NAMCOL IGCSE learners, 2003-2005......................................193
IGCSE candidates, 1998-2005, by choice of examination sitting..........................193
Cumulative percentage achieving given grades at JSC, full- and part-time
candidates, 2000 2006 ........................................................................................195
JSC part-time results, 1999-2002: all part-time students, NAMCOL
part-time by mode, and part-time private students ................................................196
Cumulative percentage achieving given grades at IGCSE, full- and part-time
candidates, 2000 2006 ........................................................................................197
Junior Secondary Certificate examinations: overall and key subject results by
grade, full- and part-time candidates, Oct/Nov 2006 examinations ......................198
International General Certificate of Secondary Education Examinations:
overall and key subject results by grade, full- and part-time candidates,
Oct/Nov 2006 examinations ..................................................................................199
Comparison of full-time versus part-time results using the Effectiveness Ratio,
November 2005 and November 2006 examinations..............................................200
Cost of increasing tutorial hours per week.............................................................202
Expenditure on secondary education, 2001/02 to 2005/06 ....................................211
NAMCOL 2007-2008 Budget by programmes/activities ......................................212
Cost per subject enrolee, formal secondary school system, per 07-08 budget.......215
Average cost per student, formal secondary education system,
per 2007-2008 budget............................................................................................215
Unit cost per subject enrolee, formal secondary education system,
based on 2007-2008 budget ...................................................................................216
NAMCOL unit costs per subject enrolee and per student, 2007-2008 budget
estimate, assuming all non-ASEP net costs are charged against the ASEP
programme (Scenario 1) ........................................................................................217
NAMCOL unit costs per subject enrolee and per student, 2007-2008 budget
estimate, assuming only "other" business-sustaining net costs are charged against
the ASEP programme (Scenario 2)........................................................................218
Unit costs per subject-enrolee and per student, formal secondary school system
and NAMCOL, based on 2007-2008 budget.........................................................219
Comparative educational statistics for India and Namibia.....................................239
Distribution of formal system school population and NAMCOL student courses
by NAMCOL region, 2005....................................................................................243
Comparative Effectiveness Ratio for NIOS against various comparator Boards
of Education, 2004-2005 results ............................................................................248
Budgeted 2007/08 unit cost calculations, Namibian formal secondary education
system and NAMCOL, and Efficiency Ratio ........................................................250

vii

Table 7.5
Table 7.6
Table 7.7

Relative cost-efficiency of NIOS using INR cost per student course data when
compared with Kendriya Vidyalayas, 2002/03 to 2005/06, and with the
Emmanuel Mission Secondary School in Bhilwara, Rajasthan, 2006/07..............252
Major factors affecting the costs in Open Schooling .............................................252
Academic work to produce one hour of student learning.......................................255

viii

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

#
<

number of
less than
section

ACHS
ACPO
AIs

Air Correspondence High School (Korea)

Accin Cultural Popular, Colombia
Accredited Institutions*
(Accredited by NIOS to provide support services for academic subjects)
adjusted per capita income
Accin Pro-Educacin y Cultura (Centros APEC, Dominican Republic)
Alternative Secondary Education Programme, NAMCOL
Accredit Vocational Institutions*
(Accredit by NIOS to provide support services for vocational courses)
British Broadcasting Corporation
Basic Education Teacher Diploma (Namibia)
Central Advisory Board of Education
Computer-Based Learning Centre (NAMCOL)
Central Board of Secondary Education*
Compact Disc Read Only Memory
Certificate in Education for Development (NAMCOL)
Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination
Certificate in Local Government Studies (NAMCOL)
Commonwealth of Learning
cruzeiro (Brazilian currency between 1952 and 1994)
Colleges of Teacher Education
Commonwealth Diploma in Youth in Development (NAMCOL)
Delhi Administration Schools
Distance Education Council
Department for International Development
District Institutes of Education and Training
Directorate of National Examinations and Assessment (Namibia)
District Primary Education Programme
Desk-Top Publishing
Education For All
Effectiveness Ratio
Educational Management Information System (MOE, Namibia)
Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme, Namibia
Educational Television
excluding
Full-Time Equivalent(s) measure of student and staff numbers
Great Britain Pound
Gross Domestic Product
Gross Enrolment Rate
Gross National Income
Gross National Product
government
Grants-in-aid for Research Projects in Open Schooling

APCI
APEC
ASEP
AVIs
BBC
BETD
CABE
CBLC
CBSE
CD-ROM
CED
CISCE
CLGS
COL
Cr$
CTEs
CYP
DASs
DEC
DFID
DIETs
DNEA
DPEP
DTP
EFA
Effect. Ratio
EMIS
ETSIP
ETV
excl.
FTE(s)
GBP
GDP
GER
GNI
GNP
govt.
GRPOS

ix

HDABET
HE
HIGCSE
IASEs
ICTs
IGCSE
IGNOU
IIMs
IITs
INR
IRDEB
IRFOL
ISCED
ISP
JNVs
JSC
JSCE
JSE
K
km(s).
KVs
KVS
MDGs
MHRD
MOE
MWK
N$
NAD
NAMCOL
NBC
NCERT
NCOS
NEACB
NER
NEU
NFE
NGOs
NIEPA
NIOS
NOLNet
NOS
NOSS
NPE
NSC
NSS
NSSC
NSSCH
NSSCO

Higher Diploma in Adult Basic Education for Training (UNISA programme

franchised to NAMCOL)
Higher Education
Higher International General Certificate of Secondary Education (Namibia)
Institutes of Advanced Studies in Education
Information and Communications Technologies
International General Certificate of Secondary Education (Namibia)
Indira Gandhi National Open University
Indian Institutes of Management
Indian Institutes of Technology
Indian Rupees (Current exchange rate: 1 US$ = Appx. INR 40.00)
Institut de Radio-Educative de Bahia, Brazil
International Research Foundation for Open Learning (Cambridge, UK)
International Standard Classification of Education
Internet Service Provider
Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas
(Apex Executive Body of Central Schools)
Junior Secondary Certificate, Namibia
Junior Secondary Certificate Examination, Namibia
Junior Secondary Education, Namibia
Kenyan pound (currency)
Kilometre(s)
Kendriya Vidyalayas (Central Schools)
Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan
Millennium Development Goals
Ministry of Human Resource Development
Ministry of Education, Namibia
Malawi Kwacha (currency)
Namibian Dollar
Namibian Dollar
Namibian College of Open Learning
Namibian Broadcasting Corporation
National Council of Educational Research and Training
National Consortium for Open Schooling
National Examinations, Assessment and Certification Board
Net Enrolment Rate
Namibian Extension Unit
Non-Formal Education
Non-Government Organizations
National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration
(Now National University of Educational Planning and Administration)
National Institute of Open Schooling
Namibian Open Learning Network Trust
National Open School
National Open School Society
National Policy on Education 1986/1992
National School Certificate (Namibia)
National Sample Survey (of India)
Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate
Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate (Higher Level)
Namibia Senior Secondary Curriculum (Ordinary Level)
x

NVS
OBCs
OBE
ODL
OLS
OS
OSAC
OSSCC
para(s).
p.
pp
PETS
PIRR
PMD
POA
pts
RAC
R&D
RCAC
RCs
RD$
SCs
SCERTs
SDF
SIRR
SOSs
sq.
SSA
SSLC
STs
SWAPO
UAE
UGC
UK
UNDP
UNESCO
UNISA
UPE
USA
USD
VTC
VVN
YCMOU
ZSSs

Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti

(Apex Executive Body of Jawahar Navodaya Schools)
Other Backward Classes
Open Basic Education
Open Distance Learning
Open Learning System
Open School
Open Schooling Association of the Commonwealth
Open Schooling State Coordination Committees
paragraph(s)
page
pages
Public Expenditure Tracking Survey (Namibia)
Private Internal Rate of Return
Programmes and Materials Development Division, NAMCOL
Programme of Action (related to NPE-1986 as revised in 1992)
points
Research Advisory Committee (of NIOS)
Research and Development
Regional Centre Advisory Committee (of NIOS)
Regional Centres
Dominican Republic peso (currency)
Scheduled Castes
State Councils for Educational Research and Training
School Development Fund (Namibia)
Social Internal Rate of Return
State Open Schools
square
Sarva Shiksha Abhyan (Education for All Campaign)
Secondary School Leaving Certificate
Scheduled Tribes
South West Africa People's Organisation
United Arab Emirates
University Grants Commission
United Kingdom
United Nations Development Programme
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
University of South Africa
Universal Primary Education
United States of America
United States Dollar
Vocational Training Centre, Namibia
Vidyalaya Vikas Nidhi (School Development Fund of KVs)
Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University, India
Zila Saksharta Samities (District Literacy Committees)

xi

xii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank the following people for their help during the conduct of this
study:
In India, my deepest obligation of gratitude is to Shri M. C. Pant, Chairman of NIOS, for putting
together a team of senior staff members of NIOS to assist me in procuring the data required from
NIOS, New Delhi; Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, New Delhi; Council of Boards of School
Education in India, New Delhi; the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of
India, New Delhi; and other sources. This arrangement was necessitated because of my health
conditions and I must record my special thanks to all the team members for the support I received
from themI would not have been to work without this support.
I would also like to thank Shri M. C. Pant for his effort in obtaining the data pertaining to
country-wide examination results (learner performance at the secondary level) from the Council
of Boards of School Education in India, New Delhi; Dr. J. D. Sharma, Senior Executive Officer,
NIOS, and Professor Puran Chand, Senior Executive Officer, NIOS, for their insightful comments
on the drafts of the various sections of the report and the explanations/answers they put forth in
response to my queries; Shri S. K. Anand, Deputy Director, Accounts, NIOS, for the financial
data he provided for me to study and work on, the time and space he allowed me to listen to and
answer my questions, explain the intricacies of the NIOS financial records and administrative
procedures and the arrangements he made for me to interact with some of the staff of the
Administration (Accounts) Department for further elaborations and explanations; Dr. Oum
Prakash Sharma, Assistant Director, Academic, NIOS, for the time and effort he put in to put
together various studies and documents in connection with quality assurance activities, systemic
research and student support services of NIOS, with unfailing patience and courtesy; Shri S. K.
Prasad, System Analyst & Programmer, NIOS, for his unfailing and continued support over the
entire project period in collecting the data pertaining to examination results, enrolments and
learner profiles from NIOS, New Delhi, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, New Delhi, the Ministry
of Human Resource Development, Government of India, New Delhi, and other institutions; Dr.
R. K. Arya, Joint Director, Media, NIOS, for his help in arranging the data and details of the
media materials developed, produced and offered by NIOS; Dr. R. S. P. Singh, Assistant
Director, Vocational Education, NIOS, for the insight he provided in relation to the Vocational
Education Programmes being offered and planned for the future by NIOS; and Professor
Harmesh Lal, Consultant, NIOS, for providing logistic support for and during the Project Team
meetings and for providing other facilities such as transport for the project related meetings held
from April to September, 2007, at NIOS Headquarters in New Delhi. I must also express my
gratitude to Dr. Sushmita Mitra, Director (on leave), Department of Student Support Services,
NIOS, for her comments on the draft Chapter 4 of this Study.
My thanks are also due for the other NIOS staff with whom I interacted and sought information
and help from and those others who participated in facilitating the study of NIOS in one or the
other way.
In Namibia special thanks must go to Mr. Heroldt Murangi, Director of NAMCOL, and his staff,
for facilitating the study of NAMCOL itself, but also for providing an office base and transport
during the study. It is sometimes dangerous to pick out particular individuals for special thanks
but in this case I would like in particular to mention Mr. Jerry Beukes, Deputy Director
Programme and Materials Development, NAMCOL, who answered my many queries with
patience and good humour; Mr. Jan Nitschke, Manager, Research and Evaluation, at NAMCOL,
who had accessed a vast amount of data and documentation that was ready on arrival in Namibia,
and who provided the first line of support on a daily basis; Ms. Verena Van Wyk, the Directors
xiii

Private Secretary, who deserves special thanks for her support and unfailing help. However, my
deepest obligation of gratitude is to Mrs. Petrina Kamati, Senior Manager, Finance and
Administration, NAMCOL, who worked long hours of overtime to provide me with the financial
data I needed to complete the report, and without whose help some of the report could never have
been completed. Within the Ministry of Education, Mr. Beans Uazembua Ngatjizeko, Director,
Department of Adult Education, was the principal point of contact. He made many of the
appointments with Ministry staff. Mr. Justin Ellis, Under Secretary at the MOE, was courteous
and ever helpful, and special thanks must go to him, and also to Mrs. Sandra van Zyl, Chief
Higher Education Officer, Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme, for pointing
the way to documentation and sources of help. Mr. Alfred Ilukena, Under Secretary, Formal
Education, gave up his valuable time to provide further insights into issues bearing on the study.
Dr. Heide Tavakovi, Financial Planner, Corporate Planning, saved hours of fruitless work. Mr. D.
Koch, Senior Systems Analyst, Examinations Section, Directorate of National Examinations and
Assessment, was extremely helpful in accessing data on examination results. All those who were
interviewed and badgered for help gave of their time and expertise with unfailing patience and
courtesy and to all of them thanks is extended.
At the Commonwealth of Learning, Vancouver our thanks go to Mrs. Frances J. Ferreira,
Education Specialist, Basic Education and Open Schooling, who directed and coordinated our
study, and to Ms. Carol Walker, Programme Assistant, who provided basic support and backup
and who smoothed our entry to various institutions in India and Namibia.

Greville Rumble
Badri N. Koul

xiv

REPORT LIMITATIONS
1. One of the major limitations we faced was the lack of information/data regarding the
destinations of the NAMCOL and NIOS graduates.
2. NAMCOL and NIOS did not have data regarding those of their students who are
employed (such as how many students learn and earn at the same time and how much do
they earn?). This data is essential in order to work out the opportunity costs that are so
important in cost studies.
3. There is a lack of data explaining what proportion of NAMCOL students have studied at
the JSC and/or IGCSE/NSSCO levels before they joined NAMCOL, and what proportion
of NAMCOL students are also enrolled in other private institutions at the same time. This
information would provide better insight into student performance and how it could be
improved.
4. The conventional Full-Time-Equivalent (FTE) system of computation to calculate the
unit costs of various types or that of pass percentages is flawed. NIOSs enrolment data is
based on head count; a more accurate measure would be subject-based enrolment data. In
Namibia, NAMCOL students study the full two-year senior secondary curriculum in one
year, which makes it difficult to calculate FTE.
5. The existing integrated system of budgeting and accounts being followed by NIOS does
not allow for accuracy in cost analyses on rational grounds, though it fits well in the
conventional accounting-design prescribed by the Government.
6. The Namibian education budget distinguishes between operational costs and
development costs (capital expenditures such as buildings, furniture and equipment), but
it does not identify the value of past capital investments. This means the budget take into
account the capital cost savings that arise in distance education systems such as
NAMCOL, and therefore underestimates the relative cost efficiency of such systems.
Similarly, the line budget for secondary education does not include the cost of student
hostels, which account for nine per cent of the education budget.
7. NIOS has no data related to the monitoring of its study centres at its Accredited
Institutions. This makes it impossible to make any bold statements regarding the quality
of operations or student support at these study centres.

xv

xvi

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Recent progress towards the achievement of the second U.N. Millennium Development Goal,
Universal Primary Education (UPE), means that many more children are completing primary
education and looking for opportunities to enter secondary education. There is little likelihood
that governments facing the challenges of meeting the UPE target will be able to meet a further
challenge of providing vastly increased access to opportunities for secondary education.
Rapid expansion of secondary provision to meet frustrated demand from primary school leavers
and the needs of young adults previously denied secondary education opportunities will likely
require investment in approaches that are less tied to traditional methods of schooling.
It is within this context that this study has been conceived. Open Schooling for Secondary and
Higher Education explores the provision of secondary level Open Schooling in India and
Namibia, which are vastly different in their basic characteristics. The study examines on the
National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) in India and the Namibian College of Open
Learning (NAMCOL). The focus is on issues such as cost-benefit of the open school model,
student profiles, how open schools complement the formal system, learner success, course
development, open school management and quality assurance. The study was carried out by two
experts in the field, Professor Badri N. Koul, who researched NIOS, and Professor Greville
Rumble, who researched NAMCOL, between April and October 2007.
As defined by COL, Open Schooling involves "the physical separation of the school-level learner
from the teacher, and the use of unconventional teaching methodologies, and information and
communications technologies (ICTs) to bridge the separation and provide the education and
training".
The use of technology both to facilitate and to overcome the separation of teacher and learner has
a long history going back to perhaps as early as 1728 when in The Boston Gazette, Caleb Philipps
advertised weekly lessons in shorthand to be sent to those wishing to learn the art. Further
developments in correspondence education took place in Europe, North America and the UK in
the late 19th century. Around the same time, university extension movement encouraged the use
of outreach programmes using correspondence methods, sometimes combined with face-to-face
tutorials. Early open schools tended to arise from efforts to help individual out-of-school children
pursue their studies, either because they could not get to a school, or because they were unable to
stay in school.
In current times, with the primary education system producing large numbers of graduates whose
plans to go on to secondary level are frustrated through a lack of provision, the expansion of
Open Schooling at secondary level has been seen as a way forward. Open schools have been set
up to offer both junior and senior secondary education to adolescents for whom there are no
conventional school places, to out-of-school young people and to adults. These open schools have
been successful in both bringing down the costs of education and educating out-of-school youths
as well as adult learners.
With one-sixth of the worlds population, India is the second most populous nation in the world.
It is highly diverse in terms of geography, languages, culture and income. The physical
infrastructure and the related additional human resources required for secondary education do not
exist, nor can they be created overnight to meet the impending deluge once UPE is achieved (the
latest forecast is 2010). Much of the burden for universalising education will have to be taken by
the Central Government, which is raising funds and also adopting alternative modes of education
1

for the purpose. As earnings definitely increase with rises in educational levels for all in India, the
need to provide access to education is clearly linked to the countrys development goals.
Indias National Open School (NOS) was established in 1989 to reach those who had dropped out
of school or never been to school and who wished to study but were for a variety of reasons not
studying in regular schools. Over the years, the role of NOS expanded beyond the provision of
bridging courses, an alternative secondary/higher secondary curriculum and life-enhancing
courses, to include from vocational education. Meanwhile, a number of State Open Schools were
established, all with a similar pro-poor mandate to that of NOS. In 2002, NOS was re-mandated
to act as the national apex body for open schooling, and re-designated The National Institute of
Open Schooling (NIOS). NIOS is both a teaching, and an examining and accrediting
organisation. There are currently close to 300,000 students enrolled in NIOS Accredited
Institutions.
The Republic of Namibia has a population of approximately two million made up of 13 ethnic
cultures and 16 language groups. Although Gross National Product (GNP) is relatively high, the
country has inequalities in income that are among the highest in the world. Namibia has
significant natural resources, but the potential for development is held back by a low skills base
that hampers foreign investment. The countrys Education and Training Sector Improvement
Programme is aimed at improving the education and training system to support the achievement
of development goals
The Namibian College of Open Learning (NAMCOL) was formally established in 1997 as a
distance education college within the Ministry of Education. NAMCOL took on responsibility for
Namibias existing distance education programmes and the Namibian Extension Unit, which
provided courses to Namibian refugees in Zambia and Angola, before its independence.
NAMCOL's role in the Namibian education system is to act as a safety net that "picks up" and
helps a population roughly equivalent to 18.1 per cent of the conventional school population.
Most students are seeking not to study for the first time at these levels but to improve their grades
and hence their job prospects. NAMCOL exists to give them a second chance and to make good
the deficiencies of the formal system. The curriculum it is offering and the target it is reaching are
relatively restricted. As Namibia builds more traditional secondary schools, its likely that
NAMCOL's traditional market will begin to dry up, first at the junior and ultimately at the senior
secondary schools level, which is why we endorse NAMCOL's search for new markets in which
to deploy its expertise and its facilities.
While NAMCOL is essentially complementary to the formal system, NIOS can be described as
offering an alternative system to formal schooling. The vast majority of NIOSs secondary school
students are out-of-formal-school learners and school drop-outs, working adults, housewives,
learners from disadvantaged sectors of society and learners living in remote areas of India. The
scale of the demand for secondary education places in India means that NIOS and the various
State Open Schools will continue to have a major role in the future. The addition of vocational
educational opportunities alongside more academic school subjects must reflect an appropriate
response to the needs of some learners, while the continuing emphasis on academic subjects is
clearly important in generating potential entrants for the university sector.
Like NIOS, NAMCOL enjoys strong government support. Both institutions receive government
grants. In the case of NIOS, Government grants declined progressively from 34 % of its income
to meet only 10.01% of the NIOS expenses, (covering the period 2002-2007). The Central
Government does not use any standard funding formula (i.e. @ per student or per subject
2

enrolment) to fund NIOS. Instead, plan-grants are given to NIOS on the basis of their budget
estimates. Other than such developmental plans, the rest of the expenditure is expected to be met
from NIOS own earnings/resources. The overall conclusion is that at the secondary level of
education in India, ODL operations such as NIOS are significantly less expensive than the
conventional schooling systems.
In the Namibian case, funding is based on a formula on the principle that the provision of
secondary education via NAMCOL should not be more expensive than providing secondary
education via formal education. In 2007/2008 the formula will generate a Government subsidy
of 63.9% towards operational costs in NAMCOLs budget. The study confirms that economically
NAMCOL is very efficient, in terms of its unit costs per student, in comparison with the formal
system.
Although the part-time system (of which approximately 90% are from NAMCOL) never equals
or surpasses the full-time system in effectiveness, in a number of subjects and with one or two
comparatively rather poor results (Biology and Economics IGCSE) it approaches the full-time
system in respect of the proportion of students gaining grades A to G (JSCE) or A to G (IGCSE
examination). NIOS students perform well in comparison with the students taking other Boards'
secondary education examinations, they do not perform as well at higher secondary level.
Like all distance education systems, the success of NAMCOL's pedagogic system rests on three
key factors: the quality of its course materials, the quality of its student support sub-system and
the quality of its logistics. The quality of its course materials is not in doubt; subject by subject,
they are good to excellent. Logistically too the College performs well: the turnaround time on
assignments is on a par with the best of correspondence systems. NAMCOL's management
systems and its student support systems are well-designed and function well. Students are
registered efficiently; the materials get out to them on time; assignments are handled
expeditiously and tutor marking and performance is monitored. Yet if there is a question mark, it
hangs over the effectiveness of the student support system and how it could be improved in order
to ensure that a higher proportion of students achieve their aim of getting an A to C grade in the
national examinations. One approach would be to simply increase the amount of face-to-face
support per subject per week. This may well be an appropriate response, but arguably NAMCOL
also needs to build a much more individually targeted support system that identifies those
students who are struggling and targets help at them. Unlike the case of NIOS, examinations are
not a competency of NAMCOL, but of the Directorate of National Examinations and Assessment.
NIOS has well-defined processes for curriculum development, and approval of courses and
subjects are approved prior to the development of the materials by subject experts. Administrative
and academic support is provided to the learners through the Accredited Institutes, which are
selected against strict criteria. Activities that take place at these Institutes, including teaching and
assignment marking, is monitored by academic facilitators attached to the Regional Centres.
However, there is some doubt as to whether the monitoring processes at Accredited Institutes are
adequate, and there is no current means of planning and reviewing a system-wide process of
evaluation and quality assurance.
While open schools have not been without their problems, such as low status, under funding and
poor results, there is strong evidence that open schools can effectively deliver secondary
education to remote pupils that have never before had such opportunities. There is evidence that,
organised in the right way and with an attention to cost reduction, open schools can be set up to
reap the benefits of the economies of scale that distance education holds out as a possibility.

The study confirms that open schools can be either a complementary or alternative system to the
conventional school system. As an alternative, open schools can reach new markets through an
expanded curriculum.
Given the crisis in secondary education admissions, this study finds strong evidence to support
further investment in understanding what it is that makes for success in Open Schooling and
investment in the establishment of more open schools to face the challenges of frustrated demand
that so many countries face. This will be of key importance as the world faces the challenges of
the next three or four decades of environmental change, population growth, and resource and
energy supply. It will be difficult if not impossible to meet the demand and need for secondary
education on the scale envisaged without resorting to Open Schooling approaches.

INTRODUCTION: BACKGROUND, OBJECTIVES AND CONDUCT OF

RESEARCH

The Millennium Declaration, adopted by 189 governments at the United Nations Millennium
Summit in 2000, committed nations and intergovernmental institutions to focus international
economic and social cooperation on the achievement of eight Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) by 2015 1 . The second of these goals achieving Universal Primary Education (UPE)
commits governments to the target of ensuring that all boys and girls complete a full course of
primary education. This goal is consistent with the Education For All (EFA) goal reaffirmed at
the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal in April 2000, which committed the international
community among other things to ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in
difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete free
and compulsory primary education 2 . Although challenging, as UNESCO's Education for All
(EFA) Global Monitoring report 2005 makes clear 3 , progress towards the achievement of UPE
means that many more children are completing primary education and looking for opportunities
to enter secondary education.
There is little likelihood that governments facing the challenges of meeting the UPE target by or
shortly after the 2015 target date will be able to meet a further challenge of providing vastly
increased access to opportunities for secondary education. Rapid expansion of secondary
provision to meet frustrated demand from primary school leavers and the needs of young adults
previously denied secondary education opportunities, is thus likely to require investment in
approaches that are less tied to traditional methods of schooling.
It is within this context that the present study has been conceived. The study focuses on the
provision of secondary level Open Schooling in two countries, India and Namibia that are vastly
different in their basic characteristics (World Bank Key Development Data and Statistics):
Table 1.1: World Bank Key Development Data and Statistics
India 4
2005
785.5
720
63
1,094.6
1.4
89.7
3,287.3

Country
Date
GDP (current US$) billions
GNI per capita, Atlas method, current US$
Life expectancy at birth, total (years)
Population, total, millions
Population growth (annual %)
School enrolment, primary (% net)
Surface area, (sq. km.) (thousands)

Namibia 5
2005
6.1
2990
47
2.0
1.1
73.7
824.3

1
United Nations Association: http://www.unausa.org/site/pp.asp?c=fvKRI8MPJpF&b=640969, accessed
19 April 2007.
2
UNESCO: http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.phpURL_ID=33163&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html, accessed 19 April 2007.
3
UNESCO, EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005, http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.phpURL_ID=35939&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html, accessed 19 April 2007. See in
particular Chapter 3.
4
World Bank Key Development Data and Statistics, accessed 19 April 2007:
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTICS/0,,contentMDK:20535285~menuP
K:1192694~pagePK:64133150~piPK:64133175~theSitePK:239419,00.html
5
World Bank Key Development Data and Statistics, accessed 19 April 2007:
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTICS/0,,contentMDK:20535285~menuP
K:1192694~pagePK:64133150~piPK:64133175~theSitePK:239419,00.html

In India, the study focuses on the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), while in Namibia
the focus is on the Namibian College of Open Learning (NAMCOL). Again, these are two very
different institutions as the table below indicates.
Table 1.2: Key comparative statistics, NIOS and NAMCOL
Institution

NIOS

# secondary equivalency enrolments,

2003

secondary equivalency enrolments as %age of

total secondary enrolments in country
# staff on contracts of service (i.e. core staff)

2003-2006

# staff on contracts for service (i.e. casual staff)

Appx.
35,000,000
(321,754), i.e.
0.92%
HQs Sanctioned:
251
Guesstimate:
32,000+

NAMCOL
2006
28,090
18.0%
69
1228

Notes:
1. The data regarding enrolment being presented here pertains to 2003. It is what could be
authenticated on the basis of our own calculations (see The secondary school age group
in Section 3.5).
2. If we consider the cumulative enrolment (not just the 2003 intake only, but all the
students on rolls in 2003), we have to depend on approximationsthe number would be
something like 1.2 million, in which case the %age (row 2) would be 3.43.
3. The basis of the guesstimate:
i.
At least 10 persons (including tutors, etc.) at each study centre at all the different
types of AIs put together (AIs-1946, AVIs-999 and AAs-249 = 3194) = 3194 x
10 = 31,940.
ii.
At least 4 persons at each Regional Centre = 12 x 4 = 48
iii.
Academic facilitators (actual number) = 161
iv.
Total = 32,149, i.e. approximately 32,000.
Institution
# secondary equivalency enrolments
secondary equivalency enrolments as %age of total secondary
enrolments in country
# staff on contracts of service (i.e. core staff)
# staff on contracts for service (i.e. casual staff)

NIOS
2006-2007
290983

NAMCOL
2006
28090
18.0%

circa 250

69
1228

The aim of the study was to look at these two institutions in some detail and see whether any
broad conclusions might be drawn about the nature and effectiveness of Open Schooling, with a
view to informing policy development and further research.
The specific objectives of the study were:
1. To examine the relative cost efficiency, cost effectiveness and cost-benefit of the open
school model as compared to the conventional school model in terms of unit cost, private
and opportunity cost, public cost, capital / non-recurring cost and recurring/operational
cost.
6

2. To understand the student profile in terms of age, gender, rural/urban distribution, socioeconomic status and family background, and see whether this model caters to the same or
different populations. (i.e. How does the profile of open school students compare with the
student profile of the conventional schooling system?)
3. To explore how open schools can complement the formal system. Is the Open Schooling
model best implemented as a parallel, supplementary or complementary system?
4. To investigate learner success in terms of student enrolment, completion/success rates,
efficiency of time invested, further education, employment and productivity by
addressing such questions as:
What is the completion rate?
How do Open Schooling graduates perform in the labour market?
How do these compare to conventional approaches to similar learners?
What is the relative cost effectiveness and cost-benefits of the two systems?
5. To examine the nature and type of courses (academic/vocational) offered by the Open
Schooling system and their linkage with higher learning and livelihood/productivity and
development.
6. To study the processes of the course development, learner support and learner assessment
(both formative and summative assessment) systems used in the Open Schooling
approach.
7. To study the planning and management system including the modalities of monitoring
and evaluation employed in the Open Schooling system.
8. In relation to points 5, 6 and 7, to study the quality assurance mechanisms in place.
Professor Badri N. Koul, who focused on NIOS, and Professor Greville Rumble, who focused on
NAMCOL, carried out the studies between April 2007 and October 2007. Appendix 1 provides
information on Professor Koul's programme, while Appendix 2 outlines Professor Rumble's
programme.

2 THE DEVELOPMENT OF OPEN SCHOOLING

2.1

Open Schooling: a definition

The Commonwealth of Learning acknowledges that there are different views on what Open
Schooling is but itself uses a very broad but simple definition: Open Schooling involves "the
physical separation of the school-level learner from the teacher, and the use of unconventional
teaching methodologies, and information and communications technologies (ICTs) to bridge the
separation and provide the education and training" 6 .
In developing this thinking, COL explains that:
"Open Schooling is not called open/distance schooling for a reason. Open Schooling may
follow different patterns, but the most common scenario is that the learners study specially
designed open learning materials on their own - at home, in their workplace, wherever it is
convenient for them - and then they meet together with a facilitator on a regular basis. The
"open" in Open Schooling refers to the openness of the system - seldom are there rules
dictating student ages, prerequisites, content of courses to be taken or number of courses in
which students must enrol. For example,
Youth that missed out on schooling in their childhood can enrol in courses which will

provide them with the equivalence of secondary education without their having to
endure the embarrassment of being in classrooms with children much younger than
themselves.
Young mothers can take secondary level education through studying at home, and
attending tutorials only when necessary and their responsibilities permit.
Working adults can enrol in one or two courses at a time, and study whenever their
personal and work commitments permit.
Young adults can acquire skill training coupled with academic subjects while selfemployed or working as non-skilled labour.
The openness facilitates the learning - anyone can enrol in any course at any time and study
at their own convenience and schedule.
The face-to-face sessions with the facilitator are mainly to clarify any difficulties that the
students may have experienced when working through the learning materials. These sessions
are seldom mandatory. It does not affect a student if he or she has to "drop out" for a period
of time - they can pick up their studies once again, when it is convenient for them to do so.
The facilitators do not teach the learners. In fact, the facilitator may not know much about
the subject area at all. The role of the facilitator is to guide the learners and assist them to
understand how to study the content in the material.
In addition to the facilitator, there is usually a subject matter expert available possibly
through telephone or e-mail contact who will respond to questions relating to the subject
content. Having the expert available is key. Although he or she may only be called upon
once in a while, it is important that facilitators are aware that someone is there to answer any
content questions that might arise.

Commonwealth of Learning: http://www.col.org/colweb/site/pid/3905, accessed 19 April 2007

9

The student-facilitator meetings are often held in learning centres located in libraries,
churches, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), schools or other semi-public places. The
meetings may be fixed times during a week, or may be held at the students' and facilitators'
convenience. Having the learning centres located in local neighbourhoods add to the
increased access of the education, especially for girls and women who would not usually be
permitted to travel any distance to a public school. Sometimes the meetings may be virtual,
organised through teleconferencing, interactive radio or television broadcasts or e-mail
listservs.
The facilitators or experts mark the students' exercises and assignments, and provide
feedback designed to assist the students in understanding content when their answers
indicate this is required. Sensitive, careful marking is necessary, as it encourages and
supports the learners while helping them to understand their mistakes." 7
In respect of level, COL notes that:
"Open Schooling is most often offered at the secondary level to students/learners that have
achieved a basic level of literacy, although there are some notable exceptions, such as the
Interactive Radio Instruction literacy initiative in Zambia.
The potential of Open Schooling at the primary level is great because of the additional
opportunities that are feasible due to the newly available and affordable ICTs. However,
more research needs to be undertaken, and new models examined and explored before
expansion of Open Schooling at the primary level can be successfully rolled out.
COL recognises the vast opportunities for education and training that can be provided
through successful Open Schooling initiatives. We will continue to work to increase the
availability and quality of all levels of schooling provided through non-conventional means
and to work with local ministries and institutions to help them meet the education and
training needs of their most disadvantaged communities." 8
2.2 Development of Open Schooling
The use of technology both to facilitate and to overcome the separation of teacher and learner has
a long history going back to perhaps as early as 1728 when in The Boston Gazette, Caleb Philipps
advertised weekly lessons in shorthand to be sent to those wishing to learn the art. While this may
have been simply a self-instructional system lacking the necessary two-way communication
between a teacher and a student that characterises distance education, there is no doubt that in
1840 Sir Isaac Pitman began to use the recently introduced penny post service to underpin a
correspondence education service teaching his new system of shorthand notation to the growing
numbers of clerks working in government offices and businesses in the UK. Students were asked
to transcribe passages of the Bible into shorthand, which Pitman then corrected and returned to
them.
Further developments followed rapidly as correspondence education began to be used to:

7
8

teach languages (Charles Toussaint and Gustav Langenscheidt's Berlin-based language

school, established in 1856),

Ibid.
Ibid.
10

prepare candidates for the UK Civil Service entrance examinations (Skerry's College,
Edinburgh, 1878),
train accountants (Foulks Lynch Correspondence Tuition Service, London, 1884), and
instruct on mining and mine safety (Thomas J Foster's correspondence course in eastern
Pennsylvania, 1891).

Such projects were early progenitors of a long traditional involving the delivery of vocational
education and training by distance means 9 .
At the university level, a number of correspondence colleges, such as the University
Correspondence College (1887), were set up in the UK to help external students prepare for the
University of London's external degree an examination for which the University itself did not
provide any teaching. The late-nineteenth century university extension movement in the USA, the
UK and elsewhere encouraged the use of outreach programmes using correspondence methods,
sometimes combined with face-to-face tutorials. Early providers included Illinois Wesleyan
University (1874), Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada (1889), the University
Extension Department of the University of Chicago (1891) and the University of Queensland in
Australia (1911).
The twentieth century saw a global expansion of such "dual mode" provision as increasing
numbers of universities offered programmes both on-campus through regular face-to-face classes,
and off-campus through various forms of distance education using correspondence and audiovisual methods. Examples include the Indian universities Correspondence Directorates and the
external degree programme of the University of Zambia 10 . From the 1920s on there was also a
range of universities and other tertiary level institutions offering programmes solely at a distance,
including a number of Soviet All-Union Correspondence Polytechnics set up in the mid-1920s
and early 1930s, and the University of South Africa, rechartered as a correspondence-based
university aimed at supporting "external" students in 1951. Higher education provision was given
a further boost by the foundation of multi-media distance teaching universities in the 1960s the
first of these being the Open University in the UK (1969) 11 . This ushered in a period of
development, which saw the foundation of a number of distance-teaching universities 12 , some of
which, because they have over 100,000 students, have been described as mega-universities 13 .

See for example, Greville Rumble and Joo Oliveira (eds.) Vocational education at a distance:
International perspectives, London. Kogan Page, 1992; Louise Moran and Greville Rumble (eds.)
Vocational training through distance education: A policy perspective, London, RoutledgeFalmer, 2004; on
teacher education specifically, see Hilary Perraton (ed.) Distance education for teacher training, London,
Routledge, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the Commonwealth of Learning; Bernadette Robinson and
Colin Latchem (eds.) Teacher Education Through Open and Distance Learning, London,
RoutledgeFalmer, 2002.
10
Richard Siaciwena (1983) Problems of managing an external degree programme at the University of
Zambia Journal of Adult Education [University of Zambia] 2, 1: 67-77; Siaciwena, R. M. C. (1988) The
external degree programme at the University of Zambia, Prospects 18, 2: 199-206.
11
For further information, see Brje Holmberg, Growth and Structure of Distance Education, London,
Croom Helm, 1986; Greville Rumble and Keith Harry (eds.) The Distance Teaching Universities, London,
Croom Helm, 1982.
12
Greville Rumble and Keith Harry (eds.) The distance teaching universities, London, Croom Helm, 1982.
13
Daniel, J. S. (1996) Mega-universities and Knowledge Media: Technology Strategies for Higher
Education, London: Kogan Page. [First edition]
11

2.2.1

ODL and non-traditional schooling

Recent focus on what in Europe is often referred to as "open and distance learning" (ODL) has
stressed provision at the higher education level in part because universities and university
academics have dominated the international conference circuit and the professional distance and
eLearning literature. Yet there is a long history of non-traditional schooling some of which may
be regarded as falling within the broad definition of Open Schooling as defined by COL.
Early open schools tended to arise from efforts to help individual out-of-school children pursue
their studies, either because they could not get to a school, or because they were unable to stay in
school. In Sweden, H. S. Hermod started what became Hermods when he sought to support an
individual student who had moved away from Malm. Similarly, the exclusive, private
Baltimore-based Calvert School (set up in 1897), following experiments dating from 1905, began
from 1908 to educate children at home, including children who were house-bound and those
whose parents were in the armed forces, the diplomatic and consular services, or who worked
overseas in other capacities 14 .
It was developments in Australia, however, that showed the way to the provision of state-funded
primary and secondary education through correspondence teaching when in 1914 the Victorian
Education Department began systematically supporting home learners a development that, with
the use of radio, was formalised in 1951 into the Australian Schools of the Air. This enabled
children in isolated homesteads to study from specially designed teaching materials and
communicate with their teacher and fellow students using two-way radio. The system now uses a
two-way broadband satellite network 15 .
The New Zealand Correspondence School, set up to meet the needs of children in rural areas,
provides the same primary and secondary syllabus as conventional schools to some 20,000
children and adults 16 . The School meets the needs of those who are unable to attend a school at
all, as well as those who are in school but want to take a subject not offered in their school.
Another early development the Centre National d'Enseignement par Correspondance in France
was established to support those school-aged children whose studies were being disrupted
during the Second World War. Now called the Centre National d'Enseignement Distance, it
offers programmes from primary to degree level 17 .
In the 1960s and 1970s, in the wake of decolonialisation, correspondence education was adopted
widely in Africa as a means of expanding educational provision and meeting the needs of adults
who lacked school qualifications (Botswana Extension College, 1973; Correspondence Course
Unit of the University of Nairobi, Kenya, 1967; Malawi Correspondence College, 1964;
Swaziland International Education Centre, 1974)18 . In India, an Open School was set up in 1979
to meet the frustrated demand for secondary education, and to provide opportunities to
14

Archibald Murdoch Hart, The origin of Home Instruction (for children, at the Calvert School), in
Ossian Mackenzie and Edward I. Christensen (eds.) The Changing World of Correspondence Study:
International Readings, University Park, The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1971. For up-to-date
information on the Calvert School, see http://www.calvertschool.org/home-school/, accessed 27 June 2007.
15
Center for Digital Government, Government technology International, "Australian School of the Air to
Beam in by Satellite", May 2003, http://www.centerdigitalgov.com/international/story.php?docid=53435,
accessed 27 June 2007.
16
See http://www.correspondence.school.nz/, accessed 27 June 2007.
17
For current information on its school activities, see http://www.cned.fr/scolaire/, accessed 27 June 2007.
18
Michael Young, Hilary Perraton, Janet Jenkins, and Tony Dodds, Distance Teaching for the Third World.
The Lion and the Clockwork Mouse, London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980.
12

disadvantaged sectors of society such as girls, women, and working adults 19 . Open schools also
continued to be set up in developed countries where there was a need as the foundation of the
National Extension College (1963) in the UK demonstrated 20 . Linked to these developments were
efforts to ensure that such institutions protect themselves from the worst excesses of the private
correspondence sector through the establishments of trade associations designed to establish and
maintain minimum standards. The US National Home Study Association was set up in 1915, and
similar bodies followed in other countries 21 .
2.2.2

The introduction of technology

Some schools-based projects sought to use technology to support and improve existing classroom
teaching. In the UK, the BBC began its Schools Education Service in 1925 to enrich the
classroom experience. Elsewhere, radio came to be used to improve the quality of science
education (Voice of Kenya late 1960s "Beginning Science" series aimed at primary schools), and
mathematics (Radio Mathematics project in Nicaragua, begun in 1975 and aimed at primary
schools). Other projects, combining both correspondence and radio, sought to improve the quality
of school education across the wider curriculum (Mauritius College of the Air, set up in 1972 to
support secondary education 22 ). Projects in Latin America (Accin Cultural Popular, Colombia,
1947; Radio Santa Maria, Dominican Republic, 1964) in particular favoured the use of radio and
correspondence materials. The Air Correspondence High School in South Korea 23 , set up in
1974, used correspondence texts, radio programmes and fortnightly face-to-face sessions to
provide secondary level education to out-of-school young people and adults.
Television also began to be used in the late 1950s and 1960s to deliver the school curriculum (or
at least, substantial parts of it). Large-scale projects were set up in American Samoa, the Ivory
Coast, El Salvador, Mexico and elsewhere. Some of these projects were set up to provide schools
where none had existed before. An early project in Niger (Tl-Niger, started in 1964) pointed to
the way in which remote classrooms supported by adult monitors (rather than trained teachers)
could be used successfully to deliver primary school educational content through television.
While the scale and economics of this experiment did not live up to expectations, the use of
similar methods in the Mexican Telesecundaria project (starting in 1968) quickly expanded to
provide high quality, cost-efficient secondary level education to large numbers of school-age
students 24 . However, the success of these large-scale ETV projects was mixed. In American
Samoa and in El Salvador, there was teacher resistance and the service was redefined as a
classroom enrichment support service.

19

Onkar Sing Dewal, Open School, India, in B. N. Koul and Janet Jenkins (eds.) Distance Education: A
Spectrum of Case Studies, London, Kogan Page, 1990.
20
Janet Jenkins and Hilary Perraton, The Invisible College: NEC 1963-1979, Cambridge, International
Extension College, 1980. For up to date information see http://www.nec.ac.uk/info/?usca_p=t, accessed 17
June 2007.
21
Greville Rumble and Colin Latchem, Organisational models for distance and open learning, in Hilary
Perraton and Helen Lentell (eds) Policy for Open and Distance Learning, London, RoutledgeFalmer, 2003.
22
For current information, see http://www.mca.ac.mu/, accessed 27 June 2007.
23
Kye-Woo Lee, Shigenari Futagami, and Bernard Braithwaite, Air Correspondence High School, South
Korea, in B. N. Koul and Janet Jenkins (eds.) Distance Education: A Spectrum of Case Studies, London,
Kogan Page, 1990.
24
Michael Young, Hilary Perraton, Janet Jenkins, and Tony Dodds, Distance Teaching for the Third World.
The Lion and the Clockwork Mouse, London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980.
13

2.2.3

Meeting the need for secondary education

With the primary education system producing large numbers of graduates whose plans to go on to
secondary level are frustrated through a lack of provision, the expansion of Open Schooling at
secondary level has been seen as a way forward. Open schools have been set up to offer both
junior and senior secondary education to adolescents for whom there are no conventional school
places, to out-of-school young people and to adults.
Among the largest systems in Latin America are the Telesecundaria in Mexico and Telecurso in
Brazil. Telesecundaria had in the early years of this century an annual enrolment of 750,000. The
Bangladesh Open School is one of the six original schools of the Bangladesh Open University
(established 1992). The school offers school equivalency courses including (from 1995) the twoyear Secondary School Certificate across a range of subjects 25 and (from 1998) the two-year
Higher Secondary School Certificate. There were 70,990 students taking the former programme
in 2006, and 34,023 students taking the latter in 2005 26 . The open schools in Indonesia, South
Korea, and India are predicated on the assumption that they will reach millions of children.
2.3

Effectiveness of Open Schooling and its outcomes

How successful have these projects been? Perraton concluded that "at their peak", Latin
American radio schools providing basic education "demonstrated that their combined
technologies of radio, print and supported group study could be effective in offering a basic
education to children and to adults" 27 . Generally, however, open and distance education was not
seen as a suitable vehicle for primary education. In contrast, at the secondary level, "open and
distance learning has solid records of achievement, and grand claims of potential" 28 . Particularly
at the secondary level, open schools have added greatly to the number of educated school leavers.
However, the proportion of those who enter and drop out before they graduate can be high: the
"open door" can all too easily become a "revolving door" particularly where students are
unsupported in their studies.
Comparisons in terms of quality are acknowledged to be difficult, not least because so many open
and distance learning projects cater to audiences not normally reached by conventional schools
students on the margin, students in work and adults. Many of these students start with more
handicaps than do conventional students 29 .

25

M. Ali, A. Enamul Haque, and G. Rumble (1997) The Open University: Mission and Promise, Open
Learning 12 (2), pp. 12-28; Greville Rumble, The Bangladesh Open University: Mission and promise, in
Keith Harry (ed.) Higher education through open and distance learning, London, Routledge, 1999.
26
Sharker Md. Numan, Md. Anwarul Islam, and Anwar Sadat (2007), Analytical views of student
enrolment trends of different programs of the Bangladesh Open University and its projection, Turkish
Online Journal of Distance Education, Vol 8, No 2, pp. 49-61,
http://tojde.anadolu.edu.tr/tojde26/pdf/article_4.pdf accessed 17 June 2007.
27
Hilary Perraton, Aims and Purpose, in Hilary Perraton and Helen Lentell (eds.) Policy for Open and
Distance Learning, London, RoutledgeFalmer, 2004, p. 11.
28
Ibid. p. 12.
29
Reehana Raza, Benefits for students, labour force, employers and society, in Hilary Perraton and Helen
Lentell (eds.) Policy for Open and Distance Learning, London, RoutledgeFalmer, 2004, p. 210.
14

2.3.1

Measuring gains and benefits

Most studies focus on the quality of the output (graduates) as measured by the proportion of
students who graduate with a school leaving qualification. Such measures are crude in that they
say nothing about value added the difference in the level of knowledge and skills a student had
on entry, against the level they have achieved when they leave the programme. Gains may be
made in the cognitive (knowledge-based), psychomotor (skills-based), and affective (behavioural)
domains, and impact not just on the individual's performance but also on improvements in labour
productivity and economic growth. The latter benefit is often measured through the proxy
measure of earning, on the grounds that the more productive a person is, the higher their earnings.
In measuring gains and benefits, however, there is a real problem in disentangling cause and
effect so that the benefits accruing because of other factors are not automatically attributed to
participation in an open and distance learning programme.
The benefits of Open Schooling may be private, accruing to the individual, to parents, and to the
employer, or social, accruing to the labour market and society in general. Most studies of the
benefits of Open Schooling focus on the former.
Unfortunately the area where there are the fewest studies of the benefits open and distance
learning is in schools education either at primary or junior secondary level. Nevertheless, some
studies exist: the Telesecundaria, with 817,000 enrolments (2001) representing some 15 per cent
of the total junior secondary market (1997-1998), had a pass rate of 93 per cent. 30 In Indonesia,
enrolment in the open schools in 1996-1997 was 197,000, with about 92 per cent of enrolees
graduating 31 . Against these levels, one has to place completion levels in the National Open
School in India (400,000 students, completion rate of 43 per cent in 1998-1999), the open school
in Thailand (2.548 million enrolees, completion rate 39 per cent), and Zambia and Malawi
(completion rates of 35 per cent) 32 .

30

UNESCO, Distance Education in the E-9 countries, Paris, UNESCO, 2001.

P. Edirisingha, Reaching the unreached through distance education: costs, outcomes and sustainability,
UNESCO Regional Seminar on the use of simple modern media for rural education, 12-19 December 1999.
32
Ibid.
31

15

Rumble summarised a number of studies where comparative information on pass rates in open
and conventional schools was available and this is shown in Table 2.1 below 33 .
Table 2.1: Student success at schools level: comparative performance of distance and
conventional systems
Institution,
country

Measure

Institut de RadioEducative de
Bahia (IRDEB),
Brazil 34
Centros APEC de
Educacin a
Distancia,
Dominican
Republic 35
Air
Correspondence
High School,
Korea 36

Madurez pass
rates in the town
of Feira de
Santanam 1976
% of students
who successfully
complete the
course, 1986/87

Telesecundaria,
Mexico 37

Year end test

scores (%age
score), 1975:
(a) mean, all
subjects
(b) Korean
(c) English
(d) Maths
Overall pass rate

Distance
37%
37%

61%
36%

Relative
Effectiveness
Ratio
0.61
1.03

58%
58%

77%
80-85%

0.75
0.68 0.73

(a) 56.5%
(b) 51.5%
(c) 36.8%
(d) 44.0%

64.1%
65.8%
50.2%
75.0%

0.88
0.78
0.73
0.59

86%

(a) 79%
(b) 77%
(c) 73%
(d) 73%
(e) 74%
(f) 65%
(g) 64%

1.09
1.12
1.18
1.18
1.16
1.32
1.34

33

Conventional

Notes
1
2
3
4

Greville Rumble, The Costs and Economics of Open and Distance Learning, London, Kogan Page, 1997,
p. 165.
34
Joo B. Oliveira and Franois Orivel (1982) "A Madureza Project in Bahia, Brazil", in Hilary Perraton
(ed.), Alternative routes to formal education: Distance teaching for school equivalency, Baltimore, John
Hopkins University Press, 1982
35
Gloria Muiz Aquino (1988) "Anlisis de la eficacia en funcin del costo de un proyecto de educacin a
distancia en la Repblica Dominicana: El caso de CENAPEC", in Joo B. Oliveira and Greville Rumble
(eds.), Educacin a Distancia en Amrica Latina: Anlisis de costo-efectividad, Washington, D.C., World
Bank, 1992
36
Kye-Woo Lee, Shigenari Futagami, and Bernard Braithwaite (1982) "The Korean Air-Correspondence
High School", in Hilary Perraton (ed.), Alternative routes to formal education: Distance teaching for
school equivalency, Baltimore, John Hopkins University Press, 1982.
37
Eduardo Arena (1989) "Actualizacin del clculo del costo de la Telesecundaria Mexicana", in Joo B.
Oliveira and Greville Rumble (eds.), Educacin a Distancia en Amrica Latina: Anlisis de costoefectividad, Washington, D.C., World Bank, 1992; Secretara de Educacin Pblica, Consejo Nacional
Tcnico de la Educacin, Direccin General de Programacin, La enseanza media bsica en Mxico y el
Sistema Nacional de Telesecundaria en televisin y enseanza media en Mxico, Consejo Nacional
Tcnico de la Educacin, Mexico, 1981
16

Notes to Table 2.1

(1) IRDEB, Brazil: direct teaching by qualified teachers
(2) IRDEB, Brazil: private establishments and students who have prepared for the madureza
without having followed a formal course
(3) Centros APEC de Educacin a Distancia: day school
(4) Centros APEC de Educacin a Distancia: night school
(5) Telesecundaria, Mexico: Conventional systems are (a) Federal General Secondary schools,
(b) State General Secondary schools, (c) private sector General Secondary schools, (d)
Federal Technical Secondary schools, (e) State Technical Secondary schools, (f) private
sector Technical Secondary schools, (g) Secondary Equivalency programme for Workers.
Source: Greville Rumble, The Costs and Economics of Open and Distance Learning,
London, Kogan Page, 1997, p. 165
In this table, the Relative Effectiveness Ratio is a measure the effectiveness of the open school
compared with the effectiveness of conventional schools in the same jurisdiction. For example, if
a traditional education system graduates 85 students out of every 100 (effectiveness ratio of 85
per cent), and a distance system graduates 40 students out of 100 (40 per cent effectiveness ratio),
then a measure of the comparative effectiveness of the distance system relative to the traditional
one is obtained by dividing the effectiveness ratio of the distance system by that of the traditional
system (40 85) to give a Relative Effectiveness Ratio of 47 per cent. If the distance system has
an effectiveness ratio of 90 per cent, then the comparative effectiveness is 90 85, giving a
Comparative Effectiveness Ratio of 1.06.
For example, Table 2.1 provides information on the pass rates of students in the Centros APEC de
Educacin a Distancia in the Dominican Republic (58 per cent) compared with that in other
secondary school systems in the country. In the day schools, the pass rate is 77 per cent, so the
Comparative Effectiveness Ratio of the distance system is 58/77 or 0.75. An effectiveness ratio of
1.0 indicates that the two systems are comparable in relative effectiveness. A ratio under 1.0
means that the distance system is less effective. A ratio of more than 1.0 means that it is more
effective than the traditional system. The Table shows that the performance of the Telesecundaria
is better than other schools in Mexico.
Various approaches towards Open Schooling have been developed over the years. While some
have focused on providing opportunities to adults who missed out on the opportunity to go to
school when they were young, the majority have been set up to expand the number of school
places available. All too often these schools are seen as a second-rate alternative that attract less
able students and achieve poorer results than conventional schools. These factors, coupled with
their non-traditional teaching methods, have lowered the esteem within which they are held, and
all too often they have been starved of funds 38 . Nevertheless, there are successes or at least
partial successes as the Mexican experience and some of the more recent Brazilian experiences
make clear.

38

Hilary Perraton, Open and Distance Learning in the Developing World, London, Routledge, 2000, p. 55.
17

2.4

Costs of Open Schooling

In the latter half of the 1970s, the World Bank funded a number of cost studies of alternative
routes to formal education at primary and secondary levels. These studies were published in
1982 39 . The focus was on two different approaches. The first involved the delivery of secondary
equivalency programmes to students who attended a school room each day, and whose attendance
was therefore supervised by a monitor. This included:

the Federal Government Minerva Project in Brazil which was started in 1970 and from
1973 produced and broadcast to non-traditional schools the complete basic education
cycle,
the Educational Radio Broadcasting Institute of Bahia (IRDEB) project in Brazil which
produced broadcast teaching programmes for use in non-traditional schools,
the Malawi Correspondence College programme, and
the Mauritius College of the Air programme).

The second approach relied on less frequent student attendance at tutorials and listening groups.
Each of the institutions in this group (the Korean Air Correspondence High School, the
Correspondence Course Unit in Kenya, and Everyman University [now the Open University] in
Israel) offered courses at various levels secondary, university and teacher training.
In addition to these World Bank funded studies, a number of other studies have been done by
other agencies. Most of studies compared the average cost per student over a given period of time
(a semester or a year), and most only focused on operational costs, thus excluding capital costs. In
general, the studies focus on efficiency that is, the ratio of output to input taking no account of
the relative quality of the teaching-learning that goes on within the systems being compared. A
system is cost-efficient if, relative to another system, its outputs cost less per unit of input.
2.4.1

The Efficiency Ratio

One needs to have some kind of measure that will enable one to make relatively easy
comparisons across institutions, jurisdictions and time. In any system where the average cost of a
student/graduate in the distance mode has been compared with the average cost in the traditional
mode, it is possible to establish the ratio of these costs by dividing the average cost in the distance
mode by the average cost in the traditional mode. Thus in the case of IRDEB in Brazil (see Table
2.2 below), the average cost per student-semester in IRDEB (Cr$2200) can be divided by the
average cost per student-semester in private institutions (Cr$505) to give a ratio of 4.36. This
ratio is referred to as the Efficiency Ratio. The Efficiency Ratio has the value that it can compare
the relative efficiency of any distance teaching system with traditional systems in the same
jurisdiction and allow comparisons to be drawn across jurisdictions. A ratio of:

1.0 would mean that the distance system is as efficient as the comparator system,
less than 1.0 means that the distance system is more efficient than the comparator, and
greater than 1.0 means that the distance system is less efficient than the comparator

39

Hilary Perraton (ed.), Alternative routes to formal education: Distance teaching for school equivalency,
Baltimore, John Hopkins University Press, 1982.
18

An efficiency of 4.36 indicates that the IRDEB system is very inefficient. The various studies
showed that:

The IRDEB offered the madureza (secondary school equivalency certificate for adults)
programme to adult students. Oliveira and Orivel 40 indicated that with only 8,000
student-semester enrolments, and with students studying less intensively than in other
systems, the Efficiency Ratio of IRDEB's distance teaching system was 4.36 compared to
conventional private institutions (i.e. much more expensive). To compete with them on
cost grounds, IRDEB's student numbers would have to expand significantly in order to
spread its fixed costs over a wider student base.
With 17,700 students, the Minerva project in Brazil provided a cost-efficient route to the
madurez (Efficiency Ratio 0.65) 41 .
The Malawi Correspondence College, with 2884 students, provided an efficient
correspondence/radio-based alternative route to secondary education (Efficiency Ratio of
between 0.23 and 0.62, depending on the costs in the comparator institutions) 42 .
The Mexican Telesecundaria provides classroom delivered televised lessons supported by
monitors and study guides. An early cost study by Mayo, McAnany and Klees 43
suggested that the system was efficient (Efficiency Ratio of 0.76 with 33,840 students),
but later cost studies 44 indicated Efficiency Ratios of 1.09 (with 170,000 students) and
1.32 or greater (with 400,000 students). Arena 45 may provide one of the clues for this loss
of efficiency: even though the number of students in the Telesecundaria had risen, the
school was so successful that it expanded into smaller and smaller communities, with the

40

Joo B. Oliveira and Franois Orivel (1982) A Madureza Project in Bahia, Brazil, in Hilary Perraton
(ed.), Alternative routes to formal education: Distance teaching for school equivalency, Baltimore, John
Hopkins University Press, 1982, pp. 79, 84.
41
Joo B. Oliveira and Franois Orivel (1982) The Minerva Project in Brazil, in Hilary Perraton (ed.),
Alternative routes to formal education: Distance teaching for school equivalency, Baltimore, John Hopkins
University Press, 1982.
42
Laurence Wolff and Shigenari Futagami (1982) The Malawi Correspondence College, in Hilary
Perraton (ed.), Alternative routes to formal education: Distance teaching for school equivalency,
Baltimore, John Hopkins University Press, 1982.
43
J. Mayo, E. McAnany, and S. Klees (1975a) Estimacin de costos unitarios del sistema nacional de
telesecundaria, in Montayo, A. and M. A. Rebeil (eds.) (1981) Televisin y enseanza media en Mxico:
el caso de la Telesecundaria, Mexico, CNTE-GEFE, 2 volumes, 1981. Cited in Eduardo Arena (1989)
Actualizacin del clculo del costo de la Telesecundaria Mexicana, in Joo B. Oliveira and Greville
Rumble (eds.), Educacin a Distancia en Amrica Latina: Anlisis de costo-efectividad, Washington, D.C.,
World Bank, 1992
44
R. Molina (1981) Estimacin de costos unitarios del Sistema Nacional de Telesecundaria, in Montayo,
A. and M. A. Rebeil (eds.) Televisin y enseanza en Mxico: el caso de la Telesecundaria, Mexico,
CNTE-GEFE, 2 volumes, 1981. Cited in Eduardo Arena (1989) Actualizacin del clculo del costo de la
Telesecundaria Mexicana, in Joo B. Oliveira and Greville Rumble (eds.), Educacin a Distancia en
Amrica Latina: Anlisis de costo-efectividad, Washington, D.C., World Bank, 1992; Eduardo Arena
(1989) Actualizacin del clculo del costo de la Telesecundaria Mexicana, in Joo B. Oliveira and
Greville Rumble (eds.), Educacin a Distancia en Amrica Latina: Anlisis de costo-efectividad,
Washington, D.C., World Bank, 1992, pp. 59-60.
45
Eduardo Arena (1989) Actualizacin del clculo del costo de la Telesecundaria Mexicana, in Joo B.
Oliveira and Greville Rumble (eds.), Educacin a Distancia en Amrica Latina: Anlisis de costoefectividad, Washington, D.C., World Bank, 1992; Secretara de Educacin Pblica, Consejo Nacional
Tcnico de la Educacin, Direccin General de Programacin, La enseanza media bsica en Mxico y el
Sistema Nacional de Telesecundaria en televisin y enseanza media en Mxico, Consejo Nacional
Tcnico de la Educacin, Mexico, 1981, pp. 60, 49.
19

result that the average group size fell from 29 in 1975, to 27 in 1981, to 20 in 1989.
However, there may have been other factors at work as well: for example, the traditional
school system may have become more efficient.
The Centros APEC de Educacin a Distancia in the Dominican Republic had an
Efficiency Ratio <1.0 compared with day, afternoon and evening secondary school 46 .
The Korean Air Correspondence High School (ACHS) was set up to reach some of the
1.4 million school-age population who in 1977 could not attend traditional high schools,
as well as some of those who had been unable to attend traditional schools in the past.
ACHS teaches basically the same curriculum as traditional high schools, using textbooks,
self-marked and teacher-marked assignments, and radio and television broadcasts.
Students can attend at educational centres for face-to-face teaching (with the option of
substituting correspondence support if they can not get to a centre). In 1976, the ACHS
had 18,782 enrolled students. Lee, Futagami and Braithwaite47 indicated that some 90 per
cent of the total cost was variable, driven by the number of students, student-hours in
class-room teaching, broadcast-hours, production-hours or student-hours involved in
evaluation. The average cost per enrolled student at ACHS (US $41) compared very
favourably with that of traditional public high schools (Efficiency Ratio 0.18)48 .

46

Gloria Muiz Aquino (1988) Anlisis de la eficacia en funcin del costo de un proyecto de educacin a
distancia en la Repblica Dominicana: El caso de CENAPEC, in Joo B. Oliveira and Greville Rumble
(eds.), Educacin a Distancia en Amrica Latina: Anlisis de costo-efectividad, Washington, D.C., World
Bank, 1992, pp. 36, 39.
47
Kye-Woo Lee, Shigenari Futagami, and Bernard Braithwaite (1982) The Korean Air-Correspondence
High School, in Hilary Perraton (ed.), Alternative routes to formal education: Distance teaching for
school equivalency, Baltimore, John Hopkins University Press, 1982, p. 151.
48
Ibid. p. 157.
20

Rumble summarised the cost findings in Table 2.2 below 49 .

Table 2.2: Comparative costs per student of distance and traditional education systems

Institution,
country
Institut de
RadioEducative de
Bahia
(IRDEB),
Brazil 50
Minerva
project,
Brazil 51
Malawi
Correspondenc
e College,
Malawi 52

Telesecundaria
Mexico 53
54

Measure of
cost
Average cost
per studentsemester
preparing for
three topics,
1977 at 1976
prices
Unit cost per
student per
year
Average cost
per student
enrolment
(junior
secondary
level),
1977/78
Average cost
per student,
1975 at
US$1972
Average cost
per student,
1981

Unit cost (given currency)

Distance
Conventional

Number
of
students
8,000

Efficiency
Ratio

Note

Cr$2200

Cr$505

4.36

17,700

Cr$258

Cr$400

0.65

2,884

MWK 133
MWK 133

MWK 216
MWK 580

0.62
0.23

3
4

33,840

US$151

US$200

0.76

170,000

Pesos
12928

Pesos 11811

1.09

49

Greville Rumble, The Costs and Economics of Open and Distance Learning, London, Kogan Page, 1997,
p. 136.
50
Joo B. Oliveira and Franois Orivel (1982) "A Madureza Project in Bahia, Brazil", in Hilary Perraton
(ed.), Alternative routes to formal education: Distance teaching for school equivalency, Baltimore, John
Hopkins University Press, 1982.
51
Joo B. Oliveira and Franois Orivel (1982) "The Minerva Project in Brazil", in Hilary Perraton (ed.),
Alternative routes to formal education: Distance teaching for school equivalency, Baltimore, John Hopkins
University Press, 1982.
52
Laurence Wolff and Shigenari Futagami (1982) "The Malawi Correspondence College", in Hilary
Perraton (ed.), Alternative routes to formal education: Distance teaching for school equivalency,
Baltimore, John Hopkins University Press, 1982.
53
J. Mayo, E. McAnany, and S. Klees (1975a) "Estimacin de costos unitarios del sistema nacional de
telesecundaria", in Montayo, A. and M. A. Rebeil (eds.) (1981) Televisin y enseanza media en Mxico: el
caso de la Telesecundaria, Mexico, CNTE-GEFE, 2 volumes, 1981. Cited in Eduardo Arena (1989)
"Actualizacin del clculo del costo de la Telesecundaria Mexicana", in Joo B. Oliveira and Greville
Rumble (eds.), Educacin a Distancia en Amrica Latina: Anlisis de costo-efectividad, Washington, D.C.,
World Bank, 1992.
54
R. Molina (1981) "Estimacin de costos unitarios del Sistema Nacional de Telesecundaria", in Montayo,
A. and M. A. Rebeil (eds.) Televisin y enseanza en Mxico: el caso de la Telesecundaria, Mexico,
CNTE-GEFE, 2 volumes, 1981. Cited in Eduardo Arena (1989) "Actualizacin del clculo del costo de la
Telesecundaria Mexicana", in Joo B. Oliveira and Greville Rumble (eds.), Educacin a Distancia en
Amrica Latina: Anlisis de costo-efectividad, Washington, D.C., World Bank, 1992.
21

55

56

Centros APEC
de Educacin a
Distancia,
Dominican
Republic 57
Air
Correspondenc
e High School,
Korea 58

Correspondenc
e Course Unit,
Kenya 59

Average cost
per student,
1988
Average cost
per group,
1988
Average
recurrent
cost per
student

400,000 +

US$ 312.4
US$ 327.8

US$237
US$237

1.32
1.38

5
6

US$ 6239
US$ 6546

US$12318
US$12318

0.51
0.53

7
8

11,217

RD$180
RD$180
RD$180

RD$390
RD$325
RD$300

0.46
0.55
0.60

9
10
11

Average cost
per
enrolment,
1976,
compared
with the
public school
system
Average cost
per subject
equivalent:
(a) 1970; (b)
1977

20,000

US$41

US$233

0.18

(a) 790
(b) 3,650

(a)
K6
(b)
K120

K40
K40

(a) 1.5
(b) 3.0

Notes to Table 2.2

1
2
3
4
5
6

IRDEB, Brazil: Traditional provision based on the average cost across six private institutions
Minerva project, Brazil: Traditional provision based on the average cost in a private college
Malawi Correspondence College: Traditional provision based on the average cost in a
conventional day secondary school
Malawi Correspondence College: Traditional provision based on the average cost in a
boarding school
Telesecundaria, Mexico: Arena study: Comparison based on the lowest cost of television
Telesecundaria, Mexico: Arena study: Comparison based on the upper cost of television

55

Eduardo Arena (1989) "Actualizacin del clculo del costo de la Telesecundaria Mexicana", in Joo B.
Oliveira and Greville Rumble (eds.), Educacin a Distancia en Amrica Latina: Anlisis de costoefectividad, Washington, D.C., World Bank, 1992; Secretara de Educacin Pblica, Consejo Nacional
Tcnico de la Educacin, Direccin General de Programacin, La enseanza media bsica en Mxico y el
Sistema Nacional de Telesecundaria en televisin y enseanza media en Mxico, Consejo Nacional
Tcnico de la Educacin, Mexico, 1981.
56
Ibid.
57
Gloria Muiz Aquino (1988) "Anlisis de la eficacia en funcin del costo de un proyecto de educacin a
distancia en la Repblica Dominicana: El caso de CENAPEC", in Joo B. Oliveira and Greville Rumble
(eds.), Educacin a Distancia en Amrica Latina: Anlisis de costo-efectividad, Washington, D.C., World
Bank, 1992.
58
Kye-Woo Lee, Shigenari Futagami, and Bernard Braithwaite (1982) "The Korean Air-Correspondence
High School", in Hilary Perraton (ed.), Alternative routes to formal education: Distance teaching for
school equivalency, Baltimore, John Hopkins University Press, 1982.
59
David Hawkridge, Peter Kinyanjui, John Nkinyangi, and Franois Orivel (1982) "In-service teacher
education in Kenya", in Perraton, H. (1982) Alternative routes to formal education: Distance teaching for
school equivalency, Baltimore, John Hopkins University Press.
22

Telesecundaria, Mexico: Arena study: Comparison based on the lowest cost of television.
Average Telescundaria group size of 20 compared to conventional group size of 45
8 Telesecundaria, Mexico: Arena study: Comparison based on the upper cost of television.
Average Telescundaria group size of 20 compared to conventional group size of 45
9 Centros APEC de Educacin a Distancia, Dominican Republic: Traditional provision based
on the average cost in a secondary level day school
10 Centros APEC de Educacin a Distancia, Dominican Republic: Traditional provision based
on the average cost in a secondary level afternoon school
11 Centros APEC de Educacin a Distancia, Dominican Republic: Traditional provision based
on the average cost in a secondary level night school
Source: Greville Rumble, The Costs and Economics of Open and Distance Learning,
London, Kogan Page, 1997, p. 136
As the figures in Table 2.2 demonstrate, several but not all of the projects managed to attain costs
that compared very reasonably with the costs of conventional education. In Latin America, for
example, projects such as Accin Cultural Popular in Colombia and Radio Santa Maria in the
Dominican Republic were able to achieve costs per learner that were comparable to those in
conventional schooling in these countries. Similarly, in Africa, there were a number of projects
that were cost-efficient when compared with costs in traditional education.
Some studies also sought to establish the comparative cost of producing a graduate (see Table
2.3). Given that these studies are looking at the cost per graduate, and given that graduate status
represents an achievement of at least a minimum standard, these studies obviously do take the
quality of the output into account.
On the face of it, there should be a direct relationship between the cost per student and the cost
per graduate, such that if it takes three years to graduate in a programme, then the cost per
graduate will be three times the annual cost per student. However, comparison between the cost
per student and cost per graduate in distance education almost invariably shows a decline in
relative efficiency because the drop-out rate in distance education is almost always higher than in
face-to-face education. As a result, the cost advantage of distance education may be eclipsed.
Comparison between the Graduate Efficiency Ratio shown in Table 2.3 and the Efficiency Ratio
per enrolee derived from Table 2.2 enables one to see the effect of drop-out on the relative
efficiency of systems.

23

Table 2.3: Comparative costs per graduate in distance and traditional systems

Institution,
country*

Measure
of cost

Malawi
Correspondence College,
Malawi 60

Average
cost per
graduate
(junior
secondary
level)
Average
recurrent
cost per
successful
student
Average
recurrent
cost per
promoted
enrolment,
1976

Centros APEC
de Educacin a
Distancia,
Dominican
Republic 61
Air
Correspondence High
School,
Korea 62

#
of
students
2,884

Unit cost (currency)

Distance
Conventional
MWK 931
MWK 931

MWK583
MWK1276

Graduate
Efficiency
Ratio
1.60
0.73

Efficiency
Ratio
0.62
0.23

1
2

11,217

RD$306
RD$306
RD$306

RD$483
RD$455
RD$360

0.63
0.67
0.85

0.58
0.55
0.60

3
4
5

20,000

US$51

US$233*

0.22

0.18

Notes to Table 2.3:

1. Malawi Correspondence College: Comparison with cost per graduate at a conventional day
secondary school
2. Malawi Correspondence College: Comparison with cost per graduate at a boarding school
3. Centros APEC de Educacin a Distancia, Dominican Republic: Comparison with cost per
graduate at secondary level day schools
4. Centros APEC de Educacin a Distancia, Dominican Republic: Comparison with cost per
graduate at secondary level afternoon schools
5. Centros APEC de Educacin a Distancia, Dominican Republic: Comparison with cost per
graduate at secondary level night schools
6. Air Correspondence High School, Korea: Comparison with cost per graduate at a public
regular high school
Source: Greville Rumble, The Costs and Economics of Open and Distance Learning,
London, Kogan Page, 1997, p. 143
Table 2.3 shows, for example, that:

While the Efficiency Ratio (per student) in the Malawi Correspondence College in
1977/78 was only 0.62 compared with the cost of conventional day secondary schooling

60

Laurence Wolff and Shigenari Futagami (1982) "The Malawi Correspondence College", in Hilary Perraton (ed.),
Alternative routes to formal education: Distance teaching for school equivalency, Baltimore, John Hopkins University
Press, 1982.
61
Gloria Muiz Aquino (1988) "Anlisis de la eficacia en funcin del costo de un proyecto de educacin a distancia en
la Repblica Dominicana: El caso de CENAPEC", in Joo B. Oliveira and Greville Rumble (eds.), Educacin a
Distancia en Amrica Latina: Anlisis de costo-efectividad, Washington, D.C., World Bank, 1992.
62
Kye-Woo Lee, Shigenari Futagami, and Bernard Braithwaite (1982) "The Korean Air-Correspondence High School",
in Hilary Perraton (ed.), Alternative routes to formal education: Distance teaching for school equivalency, Baltimore,
John Hopkins University Press, 1982.

24

Note

2.4.2

and 0.23 compared with the cost of boarding school, because the students took much
longer to graduate (seven years as opposed to 2.7 in the day schools and 2.2 in the
boarding schools), this cost advantage was eroded. So, measured in terms of cost per
graduate, MCC was more expensive than day schools while still retaining a cost
advantage over boarding schools 63 .
Although there is a higher failure rate at the Air Correspondence High School, the
average cost per student promoted between 1976 and 1977 compared with traditional
schools (Graduate Efficiency Ratio of 0.22 per successful student) still favours the
ACHS, and demonstrates little loss in efficiency against the Efficiency Ratio per student
of 0.18 64 .
Cost structure of ODL

To understand the bald figures provided by such average cost data, it is necessary to have some
understanding of the nature of costs and the cost structure of open and distance learning systems.
Management accounting has evolved. Traditional notions of fixed and variable costs have been
embedded in the much richer framework of committed and flexible costs. Costs arise from the
acquisition and use of organisational resources. Increasingly, the majority of expenses are
determined by the commitment to create a productive capacity to develop and offer courses and
an infrastructure to manage and support learners.
Such committed costs embrace, for example, most personnel costs, the costs of computing and
telecommunications systems, and depreciation on buildings and equipment. Committed costs are
unaffected by how much the organisation uses the committed resources. Rather they are related to
a planned level of activity. There is thus a fundamental distinction between resources supplied
and resources used. The fact that capacity is fixed (and is being paid for) in advance of
determination of the actual need means that if need fails to meet expectation, unused capacity
results. This unused capacity has a cost. The cost of the unused capacity cannot be forgotten: it
has to be covered by income. The result of unused capacity is an increase in the organisational
costs passed on to the customer.
Committed costs are distinct from flexible costs which are paid for only in the amounts used.
Examples of flexible costs would be payments to contract course authors, the postage costs of
delivering materials to students, telephone call charges incurred in the normal course of business,
payments to tutors for assignments marked. This is all day-to-day work. Relatively few expenses
are determined by the actual quantity of work demanded or performed each day. Flexible
resources do not have a capacity defined for them because their supply (and capacity) can be
adjusted up or down to meet actual demands. Note that costs that are flexible before a capacity
decision is made (for example, the commitment of resources to develop a course) become
committed once that decision has been made.
Committed costs reflect the decisions that have been made to provide a given portfolio of courses
and services. In most service industries, almost all expenses are determined by commitments to
supply certain levels of capacity that are then built into the business through the acquisition of
committed resources (e.g. clerks in a student record/support office). Very often these costs relate
63

Laurence Wolff and Shigenari Futagami (1982) The Malawi Correspondence College, in Hilary Perraton (ed.),
Alternative routes to formal education: Distance teaching for school equivalency, Baltimore, John Hopkins University
Press, 1982, p. 98.
64
Kye-Woo Lee, Shigenari Futagami, and Bernard Braithwaite (1982) The Korean Air-Correspondence High
School, in Hilary Perraton (ed.), Alternative routes to formal education: Distance teaching for school equivalency,
Baltimore, John Hopkins University Press, 1982, p. 157.

25

to the provision of capacity but cannot easily be attributed to particular products and services.
Such costs are referred to as indirect (common) costs. Some indirect costs, however, are entirely
independent of the decisions to provide capacity: rather, they sustain the organisation in being.
Such costs (the costs of top administrative staff, for example) can be thought of as businesssustaining expenses. Generally activity based costing approaches will assign capacity-related
indirect costs to products, services and customers but will not attempt to assign businesssustaining expenses further down the organisation.
Any open and distance learning system involves the following cost elements:

The initial capital costs of the business buildings, equipment, grounds, furnishings and
ICTs. These costs are driven by the size of the operation and the extent to which
functions are undertaken in house or bought-in. Such costs are committed in the sense
that they arise from a management decision to supply a capacity to perform work.
The costs of sustaining the business as an operation. These costs (in the past usually
referred to as overheads) include the costs of direction and general management (finance,
purchasing, estates i.e. buildings and grounds running and maintenance costs, and ICT
infrastructure operating costs) and depreciation (on plant and equipment). These too are
committed costs that arise from a management decision to provide a capacity to operate
at a given level and in a certain way.
The costs of developing a curriculum and the materials used in courses. Some of these
costs are committed and indirect common costs arising from the decision to create a
capacity to develop and support a given curriculum (for example, there is a body of
academic staff in post who are charged with the task of developing and maintaining a
curriculum, permanent editors, designers and managers in the production office). Other
costs may be flexible that is, money is spent only if the activity takes place. An example
of such a cost would be the hiring of a consultant to write materials. If course materials
are used over a number of years, the cost of developing the materials may be treated as an
investment and hence as a capital cost that can be annualised over the life of course.
Replacement of the curriculum will in effect be a function of the number of courses
multiplied by the average cost of a course, divided by the average life of a course.
The cost of presenting the courses. Costs here include all those costs that are incurred
annually (for example, the cost of academic management of the course profile, cost of
packing and despatching course materials), together with all the costs that are incurred
each time the course is presented (for example, the cost of developing new assignment
and examination papers each time a course is presented; the cost of marking assignments
and examination scripts, the cost of face-to-face tutorials and the monitoring of course
computer-based conferences, where these are offered; the cost of getting materials to
students; and the cost of transmitting radio programmes associated with the course.)
Again, some of these costs may be committed (especially the cost of managing the
courses being presented), but many of the costs will be flexible, driven by the number of
students enrolled on the course, the number of tutorial or conferencing groups, the hours
of tuition offered and the hours of broadcast transmission consumed.
The committed and flexible costs incurred in supporting students including student
admission, registration, billing and fee collection, allocation to tutors, and advisory and
support services.

Underpinning this cost structure (the relationship between the different cost elements) is a crucial
distinction between committed costs, those arising from the management decision to provide a
system with a given capacity that may then be used or unused, without affecting expenditure, and

26

flexible costs, which are only paid for in the amounts used. Flexible resources do not have a
capacity defined for them because their supply can be adjusted up and down to meet actual
demands. A further distinction is made between those committed costs that are provided on the
one hand to support the development of a curriculum, its courses and related materials; the
management and annual maintenance of the curriculum that is being presented; and the student
support services provided; and on the other hand, those committed costs that sustain the business.
The overall cost structure can therefore be expressed as follows:
Total annual costs =
Business Sustaining Costs +
Committed / indirect common course development costs +
(Flexible course development costs life of the course) +
Committed / indirect common course maintenance/presentation costs +
Flexible course presentation costs +
Committed / indirect common Student Support Costs +
Flexible Student Support Costs
Both the Flexible Course Presentation Costs and the Flexible Student Support Costs are
themselves a function of a range of activity-related costs driven by the appropriate volume of
activity. For example, among the cost elements might be the following:

2.4.3

Cost of assignment marking: The number of students on the course x number of

assignments set x the average rate of submission of assignments x assignment marking
fee paid to tutors
Cost of tutorials: [The number of students enrolled on the course divided by the average
size of a student group] x the number of scheduled hours of tutorial per group x fee paid
per hour to tutors conducting tutorials
Cost of radio transmission: The number of minutes of radio programming associated with
the courses times the cost per minute of transmission
Factors affecting costs

The complexity of this cost structure is hidden by simple measures such as the average cost per
student, the average cost per graduate and the average cost per putative instructional hour.
Further, the reduction of all costs to a single measure such as the cost per student, which is then
used to calculate the financial effects of expansion or contraction, will distort the picture because
costs are in fact driven by a very wide range of variables, and affected by commitments. Having
said this, a number of key factors will affect the average cost outcome, including:

The total number of students, overall. The more students there are, the more committed
institutional costs will be spread across the student body, thus bring average costs down.
The number of course options. To maintain their academic credibility and cater for minority
interests, most institutions have to offer a range of courses. The more courses there are, the
greater the level of initial investment in their development and the greater the annual
expenditure in maintaining and replacing them. In general, institutions offering a range of
courses, and a mix of mandatory and optional courses find that student numbers are not
equally distributed across all courses. Some courses (mandatory courses, lower level courses
and courses in popular subjects) will have more students in them, and others less. Indeed,
some courses may attract very few students indeed. Large population courses will be more
efficient than small population courses, other things being equal. A large student population

27

will mitigate the burden imposed by small population courses, but many institutions
nevertheless find that the cost of small population courses is effectively carried by the
efficiencies reaped on courses attracting large numbers of students.
The number of years over which a course is presented without any changes to the materials
will affect the annualised cost of development. The greater the course life, the longer the
period over which these costs will be spread. Long course lives are nevertheless problematic
because subjects develop, and dated courses will reduce the overall quality of a programme.
At schools level, particularly where a school is teaching to a national curriculum, this is less
of a problem. Conversely, however, changes in the national curriculum may force an open
school to redesign all its courses in one go and frequent changes can be financially
crippling.
The choice of the media and technologies used. Each technology has its own cost structure (a
balance of committed and flexible costs). The flexible element in the cost will be driven by
different factors student heads, student courses, ratio of tutors to students, proportion of
assignments returned for correction and size of tutorial group.
Research has shown that the print, audio and pre-recorded instructional television tend to be
cheaper, together with radio where audience sizes are above 1,000; and that the most
expensive technologies tend to be face-to-face tuition and computer-based communication
(except for relatively small numbers of students). The cost of computer-based teaching and
learning which includes hardware, software, connectivity, consumables, electronic library
and other site access, and academic and technical support varies enormously, depending
upon what is being offered. Current studies on the costs of computers in schools include those
by Cawthera and Bakia 65 . The burden of small population courses can be mitigated by
choosing to teach such courses using media with low levels of committed costs. On the other
hand, teaching high population courses using media with high flexible costs will cause total
costs to escalate rapidly.
The type of learner support offered. The high cost of face-to-face support means that its use
should be limited if costs are to be kept down. All too often, however, there is pressure to
make open schools look like traditional schools. This pressure leads demands for more faceto-face teaching. In practice, as Bakia observes 66 , many Open Schooling projects have high
variable (i.e. flexible) costs as well as substantial costs arising from the investment in
materials and student support systems.

In addition to these factors, institutions that wish to keep costs down should 67 :

Avoid cost-inducing actions, for example, the use of copyrighted materials where high fees
may be payable for usage.

65

Andy Cawthera, Computers in Secondary Schools in Developing Countries: Costs and Other Issues,
London, DFID, n.d. , available at http://www2.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/computersinsecschoolsedpaper43.pdf,
accessed 28 April 2007; Marianne Bakia, The economics of open and distance learning in primary and
secondary schools, in Jo Bradley (ed.) The Open Classroom: Distance Learning in and out of school,
London, Kogan Page, 2003; Marianne Bakia, The Costs of Computers in Classrooms: Data from
Developing Countries, TechKnowLogia 4 (1) (January March 2002), 63-68, available at
http://www.techknowlogia.org/TKL_active_pages2/TableOfContents/main.asp?IssueNumber=15, accessed
28 April 2007.
66
Marianne Bakia, The economics of open and distance learning in primary and secondary schools, in Jo
Bradley (ed.) The Open Classroom: Distance Learning in and out of school, London, Kogan Page, 2003, p.
41.
67
Greville Rumble (1999) "Technology, distance education, and cost", Journal of Education and
Development in the Caribbean, 3 (2), 91-104, pp. 92-3.
28

Pass costs on to the student, either as charges or by moving the system boundaries so that the
students pay for activities that the institution might once have paid for. An example of the
latter would be the delivery of text materials in electronic form, thus reducing distribution
costs markedly while putting the costs of printing onto the student.
Adopt structures and labour policies that minimise costs. In other words, they will need to:
o Employ people on contracts for service to develop courses and teach students, rather
than on contracts of service (i.e. hire staff as casual labour, rather than as full-time
employees), and
o Establish working practices that reduce the costs of labour by, for example, designing
courses to be wrapped around existing textbooks rather than developing new
materials, and using author-editor models of course design, rather than big course
team models.
Use technology to increase the student load per academic or administrator.
Reduce the cost of labour through labour for labour substitution the replacement of
expensive academic labour by less well-trained adjunct labour, which is cheaper.

2.4.4

ICT costs

One further comment is that the relative cost of technologies may vary significantly from country
to country as, "for the first time in the history of educational systems, the price of an educational
input is determined not in accordance with the local purchasing power, but by world standards
which apply in a similar way to rich and poor countries" 68 . For less advanced countries this has,
according to Franois Orivel, posed a simple choice between either introducing "new
technologies in their schools at the expense of expanding school opportunities or [concentrating]
their limited resources on educational expansion, and thus renounc[ing] the chance to develop
new technologies in their school systems" 69 .
One of the arguments in favour of using technology is that it brings the unit cost of education
down. In distance education, this has been done through the achievement of increases in
productivity following the substitution of capital (in the form of technology) for labour (teachers).
Indeed, one of the strongest arguments in favour of using text, reusable (recorded) audio and
video, and ICT as a repository of information in education rather than using face-to-face teaching
is that it shifts some of the teaching from the teacher to the medium, thus helping to bring down
the unit cost of education (provided student numbers are high enough) .
However, as Orivel points out, the costs of ICT are linked to a global market in hardware,
software and consumables 70 , so that the cost of computing does not really differ significantly
between developed and developing countries. In developed countries, the cost per hour of using a
computer was about US $1.75 per hour in 1999 71 . This cost covered the amortisation cost of each
computer (at zero rate of interest), maintenance, software, electricity, additional equipment such
as printers and servers, some furniture, Internet connection, ISP costs and telephone costs. When
compared with the cost per student per hour of face-to-face teaching (between US $4.00 and US
$12.00) the cost was "clearly competitive" 72 . In developing countries, however, the cost per
68

Franois Orivel, Finance, costs and economics, in Chris Yates and Jo Bradley (eds.) Basic Education
at a Distance, London, RoutledgeFalmer, 2000, p. 138.
69
Ibid. p. 138.
70
Ibid. pp. 147-48.
71
Ibid. p. 148. Based on R. Coley, J. Cradler, and P. Engel, Computers and Classrooms: The Status of
Technology in US Schools, Princeton NJ, Educational Testing Service, 1999.
72
Ibid. p. 149.
29

student per hour of face-to-face teaching may be as low as US $0.10, which, as Orivel observes,
is very low when compared to the cost per student per hour of computing 73 .
2.5

International cost comparisons

International comparisons of educational cost are based on the total educational expenditure for a
given International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) level (or two ISCED levels),
divided by the total number of enrolments in the level(s). In order to make comparisons, a
common measure is required. Student enrolments are usually measured in full-time equivalents
although as we shall point out, this measure is not without its problems.
As far as cost is concerned, one approach is to calculate local currency costs in US dollars,
currently the dominant currency. This has serious problems due to the effect of exchange rate
fluctuations. Another approach now commonly used is to calculate unit costs as a percentage
of Gross National Product per capita. This seems reasonable given that most educational costs
(e.g. teachers' pay, buildings costs, costs of furniture and costs of textbooks) have prices that are
correlated with per capita GNP 74 . Another useful measure that escapes the problems of
comparing costs across jurisdictions through a common (but variable) currency exchange rate is
the Efficiency Ratio discussed above.
2.6

Conclusions

In many ways, the development of Open Schooling is a forgotten history. Open and distance
learning has become so dominated by universities with their tendency given their research
budgets to bias research programmes, conferences and academic publishing towards the study
of tertiary level distance and open learning, that open schools and correspondence schools have
been marginalised. Very few practitioners now recall that when it was set up in the late 1930s, the
International Council for Distance Education - then the International Council for Correspondence
Education was as focused on correspondence schools as it was on the development of extension
studies in universities.
Also largely forgotten is the fact that the history of Open Schooling had its origins as much in the
efforts of individual teachers who were trying to educate children at home, such as Hans Hermod
in Sweden, the founders of the Calvert School in Maryland and the teachers whose individual
efforts lay behind what later became the Australian Schools of the Air, and of visionaries such as
Michael Young (Lord Young of Dartington), who was behind the setting up of the National
Extension College in the UK. Similarly, it was a Colombian Jesuit priest who was behind the
development in 1947 of what was, in essence, the prototypical Radio School in Latin America,
Accin Cultural Popular (ACPO), with its focus on the learning group. The achievements of these
pioneers and the institutions they founded have sometimes been clouded quite unjustifiably by the
business ethics of those commercial correspondence colleges that were more interested in the
profits to be made out of drop-out money than in guiding and supporting students to success 75 .

73

Ibid. p. 149.
Ibid. p. 144.
75
The term drop-out money was used to describe the practice of schools that required students to pay
fees up-front on a non-refundable basis, and that then spent minimally on on-going tutorial support, thus in
effect encouraging drop-out which in turn meant that they did not incur the cost of paying tutors to mark
students assignments.
74

30

It is also, perhaps, unfortunate that the contribution of institutions such as the Korea Air
Correspondence High School and the more recently established Bangladesh Open School, a
constituent part of the Bangladesh Open University, have never been adequately researched.
In the euphoria that followed the development of mass educational media, money was poured into
educational television and, to a much lesser extent, educational radio. Educational radio the less
expensive of these two media has survived in corners of the world and remains in the view of
many an unexploited medium of instruction. The achievements of educational television in
projects such as the Telesecundaria in Mexico and in some of the Brazilian projects need to be set
against the problems encountered in El Salvador and in the Ivory Coast. As David Hawkridge
remarked of the latter, "the project has 'sunk without trace' and educators say that never was so
much wasted, including [World] Bank funds, on such poor television broadcasts with so little
effect". 76
More recently, the focus has been on the use of computers to support open learning in schools and
whether this newer technology can be harnessed to improve both the reach and the quality of
schools. Technological enthusiasts are optimistic; others reserve judgment.
Open schools have been successful in both bringing down the costs of education and educating
out-of-school youths as well as adult learners. The experience of the two institutions that are the
focus of the following chapters can now be placed within the context of the earlier developments
sketched out in this chapter.

76

David Hawkridge, General Operational Review of Distance Education, Washington, D.C., Education
and Training Department, World Bank, mimeo, p. 2, cited in Hilary Perraton, Open and Distance Learning
in the Developing World, London, Routledge, 2000, p. 34.
31

32

ECONOMY AND EDUCATION IN INDIA

3.1

Introduction

The Republic of India, ranked the seventh largest and the second most populous country, covers
3,287,263 square kilometers (54 per cent of which is arable land) 77 and inhabits 1,095,351,995
people (July 2006 estimates) 78 . This is about one-sixth of the worlds population. The 2001
Census showed more than 72 per cent (see Table 3.1) of Indians living in rural areas. Apart from
the rural-urban divide, the presence of all the major religious groups remarkably enhances the
native human diversity, which is made more complex by immense linguistic diversity. More than
22 major languages (belonging to Austro-Asiatic, Dravidian, Indo-European and Tibeto-Burmese
language families) and hundreds of dialects are in use across the length and breadth of the
country. Significant geographic divisions of the landscape and great socio-cultural variations
multiply the manifold diversity.
In economic terms, India is a rich and a poor country at the same time. With its Gross National
Product (GDP) at US $691.2 billion and GDP PPP at US $3,389.7 billion, India is the tenth
biggest economy in general terms and the third biggest economy by purchasing power
respectively 79 , but the Gross National Income per capita is a meager US $720 80 . The origins of
GDP 81 are:

agriculture (21.5 per cent),

industry (27 per cent), and
services (51.5 per cent).

The corresponding employment profile 82 is 60 per cent of the labour force in agriculture, 17 per
cent in industry and 23 per cent in services.
Clearly, the largest proportion of the labour force, employed in rural settings, is the least
productive, while the proportion engaged in services, generally in urban areas, is the most
productive. While the higher level of productivity in the service sector is a relatively recent
phenomenon, poor productivity in the agriculture sector, in spite of the Green Revolution 83 , has
been a major concern in India. Recognising that low levels of literacy among the public in general
and the labour force in particular, together with the traditional methods of agriculture, were the
major causes of poor productivity in agriculture, since the 1950s efforts have continued to

77

Pocket World in Figures 2007Edition, Profile Books Ltd., London, p.156.

India Demographics key data: http://www.india-news.in/reference/india-demographics.php (accessed on
15.07.07).
79
Pocket World in Figures 2007Edition, Profile Books Ltd., London, p.26.
80
World Bank Key Development Data and Statistics:
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTICS/0,,contentMDK:20535285~menuP
K:1192694~pagePK:64133150~piPK:64133175~theSitePK:239419,00.html (accessed on July 30, 2007)
http://web.worldbank.org/WEBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTICS/
81
Pocket World in Figures 2007Edition, Profile Books Ltd., London, p.156.
82
Ibid. p. 156.
83
During the 1960s and 1970s, India increased the production of food grains significantly. This
phenomenon came to be known as the Green Revolution.
http://www.goodnewsindia.com/Page/content/milestone/greenRev.html (accessed on 15.07.07)
78

33

improve the educational attainments of the masses. In 2003-04, gross enrolment rates 84 of the
respective relevant age groups had reached 85 per cent at primary level, 39 per cent at secondary
level, and 9 per cent at tertiary level. The latest figures are 108 per cent, 53 per cent and 12 per
cent 85 .
3.1.1

Financial challenges of universalising education

Obviously, much more needs to be done, but paucity of funding does not favour educational reengineering on conventional lines. At present, the Central and the State Governments collectively
constitute the only means of taking education to the masses or bringing out-of-school children
into the fold of secondary education (see subsection 3.3.2, Outcomes of over 50 years of
Educational Re-engineering). The State Governments, however, are not in a position to do much
in the process of universalising secondary education and much less in improving its quality, as
they are already spending on average nearly 22 per cent of their aggregated annual budget on
education. Within the secondary sector, 92 per cent of the State expenditure goes to salaries 86 .
Obviously, much of the burden will have to be taken by the Central Government, which is raising
funds and also adopting alternative modes of education for the purpose (for a detailed
explanation, see Chapter 4, Subsection 4.1.3).
While the number of private schools and the size of student population they cover are increasing
progressively, this growth is in no way near the pressure that is building on the secondary sector
of education (see Section 3.2 for details). The financial requirement for universalising elementary
education is estimated to be 3.0 per cent of GDP, and that of universalising secondary education
2.33 per cent of GDP. Put together, 5.13 per cent of GDP per annum is required to universalise
elementary and secondary education in the country 87 . Such a provision once made has to be
reviewed periodically, but it has not 88 been possible to fulfil the requirement of providing 6 per
cent of GDP to cover elementary as well as secondary education (as estimated in the National
Policy on Education-1968), and so the systems, especially the latter, have to be run under
immense financial constraints. It is here that an analysis and the resulting understanding of the
cost-effectiveness and cost-efficiency of the ODL operations should be of great value to the
planners and the field level operatives.
3.1

Demographic factors and secondary education in India

Before we take up the themes of cost-effectiveness and cost-efficiency of Open Schooling in

India, it is necessary to get an understanding of the demographic compulsions that favour Open
Schooling. Here our focus is on the issue of the size of clientele, as other demographic factors
84

From Challenges before Indian Education under Sector Overview, Department of Higher Education,
Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India: http://education.nic.in/sector.asp, p. 7.
(accessed on 15.07.07).
85
Pocket World in Figures 2007Edition, Profile Books Ltd., London, p.157.
86
Planning & Management Issues in the Report of the CABE Committee on Universalisation of
Secondary Education, (2005), Ministry of Human Resource development, Government of India, New
Delhi, p.52.
87

Ibid. p.51.

88

From Challenges before Indian Education under Sector Overview, Department of Higher Education,
Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India: http://education.nic.in/sector.asp, p. 7.
(accessed on 15.07.07).

34

pale into irrelevance in India, a country of 202.9 million households with an average family size
of 5.3 members and the median age of 24.3 years 89 .
The size (geographical and population) of India is common knowledge, but a snapshot of facts
and figures (the data pertains to the years 2002 through 2004) should help in appreciating the size
of student population and the countrys unusual socio-educational complexity. It should be noted
that India adds nearly one Australia to its population annually; so, for a comparable educational
provision, education in India needs an annual increment capable of meeting the needs of an
additional 19 million or so young people each year. Such money is not available; so, a better
understanding of the task at hand is necessary. Just establish more schools and universities does
not seem to be the sole answer. We will see why.
Table 3.1
Area

Population of India as per Census 2001 90

Population According to Census 2001

All Communities
Scheduled Castes
Male
Female
Total
Male
Female

Total

Scheduled Tribes
Male
Female

Total

Rural
381,602,674

360,887,965

742,490,639

68,603,342

64,407,536

133,010,878

39,045,650

38,292,947

77,338,597

150,554,098

135,565,591

286,119,689

17,485,418

16,139,404

33,624,822

3,595,179

3,392,464

6,987,643

532,156,772

496,453,556

1,028,610,328

86,088,760

80,546,940

166,635,700

42,640,829

41,685,411

84,326,240

Urban

Total
16.2 %

Even if the general urban population (enjoying reasonable educational facilities) is left out of the
discussion on secondary education, India must consider a base rural population of over 742
million together with nearly 41 million urban Scheduled Castes and Tribes (all together 783
million), most of whom make up the poor of India. Within this population, our focus is on the
school going age group (see Table 3.2).

89

Pocket World in Figures 2007Edition, Profile Books Ltd., London, pp.157and 249.

90

7th Survey NCERT (2002), http://gov.ua.nic.in/NScheduleData/nv01.pdf and

http://gov.ua.nic.in/NscheduleData/nvo3.pdf (accessed on July 30, 2007).
35

8.2 %

Estimated child population as on 30 September 2002 91

Table 3.2

Boys

Estimated Child Population in the Age-group (in years)

4 to below 6 6 to below 11 11 to below 14 14 to below 16 16 to below 18
25,722,323
68,685,427
42,084,322
24,962,562
23,199,033

Girls

23,910,272

63,031,482

38,108,851

21,897,001

19,532,333

Total

49,632,595

131,716,909

80,193,173

46,859,563

42,731,366

Urban

11,219,607

31,304,286

20,810,851

13,285,839

12,886,897

Rural
Total

38,412,988
49,632,595

100,412,623
131,716,909

59,382,322
80,193,173

33,573,724
46,859,563

29,844,469
42,731,366

Elementary level = 211,910,082

Secondary level = 89,590,929
Elementary and secondary levels combined = 301,501,011

Efforts made during the past few decades to universalise primary education have substantially
enhanced educational provision for the 6-14 age group. Though the target of covering this group
completely by 2007 has not been achieved, significant progress has been made on the way to
achieving it. At the primary level, more than 93 per cent of the relevant age group are at school,
but overall (primary and upper primary levels put together, i.e. the elementary level) only 80 per
cent of the relevant age group are involvedthis dip is primarily because of the relatively low
intake at the upper primary level (see Table 3.3 below).
Table 3.3
INDIA

Gross Enrolment Ratios at the primary level 92

Primary Stage
(Classes I-V)

Upper Primary Stage

(Classes VI-VIII)

Combined for Primary and

Upper Primary Stages
(i.e. Elementary level: Classes I-VIII)

Boys

Girls

Total

Boys

Girls

Total

Boys

Girls

Total

Rural

94.88

90.36

92.72

56.25

46.20

51.47

80.45

74.05

77.39

Urban

96.05

94.37

95.25

79.74

76.56

78.22

89.54

87.25

88.45

Total

95.16

91.31

93.32

62.34

54.09

58.42

82.69

77.28

80.11

A fact emerging from the data is that the secondary sector needs to be prepared for a deluge that it
has never experienced before. Though the pressure on rural settings is seemingly less than that on
urban settings (77 per cent against 88 per cent), in operational terms the former (because of the
limited human resources and the fragile local infrastructure) will have greater difficulties in
managing the flow of students entering secondary education. A look at the existing infrastructure
is in place here.

91
92

7th Survey NCERT (2002), http://gov.ua.nic.in/NScheduleData/nv04.pdf (accessed on July 30, 2007).

7th Survey NCERT (2002), http://gov.ua.nic.in/NScheduleData/ns300.pdf (accessed on July 30,2007)
36

Table 3.4

Number of schools and the stages* of education 93

Rural

Urban

Total

Primary

Upper
Primary

Secondary

Higher
Secondary

Primary

Upper
Primary

Secondary

Higher
Secondary

Primary

Upper
Primary

Secondary

Higher
Secondary

1
716,037

2
250,975

3
84,370

4
22,847

5
134,384

6
87,005

7
46,305

8
21,022

9
10
850,421 337,980
= 1,188,401
= 1,362,945

11
130,675
= 174,544

12
43,869

* Primary Stage may also exist in Upper Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools.
Upper Primary Stage may also exist in Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools and similarly,
Secondary Stage may also exist in Higher Secondary Schools.
The number of children for primary education (211,910,082) was estimated to be more than twice
(exactly 2.37 times) that for the secondary level (89,590,929) in 2002 (see Table 3.2). The
corresponding number (see Table 3.4) of primary schools (1,188,401) and secondary schools
(174,544) would allow 178 and 513 students at each of the primary and the secondary
schools/sections respectively. While 178 students at a primary school distributed over eight
classes (I to VIII) comes to a reasonable class/student ratio of 1:23 at the primary level, the ratio
at the secondary level comes to 1:128 (i.e. 513 students distributed over 4 classes IX to XII). A
class of 128 students is not manageable; it would need to be split into at least four sections, which
most schools are not in a position to do, certainly not the ones in rural settings.
The point that emerges is that in/around 2002, the most rudimentary infrastructure (i.e. brick and
mortar schools) required for secondary education was not in place. Considering the fact that
around 90 per cent of the public funding goes to salaries of the school staff, it is not wrong to
assume that a significant number of schools have not been established between 2002 and 2007,
while the last of 2002 primary students would be entering the secondary level now, i.e. in 2007/8.
In other words, we are faced with the issue of managing over 211 million students right at this
point in time (see the number of 6-14 years age group in Table 3.2). Each of the existing schools
would need to manage more than a thousand students in four classes (IX to XII), i.e. more than
250 students in a class, or about eight sections (each of nearly 31 students) of each class to be run
concurrently.
Obviously, the physical infrastructure and the related additional human resources required for the
secondary level of education do not exist, nor can they be created overnight to meet the
impending deluge referred to earlieronce 100 per cent enrolment and retention at the primary
level is achieved (the target year now is 2010 94 ), the secondary level edifice will crack and
crumble instantly. It has not crumbled already, partly because, in fact, additional schools have
been established in the meantime, but mainly because the entire eligible age group has not
registered at schools.

93

7th Survey NCERT (2002), http://gov.ua.nic.in/NScheduleData/ns17.pdf (accessed on July 30, 2007)

94

Planning & Management Issues in the Report of the CABE Committee on Universalisation of
Secondary Education, (2005), Ministry of Human Resource development, Government of India, New
Delhi.
37

Table 3.5
Sex

Enrolment in Classes XI and XII (including degree colleges) 95

Total
enrolment
in Classes
I-XII

Enrolment in Classes XI and XII

attached to degree colleges 96

Total enrolment in Classes XI & XII

(including Classes XI & XII in
higher secondary schools)

Class XI

Class XII

Classes
XI-XII

Class XI

Class XII

Classes
XI-XII

Boys

529,859

495,300

1,025,159

3,544,377

3,176,094

6,720,471

111,118,579

Girls

315,694

290,012

605,706

2,512,196

2,205,216

4,717,412

91,969,348

Total

845,553

785,312

1,630,865

6,056,573

5,381,310

11,437,883

203,087,927

Total

Classes XI and XII

13,068,748

The entire school going age group: From Table 3.5 above, it may be noted that the total
enrolment in classes I to XII is recorded to be 203,087,927, while the total number of children in
the relevant age group (6-18 years) is 301,501,011 (see Table 3.2). That is (301,501,011 203,087,927) = 98,413,084 children were not at school.
The secondary school age group: The enrolment 97 at the secondary level (classes IX-XII) then
was around 35 million with a Gross Enrolment Ratio of nearly 39 per cent. Nearly 54.74 million
of the relevant age group were not at school. The total secondary level age group comes to (35
million at school + 54.74 million out of school) = 89.74 million, a figure that approximates the
relevant one in Table 3.2).
Distributing 35 million students over 174,544 schools (see Table 3.4), assigns around 200
students per school, i.e. 50 students per class over four classes IX XII. A class of 50 is crowded
indeed, but Indian schools have learnt to manage this size. So, the existing setup, i.e. the
conventional system of brick and mortar schooling for the secondary level of education is
ticking on. But for how long?

95

7th Survey NCERT (2002), http://gov.ua.nic.in/NScheduleData/ns281.pdf (accessed on July 30, 2007).

96

Before independence, schools in India covered just the first 10 years of education. As full-fledged
universities were far and few, colleges were established to prepare students for their first university
degrees. The first two years at these colleges provided what was called intermediate education, comparable
to the present day senior secondary education. With the creation of the senior secondary provision to be
implemented at schools, most of the colleges wound up their intermediate classes in the 1950s and 1960s.
Some colleges, however, retained them under the new appellation senior secondary classes. Accordingly,
today most of the senior secondary classes are conducted in schools, but quite a few are conducted in
colleges also (see Tables 3.5 and 3.7).
97
Department of School Education & Literacy, Secondary Education Statistics (data pertains to 2003),
http://education.nic.in/secedu/sec_stats.asp (accessed on July 30, 2007)
38

3.2.1

Large numbers, insufficient funding

The conclusion is that in India, the single most significant demographic factor that clouds all the
finer and worthy of consideration factors is the sheer number of the secondary school age group,
of which a large subgroup is out-of-school and another large subgroup, slightly more than half the
size of the first one, is engaged in schooling that needs improvements. Added to this prime issue
is the issue of frustratingly inadequate funding. As said elsewhere, since 1968, when the
requirement (that would really work) for education was estimated to be six per cent of GDP, the
actual outlay has hardly ever touched four per cent.
It should be noted that quite a proportion of the out-of-school children work, and that in many
cases, parents of such children believe that they are better off with their childrens earnings in
comparison to the possible returns to their education. In many cases, work is necessary for
survival. Improvements in and expansion of infrastructure for conventional type of schooling is
not going to solve their problems. In many cases learning and earning has to go side-by-side and
conveniently too. Chamarbagwala remarks that childrens participation in child labour and
schooling responds to economic returns to education in India, which suggests implementing
policies that raise the economic benefits of educationsuch as creating more high-skilled jobs
and improving the quality of education in order to lower child labour and increase schooling 98 .
3.2

Structure of the Indian education system

3.3.1

Introduction

In order to fully appreciate the place, role and costs of Open Schooling in India, it is necessary to
begin with an understanding of the structure and the size of its educational system as a whole.
At the time of her independence in 1947, India had a literacy rate of less than 18 per cent (see
Table 3.8). The leadership was fully conscious of the importance of education for national growth
and development. A National Commission under the Chairmanship of S. Radhakrishnan was set
up to prepare a comprehensive report on higher education, which was submitted in 1948-9. The
two significant contributions of this exercise were:
i)

Independent India envisioned its educational goals clearly--Education confined to

those who come from nobility, landed gentry or professional classes is suited to a
society built on an economic and social hierarchy of classes. In a democratic society,
the opportunity of learning must be open not only to an elite, but to all those who
have to carry the privilege and responsibility of citizenship. Education is a universal
right, not a class privilege. 99 [Italics added.]

98

Chamarbagwala, R. (2004), Returns to Education, Child Labour & Schooling in India, Department of
Economics, Indiana University, Bloomington. http://129.3.20.41/eps/dev/papers/0410/0410003.pdf
(accessed on July 30, 2007).
99

Report of the University Education Commission-1948-1949, Vol. 1, (1950), The Manager of Publications,
Government of India, Delhi, p.50.
[Very low levels of literacy in each and every State, education divorced from developmental objectives,
degraded situation of science education and the teaching of regional languages, importance of mother
tongue at the primary level of education, poor provision for professional education and research were some
39

ii) Taking off from the colonial provision for education and the system that managed it,
it was/is a long way to reach the goal of universalising education in the country. And
to achieve the goal, it was necessary to reformulate the educational structure right
from the lowest level to the highest.
3.3.2

Education 100 in the Republic of India (the first 50 years)

Education on the State List (1950-1976)

The journey began with the promulgation of the new Constitution in 1950, which enshrined free
and compulsory education till the age of fourteen as one of the Directive Principles of State
Policy, The responsibility for education was assigned to individual states of the Republic, while
the Union Government was responsible for co-ordinating technical and higher education besides
the determination of standards.
The first Secondary Education Commission was set up in 1952-53 and the National Council for
Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to modernise secondary education was established
in 1961 in New Delhi. One of the major contributions of this period to the educational
environment was the establishment of Bal Bhavans 101 in 1956 aimed at the age group 5-16 years.
The objective of this initiative is to motivate and enhance creativity and sports among the
children. The National Bal Bhavan is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Human
Resource Development. It is responsible for guiding, training the functionaries of and transferring
information among the State and District level Bal Bhavans located all over the country.
Equipped with libraries and other facilities, they provide programmes in performing arts, sports,
martial arts, computer literacy and fine arts.
A comprehensive review of the entire system of education was conducted by the Education
Commission set up in 1964 under the Chairmanship of Dr. D. S. Kothari, then Chairman of the
University Grants Commission. It worked for two years and its recommendations led to the first
National Policy on Education (NPE) which was adopted in 1968. However, with education being
on the State List 102 , the National Policy could not but be of advisory utility only. A stronger and
more effective policy provision had to be made.
Education on the Concurrent List (1976--)
For the National Policy on Education to take its legitimate course, education was shifted from the
State List to the Concurrent List through a Constitutional Amendment in 1976, which provided
for the Central and State Governments to be jointly/concurrently responsible for formulating and
implementing educational policies and plans. Illustrations of the various resulting developments
are as follows:
of the major concerns brought to the attention of the nation through the massive Report of this
Commission.].
100

Here our focus is on the pre-university (i.e. primary and secondary) levels of Education.

101

A Hindi expression meaning Childrens House.

102

Being on the State List, Education in India was the responsibility of individual States till 1976, when the
Constitution was amended to shift it to the Concurrent List. This step made it possible for the Central
Government to share this responsibility in as many ways as possible. Since then, Education is the
responsibility of the Central Government and the State Governments concurrently.
40

The Non-Formal Education (NFE) Programme meant for the age group 6-14 years
was introduced by the Department of Education, Ministry of Human Resource
Development, Government of India, in 1979-80 to cater to those who cannot join
regular schools for whatever reasons, school dropouts, the children from remote and
isolated areas and working children. It is run by NGOs which receive 100 per cent of
their running costs as assistance from the Government. At present, it covers most of
the backward, hilly, tribal, desert and slum areas in 25 states and Union Territories.
To pay focused attention to girls 103 , nearly 40 per cent of the NFE Centres in the
States and 10 per cent of such Centres in Union Territories are reserved for girls.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), New Delhi, established the
Open School as an experimental project on Open Schooling in 1979, three years after
education was shifted to the Concurrent List in 1976. Ten years of experimentation
(1979 to 1989) with the application of distance education modalities to secondary
education convinced the Central Government of its applications and utility in meeting
the multiple challenges that the secondary education provision faced. As a
consequence, the Open School was remodelled as the National Open School (NOS)
in 1989 as an alternative mechanism (see subsection 4.1.3) to address the issue of
secondary education in the country.
Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS), an autonomous organisation, was established in
198586. Currently, it runs 539 schools spread all over the country. These are fully
residential, co-educational higher secondary schools that provide board and lodging,
textbooks and uniforms free of cost to all the students. More than 30,000 new
students are admitted every year in Class VI on the basis of a selection/entrance test
prepared by CBSE and given to primary school pass-outs in all the districts, where
such schools are functional. (See also Subsection 4.4.1.)

The distribution of responsibilities between the States/Union Territories and the Centre 104 under
NPE-1968, however, remained unclear, in spite of the Constitutional Amendment of 1976, until
the new National Policy on Education-1986 was adopted in 1986. While retaining the
responsibilities of the State Governments unchanged, the new National Policy spelled out the
role 105 of the Central Government clearly. In addition to promoting and cementing the national
and integrative purpose of education, the Central Government is to maintain quality and standards
in education, to assess and monitor educational needs in relation to the manpower needs for
development, to cater to research and advanced studies, to take care of the international aspects of
education and human resource development in general and to work for excellence at all the levels
of education everywhere in the country.
As already pointed to, one of the major consequences (of our interest here) that followed these
developments was the establishment of the National Open School (NOS) based on the lessons
learnt from the experimental project on Open Schooling, which was wound up in 1989 with the
birth of NOS.

103

Women under Education in India, Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_India

(accessed on July 30, 2007)
104

Centre stands for the Central/Union Government.

105

National Policy on Education-1986, (1986) The Ministry of Human Resource Development, The
Government of India, New Delhi, para 3.13.
41

Post-1992 Scenario
Drawing on the increased experience with the implementation of the National Policy on
Education-1986, it was reviewed in 1992. Coupled with the revised Plan of Action-1992, it
became a dynamic instrument of development and change. Some of the resulting developments
worth mentioning are as follows:

District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) was launched in 1994 to universalise

primary education in a few selected districts and later extended to other areas. It was/is a
major step towards decentralising educational planning and the implementation of plans
at the local grassroots level.
In 1995, the Central Government further enhanced this programme by providing support
for mid-day meals 106 for government and aided primary school children all over the
country.
In 2000, 0.12 million (out of a total of 0.3 million) Non-Formal Education Centres were
for girls, while overall 7.42 million children were being catered to at these Centres 107 . To
provide for the resulting increase in throughput, 30 per cent of the seats have been
reserved for women in engineering, medical and other colleges.
Facilities for specific sections of the society: Facilities are also being provided to various
other traditionally deprived categories 108 of the society. For example, seats have been
reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) 109 and Scheduled Tribes (STs) 110 in all areas at all
the levels of education. Special and exclusive scholarships and fee waivers (in some
states) are now available to SC/ST students. In 2003-2004, the Department of Welfare for
SCs, STs, OBCs and Minorities introduced the SC/ST tuition-fee reimbursement
scheme 111 to help SC and ST students studying in recognised private institutions. The
support available under the scheme covers about 85-90 per cent of the educational
expenses of the beneficiaries. Similar incentives are available to Other Backward Classes
(OBCs) and Minorities.

106

The main purpose of the mid-day meal scheme (serving a good meal to all the students in the
government run primary schools during school hours) is to improve the level of retention of students at the
primary level, while boosting their nutritional intake as well, in order to strengthen the process of
universalising education at this level.

107

Women under Education in India, Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_India

(accessed on July 30, 2007).
108

In pursuit of the policy of inclusion, all the government funded institutions reserve seats for students
from the disadvantaged groups of the society15 per cent of the seats for Scheduled Castes (SCs), 7.5 per
cent for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and 3 per cent for differently able students.

109

Indian communities which remained neglected traditionally lacking opportunities for education,
economic growth and social inclusion. Now, they have been given special privileges under the Constitution
of India to undo the social and economic injustice they suffered from over the centuries.

110

Those of the original inhabitants of India who remained deprived and isolated from the mainstream
cultural milieu. Like the Scheduled Castes, they too have been accorded a special status and right to special
privileges under the Constitution of India.

111

SCs/STs and OBCs under Education in India, Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_India (accessed on July 30, 2007)
42

3.3.3

Outcomes of over 50 years of educational re-engineering

There are two points to make under this heading: the current structure of the Indian education
system, and the achievements made till the end of the last century.
Taking curriculum as the basic criterion, today there are four types of schools in India:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Schools that follow the curricula and regulations of the Central Board of Secondary
Education (CBSE).
Schools that follow the curricula and regulations of the Council for the Indian School
Certificate Examination (CISCE).
The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS).
The schools that follow the curricula and regulations prescribed by the respective
State/Union Territory Boards of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education. Generally,
they prepare students for the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC).

While the first three types are looked after by the Central Government, the fourth type is the
responsibility of the respective States/Union Territories. The curricula used by these school types
are comparable in essentials, while their variations are primarily location-specific.
In terms of ownership and resources 112 , nearly 25 per cent of the secondary schools are private
unaided (i.e. schools that do not receive any grants from any government, Central or State). These
schools cater to nearly 9 per cent of the children (in the relevant age group), who come from the
wealthy layer of the society. Another category comprises those private schools (run by non-profit
trusts, international bodies and entrepreneurs) that are supported by government grants, often as
high as 90 per cent of the running costs of the schools, and they cover more than 46 per cent of
the children. These schools follow either the curriculum prescribed by the Central Board of
Secondary Education or that prescribed by the related State/Union Territory Boards of Secondary
Education.
The remaining 45 per cent of the children attend government run/funded schools, which are
located in each major city, town and village. Most of these schools use the regional language as
the medium of instruction. At some of these schools, study materials like textbooks, notebooks
and stationery are subsidised. These schools follow the curriculum prescribed by the respective
State/Union Territory Boards of Education. Thus more than 90 per cent of the students are
supported by the Central/State/Union Territory government in one way or the other.
Years of modifications in the overall system have led to a new and more rational structure of
school education, which is in operation currently (see Table 3.6 below). This structure is
understood and followed uniformly throughout the country today. It has brought about significant
uniformity in such a diverse country as India, which had as many systems as the number of
principalities in the colonial period. With the systemic uniformity in place now, transfer of
credits, mobility of students, exchange of teachers, and comparison of curricula and budgets are
not issues any more. Further, national policies can be aligned with those of the States/Union
Territories easily and the various activities at the level of implementation can be replicated with

112

Planning & Management Issues in the Report of the CABE Committee on Universalisation of
Secondary Education, (2005), Ministry of Human Resource development, Government of India, New
Delhi, p.51.

43

greater ease across the States and Union Territories. The operational variations of the structure,
however, remain complex.
Table 3.6
S.
No.
1

Present structure 113 of the Indian educational system

Level of education 114

Elementary school
a)
b)

Primary school
Upper primary
or middle school
Secondary school
a)
b)

3.3.4

High/secondary school

Higher/senior
secondary school
Higher/university education
a) Non-professional general degree
programmes
a1
Undergraduate level
a2
Postgraduate level
a3
Research degrees
b) Professional diploma/degree
programmes

Classes
(with exceptions)
I-VIII (I-VII in some
States)
I-V (I-IV in some States)
VI-VIII
(V-VII in some States)
IX-XII (VIII-XII in some
States)
IX-X (VIII-X in some
States)
XI-XII

Corresponding age group

of students
6-14 years

16-18 years

Duration

18-24 years

3 years
2 years
At least 1-2 years
3-5 years depending on the
field of studies.

18-21 years
21-23 years
23-24/5
18-21/23 years

6-11 years
11-14 years
14-18 years
14-16 years

Primary and secondary levels of education

With the implementation of the planned modifications, generally children at 5+ would enter the
primary level of education, at 10+ they would step into the secondary level and at 17+ into a
degree college or a university for the first degree, generally a three-year programme. This came to
be known as the 10 + 2 + 3 system of education. The 10 in the formulation implies the first ten
years of ones formal education including the first two years (the 9th and the 10th standards) of
secondary education, +2 implies the last two years of secondary education, usually called the
senior/higher secondary education and +3 refers to the three years meant for completing a general
first degree programme. The first 10 years of school education, as indicated in the above table,
are allocated in various ways in different States (28 in number) and Union Territories (7 in
number). In 22 of them, the 9th and the 10th years of school comprise secondary education; while
in the remaining 13 of them it is covered in classes 8th to 10th (see Table 3.7 below).

113

Based on Stages of Education in India under Sector Overview, Dept. of Higher Education, Ministry of
Human Resource Development, Govt. of India: http://education.nic.in/sector.asp, p. 3.
(accessed on July 30, 2007).
114
The pre-primary level has not been shown in the table, as it is primarily managed by the private sector.
Children aged 3 to 5 attend what are generally called Lower and Upper Kindergartens, each of one years
duration.

44

Table 3.7

Educational pattern in States/Union Territories 115

Sl. No.

State/UT

Primary
stage

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.

Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chhattisgarh
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu & Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Orissa
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttaranchal
West Bengal
A & N Islands
Chandigarh
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
Daman & Diu
Delhi
Lakshadweep
Pondicherry

I -V
I-V
I-IV
I-V
I-V
I-IV
I-IV
I-V
I-V
I-V
I-V
I -V
I-IV
I-V
I-IV
I-V
I-IV
I-IV
I-IV
I -V
I-V
I-V
I-V
I-V
I-V
I-V
I-V
I-IV
I-V
I-V
I-IV
I-IV
I-V
I-IV
I-V

Upper
Primary
stage
VI-VII
VI-VIII
V-VII
VI-VIII
VI-VIII
V-VII
V-VII
VI-VIII
VI-VIII
VI-VIII
VI-VIII
VI-VII
V-VII
VI-VIII
V-VII
VI-VIII
V-VII
V-VII
V-VIII
VI-VII
VI-VIII
VI-VIII
VI-VIII
VI-VIII
VI-VIII
VI-VIII
VI-VIII
V-VIII
VI-VIII
VI-VIII
V-VII
V-VII
VI-VIII
V-VII
VI-VIII

Secondary
stage
VIII-X
IX-X
VIII-X
IX-X
IX-X
VIII-X
VIII-X
IX-X
IX-X
IX-X
IX-X
VIII-X
VIII-X
IX-X
VIII-X
IX-X
VIII-X
VIII-X
IX-X
VIII-X
IX-X
IX-X
IX-X
IX-X
IX-X
IX-X
IX-X
IX-X
IX-X
IX-X
VIII-X
VIII-X
IX-X
VIII-X
IX-X

Higher
Secondary
stage
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII

Hr. Sec. Classes

attached to degree
college
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII

XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII
XI-XII

XI-XII
XI-XII

In most places the senior secondary classes are conducted in schools which run classes I through
XII, in some places they have exclusive senior secondary schools that conduct classes XI and XII

115

The 7th All India School Education Survey: http://gov.ua.nic.in/aises/national/ep.asp, (accessed on

6.6.2007).
45

only, while in some places these classes are conducted in colleges, which prepare students for
their first university degrees as well.
In the process of materialising the new educational structure, institutional structures too had to be
overhauled. In many cases the five-year high schools were extended to function as seven-year
schools to accommodate 5 + 2 = 7 years of combined secondary and senior/higher secondary
education. Though many of the earlier intermediate 116 colleges were upgraded to full degree 117
colleges, some were merged with schools to accommodate senior/higher secondary students. As
the minimum qualification required to teach at the senior/higher secondary level was fixed to be a
Masters degree in the relevant discipline, the profile of teachers at schools changed before long.
Teachers employed to teach at the higher secondary level came to be known as postgraduate
teachers (i.e. teachers with postgraduate 118 qualifications). Earlier the minimum qualification
required of a secondary school teacher was just a first university degree. Now, it was made
obligatory for non-postgraduate teachers to have Bachelors Degree in Education (B. Ed.) also.
In addition to the expansion and overhauling of the mainstream lower education as outlined
above, polytechnics, regional engineering colleges, medical colleges, specialist institutes of
teacher education, technology and management also were established to improve the provision of
higher education in the country. And to overcome the menace of adult illiteracy, provision was
made and funds set apart for the non-formal sector of education also.
The organisational network that looks after the conventional schooling system is quite extensive
and impressive. It comprises various institutions and bodies at the national and state levels
MHRD, NCERT, NIEPA, KVS, NVS and CBSE at the Central level and the State Ministries of
Education, Directorates of Education, SCERTs, Textbook Bureaus and bodies like CTEs, IASEs,
DIETs, University Departments of Education and Teacher Training Colleges at the state level.
As outlined above, the organisation for secondary/senior secondary education in the country is
very wide and diverse, but there is a fundamental uniformity in the basics. For example, during
the first two/three years at the secondary level, children must study two languages (English and a
regional language with the provision of taking a classical or a foreign language in place of the
latter), mathematics (arithmetic, geometry, algebra, statistics, etc), natural sciences (physics,
chemistry and biology) and social sciences (history, geography, civics and economics). And at +2
level, children have to take English, three subjects/disciplines forming a broad specialisation
(mathematics, physics and chemistry for the Engineering Group; biology, physics and chemistry
for the Medical Group; political science, history and economics for the Social Sciences Group;
commerce, accounting and economics for the Commerce Group and so on) and one or two more
disciplines not necessarily related to the trio of the main groups selected. Recently, in addition to

116

Intermediate Colleges taught students, who had completed ten years of schooling successfully, for two
years to prepare them for entry to first degrees classes. One could study for a first degree at what was called
a Degree College or at a University Department.

117

Students studied for two years at a Degree College to get their first university degrees. Thus the
structure of the system was 10 years of school education + two years at an Intermediate College + two
years at a Degree College. Degree Colleges, as they are today, were mostly affiliated to a University in the
region. In certain cases, however, they were and some continue to be constituents of a University.

118

In India it is customary to call a first degree holder a graduate and a Masters Degree holder a
postgraduate. Accordingly, studies at the Masters Level are called postgraduate studies and not graduate
studies.
46

vocational courses, disciplines like bio-technology, fashion design and computer applications
have been introduced at the senior secondary level.
Each State and Union Territory administers secondary education through its own Board of
Secondary Education, which is responsible for policy formulation, financial provision,
determination of standards, setting of public examinations and certification. In some states, there
are separate boards for the secondary and the higher secondary levels. The variations in standards
of secondary education across the States/Union Territories are not significant, which accounts for
their mutual recognition of qualifications and easy transfer of students from one board to another.
Successful completion of the first ten years of education at school earns a matriculation
(equivalent to five O levels of the British system of schooling) and that of subsequent two years
fetches senior/higher secondary school certificate (equivalent to five A levels of the British
system).
3.3.5

Links with higher education

Successful completion of the senior secondary education qualifies one to seek registration in a
higher education institution for a degree programme, generally completed in three years. It is not
as though all the first degree programmes are completed in three years. While a Bachelors
Degree in Commerce and a Bachelors Degree in Arts/Humanities are completed in three years, a
Bachelors Degree in Technology takes four years to complete, and the first medical degree takes
five years. After the first degree, one may go for a Masters Degree in a discipline related to what
one may have studied at the first degree level. Beyond a Masters degree, universities provide for
M. Phil. and Ph. D. degrees. The Indian system of higher education does not allow first degree
holders to work for a doctoral degree as is possible, for example, in Britain. Both M. Phil. and Ph.
D. degrees may be obtained by theses only or by a combination of course work and thesis.
3.3.6

Open and distance education initiatives

To begin with, the alternative schooling system (see subsection 4.1.3 in Chapter 4) had to emerge
from the network available for the conventional systems of schooling. The MHRD took the
initiative through the Open School Project of CBSE. Today the alternative system is being looked
after by MHRD, NIOS, State Ministries of Education, State Open Schools, State Departments of
Education, State Boards of Education and other institutions engaged in ODL operations.
During the period 1950-2000, most of the resources were used to establish conventional
institutions like primary schools, secondary and higher secondary schools, degree colleges,
professional colleges and universities. Such corrective and reformative steps notwithstanding, the
realisation that i) the very size of the baseline population and the growth rate therein would thwart
the proposed and implemented provision before long, and ii) the content and profile of education
in the country would improve and undergo a sea-change, but access to education would remain a
problem for large numbers of citizens and for a long time to come, prompted search for and
experimentation in different and learner-friendly educational modalities.
Delhi University introduced degree programmes through the correspondence mode in 1962. This
was the first dual-mode operation in the country. Soon after, many other universities introduced
similar dual-mode operations throughout the country. Today, there are over 100 hundred such
dual-mode operations and 13 dedicated open universities in the country. As for the secondary
level, mention has already been made of the Open School and the National Open School (see
subsection 3.3.2 and also Chapter 4).

47

3.3.7

Present challenges for secondary education in India

At the dawn of the 21st century, the educational scenario in India was significantly different in
contrast with that of 1950 (see Table 3.8 below). The growth in the overall literacy rate and that
among women especially, the rise in the number of institutions at all the levels and the increase in
the variety of institutions for higher studies are indeed impressive. The impressive growth
notwithstanding, there are obvious gaps, which have yet to be filled. For example, the number of
higher education institutions is not commensurate with the size of the country, and public
expenditure on education has not increased significantly. India has much more to achieve, and
that should be very fast, as delays should multiply the issues. The challenges are obvious and they
have to be met in right earnest.
Table 3.8
S.
No.
1
2
3
4
5

Progress 119 made during 1950-2000

No. of university level

institutions

27

Gross Enrolment Ratio in

elementary education
Gender Parity Index at
elementary level
Public expenditure on education
as per cent of GDP
Number of teachers

32.1 per cent

Situation in 2003-04
(unless indicated otherwise)
64.8 per cent (2001 figure)
53.7 per cent
1.18 million
9427
2751
17,625 (2004-05 figure)
[University level institutions are not included
here.]
338 (229 Universities, 96 Deemed Universities
and 13 Institutions of National Importance) (as
on 31. 03. 05)
84.8 per cent

0.38

0.93

1.5 per cent

3.76 per cent

--

6.2 million

8
9
10

Criterion/Item
Literacy rate
Female literacy rate
No. of schools
No. of general colleges
No. of professional colleges
No. of colleges all the postsecondary education institutions

Situation in
1950-51
18.3 per cent
8.9 per cent
0.23 million
370
208
--

With a billion-plus population, India is said to be a country of young people as nearly 40 per cent
of the population belongs to the 6-24 years age group 120 , which is typically the target group for
formal institution based education the world over, including India A simple profile of the
coverage achieved so far within this age group is as follows:

119

Based on Size of the Indian Education System & Quantitative Expansion under Sector Overview,
Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India:
http://education.nic.in/sector.asp, pp. 5 and 6. (accessed on July 30, 2007)
120

Based on the details presented under Sector Overview, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of
Human Resource Development, Government of India: http://education.nic.in/sector.asp, p. 5. (accessed on
July 30, 2007)

48

Coverage within the 6-24 age group 121

(figures pertain to 2003-04, unless indicated otherwise)
(Read Table 3.9 above together with the discussion following Table 3.5)

Table 3.9

1
2
3

Target population (6-24 years age groupestimate for 2003)

Total enrolment in all educational institutions (school to university)
Target population yet to be involved and provided for

411 million
224 million
187 million

The un-reached (out-of-school/college/university) 187 million constitute a daunting figure. This,

of course, is the conventionally known clientele for schools, colleges and universities put
together. Added to this figure is the new learner 122 born of the aspirations of a young
democratic society driven by a socio-economic dynamism never seen in many centuries of sloth
and slumber. And finally, we must not lose sight of the annual incremental millions 123 that get
added to the above mind-boggling figures. As outlined above, India has done a lot during the past
50 years, but obviously there is much to be done. The major challenges 124 to be addressed are as
follows:

121

The most visible of the challenges is the issue of access. Though elementary schools
are now available in the close vicinity of most children, institutions for the secondary
and higher education are still too far to attend for many a student all over the country.
Besides such spatial barriers, there are economic, academic, linguistic, social and
physical barriers that ail education in India.
The last major challenge is the lack of financial resources. So far, the combined
efforts of the Central and State Governments have not been able to push the outlay
for lower education above 3.76 per cent (2003-04 figure; see Table 3.8) of the GDP,
though the very first National Policy on Education-1968 had estimated the need for
fixing public funding for education at 6 per cent of GDP.
The management of education in India continues to be bureaucratic in nature. It is a
challenge to move to more professional, accountable, decentralised and inclusive
management practices. Many of the issues including that of quality can be addressed
more satisfactorily and speedily if the management of education gets overhauled.
Quality of education too is a challenge. The factors affecting the quality of education
in India are more than onephysical facilities and infrastructure are not adequate,
nor up-to-date; appropriately qualified and trained teachers are not available in
adequate numbers; the teaching-learning transaction (still dominated by rote learning)
is not effective in many cases; and learner performance in many cases remains low.

Ibid. p. 5.

122

This is a mixed group of young and old, men and women, bright and mediocre, skilled and un-skilled
and so on, who seek education and training for horizontal and upward mobility, for updating and upgrading
their knowledge and skills, for equipping themselves with multiple-skills to face the volatility in the
employment market or simply in pursuit of a better quality of life. Interestingly, this group includes many
bright school leavers, who grab a job and at the same time look for education/training to build on.

123

The estimated annual rise in population in India is nearly 18-19 million (just about one Australia every
year).

124

Based on the details presented under Sector Overview, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of
Human Resource Development, Government of India: http://education.nic.in/sector.asp, p. 7. (accessed on
July 30, 2007)

49

Of course, there are centres of excellence here and there, but overall quality in
education remains an issue to be tackled.
Participation ratios of the relevant age groups for elementary, secondary and higher
education at 85 per cent, 39 per cent and 9 per cent (2003-04) respectively leave
much to be desired. Related to the levels of participation is the ticklish issue of
equity. One cause of low levels of participation is that potential students from
disadvantaged groups of society cannot go for quality education easily, as their levels
of preparedness let them down. When they succeed in getting into the system, it is
usually the institutions of poor quality that accommodate them.
Relevance of curricula is another challenge that Indian education has not been able to
meet squarely yet, as a large majority of Indian institutions still hang on to dated
curricula. Given that education/training is now seen as a tool of socio-economic wellbeing at the national level and as a means for quality life at the level of individuals,
curricula have to promote not only the prospects of a better national economy, but
also purposeful life skills.

3.3

Secondary schooling and the Indian labour market

3.3.1

Introduction

It is common knowledge that generally individuals with higher levels of education/training earn
more than those with lower levels of education or none at all. In economic terms, therefore, a
person with higher education does not only get better economic returns over his/her life time, but
is also of higher economic value to the society, as he/she contributes more to social productivity
than others. It is customary to estimate the returns on the levels of education in relation to their
costs. The cost is thus seen as investment and what it yields over a lifetime provides for the
estimation of rate of return to education.
Again, it is commonplace that generally the rates of return to education are positive everywhere.
A society can afford to pay more to a better-educated individual, only if his/her contribution to
economy is better than that of the one with a lower level of education. The implication of the
positive rate of return is that investment in education is profitable and so it contributes to
economic growth; and that a higher rate of return for a particular level of education implies that
the education of that level contributes more significantly to the growth of economy than other
levels of education.
Obviously, the level of education that entails a better rate of return is the type that the society
should invest in. In actual practice, the relationship is not as simplistic as it reads here. For
example, the effect of emphasis on different levels of education differs in relation to the stages of
development an economy/country has reached.
At the earliest stages of development (the agricultural settings of rural economies), improvements
in primary education and the number of workers with primary education correlate positively with
the growth of GDP. As societies move to the stage of industrialisation, the workforce engaged in
agriculture diminishes and that in industrial areas rises progressively. At this stage of economic
development, it is the relative number of secondary school graduates that shows positive
correlation with economic growth 125 . And similarly, at still higher stages of economic growth, it
is the proportion of higher education graduates that shows positive correlation with economic
125

McMahon, W. (1998). Education and Growth in East Asia, Economics of Education Review, Vol. 17
(2), pp. 159-172.
50

growth and development. With democratisation coupled with globalisation coming to the fore
almost universally, the employment market is steadily crossing the national borders.
Consequently, rates of return to investments in higher education in India 126 have generally been
increasing in comparison with those in lower education (see Tables 3.10 and 3.11 below).
Without losing sight of this global scenario, our argument below is based on the view that today
India encapsulates two economic entitiesIndia that is Bharat 127 . In the 1960s and 1970s,
influenced by the Soviet model of socialist economy, India aimed at economic growth with public
investments in the development of heavy industry protected by customs regulations and a
simultaneous boost in agricultural production, which led to the Green Revolution. The
accompanying weaknesses, however, lurked in inefficient and primitive industry together with a
relatively large size of subsistence agriculture.
Preparing for changes in the late 1980s and certainly by the early 1990s, the scenario changed as
the economy responded to the process of globalisation by opening up in the real sense for the first
time after independence (i.e. 1947). Though this development has steered Indias progress into
the new knowledge/information economy, the most significant factor that will promote and
sustain this progress is the human capital that India can generate and invest in the years to come.
Given the existing two facets of Indiathe India that lives in urban and industrial areas and the
Bharat that is still bound to villages, both the higher-end and the lower-end human capital are
required in the country concurrently. While the former is required for innovation, application and
organisation so vital for an information/knowledge economy, the latter is required in semi-urban
and particularly in rural areas for agriculture and the related productive enterprises 128 in such
areas.
The above premise provides a framework for the following discussion on two related themes:
i) the cost-benefit of the secondary level of education in India, and
ii) the cost-efficiency of Open Schooling for this level as it pertains to India today.
The former theme is discussed in Subsections 3.4.2 and 3.4.3 and concluded in Section 3.5 of this
chapter, while the latter theme has been taken up separately in Chapter 4.

126

Carnoy, M. (1995). Rates of Return to Education, The International Encyclopaedia of Education,

Pergamon, Oxford, UK.

127

The expression is from the Constitution of India. India may be the only country that has two official
namesIndia and Bharat. The latter has been derived from ancient Sanskrit texts. In todays roadside
discourse pertaining to the socio-economic developments as they obtain today, it refers to those aspects and
people of India that relate to rural areas and have not visibly benefited from the fruits of independence
democracy, education, economic growth, reformative legislation, etcthe way the corporate sector that
relates to urban areas of the country (called India) has.

128

Subsistence agriculture on smallholdings, small-scale cottage industries, handicrafts, seri- and

horticulture, small-scale cooperative enterprises, etc.

51

3.3.2

Cost-benefits of education in India

It should be mentioned at the very outset that this brief study is handicapped for want of up-todate data. The Report 129 of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) Committee
laments, Unlike elementary education where comprehensive and reliable database has been
developed, secondary education does not have such authentic data with annual updates. And the
report advises that, In order to develop a sound and dependable planning framework for
secondary education, it will be necessary to develop Secondary Education Management
Information System with disaggregated data at the state, district and block levels. Most studies
pertaining to secondary education in India suffer from this handicap, so much that even the recent
studies have to bank on old data. The advantage of such studies, however, is that they do indicate
what has been happening over a period of time and what may be expected now and henceforth.
Here, we begin with a profile of work participation as it obtained until the last decade.
Table 3.10

Work participation and the structure of Indian labour force

1993/4 130

Work participation
Men
Women
Structure of the workforce
Self employed:
Men
Women
Regular salaried & wage workers:
Men
Women
Casual labourers:
Men
Women

1972/3-

1972/3
52.9
27.8

1978/9
53.6
29.0

1983
53.8
29.5

1987/8
53.1
28.1

1993/4
54.4
28.3

60.1
63.1

58.0
60.8

55.9
60.0

54.5
59.0

53.7
56.8

19.8
6.3

18.3
5.3

18.1
5.4

18.2
6.8

16.7
6.2

19.7
30.6

23.7
33.9

26.0
34.6

27.3
34.2

29.6
37.0

Age: 15-59 years [Compiled from NSS Reports]

We notice that work participation has been increasing steadily, with the women labour force
slightly more than half the strength of its male counterpart generally. Seemingly, the growth is
not impressive, but considering the significant rise in the population during the period concerned,
the overall steady rise (except the dip in 1987/8) is a positive development.
Secondly, the levels of self-employed and salaried and wage-workers put together have fallen
uniformly over the period, except that in the latter category women work force recorded some
recovery in late 1980s and early 1990s. This recovery may have its explanation in the expanded

129

Report of the CABE Committee: Universalisation of Secondary Education (2005), Central Advisory
Board of Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India, New Delhi. p. 44.
[The Ministry of Human Resource Development constituted the Committee in Sept. 2004 to prepare a
blueprint for universalising secondary education in India. It submitted its Report in June 2005.]
130

Duraisamy, P. (2000). Changes in Returns to Education in India1983-94: by Gender, Age-cohort and

Location, Centre Discussion Paper No. 815, Economic Growth Centre, Yale University, Connecticut. p.
22. http://www.econ.yale.edu/growth_pdf/cdp815pdf (accessed on July 16, 2007)

52

provision for lower education, especially for women, introduced in the 1970/80s after the
adoption of the National Policy on Education-1968 as amended in 1976.
Thirdly, we notice that casual labour recorded a steady and relatively substantial growth during
the same period; this may be attributed to the induction of new population groups (such as
SCs/STs 131 , etc) into the component of labour market requiring unskilled labour on a large
scaleas the traditional agricultural labour started migrating to industries, gaps were created in
the space of agricultural labour, which came to be filled by the groups that were not in the labour
force previously. We have yet to see the role of education in these developments. A look at the
rates of return to education must provide some pointers in this regard.
Table 3.11

Trends in the returns (per cent) to education in India1983-1993/4 132

Educational level
Primary (Classes I-V)
Middle (Classes VI-VIII) 133
Secondary * (IX-XII)
College/University (Degree level)
Technical Diploma etc.

1983
Total
8.2
8.4
13.7
11.6
13.4

Men
6.1
7.1
13.2
12.2
13.9

Women
4.1
14.3
23.8
9.5
12.8

1993/4
Total
7.9
7.4
13.8
11.7
14.9

Men
6.2
6.3
12.6
12.2
15.6

Women
3.8
10.3
25.5
10.3
12.3

*Includes Higher Secondary level also

The figures in the above table indicate that until the middle of the last decade, the private rate of
return per level of education increased with the levels of education uniformly among men as well
as women until they reached the college/university levelthe secondary level being the most
rewarding of all the levels. The return to middle (i.e. upper primary) education is generally only
marginally higher (in fact lower in the 1990s) than to primary education, except in the case of
women, for whom it shows a significant rise in both the decades. And this trend holds also for the
secondary (including the senior secondary) level, at which return to education for women is
nearly (in the 1980s) and over (in the 1990s) twice as much as that for men. The overall
comparison shows that up to the secondary level, the return for women is generally higher than
that for men, and that the trend reverses for the higher and technical education. Looking across
rural and urban areas an interesting variation in the returns[to be seen in these areas is that
there are] higher returns to education in rural than in urban areas for primary and secondary levels
and also for technical diplomas. [On the other hand, the returns] for higher secondary and
college education are higher for the urban compared to the rural residents. 134

131

Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are those categories of population among the
Hindus, who have traditionally remained deprived, but the State is now providing them support for growth
and development. [See footnotes 33, 34 and 35 also.]

132

Duraisamy, P. (2000). Changes in Returns to Education in India1983-94: by Gender, Age-cohort and

Location, Centre Discussion Paper No. 815, Economic Growth Centre, Yale University, Connecticut. p.
34. http://www.econ.yale.edu/growth_pdf/cdp815pdf (accessed on July 16, 2007)
133
Middle level is the same as the Upper Primary level. Classes I to VIII make the Elementary level of
education.
134
Duraisamy, P. (2000). Changes in Returns to education in India1983-94: by Gender, Age-cohort and
Location, Centre Discussion Paper No. 815, Economic Growth Centre, Yale University, Connecticut. p.
16. http://www.econ.yale.edu/growth_pdf/cdp815pdf (accessed on July 16, 2007)

53

As for the female workforce exclusively, a study on womens labour market in India looks into
the role played by education in the differential returns to men and women in urban parts of the
country. It concludes that women do suffer high levels of wage discrimination in the Indian
urban labour market, but that education contributes little to this discrimination [and that] the
wage-disadvantage effect of women's lower years of education than men is entirely offset by the
wage-advantage effect of women's higher returns to education than men's. . [It is also
indicated] that, for both men and women, returns to education rise with education level,
confirming the findings of other recent educational rate of return studies in India and
elsewhere 135 .
The equity issue in India pertains not only to comparative returns to education for men and
women, but also to such returns for different social and religious groups comprising the
population. The levels of education among and so the earnings of different groups of population
have been significantly different traditionally. In spite of the continued efforts to bridge the gaps
since independence, the disparities persist even today.
As reported by Bhaumik and Chakrabarty 136 (see Table 3.12 below), their 1987 sample included
24,529 Hindus, 3,548 Muslims, and 2,641 people of other religious groups. Of the Hindus, 4,596
were SCs/STs while 19,933 belonged to other castes. In their 1999 sample, there were 22,773
Hindus, 3,273 Muslims and 3,259 people from other religions. Of the Hindus, 4,563 were
SCs/STs, 6,610 were OBCs 137 and 11,600 belonged to other castes. Hindus and Muslims are the
two largest religious groups, and others like Buddhists, Christians, Jains and Sikhs together make
a small proportion of the total population. All the subjects belonging to these smaller religious
groups were put together in the category other. Earnings include all types of wages, salaries and
income in kind, and all earnings have been expressed in terms of the 1999 prices. The
investigators used the consumer price index for industrial workers to convert 1987 earnings into
real values that are comparable with the 1999 earnings of the individuals.

135

Kingdon, G. G. & Unni, J. (2001). Education and Womens Labour Market Outcomes in India,
Education Economics, Vol. 9, Issue 2, August 2001, pp. 173-195.

136

Bhaumik, S. K. & Chakrabarty, M. (2006). Earnings Inequality in India: Has the Rise of Caste and
Religion based Politics in India had an Impact? Discussion Paper No. 2008, The Institute for the Study of
Labor (IZA), Bonn, Germany. [Provisional data]
137

OBCs stands for Other Backward Classes, i.e. Backward Classes other than Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes. In the 1987 Study, the other castes included the Other Backward Classes (OBCs),
which gained socio-political recognition only after the adoption of the Mandal Commissions Report in
1990. Accordingly, in Table 3.12, the 1987 data shows the caste of an individual as SC/ST or other (i.e.,
higher castes). The 1999 Study classifies an individual as SCs/STs, OBCs or other.

54

Table 3.12

Earning differences within and across the various groups of population

1987
Caste
SC/ST

OBC

Other

Religion
Hindu

Muslim

Other

Illiterate

325.87
(239.24)

326.74
(361.59)

326.36
(314.31)

322.36
(245.94)

355.91
(231.24)

Primary education

436.27
(262.91)

449.57
(282.82)

446.52
(278.42)

439.70
(265.54)

508.64
(323.05)

Middle (i.e. Upper Primary)

education

493.15
(275.13)

538.55
(339.03)

530.33
(328.80)

529.77
(304.94)

589.32
(348.23)

Secondary
education

671.61
(382.86)

810.68
(575.10)

798.60
(562.36)

740.05
(400.21)

802.59
(409.31)

General tertiary

1006.90
(498.51)

1130.61
(690.95)

1124.42
(683.10)

987.68
(520.75)

1137.25
(859.28)

Professional
education

1244.63
(597.03)

1713.32
(812.47)

1702.92
(810.84)

1504.09
(685.10)

1625.36
(968.68)

Caste
SC/ST
484.46
(344.62)

OBC
412.27
(301.95)

Other
508.15
(347.29)

Religion
Hindu
466.04
(334.10)

Muslim
454.29
(287.39)

Other
526.26
(451.26)

Primary education

608.60
(391.44)

549.09
(393.96)

642.47
(441.18)

596.99
(411.20)

557.73
(429.22)

646.97
(403.36)

Middle (i.e. Upper Primary)

education

707.28
(487.69)

648.00
(507.23)

739.54
(544.17)

700.21
(521.14)

649.84
(476.80)

807.64
(470.16)

Secondary
education

998.03
(757.58)

880.67
(589.73)

1089.13
(706.06)

1012.34
(686.13)

892.28
(570.31)

1152.69
(763.64)

General tertiary

1443.38
(878.82)

1279.46
(831.49)

1605.10
(1008.62)

1520.28
(971.56)

1350.15
(929.27)

1588.35
(947.92)

Professional
education

2260.39
(857.46)

2352.23
(190.20)

2696.54
(1265.94)

2615.09
(1245.83)

2610.15
(1130.69)

2747.68
(1003.67)

1999
Illiterate

Note:

i) The values within parentheses are standard deviations.

Some of their observations and findings are as follows:

Other castes (sub-categories among Hindus) had higher earnings than the SCs/STs
during 1987 as well as 1999.
In 1999, the OBCs earnings were lower than those of the higher castes and the
SCs/STs, except at the professional level in the latter case.
Generally, Muslims had lower average earnings than the people of other religions.

55

People belonging to the other religions had higher earnings than the Hindus in
1987 as well as 1999. This difference may be attributed to the relatively higher levels
of education among Christians, Jains, etc, who have traditionally depended on the
respective community run private educational institutions, which are better
organised and adequately funded (by self-generated funds) in comparison with the
State run institutions. (Added comment in italics).
Earnings of all castes and religious groups increased between 1987 and 1999. This is
said to be consistent with the 2- 4 per cent growth in per capita GDP during this
period.
Of the Muslim sample less than 10 per cent of the women reported earnings, while
the corresponding figures for the Hindus were over 15 per cent and over 25 per cent
for the other religious groups. This indicates relatively lesser participation of
Muslim women in womens labour force. The differences in the levels of
participation in labour market may be attributed to the levels of educational
attainment among the women within the different groups. (Added comment in
italics.)
As for the relative educational attainments among the castes, overall SCs/STs were
less educated than the people of other castes. Larger numbers of the people belonging
to the higher castes (48 per cent with general tertiary education in 1999) were
much more educated than people belonging to OBCs (25 per cent) and SCs/STs (17
per cent).
And the figures for relative educational attainments among religious groups showed
that on average Muslims, 21 per cent of whom had tertiary education, were less
educated than both Hindus (35 per cent of whom had tertiary education) and other
non-Hindus (40 per cent of whom had tertiary education).

We notice that Indians get divided into three distinct groups. Those who are in the highest bracket
of earnings are professionals, who have higher levels of education invariably. All of them find a
place in the labour market. Within this bracket, caste and/or religion do not seem to affect ones
participation in the labour market significantly, but there are minor differences in their levels of
earning. It is primarily the level of educational attainment that is responsible for high returns in
this case.
Those in the lowest bracket of earnings are the unskilled workers. Their educational attainments
are low and their numbers large. Their earnings are low, partly because jobs requiring unskilled
labour have low returns, and partly because of the imbalance in supply and demandthey are too
many for not as many jobs. Yet, differences of caste and religion show differences, though small,
in the returns from the market.
The third group lies between the groups that have the highest and the lowest returns in the labour
market. Their educational attainments are immensely varied on account of their family
backgrounds, the institutions where they study and the courses/subjects they study. Members of
this group work at different places and levels, very often decided by chance, and also, to some
extent, by the caste or religion they belong to.
3.4

Cost-benefits of secondary education: the Indian case

The overall conclusion is that earnings definitely increase with rises in educational levels for
allmen and women, rural and urban work force, varied castes and religious groupsand all
along over a period of time. Such positive correlation between educational levels of the work

56

force and their earnings suggests that differences in earnings across worker types are influenced
by their educational attainments.
Furthermore, returns to education relate to the available subsidies and the level of universalisation
achieved at a particular level of education. The provision of free education up to 14 years of age
in India has contributed to high private rates of return at the primary stage of education especially
in rural India, where primary education is available through government-run schools mainly. This
advantage is lost gradually with the rise of saturation levels at this stage. Thus while subsidies at a
particular stage of education provide for high private returns, rising levels of universalisation of
education at that very stage lower private returns gradually. At a given level of education, the
two factors, subsidy and universalisation, influence private returns to education inversely.
Table 3.13

Studies on private rates of return in India

S.
No.

Year

Primary

1
3
5
6

1967 138
1972 139
1987 140
2000 141

23.0
16.5
7.82
7.9

Middle
(i.e. Upper
Primary)
13.0
14.0
8.54
7.4

Secondary
10.0
10.4
-ve
13.8

Higher
Secondary

2.4

Degree
8.1
8.7
6.82
11.7

Professional
degree

14.9

The above table sums up the Indian scenario over the decades. Returns to primary and middle (i.
e. upper primary) education were high in the 1960s and 1970s when access to these levels of
education was very low in India and subsidies for these levels were gradually being put in place.
By the turn of the century, the situation reversed in favour of secondary education, as the degree
of universality at the primary and middle levels had increased substantially by then.
Global emphasis on and the related drive for the socio-economic relevance of education stems
partly from the lessons learnt from the levels of economic growth experienced by countries with
high levels of participation in education and partly by the desire (of aspirants) to achieve the
quality of life enjoyed by such countries. Accordingly, the main cause of the tremendous pressure
at all the levels of education in India is the mounting urge among individuals to pursue schooling
as it promises better jobs, better income and improved quality of life. The state, partly as a
collectivity of these very individuals and partly as the body responsible for organising and
regulating their activities, looks for ways to make such schooling possible and affordable for the
masses in order to effect overall economic development of the country, removal of inequities and
eradication of poverty.
138

Nalla-gounden. A. M. (1967). Investment in Education in India, Journal of Human Resources, 2 (3)

(Summer), pp. 347-358.

139

Blaug, M. (1972). Educated Unemployment in Asia: A Contrast between India and the Philippines,
The Philippine Economic Journal, Vol. 11, pp. 33-35.

140

Tilak, J. B. G. (1987). Economics of Inequality in Education, Sage, New Delhi. P. 52/85.

141

Duraisamy, P. (2000). Changes in Returns to Education in India, 1983-1994: by Gender, Age-Cohort

and Location, Centre Discussion Paper No. 815, Economic Growth Centre, Yale University, Connecticut.
p. 34. http://www.econ.yale.edu/growth_pdf/cdp815pdf (accessed on July 16, 2007)

57

Superficially, it would seem that opening more and more schools, colleges and universities is the
way forward, but for sustained and long-term benefits, states must resolve the issues that have
implications for long-term planning, resource mobilisation and utilisation of the products of
educational systems which they may establish. The issues are fundamental in nature: How does
education contribute to economic growth? What type of education is most beneficial? What levels
of education should be emphasised for which purpose, at which location and when? And above
all, what criteria may be used to choose an educational system, and once chosen, how may it be
expanded and sustained in the face of human resource shortages and/or dwindling financial
resources for the purpose?
India, like most developing countries, looks for answers in the experiences of developed richer
countries, which invariably point to a strong correlation between their workforce with higher
levels of formal education/training and their economic growth/development. The other related
noticeable fact is that all the developed countries invest more education not only to expand the
size of their educated work force, but also to steadily provide still higher levels of
education/training to those of their workforce that are already educated/trained. The latter
invariably focus on processes of better management, innovations, application of innovations to
productivity, sensing the emerging changes in trade and commerce and how to manage them.
3.5.1

The multiple roles of education

Further lessons from countries like Japan (for example, their indigenous research and
development-based in-service training which their industries provide to their workers enabling
them to work on new industrial products and for higher levels of production, while retaining their
loyalties) help in identifying the multiple roles of education and training in the process of
increasing productivity. Thus, education is a commodity that provides for economic growth and
development at one level and functions as a change agent at the other, while at the institutional
level it provides for sustained development integrated with work satisfaction and improved
loyalty among the work force. Clearly, human capital impacts positively not only the direct
productivity rates, but also (and more importantly) the productive capabilities of the work force
and the mechanisms of change 142 .
India needs to provide for both the levels and also for institutional settings to sustain growth and
development in a fast changing and competitive global market. The high-end human capital is
required to innovate, foresee emerging changes and manage them efficiently (in urban and
industrial India), and the lower-end human capital to boost growth at the lower end of economy,
especially in rural and agricultural settings (i.e. in Bharat). There are positive indications in
relation to the former, as evidenced by around nine per cent annual growth 143 in recent years
effected mainly by a healthy growth in the service and industry sectors, but the latter is not
encouraging as evidenced by the plight of farmers 144 all over the country.
Growth in the service sector is primarily driven by developments in ICT applications and in the
industry sector by the application of such scientific knowledge and experience as are required by
the industries dependent on scientific innovations and their applications. This establishes the

142

Sorensen, A. (1999). R&D, Learning and Phases of Economic Growth, Journal of Economic Growth,
Vol. 4, pp. 429-445.
143
The Economist, Vol. 385, No. 8549, October 6th-12th, 2007. p. 111.
144
For the past few years now the Indian press has been reporting suicides committed by frustrated farmers.
Among the various ways out, improved government funding for agriculture is seen as a possible solution.
58

importance of higher education, especially in management- and sciences-related disciplines, as

they provide for innovating technologies, bringing in new applications of the existing
technologies and establishing new norms and systems of management that are more effective and
efficient. The workforce with such education not only increases its own productivity, but also
becomes instrumental in increasing the productivity of those workers who work at other, more
importantly at the lower, levels. Further, it is higher education that enables the workforce to see
what non-human factors need to be put in place to materialise the stipulated growth
infrastructure 145 , for example. Thus higher education goes beyond increasing human capabilities,
as it also contributes to the environment required to put those capabilities to gainful use.
3.5.2

The impact of lower levels of education

Such significance of higher education brings into sharp focus the twofold significance of the
lower levels of education:
i)

they have a positive developmental role in rural and semi-urban areas as they
improve the skills and attitude of workers, resulting in overall higher levels and better
quality of production per worker, and
ii) they build a strong and vast base for the educational pyramid enabling it to have a
large and quality top required for helping lower level workers to achieve higher
levels of production and for effecting innovations in the mechanisms as well as
management of quality production.

With this in view and considering that the vast majority of the potential human capital resides in
rural and semi-urban areas of India, the significance of the lower levels of education (including
secondary education) cannot be over emphasised. The impact of higher education as seen in the
developed areas of the country is discernible in the rural and semi-urban areas too, but for the size
of the country, unless these areas in large numbers are able to develop their own human capital
within their own locales, growth and development will come to them dangerously slowly.
Thus, lower education for the majority of Indians deserves emphasis on two counts:
i)

it is required for the immediate purpose of improving productivity and growth in the
existing rural and lower-end enterprises 146 as they are, and
ii) it is a necessary condition for establishing viable higher education activities in the
localities concerned as elsewhere.

145

A major cause of brain drain in India is the lack of the required level of infrastructure. Though the
earlier planners visualised the need for human resource development, the corresponding need for
infrastructure was not. Even today many world-class graduates from IITs and IIMs prefer working in
countries that provide the infrastructure and working conditions that suit/attract them. Urge for higher
earnings are not the only cause of such migration.

146

Subsistence agriculture on smallholdings, small-scale cottage industries, handicrafts, seri- and

horticulture and small-scale cooperative enterprises.
59

Apart from these reasons for investing in secondary education in India, there is yet another issue
which is also essentially economic, though overtly it appears to be more social than anything
elsethe issue of equity. There are the talented rural poor making a special group of potentially
rich human capital, but likely to get wasted if not attended to and also the other no less important
a group comprising out-of-school children whose potential remains completely unknown and
wasted if not attended to. For the former, the Central Government introduced what are called
Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (see Subsections 3.3.2 and 4.4.1) and for the latter the National
Open School, now the National Institute of Open Schooling (see Subsections 3.3.2 and Chapter
4).

60

OPEN SCHOOLING IN INDIA:

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF OPEN SCHOOLING, NEW DELHI

4.1

The context of Open Schooling in India

Though the realisation emerged slowly over the years, it was clear long before the National
Policy on Education-1968 was amended in 1976 that:
i)

the then existing conventional institutions and the systems they followed were not
designed and could not be geared to meet the challenges facing secondary education,
and
ii) no amount of conventional supplementary support was likely to meet the range of
those challenges vis--vis the diversity of the target groups that abound within the
size of operations that constitute education in India.

As the said challenges continue to persist (see Chapter 3, Subsection 3.3.3), it was/is reasonable
to look for alternative modes of education (see Subsection 4.1.3) rather than for complements or
supplements to what has been in place for decades. A few instances of such initiatives introduced
in the last century have been touched upon in Subsections 3.3.2 (Chapter 3) under the headings
Education on the Concurrent List (1976--) and Post-1992 Scenario. Building on that experience,
some of the new alternatives and initiatives introduced so far in this decade are worthy of a
mention here:

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan 147 (SSA) was launched in 2001 to universalise quality elementary
education all over the country.
2002 saw yet another Constitutional Amendment to make free and compulsory education a
fundamental right 148 in the Indian Union.
Educational Cess was levied with effect from 2004 to mobilise additional funds to help the
Government to fulfil the commitment of universalising quality education at the lower levels.
EduSat, a satellite dedicated to educational programming, was launched in 2004.

4.1.1

Need for Open Schooling in India

Open Schooling as an effective alternative modality of educating/training at the secondary level

attracted the attention of planners partly because of the immensity of requirements 149 at this level
and partly because secondary education is an end and a beginning at the same time. It marks the
end of the first phase of education allowing the young graduates to enter the employment market
and also serves as a gateway to higher education which provides for a much better quality of
lifesuch a gateway has to be wide and ever open.
Secondly, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is promising an exponential 150 rise in enrolments at
the secondary levelthe annual growth rate of enrolment at the secondary level during the 1990s
147

It is a Hindi expression meaning Education for All Campaign/Movement.

148

The amendment has not come into force yet.

149

In the 2001 Census, the population of the 14-18 years age group was estimated to be 88.5 million and
the corresponding enrolment figure was 31 million, i.e. 65 per cent (the corresponding estimated figure for
2003-04 was 61 per cent) of the relevant age group was not in school.

61

was 2.83 per cent, rising to 7.4 per cent per annum during 2000-2003. This figure is going to rise
significantly when the full impact of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is felt through the process of
achieving the goal of universal elementary education, for which the places available at the
secondary level must multiply in good time to face the impending deluge.
Thirdly, it is estimated 151 that ODL provision at the level of higher education, comprising 13
dedicated (single mode) open universities and over 100 dual mode higher education institutions,
caters to only 20 per cent of higher education students. Only five percent of the Indian population
has higher education qualifications. Increasing the rate of higher education would contribute
to the country's economic, political and social strength. One way to increase enrolment in higher
education is to increase secondary level enrolment, which is where open schools such as NIOS
can play an increasingly important role.
Fourthly, all the expansion in and the inclusive approach being followed to expand coverage at
the secondary level of education notwithstanding, it is not possible to involve the entire relevant
age group in the conventional type of scheduled day-time schooling, as significantly large
numbers of potential secondary level students are engaged in productive labour in agriculture in
rural areas and in various gainful activities in semi-urban and urban areas. Invariably, they belong
to lower income and/or poor families.
It is, therefore, not without reason that, as one of the major and tested alternative modalities of
education to meet the types of challenge outlined above (to the extent that it can), the open
distance mode of education/training has appealed significantly to planners. Accordingly, the
already designed and established ODL system in the form of the National Open School (NOS)
(see Subsection 3.3.2) was further upgraded in 2002 with a broader mandate to be an apex
institution now called the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). To augment the efforts of
NIOS, many other State Open Schools have been established. As indicated above and argued
elaborately in Subsection 4.1.3, it is an alternative mechanism/mode, because it does not
complement what conventional secondary schools are doing, nor does it serve as a supplement to
their efforts. It has evolved over a period of time with diverse policy prescriptions piling one on
the other, giving it a unique profile as a secondary level institution that has a distinct mandate of
its own.
4.1.2

Policy prescriptions and commitments for the secondary ODL operations

In order that the National Open School (NOS) (now NIOS) may successfully address the multifaceted challenges before the secondary education in the country, significant policy 152
prescriptions (emphases added) have been provided for it to materialise its mandate boldly and
consistently.

150

Improving Access to Secondary Education in Dept. of School Education & Literacy, Secondary
Education Statistics: http://education.nic.in/secedu/sec_stats.asp
151
Planning & Management Issues in the Report of the CABE Committee on Universalisation of
Secondary Education, (2005), Ministry of Human Resource development, Government of India, New
Delhi, p.48.
152

Excerpts from Reaching the Un-reachedNational Institute of Open Schooling: 1989 to 2004: National
Institute of Open Schooling, New Delhi (Forthcoming).
62

National Policy on Education (NPE) 1986 (and revised in 1992)

The National Open School (NOS) will be strengthened and open learning facilities
extended in a phased manner at the secondary level in all parts of the country.

Programme of Action (POA) (1992) in relation to NPE-1986 as revised in 1992

The Open Schooling System

1. NOS will be strengthened and developed to widen access to education at the
secondary and higher secondary levels. Efforts will be made to establish Open
Schools in different states so that secondary education is significantly expanded
through different regional languages.
2. The possibility of launching vocational education programmes through open
learning systems will be explored. For this purpose, meaningful linkages will be
established with workstations, industries and other organisations.
3. The possibility of setting up a National Consortium for Open Schooling will be
explored in order to initiate coordinated steps in such areas as policy issues,
priorities, long-term national and state needs, establishment of resource centres
for development of materials, development of human resources for the open
learning system, and monitoring and evaluation of its performance.

Employment-related education
1. The open learning system at the secondary and tertiary levels will focus attention
on education and training in areas related to employment and selfemployment..
2. The open learning system will take steps to meet the continuing education needs
of the manpower already employed in different sectors

Vocational education through Open Learning

1. Vocational courses will be offered by NOS in collaboration with supporting
partners, organisations and institutions working in the vocational education field
and having basic infrastructural facilities

Planning Commissions Core Group on Open Learning (February 1992)

.open education can play a significant role in spreading relevant education in a

big way and help gear up rural and urban economies by increasing productivity.
The NOS would have to be strengthened for meeting the educational needs of (a)
Open Secondary Education, (b) Open Higher Secondary Education, (c) Open
Vocational Education, and (d) Open Upper Primary Education, the last on
experimental basis. A focus on out-of-school urban, rural and tribal youth, adolescent
girls, women, and the rural farming communities in general is essential for linkages
between education and development.
State Boards of Secondary/Higher Secondary Education have accepted the need for
an open channel of education. Each State/UT may be required to set targets in
accordance with the needs, available facilities and facilities to be provided.

63

Business, industry and professional organisations may be called upon to set up their
own Education and Training Units with a view to training, in collaboration with open
education institutions, the manpower required according to their own emerging
demands.Open Universities and Open School Organizations may guide the
preparation of course-materials and techniques of training under appropriate
contracts.
Various Ministries involved with imparting training and providing sector-wise
manpower need to interact and build linkages for evolving open education and
training programmes Each Ministry may contribute from its budget an
appropriate percentage for the purpose to the Open School/Open University selected
as a collaborator. In view of the complexity of the task of coordination, it is best to
entrust it to the Planning Commission.
There should be a large scale Open Learning System (OLS) teacher training
programme, especially for meeting the urgent requirements for trained primary and
secondary teachers in the tribal education programme of the North Eastern
States. IGNOU and NOS may prepare a programme of induction training for
teachers in remote geographical areas where the need is most urgent.
Since the Open Learning System consists of a cluster of innovations as regarding
planning, management, financing, networking, contact-centres, packaged materials
containing both print and electronic media, localised supervision of implementation
and achievement efforts through Education Complexes, use of dialectic method of
teaching-learning incorporating basic principles of andragogy, community support
and so on, all the personal engaged in planning process of these varied innovations
would require intensive training. These training programmes should be planned and
organised by NOS, IGNOU, YCMOU and other organisations that have acquired
capability of launching and managing educational innovations and changes.
Adequate financial support for this programme would have to be provided without
delay by pooling the financial resources of the Government and interested agencies.

Eighth Five Year Plan-1992-97

A combination of vocational and academic courses would be offered at the

secondary stage with open education (OE) as an important channel, preparing the
students for wage employment and self-employment.
A well-defined open learning system will be developed with a network of educational
opportunities relevant to the needs and circumstances of learners, especially girls,
women, SCs/STs, and the poor, the unemployed and the untrained. The major thrust
of OLS would be on the acquisition of life-skills, vocational skills, directly
contributing to productivity and inculcation of habits of self-learning.
Open Schools would involve themselves in the post-primary stage of education on an
experimental basis to provide wider access to children who are working or not in a
position to attend regular schools due to socio-economic or any other reasons.
The NOS will continue its existing programmes and revise the syllabi and textbooks
for the secondary and senior secondary courses and bring out fresh sets of
instructional materials for the bridge courses. It will develop and introduce
Vocational Courses especially in the areas of health, agriculture and rural
development in collaboration with the departments concerned. The coverage is

64

expected to increase progressively with registration of more accredited institutions 153 .

It should also coordinate and standardise the work of similar State-Level Open
Schools. The setting up of a National Consortium of Open Education to facilitate
accreditation of courses and maintenance of quality through a process of networking
and evaluation should be pursued by NOS in cooperation with the Indira Gandhi
National Open University (IGNOU).
CABE Committee on Distance Education (February 1994)

A National Data base on Distance Education to be established at the tertiary level by

the DEC (IGNOU) and at the school level by the National Open School, which
should be linked to international databases.
An Integrated System of Distance Education from the School to the tertiary level to
be pursued.
Suitable norms should be evolved and guidelines prepared by IGNOU, UGC and
NOS for the establishment of new Distance Education Institutions and conversion of
the existing correspondence institutions to the distance education mode.
State level coordination between distance education institutions within the State
should be the responsibility of the State Council of Higher Education. UGC, IGNOU,
and NOS should take the responsibility for regional cooperation which would include
transfer and sharing of course materials, joint development of courses and training of
staff.
The Open Learning System should give high priority to taking steps to meet the
continuing education needs of the manpower already employed in different sectors by
developing programmes in close cooperation with the employing organisations
concerned.
In accordance with the recommendations of the Planning Commissions Core Group
on Open Learning made in 1992, the National Open School should be strengthened
for meeting the educational needs of (a) Open Secondary Education, (b) Open Higher
Secondary Education, and (c) Open Vocational Education.
Urgent steps to be initiated towards the creation of an educational broadcast system
in view of its vital importance, particularly to support distance education.

Ninth Five Year Plan 1997-2002

Distance Education will be broad-based by providing wider responsibilities to

National Open School and the State Open Schools. These will be in the areas of
elementary education, vocationalisation of education for neo-literates, dropouts,
secondary students and adult population, including working women. Special
initiatives will be taken to derive full advantage from the state-of-art Information
Technology (IT).

153

NIOS uses various institutions as Study and/or Work Centres for its students. These institutions are
identified on the basis of their fulfilling various criteria set by NIOS. Called the Accredited Institutions,
they are mostly the conventional secondary/higher secondary schools and vocational institutions spread all
over the country.
65

Tenth Five Year Plan (2002 to 2007)

4.1.3

In order to meet the educational needs of those who have not been able to enroll
themselves in the formal system, opportunities have been provided through the
National and State Open Schools utilising contact centres and multi-media packages.
(para 2.3.8)
The major thrust in the Tenth Plan, thus, is to meet the increasing demand for
secondary education. The Government has to play a greater role to encourage
opening of new secondary schools, expansion of the capacity of existing schools
including double shifts, upgrading of upper primary schools in backward, un-served
and under-served areas, as also expansion and diversification of Open Schooling and
distance education system (para 2.3.14).
During the Tenth Plan, the National Open School (NOS) would intensify efforts to
ensure that the open school system is for the under-privileged groups. A scheme to
reimburse to the NOS the fees incurred on scheduled caste/tribe students, girls and
physically challenged students is also on the anvil. The NOS will also be restructured
to affiliate regular schools/centres, which offer NOS curriculum as an alternative to
the curricula of other School Boards. The nearly 1,200 study centres are proposed to
be increased by around 15 per cent per year. ..The NIOS ..(should)
..implement the scheme of On-Demand Admissions and On-Demand
Examinations, which give flexibility to the students to take admissions and
examinations during mid-sessions. (para 2.3.16).

Open Schooling as an alternative schooling system

The foregoing details elaborately outline the context and the purpose of Open Schooling for the
secondary level of education in India. Broadly, the context is that of educational deprivation, lack
of access and funding, issues of equity and programming, and development on the one hand, and
on the other that of the States commitment to overhaul the situation as soon as possible and at as
low a cost as possible. Further, it should be clear why it is seen as an alternative systemit is to
cater to such a clientele as is not addressed by the conventional system, its products, programmes
and processes too differ accordingly, and it is to fill up the curricular gaps left wide open by the
conventional schooling systems.
In India, Open Schooling has not been adopted exclusively as a complementary schooling system
(i.e. to complete what the conventional schools leave half/partially done; e.g. to help conventional
school failures to re-sit and complete their courses). Nor is it a supplementary schooling system
(i.e. to support the conventional schools in what they are doing; e.g. to register those who fail to
enter conventional schools and provide them those very courses/subjects as are available at such
schools. Instead, it has been chosen for the cost advantages it is supposed to offer, the operational
flexibility it can accommodate, the curricular innovations and diversity it will allow and above all
the extensive reach it will provide to cover immensely diverse clientele. It is being visualised as a
major means in the process of facilitating inclusion, modernising educational methodology,
diversifying secondary level curricula and universalising secondary education in India (see
Subsection 4.1.2).
To meet this objective, the State Policy allows immense scope for its operations and in return it is
expected to fill a variety of gaps caused by educational deprivation over the centuries. That the
State is determined to make it work is obvious from the convergence of the policy statements

66

originating from diverse sources (see Subsection 4.1.2). What may be the measure to rate the
success of this alternative system?
A straightforward answer is to go to the conventional secondary schooling for a comparison.
Within the Indian conventional system, we may consider at least two distinct cases for such a
comparison. In line with general norms, a dependable indicator of success in the process of
schooling is the throughput rate at the level concerned. Generally, the throughput rates at the 8th
and 9th standards are said to be more than 90 per cent. At the Secondary Board Examinations for
the 10th standard, however, the rate falls below 50 per cent. Thus the overall throughput rate is
below 40 per cent 154 . Then there is the case 155 of Kendriya Vidyalayas (Central Schools), which
show throughput rates of over 90 per cent generally. A comparison of the throughput rates of the
Open Schooling system with these two cases will show how well it is doing on a conventional
scale of measurement. Its position on such a scale, however, will unfold only a part of the story
for several reasons.

Its success in serving the socio-developmental purpose, as per its mandate, cannot not
be assessed by its throughput rates only.
In pursuit of the goal of universal secondary education, apart from the problem of
inadequate provision and infrastructure and the diverse compulsions faced by the
potential secondary students, the issue of quality in the teaching-learning transaction
too is a major concern. To replicate the same/similar recruitment process as practiced
in Kendriya Vidyalayas or Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and appointment of
equally qualified teachers, with full salaries and benefits, in the Open Schooling
system all over the country is not practical within the outlay presently available for
the purpose.
There is a vast difference between the students of the Open Schooling system and
those who enter Central Schoolsmost of whom are the children of Central
Government employees with a reasonably strong family background/environment
that favours pursuit of education. None of them is a first generation learner or an
earner either.
Excessive emphasis on and predominance of academic components in the
conventional secondary level curricula may show the distance learner in poor light.

The success of the Open Schooling system has, therefore, to be measured not only on the basis of
its throughput rates, but also on the extent of the socio-economic and developmental purpose it
serves (see Subsection 4.3.6).
4.2

Place and role of ODL and NIOS

At the school level, the genesis of ODL operations in India may be traced to the introduction of
correspondence courses at the matriculation level (the tenth and the terminal year of high school

154

Planning & Management Issues in the Report of the CABE Committee on Universalisation of
Secondary Education, (2005), Ministry of Human Resource development, Government of India, New
Delhi, p.49.

155

Lack of appropriately qualified teachers in most schools is said to be a major cause of this situation.
Central Schools are known for their process of recruitment and quality of their teachers.

67

system) by the Board of Secondary Education, Madhya Pradesh in 1965 156 . Various other states
like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa followed suit. The curricula, the year-end matriculation
examination and certification modalities were exactly the same as applicable to day schoolsit
was a supplementary system. Correspondence students would get the course materials, no
different from text books in format and intent, at the time of registration and then they were left to
themselves to prepare for the examination.
The Central Government showed its interest in the process much later, when in 1979, the Central
Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi, set up an Open School (with the provision of open
entry, flexible choice of courses and flexibility in the duration for course completion) as an
experimental projectthis was an initiative to move towards an alternative system. By this
time both the Central and the State Governments had realised that alternative schooling systems
were the only answer to the three-fold challenge articulated in the National Policy on Education
(NPE) 1986/1992:

access had to be increased exponentially,

students had to be retained on courses once they were registered, and
they had to be supported to complete their courses successfully.

Having felt the growing pressures from the out-of-school children, adults coming out of the Total
Literacy Campaigns and Post Literacy Programmes and the convincing results of experimentation
under the Open School Project for ten years, the Ministry of Human Resource Development,
Government of India, wound up the CBSE Open School Project to establish the National Open
School (NOS) in 1989. In 1990, through the Government Resolution 157 No. F.5-24/90 Schedule
3, dated 14 September, 1990, NOS was vested with the authority to register, examine and certify
students registered with it up to pre-degree level of education. This way NOS came to have two
main functions: function as a school, i.e. register students, offer courses and arrange educational
transactions like other schools in the country and also function as a School Board to arrange the
conduct of public examinations for the secondary and higher secondary levels and the award of
certificates for its students.
4.2.1

NIOS becomes an apex body

In July 2002, NOS was upgraded to function as a national apex body for Open Schooling in the
country. It was given a new name, the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), and also a
new mandate 158 to provide relevant continuing education at school stage up to the pre-degree
level through the Open Distance Learning System as an alternative to the formal system and to
prioritised client groups, in pursuance of the normative national policy documents and in response
to the needs assessment of the clients, and thus to make its contribution to:

universalisation of education,
greater equity and justice in society, and
the evolution of a learning society.

156

This is just three years after Delhi University introduced Correspondence Courses at the degree level for
the first time in the country.
157
Gazette of India, October 20, 1990, Government of India, New Delhi.
158

Framework and Networking System for Formulation of Educational Programmes, Monitoring of their
Implementation and Evaluation in the Context of Open Schooling, NIOS, New Delhi, p. 9.
68

As an apex body, while continuing to function as an open school itself, NIOS functions as a
resource organisation for all the States and Union Territories 159 in the country. Besides material
support, it arranges consultancy and advocacy programmes for them. So far, 10 States have set up
their State Open Schools and another eight are in the process of doing so.
4.2.2

Functions of NIOS

Apart from its functions described above, NIOS caters to the educational needs of five distinct
clientele groups using the open distance modalities in various combinations:
1. Open Basic Education (OBE) courses cater to children (up to 14 years of age),
adolescents and adults. Depending on the entry behaviour of the learners, they may
work on courses to prepare themselves for levels equivalent to standards 3, 5 or 8 of
the formal system of education. NIOS implements these courses through about 250
voluntary agencies and Zila Saksharta Samities (District Literacy Committees). NIOS
provides the study materials, orientation to resource persons and joint certification,
while the said agencies provide local study centres and other facilities.
2. Secondary education (high school) courses prepare learners for the Secondary School
Certificate.
3. Senior/higher secondary courses prepare learners for the Senior Secondary School
Certificate.
4. Vocational education courses in agriculture, business and commerce, engineering,
technology, health and paramedical education, home science, hospitality, teacher
training, and computer and IT applications prepare learners for appropriate
certification leading to entrepreneurship and employment in relevant fields.
5. Life enhancement (i.e. enrichment) courses.
4.2.3

Secondary level courses and subjects offered by NIOS

A significant innovation in the choice of subject combinations introduced by NIOS is that

vocational subjects are taken at par with academic subjects. So a student may take English, two
academic subjects and two vocational subjects to claim a secondary or a senior secondary
certificate. The subjects 160 currently available for the secondary and senior secondary certificates
through NIOS are:

159

At present Indian Union comprises 29 States including Delhi (governed by elected Governments) and 6
Union Territories (governed by the Central Government).

160

NIOS at a Glance, (2006), NIOS, New Delhi. p. 23.

69

Table 4.1

Secondary and senior secondary subjects available at NIOS

Subjects available at the

Secondary Level
Language Subjects
1 Assamese
2 Bengali
3 English
4 Gujarati
5 Hindi
6 Kannada
7 Malayalam
8 Marathi
9 Nepali
10 Oriya
11 Punjabi
12 Sanskrit
13 Telugu
14 Urdu
Academic Subjects
1 Mathematics
2 Science & Technology
3 Social Sciences
4 Economics
5 Business studies
6 Home Science
7 Psychology
8 Indian Culture & Heritage
Vocational Subjects
1 Word Processing (English)
2 Typewriting (Hindi, English or Urdu)

Subjects available at the

Senior Secondary Level
Language Subjects
1
English
2
Hindi
3
Urdu
Academic Subjects
1
Mathematics
2
Physics
3
Chemistry
4
Biology
5
History
6
Geography
7
Political science
8
Economics
9
Business studies
10
Accountancy
11
Home science
12
Psychology
13
Sociology
14
Painting
Vocational Subjects
1
Computer Science
2
Secretarial Practice
3
Word Processing (English)
4
Typewriting (Hindi or English)
5
Stenography (Hindi, English or Urdu)

Note: To get a certificate at either level, one has to complete five subjects successfully, of which
at least one has to be a language subject. The remaining four subjects to be taken are left to ones
choice, except that no one can take more than two language subjects.
4.2.4

Vocational courses 161 offered by NIOS

Though this study pertains to secondary and senior secondary Courses of NIOS, it is in place here
to outline what NIOS has achieved in promoting vocational courses through open distance
modality. NIOS (as NOS) launched its first vocational courses in 1997-98 and has made
significant progress since then. The following table outlines the growth of the operation and also
points to the popularity of the offerings.

161

Annual Report 2003-04, (2004), NIOS, New Delhi, pp. 34-36.

70

Table 4.2

Enrolment in NIOS vocational courses 162

As NOS

AS NIOS

Year
1997-1998
1998-1999
1999-2000
2000-2001
2001-2002
2002-2003
2003-2004
2004-2005
2005-2006

Enrolment
5,822
7,164
10,611
12,026
17,770
22,321
21,211
20,985
22,879

Percent increase
(+) 51
(+) 23
(+) 48
(+) 13
(+) 48
(+) 26
(-) 05
(-) 11
(+) 8.9

Over the years, enrolment has increased progressively except during 2003-2005, when the
institutional operations were being remodeled to take on new responsibilities under the new
mandate of NIOS. In addition to the yearly enrolments, the regional distribution of enrolees too is
impressive, as all the regions, except Guwahati, show viable sizes of enrolment (see Table 4.3
below).

Table 4.3

Enrolment (2005-06) by region in vocational courses 163

S.
Regional Centres
N.
(RCs)
1
Allahabad
2
Bhopal
3
Chandigarh
4
Delhi Zone-I
5
Delhi Zone-II
6
Guwahati
7
Hyderabad
8
Jaipur
9
Kochi
10
Kolkata
11
Patna
12
Pune
Total

Enrolment

# of AVIs

# of SAIEDs*

431
2,148
2,467
2,848
7,039
89
1,265
637
4,103
938
360
554
22,879

129
89
116
200
3
9
47
36
143
51
40
45
908

-02
-07
--05
-06
09
04
04
37

* Special Accredited Institution for Education of Disadvantaged

Vocational courses are delivered at Accredited Vocational Institutions (AVIs) throughout the
country. NIOS invites applications from institutions engaged in vocational activities and desirous
of collaborating with NIOS to ascertain their suitability for NIOS operations. Rigorous screening
of applications on the bases of pre-set course-specific norms together with that of the reports of
inspection teams deputed to physically inspect the applicant institutions helps NIOS in identifying
the institutions that it may collaborate with for purposes of delivering its vocational courses. The
selected ones are termed AVIs, as they are accredited to function as study centres for NIOS on
mutually agreed terms and conditions.

162
163

Annual Report 2005-06, (2006), NIOS, New Delhi, p. 35.

Annual Report 2005-06, (2006), NIOS, New Delhi, pp. 35 and 38.
71

The Coordinators of study centres (usually the Heads or senior staff of the institutions concerned)
are then oriented (using workshop methodologies) for the tasks they have to take on to deliver
NIOS vocational courses. In the main, these tasks are no different from those of the Coordinators
of AIs meant for secondary and senior secondary courses. The main difference between these two
types of courses is that of heavy hands-on components in the vocational courses. Such
components are handled by AVIs, as they have both the required expertise and equipment. The
number of AVIs in 2005-06 was 908 and that of SAIEDs 37.
Distribution of the 2005-06 enrolees across the various types of courses (see Table 4.4) shows
which courses are popular and also those which have yet to appeal learner populations. Currently,
NIOS has more than 50 vocational courses of different types on offer, some of which (those in
italics) are IT enabled and some (see the second column in table below) can be taken subjects by
students as secondary and senior secondary courses.

72

Table 4.4

Enrolment by course in vocational courses (2005-06) 164

S.
General Vocational Courses
EnrolN.
ment
Six Month Courses
1
House-wiring & Electric
269
Appliance Repairing
2
Motor and Transformer
86
Rewinding
3
Radio and Tape Recorder
20
Repairing
4
TV Repairing
68
5
Cutting and Tailoring
1347
6
Dress Making
127
7
Certificate in Basic
163
Computing
8
Plumbing
88
9
Beauty Culture
1454
10
Certificate in DTP
456
11
Certificate in Yoga
759
12
Certificate in Security
1348
services
13
Certificate in Computer
140
Hardware Maintenance
One-year Courses
14
Electric Technician
1863
15
Radio and TV
474
Technician
16
Cutting, Tailoring
1937
and Dress Making
17
Refrigeration and
915
Air Conditioning
18
Certificate in
2963
Computer Applications
19
Certificate in
93
Two-wheeler Mechanics
Package Courses
20
Secretarial Practice
519
21
Health for Rural Women (Gram
22
Sakhi)
22
Diploma in
90
Radiography (X-ray Technician)
23
Certificate in
409
Library Science
24
Early Childhood Care
2989
and Education
25
Diploma in Modern
144
Secretarial Practice
26
Toy Making and
06
Joyful Learning
27
Diploma in Basic
29
Rural Technology
28
Certificate in Footwear
10
Design and Production
Total: Courses (53) and
Enrolment (22,879)

164

S.
Vocational courses that can be clubbed
N.
with academic subjects
Stand Alone courses (Secondary Level)
29
Word Processing (English)

Enrolment

30

Carpentry

29

31

Solar Energy Technician

03

32
33
34
35

Bio-gas Energy Technician

Laundry Services
Jute Production
Bakery and Confectionery

-09
-186

--

36
Welding Technology
Stand Alone courses (Senior Secondary Level)
37
Typewriting (Hindi)
38
Typewriting (English)
39
Typewriting (Urdu)

270
27
84
--

40

Stenography (Hindi)

67

41
42
43

Secretarial Practice
Word Processing (English)
Plant Protection

36
291
10

44

House Keeping

79

45

Catering Management

378

46

Food Processing

27

47

Hotel Front Office Management

27

48
49
50

Poultry Farming
Preservation of Food and Vegetables
Computer Science

-03
--

Life Enrichment Courses

51

Ibid. pp. 36-37.

73

--

52

Womens Empowerment (Pariporna

Mahila)
Community Health (Jan Swasthya)

53

Indian Culture and Heritage

--

2540

4.2.5

Expansion of vocational courses

NIOS has ambitious plans regarding the expansion of vocational courses. ..The future thrust of
the NIOS Vocational Courses is on training of educated unemployed youth for meaningful, skill
oriented employment.(including) rural development and (empowerment of girls and
women). 165 To achieve this objective, NIOS has entered and is in the process of entering more
and more partnerships of various types. For instance, they are collaborating with:

4.2.6

the Commonwealth of Learning to explore challenges and future strategies for

vocational education and training through Open Schooling and for training the
functionaries of the system of Open Schooling.
NCERT, Technical Education Department (Govt. of Delhi), Board of Technical
Education (Delhi Administration), IGNOU and industry to prepare a national
curriculum framework for vocational education through open and distance learning
methodologies.
the Indian Medical Association to run para-medical courses the ODL way.
the Rehabilitation Council of India to introduce need-based certificate courses for
developing human resources for the physically challenged.
AYUSH 166 , Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (Govt. of India), to introduce
courses in Homoeopathic Pharmacy and Ayurveda (traditional Indian medicine).
Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) to build NIOS-industry partnerships leading
to courses relevant to the growing industrial operations in the country. For example,
Microsoft and CISCO are planning joint training ventures with NIOS.
IGNOU to provide NIOS vocational graduates linkages with higher
education/learning. As a positive outcome of this effort, IGNOU is in the process of
establishing a School of Vocational Education, which is expected to provide not only
the required higher levels of training for the NIOS vocational graduates, but also the
much needed socio-academic credibility to vocational education.

Livelihood, productivity and development

NIOS has not conducted any impact studies to trace the destinations of its students and thus
assess the levels of success/failure of its vocational courses. There are, however, various success
stories on institutional records which provide tangible evidence favouring NIOS vocational
courses for their utility in providing livelihood, promoting productivity and effecting
development generally. Presented here are a few stories 167 :

Swapana Banik, a woman (18 years old) from Debaipurkur Road, District Hoogly,
fought poverty to get her Secondary Certificate in 2005, as her father had died long
ago and her ailing mother earned just INR 500 per month as a casual labourer in an
umbrella factory. Swapana was badly in need of a job to support her sick mother and
younger brother, and there were no jobs available. A helpful neighbour directed her
to Don Bosco Self-Employment Research Institute at Mirpara, where she joined the

165

Annual Report 2005-06, (2006), NIOS, New Delhi, p. 40.

AYUSH stands for the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and
Homoeopathy in the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India.
167
Records with the Department of Vocational Education, (2007), NIOS, New Delhi.
166

74

Tailoring and Cutting Course (one of the NIOS recognised vocational courses).
Swapana completed the course successfully and was employed by Frontier Garments
Pvt. Ltd., Salkia, Howrah, on a monthly salary of INR 2300.
A labourers son, Mohosin Ali had obtained his Secondary Certificate in 1999. He
wanted to have something of his own to live on, but he had neither the money to
invest, nor any skills to take him forward. One of his friends directed him to the
NIOS vocational course on Refrigeration & Air Conditioning. This led to him
fabricating a cooling and freezing system that could produce ice-cream at a relatively
lower cost. He sought and got a loan of INR 5000 from the Ministry of Human
Resource Development, Govt. of India, to start a micro-enterprise, in this case an ice
cream plant at Bandel Chalk Bazar, Hoogly. As he gained confidence in this
enterprise, he took another loan (INR 400,000) from the Allahabad Bank to expand
his business. Today Mohosin Ali owns 17 vendor wagons and his ice cream earns
him between INR 15,000 to 20,000 per month. He is now supporting his younger
brother in setting up a new enterprise.
Darshan Singh Ahuja completed the Course on Refrigeration & Air Conditioning in
1997 at AVI-990011, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Industrial Training Centre, GT Karnal
Road, Delhi-33. To earn a living, he started working on odd contractual jobs in
private and public organisations. Those were the days when remote control of air
conditioners was not common in India. He built low cost remote control kits and
made good money in the business of modifying conventional air conditioners.
Recently, he succeeded in using microprocessors to remotely sense faults in
machines and, in many cases, also rectify them remotely. He is a different man today.

Such success stories in view, the enthusiasm of the Chairman and staff of NIOS regarding their
vocational courses is not unfounded. If not all the thousands who register with NIOS annually,
certainly a number of them must be making a good living as individuals and contributing to
national productivity and development in one way or the other.

4.2.7

NIOS learner profile

With the objective of developing an inclusive and dynamic learning society, NIOS makes special
efforts to reach out to marginalised groups such as school dropouts, girls and women, scheduled
castes and tribes, ex-servicemen and differently able learners, and attracts large numbers of
students from all over the country. In studying the learner profile of NIOS, it is therefore
necessary to focus on the aspects that reflect and provide space for comments on the level of its
achievement in fulfilling its socio-educational objectives (see Subsections 4.3.6 and 4.5.1). The
tables presented in this subsection outline the NIOS learner profile (major characteristics) as seen
over the past few years.

75

Table 4.5

Enrolment by gender 168 2001 to 2006

S. N.

Academic
Year

Total
enrolment

Male

Female

1
2
3
4
5
6

2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07

214,582
278,234
321,010
238,069
267,026
290,983

152,286
164,550
220,103
162,351
182,440
199,788

70.97
59.14
68.57
68.19
68.32
68.66

62,296
113,684
100,907
75,718
84,586
91,195

29.03
40.86
31.43
31.81
31.68
31.34

All along the number of male students has been higher than that of female students. Rather than
attributing this disparity to the functioning or the offerings of NIOS, it has a better and
convincing explanation in the general national/Indian scenario, wherein the level of female
participation in education is much lower than that of their male counterparts. Interestingly,
however, the male-female ratio (68:32) at NIOS has remained stable since 2003 for four
consecutive years. From the Indian viewpoint, it is a positive development that womens
enrolment is showing consistency and that NIOS is making visible contributions in resolving the
issue of access and equity at the secondary level of education, though the participation of girls
and women has yet to reach a level that corresponds favourably with the national male-female
literacy ratio 169 75 per cent: 58 per cent.
Table 4.6

Enrolment by student category2004 to 2006 170

S.N.

Categories

1
2
3
4
5

General
Scheduled Castes
Scheduled Tribes
Ex-Servicemen
Differently able
Total

Year 2004-05
Enrolment %
183,668
77.15
35,098
14.74
17,140
07.20
324
00.14
1,839
00.77
238,069
100.00

Year 2005-06
Enrolment %
214,667
80.39
30,679
11.49
19,933
07.46
304
00.11
1,443
00.54
267,026
99.99

Year 2006-07
Enrolment %
231,334
79.50
36,599
12.58
21,029
07.23
434
00.15
1,587
00.55
290,983
100.01

Nearly 80 per cent of the students at NIOS belong to the general category comprising the rural
and the urban youth. About 20 per cent of the students enrolled belong to scheduled castes and
tribes, which is close to the percentage of seats officially reserved for them 171 . It goes to the credit
of NIOS that it attracts a reasonable percentage of students from these two categories, as the
percentage participation of these two categories of students in other educational institutions in the
country remains a sore issue in the context of equity in the national provision for education. The
participation level of the ex-servicemen and differently able students together at less than 1 per
cent is low indeed, as the reserved quota for the latter alone is 3 per cent. The silver lining in this

168

169
170

NIOS Academic enrolment: http://nos.org/enrolacad.htm (accessed on July 30, 2007).

The over all national literacy rate is 64.8 per cent (Censes 2001).

NIOS Academic enrolment: http://nos.org/enrolacad.htm (accessed on July 30, 2007).

171
The percentage of seats that remain reserved in educational institutions, as elsewhere, for scheduled
castes and tribes is 15 and 7 respectively.
76

case, however, is that there are facilities for them and they are participatingthe required space
having been created, it may take some time for the rate of participation to improve.

Table 4.7

Enrolment by age2004 to 2006 172

Sr. Age range Enrolment 2004-05

No. in years
Number %
enrolled
1
10-14
2,967
01.25
2
15- 20
190,555
80.03
3
21- 25
30,409
12.77
4
26- 30
7,439
03.13
5
31- 35
3,288
01.38
6
36- 40
1,911
00.80
7
41- 45
988
00.42
8
46- 50
388
00.16
9
51- 55
91
00.038
10 56- 60
13
00.006
11 61- 65
5
12 66- 70
6
13 71- 75
5
00.008
14 76- 80
4
Total
238,069
99.99

Enrolment 2005-06
Number %
enrolled
8,662
03.24
204,791
76.67
36,709
13.74
8,814
03.30
3,961
01.48
2,264
00.85
1,191
00.45
502
00.19
111
00.04
11
00.004
5
1
2
00.004
2
267,026
99.97

Enrolment 2006-07
Number %
enrolled
10,873
03.74
215,233
73.95
43,022
14.78
11,642
04.00
5,122
01.76
2,864
00.98
1,394
00.48
648
00.22
153
00.05
22
00.008
4
2
0
00.003
4
290,983
99.97

Students in the age group of 15-20 years comprise 74-80 per cent of the enrolment. Considering
that the target clientele of NIOS does not comprise the usual out-of-elementary-school student
who looks for formal schooling, it goes to the credit of NIOS that it has succeeded in attracting
precisely the group that it targets. The age group 15-25 years comprises 89-93 per cent of the
enrolment and the age group 15-35 years comprises 95-97 per cent of the enrolment. Obviously,
most of the students at NIOS are below 35 years of agethis should cover young adults who may
have missed their chances at the right time, neo-literates, housewives, school drop-outs and
those who need to earn while they learn. The participation of the adults beyond the age of 35 is
considerably low at less than 1 per cent in each of the higher 5-year intervals. It is interesting and
also instructive (as something different needs to be offered to them, and what could that be) that
there are students in the age group of 76-80 years also.
It is worth noting that today ODL operations in India are not viewed the way they were when
correspondence education was introduced in the country at the school level in mid-1960s.
Correspondence education was considered to be a second rate cousin of the real (read face-toface) education. It was supposed to be for those not worthy of being at a school. Though the level
of socio-educational credibility of ODL in India has yet to reach the heights it has reached in
developed countries, a new mindset 173 is visibly emerging among the Indian youth (rural as well

172

NIOS Academic enrolment: http://nos.org/enrolacad.htm (accessed on July 30, 2007).

The recent boom in call-centre jobs and similar developments in the corporate sector together with the
unprecedented rise of retail trade are prompting ever increasing numbers of young people to opt for work at
relatively younger ages. Coupled with this phenomenon is the growing appreciation of the importance of

173

77

as urban), as earning while learning has ceased to be a taboo. With that, ODL operations are
gaining social recognition which they did not enjoy earlier and their influence is gradually
increasing among the conventional mainstream students.
The present situation, however, is that many of the students who register with ODL institutions at
the secondary level, are first generation learners who receive little support from their families and
surroundings. Generally, they have poor study skills and are not fully aware of their strengths and
weaknesses vis--vis the academic rigour required of them during their tenure as students. This
situation has adverse implications for throughput in this system.
4.3

Description of the NIOS system

4.3.1

Management and organisational structure

The Union Minister for Human Resource Development is the President of the National Open
School Society (NOSS) which is assisted by its General Body by providing it with professional
advice and policy directions in order for it to fulfill its mission and objectives, and remain
publicly accountable. At the operational level, it is the Executive Board of NOSS that prepares
the policies, plans the programmes of action, ensures successful implementation of the policies
and programmes, and also reviews the institutional activities and outcomes thereof. The
Chairman of NIOS is the Chairman of the Executive Board that comprises NIOS Departmental
Heads, nominees of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development and specialists in
distance education, development and education for women, industry, media, vocational education
and technical education. For its smooth functioning, the Executive Board is assisted by various
bodies/authorities, such as the Academic Council, the Finance Committee, the Examination
Committee and the Establishment Committee.

The Academic Council, chaired by the Chairman of NIOS, contributes to and

supervises the implementation of academic policies, provides advice in relation to
methods of materials production, course delivery and learner assessment and is also
responsible for the maintenance of academic standards and the quality of institutional
products, processes and outcomes. The Council operates through various committees,
which it is authorised to constitute as and when required.

The Finance Committee is responsible for scrutinising all financial matters

including budget estimates and accounts and also for recommending various
proposals for new financial outlays. This Committee too is chaired by the Chairman
of NIOS.

The Examination Committee provides advice in the preparation of examination

related bye-laws, oversees the conduct of examinations to ensure their conformity
with the relevant rules and regulations and approves the results of all the public
examinations (conducted by NIOS) before they are made public.

The Establishment Committee considers matters pertaining to terms and conditions

of the services of employees including those of staff development, code of conduct
and promotions.

education in the process of human capital formation. The happy consequence is that ODL is now being
seen as not only purposeful but also necessary and therefore sought after.
78

At the operational level, NIOS operates a three-tier system that includes:

1. The Headquarters at New Delhi comprises five Departments (Academic,
Administration, Vocational Education, Student Support Services and Evaluation) and
two Divisions (Material Production and Distribution Division and Computer
Division).
2. The Regional Centres (RCs) are located in eleven cities in India (Allahabad, Bhopal,
Chandigarh, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Patna, and Pune)
and some more outside the country in Nepal, UAE and Kuwait. Except the Delhi RC,
each of the RCs in India caters to more than one State/Union Territory in its close
vicinity, whereby NIOS reaches every nook and corner of the country. Delhi RC
caters to the National Capital Region and links up with RCs in Nepal, UAE and
Kuwait. All RCs work as links between the Headquarters and the third tier and also
supervise the functioning of the latter.
3. The Accredited Institutions (AIs) 174 function as study centres under the
administrative control of Regional Centres. They constitute the real interface between
the learners and NIOS. They are of different types:

Accredited Institutions for academic courses are located mostly in secondary and
senior secondary schools and in various societies/bodies engaged in
developmental work. They provide academic and other learner support services
for the NIOS secondary and senior secondary students.
Accredited Vocational Institutions (AVIs) are located at Vocational Training
Centres such as Agriculture Centres, Community Polytechnics and various
NGOs. They serve as study and training centres for the NIOS Vocational
Education Courses.
Special Accredited Institutions for the Education of the Disadvantaged (SAIED)
provide support to learners with special needs, who are either differently able or
are socially and/or geographically disadvantaged.
Accredited Agencies (AAs) cater to the learners admitted to the Open Basic
Education Courses, as their levels of readiness do not qualify them for secondary
or senior secondary courses. These agencies are mostly NGOs and Zila
Saksharata Samities (ZSS) (i.e. District Literacy Committees).

Currently in operation, there are 250 AAs and 2,750 centres comprising the first three categories.
The responsibilities of these centres are:

register students for NIOS courses/subjects in accordance with the NIOS

regulations,
supply study materials (received from NIOS) to the registered students,
arrange learner support services,
supervise assessment tests and arrange handling of assignments,

174

NIOS Accredited Institutions (AIs) are recognised formal schools or reputed bodies engaged in social
work and community development. They function as NIOS Study Centres on a contractual basis, and are
paid at a fixed rate per student on the basis of the number of students they register.
79

4.3.2

distribute marks-sheets and certificates to students and

register students for and conduct public examinations (if selected as examination
centres also).

Preparation of study materials

Since NIOS is mandated to support not only the establishment of open schools in the States and
Union Territories, but also to contribute to their products and processes. So, it involves them in
the process of materials development. The details of the said process are as follows:
1. The needs of the specific regions and the states are identified by the Regional Centres of
NIOS in collaboration with the Open Schooling State Coordination Committees
(OSSCC) and various other development agencies.
2. The needs thus identified are discussed and finalised by the Regional Centres at their
respective Regional Centre Advisory Committee (RCAC) meetings. The agreed upon list
of perceived needs is passed on to Headquarters.
3. These needs are considered by the Departmental/Divisional Advisory Boards at the
Headquarters and used by the various Departments and/or Divisions to prepare the
outlines of their academic and vocational courses/subjects. In so doing, the National
Curriculum Framework 2005 175 and its guiding principles are followed meticulously.
4. The finalised outlines are submitted to the Academic Council, which arranges to obtain
additional inputs from the Regional Centre Advisory Committees and the Research
Advisory Committee (RAC) and also ensures compliance with the relevant guidelines in
the National Curriculum Framework 2005, in order to take informed decisions regarding
additions and alterations in the courses/subjects under consideration.
5. The courses/subject outlines approved by the Academic Council are taken up by the
relevant departments to work on. At this stage, the related necessary financial approvals
are also sought and taken. Grants for the related research activity also are approved and
released at this stage.
6. The courses/subjects approved by the AC and the RAC are reported to the Executive
Board of NIOS.
7. The actual work on the preparation of self-learning study materials begins at Stage 5
above, when an approved course/subject outline is taken up by the department concerned,
which assigns the task to an Academic Officer who coordinates the process of materials
preparation.
i.
A team of subject experts is set up to prepare the materials. The team may
comprise experts from NIOS, institutions other than NIOS or may be a mix of
the two.
ii.
The team members are given orientation (usually through workshops) to help
them prepare materials in accordance with the requirements of NIOS students,
with a view to the learning outcomes as detailed in the approved course/subject
outlines, the profile of NIOS students and the fundamentals of instructional
design suitable for self-learning.

175

National Curriculum Framework 2005 is a 124 page document prepared by NCERT emphasising
learning without burden and child-centred education. It provides the latest guidelines regarding curricula,
teaching methodology, etc. for lower level education in India. http://www.indiatogether.org/2005/dec/eduncf2005.htm
80

iii.
iv.

v.

vi.

vii.
viii.

ix.

x.

xi.

xii.

Review meetings (usually three, could be more if needed) are held to work on
the drafts of the materials at different stages. The feedback received is used to
improve and finalise the drafts.
The final version thus prepared is edited for content, language and social
acceptability (for example, any sexist expressions or elements that may be
offensive for some religious groups are removed at this stage). Depending on
the availability of the required expertise (a content expert may not be a language
expert too), the task may be entrusted to one or more editors.
Usually a subject comprises a number of modules prepared by different
individuals or teams with different orientations, which may get reflected in what
they write/prepare. To overcome this possible weakness in the materials, all the
modules in a subject are subjected to final editing by a senior subject expert.
Once the modifications suggested at stage (v) are incorporated in the materials,
the Subject Coordinator arranges meetings with graphic artists and the media
personnel available in house or hired from outside depending on the pressure of
work at a given point in time. NIOS has approved lists of outside producers and
graphic artists whose services are requisitioned as and when needed.
Having incorporated the relevant graphics, the materials are sent to the copy
editor to prepare the camera-ready copy, which in most cases is digitised for
storage, printing and future use.
The camera-ready copy, which is in English invariably, is given for translation
into Hindi, Urdu or other languages as it is the translated versions of the
materials that are used by many students, especially those who do not have the
required competence in English.
The purpose of meetings with the media personnel (audio as well as video,
mentioned in item (vi) above) is to apprise them of the portions, themes/subthemes and concepts that the department concerned and/or the materials writers
would like to be supported with media materials. To facilitate the work of
producers, the department concerned prepares the relevant academic briefs,
which are used by the producers to prepare draft scripts and also to decide the
format of the presentationslectures, mock tutorial sessions or docu-dramas.
This is the time when the related budget is discussed and the necessary
approvals obtained.
Producers conduct whatever research they need to and finalise the draft scripts,
which are discussed in meetings with the departments concerned. This exercise
helps the producers come up with the production scripts. If needed, the
production scripts are discussed with and improved with the help of the
department concerned before the actual shooting/recording commences and also
while it is in progress.
The rough cuts are passed on to the department concerned for comments. In
addition to the academic and instructional quality of the materials, the
departments concerned look into the technical quality of the production as well.
Generally, this exercise requires more than one meeting between the media
personnel and the departments concerned.
The exercise at stage (xi) is used to finalise the media programmes, which are
then used at study centers in operation at AIs and AVIs and also broadcast over
educational and/or national channels.

The above details, besides outlining the process of materials preparation (print, audio and video)
at NIOS, also trace the process-specific quality assurance mechanisms that are in place to ensure
the quality of study materials prepared by NIOS. Having reviewed various subject modules (for
81

secondary as well as higher secondary courses) in use today, we have no hesitation in

commending their excellent content and effective instructional design, but at places the quality of
language (English syntax) is questionableit appears that language editing is the issue here, and
it needs to be addressed.
4.3.3

Course delivery

To appreciate the course delivery mechanism of NIOS, we need to see how they differentiate
their system from the traditional educational transaction.

Table 4.8
S.
N.
1
2
3
4

Traditional and Open Schooling: transactional differences 176

Characteristics
Entry requirements
Location and duration
of transaction
Curriculum
Teaching-learning
transaction

Teaching-learning
materials

6
7

Pace of studies
Learner assessment

Traditional formal
schooling
Fixed
Fixed

Open Schooling

Fixed
Teacher led and faceto-face instruction
Textbooks and
occasional teaching
aids
Strictly regulated
External sit-in
examinations

Open
Open: any place and any time (within the
permitted span of five years)
Open and life oriented
Individualised self-learning materials supported
by multi-channel inputs including occasional
face-to-face sessions
Specially prepared self-learning study materials
supported by media materials
Self-paced and self-directed
External sit-in examinations

The multi-channel delivery mechanism includes:

self-learning printed materials (to be studied by students on their own at their own
places and at times convenient to them),
supplementary audio and video materials (to be listened to and viewed when
broadcast or at study centres),
personal contact programmes (to get over doubts and difficulties requiring support
from tutors or counselors and to interact with tutors and peers), and
occasional on-line communication.

Course materials in self-learning format constitute the main medium of the didactic transaction.
The first step in course delivery, therefore, is the distribution of printed course materials, usually
done at the time of registration at NIOS Accredited Institutions.
Subsequently, depending on the subject concerned, students are supported by various
combinations of face-to-face tutorials (30 sessions per subject and 35 sessions for subjects with
practical work), laboratory work, audio-video cassettes, radio broadcasts and telecasts (through
Gyanvani, Gyan-darshan and Door-darshan-1) 177 , on-line supplements and teleconferencing.
176

Handbook for Academic Facilitators of NIOS, (2007), NIOS, New Delhi, pp. 5-8.
Hindi expressions respectively for Educational Radio, Educational Television and the National
Television.

177

82

Interaction is further enhanced through assignments, which are assessed by the tutors at the study
centres.
Once admitted, a student can remain on the rolls for five years, during which period he/she should
complete five subjects successfully to earn the certificate, secondary or senior secondary as the
case may be. As there are no fixed subject combinations prescribed by NIOS, students are
allowed to choose any five subjects of their choice, one of which has to be a language subject, but
no one is allowed to take more than two language subjects. Though the students are free to choose
the subjects they like, there are arrangements in place to advise them regarding appropriate
subject combinations in case they intend to go for higher studies in their fields of choice.

4.3.4

Student support services 178

NIOS recognises that its students need support in cognitive, psycho-motor, affective and systemic
domains.
Support in the cognitive domain is provided through self-learning study materials, media
materials and contact programmes (30-35 sessions per subject) arranged at AIs and AVIs.
Support in the psycho-motor domain too is provided at AIs through facilities for lab work and
practicals. The major problem faced by the NIOS students in the affective domain is their lack of
self-esteem, commitment and confidence. Contact with peers and tutors, listening to and watching
audio and video programmes (specifically designed for the purpose), working through Open
Learning (a bimonthly supportive magazine), study guides and assignments go a long way in
mitigating such problems. As for the systemic domain, learner friendly and transparent
administrative processes and information management systems provide all the support needed by
studentsregistration services, responses to enquires, credit transfer from various boards,
participation at study centres and in examinations, and collection of result-cards and certificates.
Pre-registration support is provided nationally through the Headquarters, regionally through the
Regional Centres and locally through AIs and AVIs using the press and broadcasts. Such support
pertains to basic information regarding courses/subjects and fees. A major facility provided at
AIs/AVIs is counseling regarding the choice/selection of subjects and the future scope in relation
to each one of them. On-course support comprises contact programmes, work on assignments and
practicals, most of which focus on academic issues and preparation for examinations primarily,
though ample attention is given to the attitudinal issues too. Post-course support in the form of
counseling pertaining to future possibilities in the academic field and the employment market is
also provided at all the AIs/AVIs.
The process described above and the arrangements in place to materialise it are practical and also
sound from a quality assurance viewpoint. But there are issues here:

178

While NIOS uses strict selection procedures to identify and accredit institutions
(usually conventional schools, private as well as public, NGOs, vocational
institutions and other bodies engaged in community work) to house their registration
activity, study centre and examination facilities, such procedures alone, however
strict they may be, cannot ensure quality services from them. Their work has to be
monitored equally strictly.

Handbook for Academic Facilitators of NIOS, (2007), NIOS, New Delhi, pp. 9-12.
83

NIOS pays its Accredited Institutions (AIs) at a flat rate of INR 250 per student
registered at/through them. Arrangements with AVIs and SAIEDs are more
elaborate. It is the AI concerned that selects and pays the tutors/counselors whom it
appoints for the registered NIOS students. As NIOS has no direct involvement in
these selections and appointments, the quality of the tutors/counselors could be
questionable. The quality and work of tutors/counselors, who constitute the backbone
of the system of personal contact programmes, needs to be assessed, monitored and
weak links corrected to ensure quality services from them.
Study centres (i.e. AIs and AVIs) are the locations where assignments are handled
students are supposed to submit assignments at pre-determined intervals at the
respective study centres; the tutors are supposed to evaluate them, grade them and
pass on instructive feedback to the students concerned, and also prepare the related
documentation and send copies thereof to the Regional Centre concerned. As this
process is not monitored, one cannot be sure of the nature of what actually is
practised.

However, the silver lining is that NIOS is seized of these issues and they are being addressed in
various ways (see Monitoring and Evaluation in Subsection 4.3.6).

4.3.5

Learner assessment and certification 179

Among the various Boards 180 of Secondary and Senior Secondary Education in India, NIOS is the
only institution authorised to function as a Board of Secondary, Senior Secondary and Vocational
Education and also as a secondary school. In other words, NIOS provides not only education and
training, but also the related certification.
In order to provide for credit accumulation during the five years while a student is on the rolls,
he/she is allowed nine chances to appear at examinations. NIOS conducts two public
examinations each year in April-May and October-November, and allows students to appear in
one or more subjects at any of these examinations. All such examinations belong to the external
category, as all internal assessment at NIOS is formative in character and does not contribute to
final scores for certification.
There is also a provision for on-demand examinations, under which students are permitted to
appear at examinations as and when they feel that they are ready to sit for one or more as the case
may be. (This facility, however, is available only at a few places at present for experimental
purposes.) To claim a certificate, a student should fulfill the following criteria:

Secondary Certificate: A student should accumulate passes in five subjects including at

least one language subject, but not more than two language subjects. To get a pass in a
subject, one should score at least 33 per cent at the public examination. In subjects with
practicals, the marks scored in theory and practicals are aggregated to calculate the pass
percentage.
Senior Secondary Certificate: The same as for the Secondary Certificate, except that in
subjects with practicals, to pass one should score at least 33 per cent marks in each of the
components, the practicals and the theory, separately.

179

NIOS at a Glance-2006, (2006), NIOS, New Delhi, p. 34.

The major function of such Boards is to conduct public examinations leading to secondary and senior
secondary certification.

180

84

4.3.6

Quality assurance

The status of quality assurance at NIOS is studied best partly in relation to Institutes Vision and
Mission (see the concluding observations in Subsection 4.1.3) and partly in terms of monitoring
and evaluation practices.

Vision 181 : The NIOS, with international recognition and presence, provides access to
sustainable and learner-centric quality school education, upgrading of skills and training
through open and distance learning and ensures convergence of Open Schooling
organisations to promote an inclusive learning society, human resource development,
national integration and global understanding.

Mission 182 : NIOS:

1. promotes a system of open learning for providing quality education which results
in a dynamic inclusive learning society,
2. provides a dynamic flexible system of Open Schooling for development of a
knowledge society,
3. acts as a national resource to set a proactive role model for learner-centric open
and distance learning system at the school stage,
4. develops professional support network using contemporary technologies,
5. provides education and training for upgrading skills and lifelong learning for all,
6. provides need based Vocational Education for making its students entrepreneurs
and not just job seekers,
7. establishes action oriented research for strengthening the Open and Distance
Learning System at the school level,
8. achieves excellence in matters such as quality of learning materials, student
support services, system of assessment and professional development of staff,
9. identifies and reaches out to prioritised client groups viz. school drop-outs and
marginalised groups such as the rural youth, the urban poor, girls and women,
scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, backward classes, minorities, differently able
and ex-servicemen to universalise secondary education,
10. promotes national integration and integrated development of people,
11. strives for the promotion of Open Schooling at the regional, national and global
levels through advocacy and consultancy programmes, by providing forums for
exchange of ideas and information, and capacity building of open school
functionaries by way of training and attachment programmes, and
12. undertakes continuous self-assessment and self-improvement for systemic
improvement.
Considering this mission statement, the status of quality assurance (QA) at NIOS has to
be assessed in the context outlined by the above commitments and not by merely
assessing the core academic transaction effected and maintained by the Institution. The
following observations 183 should point to relevant and tangible conclusions.

181

Based on the statement presented in NIOS at a Glance-2006, (2006), NIOS, New Delhi, p. 10.
Ibid. p. 11.
183
NIOS at a Glance-2006, (2006), NIOS, New Delhi, pp. 16-20.
182

85

1. NIOS provides educational opportunities to diverse clientele like no other school

does in the countryopen basic education for children up to 14 years of age,
school drop-outs, neo-literates, street children, adolescents and illiterate adults;
secondary and senior school education for one and all; vocational education for
the rural youth and life enrichment courses for general masses. (See items 1, 2, 5,
6, 9 in the Mission Statement above.)
2. NIOS courses cater to the needs of special learner groups such as first generation
learners; learners challenged in various ways---physically, mentally and visually;
learners from disadvantaged groups such as girls, women, scheduled castes and
tribes and the out-of-school youth. (See items 1, 2 and 9 in the Mission Statement
above.)
3. NIOS collaborates with COL and UNESCO in the process of promoting Open
Schooling in India and also in various developing countries. The Open Schooling
Association of the Commonwealth (OSAC), a constituent of NIOS, offers formal
qualifications in Open Schooling for capacity building in and outside India. The
Secretariat of the Open Schooling Association of the Commonwealth (OSAC)
too is housed at NIOS. It organises human resource development programmes for
the functionaries of the Open Schooling system, promotes research and quality
assurance activities for developmental purposes, provides forums for exchange of
ideas, experiences and innovations among the member institutions/countries and
publishes the OSAC Journal of Open Schooling, a half-yearly journal, to
disseminate research findings and other works pertaining to the interests and
concerns of the membersall aimed at the promotion and development of Open
Schooling systems across the member countries. (See items 10 and 11 in the
Mission Statement above.)
4. Considering the size of the country, the diverse educational needs of the various
States and Union Territories and the limitations of the existing educational
provision in the country, NIOS initiated and established the National Consortium
for Open Schooling (NCOS). It has enabled a network of the leading
organisations dealing in Open Schooling at the national and state levels. This has
helped NIOS in persuading Indian states to establish their own open schools. Ten
states have already established such schools and many more are working to
follow suit. Ultimately, it is the State Open Schools (SOSs) that will prove more
successful in expanding and enriching the Open Schooling system in their
respective states. Using the relevant regional/state language as the medium of
instruction, such schools are bound to address the issues of access, equity and
relevance of education more effectively in the respective local environments.
(See items 2, 3, 10 and 11 in the Mission Statement above).
5. While continuing its functions as a school, NIOS is also functioning as a resource
institution at the national as well as the international level. Also, while continuing
its contribution in the area of programming, it engages more and more in
advocacy, consultancy, training of the diverse personnel, dissemination of
information, good practices and research findings nationally as well as
internationally. (See items 3, 4 and 12 in the Mission Statement above).

86

6. A scheme of Grants-in-aid for Research Projects in Open Schooling (GRPOS) 184

was approved by the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) and the Academic
Council in early 2006. It has a provision for accepting and funding external
research projects relevant to Open Schooling. The identified priority research
themes pertain to academic issues, administrative/managerial operations,
vocational education and a number of themes envisaged in NIOS Vision
Document. (See items 7 and 8 in the Mission Statement above).
The above six observations outline genuine efforts and their tangible outcomes that
evidence a reasonable level of achievement in fulfilling the institutional mandate, and
that establishes quality credentials of NIOS convincingly.

Monitoring and evaluation: NIOS defines 185 monitoring as a process of keeping track
of what is being implemented with a view to check whether or not the programme/project
is progressing smoothly as per (the agreed to) ..schedule.. and evaluation as the
process of arriving at judgments on the nature and extent of the work or worthwhileness
of the programme/project.
Apart from monitoring the financial and administrative management following the time
honoured auditing procedures, NIOS has in place a monitoring system that addresses
learner concerns specifically. Such concerns pertain to five distinct activities at study
centres (AIs and AVIs):
registration of students,
delivery of study materials,
organisation of contact programmes, laboratory work and assignment handling,
organisation of sit-in examinations, and
delivery of marks-sheets and certificates.

The following mechanisms are in place to monitor these activities:

i.

ii.

184

Regional Centres (RCs) not only oversee the conduct of registration and
examinations, but are also responsible for liaison with State Open Schools and
State Education Departments and iv) monitoring the conduct of NIOS activities
at study centres within their jurisdiction. The process includes visits of the RC
Staff to and conduct of training, extension and developmental activities at study
centres. Regular periodic meetings of the Coordinators and RC Staff are held to
address operational issues and find solutions wherever needed.
Academic Facilitators (usually retired professionals) have been appointed on ad
hoc basis to oversee the functioning of study centres. Each one of them is
attached to a few study centres (AIs and AVIs) in their vicinity and they have to
visit them from time to time, observe their functioning assignment handling,
conduct of tutorials, management of examinations and practical work and report
their observations and inspection reports to the relevant Regional Centre and
Headquarters. They are also charged with the responsibility of informing and
advising coordinators of study centres with a view to improving their functioning

Annual Report 2005-06, (2006), NIOS, New Delhi, pp. 121-124.

185

Framework and Networking System for Formulation of Educational Programmes, Monitoring of their
Implementation and Evaluation in the Context of Open Schooling: Final Report (2007), National Institute
of Open Schooling, New Delhi, pp. 63-70.
87

iii.
iv.

and effectiveness. It is, however, too early to comment on the success or

otherwise of this provision, as the operation has been put in place only recently.
Special Observers are deputed to examination centres to oversee the conduct of
examinations. They must send their reports to Headquarters every day during the
examinations.
Visiting Officers from the Headquarters are deputed to study centres from time
to time to look into their functioning.

As for evaluation, no formal procedure or process is in evidence at NIOS. For example,

programme evaluation, a major activity usually taken up by most distance education
institutions is not practised at NIOS. The Institute, however, engages in various activities
that partly contribute to institutional evaluation in significant ways. For example:
i.

The Grants-in-Aid for Research Projects in Open Schooling scheme is not a first
of its kind for NIOS. Some of the earlier (during the NOS era) research activities
focused on systemic issues to identify the weaknesses and gaps in institutional
policies and operations in order to help the managers and the line staff in taking
corrective steps wherever needed. Some of the studies worth mentioning pertain
to the profile of NOS students 186 , the factors that affect the performance of NOS
students at the May and November examinations 187 , the correlation between the
performance of the learners and their academic preparedness and socio-economic
background 188 , the correlation between the performance of learners and their
academic preparedness and socio-economic background 189 , the problems faced
by NOS students 190 and the effect of specially designed personal contact
programmes on the academic attainment of students 191 .

186

Srivastava, R. (1995), Socio-economic analysis of NOS learners: A Report, National Open School, New
Delhi.
187
Sharma, O. P. (1997), An Investigation into the Factors Affecting the Performance of NOS Students in
May & November Examinations, National Open School, New Delhi.
188
Sharma, O. P. (1997), Attendance in Personal Contact Programmes and Performance of Open
Learners, Indian Journal Of Open Learning, 6 (1 & 2), pp. 71-75.
189

Sharma, O. P. (1999), Impact of Socio-economic and Educational Background of Distance Learners on

their Performance, Journal of Distance Education, pp. 93-98.

190

Sharma, O. P. (2000), Problems of the Learners of NOS: Observations and Suggestions, Planning
Commission, Government of India, New Delhi.
191

Sharma, O. P. (2001), A Study of the effectiveness of Specifically Designed PCPs on the Performance of
Science Students in National Open School: A Report, National Open School, New Delhi.

88

ii.

The outcome of these studies has contributed appreciably to the quality of

various learner related products and services at NOS. For example, an increase in
the number of contact sessions per course in general and on top of that another
five sessions for science students; introduction of counseling, interactive tutorials
and problem solving exercises in PCP activities; insight into learner concerns and
problems in relation to May and November examinations and the consequent
modification in examination timings and timeframes of other processes; conduct
of training needs analysis and the introduction of staff development activities.
Obviously, NOS has been and now NIOS is quality-conscious and incorporates
reformative modifications wherever needed and wherever possible. All this
ensures the quality of the products and processes that concern NIOS learners and
their studies and/or training.
In 2005-06, NIOS conducted a nation-wide Training Needs Survey focused on
coordinators of study centres, academic facilitators and tutors/counselors. Based
on the survey, training modules have been prepared to reorient these three types
of functionary. Actual orientation/training sessions are expected to commence
any time now. The plan is to first cover all the functionaries in place now and
then provide such orientation/training on regular bases to all the new comers.
This provision together with that of Academic Facilitators must adequately
address the issues outlined above.

To sum up, as for the academic/training products and processes, NIOS depends on
product- and process-specific operations for quality assurance. There is no specific
Quality Assurance Unit in charge of ensuring quality at NIOS, nor is there any
arrangement for self-assessment by academics and others or that by departments or
divisions to lead to internal assessment. There is no external assessment of any kind on
board either. There are, however, well defined procedures and practices in place to ensure
quality in the primary products and processes of the institute, i.e. self-learning materials,
student support services and learner assessment. (Detailed information and the related
observations are presented in Subsections 4.3.2, 4.3.4 and 4.3.5 above.)

4.4

Comparative effectiveness of NIOS

Section 3.5 (Chapter 3) builds a strong case for universalising secondary education in India, and
the Government of India is committed 192 to doing so. Universalisation of education at the primary
level has nearly been achieved (see Table 3.3, Chapter 3), but as argued in Chapter 3, the existing
arrangement for the secondary level is awfully inadequate for meeting the impending challenge.
Further, as Chamarbagwala 193 indicates, the provision and the infrastructure that needs to be put
in place have to be of a kind that allow those of the targeted clientele who are in the labour
market to continue on their jobs while they improve their educational levels. This then is the
context and also the compelling argument in India for alternative systems of education/training
that may even remotely promise to be more cost-effective and cost-efficient than the traditional

192

See Footnote 5 on page 2.

193

Chamarbagwala, R. (2004) Returns to Education, Child Labour & Schooling in India, Department of
Economics, Indiana University, Bloomington. http://129.3.20.41/eps/dev/papers/0410/0410003.pdf
(accessed on July 30, 2007)

89

system. Since NIOS is a Central Government Institution, we choose to analyse its effectiveness in
comparison with that of other secondary level institutions run by the Central Government.
4.4.1

Secondary education initiatives of the Government of India

As far as the lower levels of education are concerned, the Central Government may take pride in
three of its major initiatives Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (the Apex Executive Body of Central
schools), Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (the Apex Executive Body of Jawahar Navodaya Schools)
and National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS).

Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan 194 (KVS), with its headquarters at New Delhi, manages
Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) (i.e. Central Schools) spread all over the country and abroad.
The first of these schools were established in 1963-64 and the process of expansion
continues. These schools were established primarily to cater to the children of the
transferable Central Government employees and Services Personnel. At present,
however, they admit the children of other government employees and some related
categories on quota basis. They run classes from the primary level through to the higher
secondary level, though not all of them run all the levels necessarily. As of August, 2007,
there are 979 Kendriya Vidyalayas staffed by 38,735 employees catering to 983,537
students, i.e. on average nearly 1,005 students per school. These schools are fully funded
by the Government of India through the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
Generally, they enrol students at the lowest level available at the school concerned. Their
collective enrolment is around 100,000 annually, i.e. on average around 102 new students
per school. Their fee structure (per month in INR) 195 applicable throughout the country
is outlined below.

Table 4.9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

194

Fee structure of KVs (INR per month)

Admission fee
Re-admission fee
Tuition fee (Classes IX-X)
Tuition fee (Classes XI-XII)
Computer fee (Classes III onwards)
Computer Science fee (for elective subjects at XI-XII level)
Vidyalaya Vikas Nidhi (i.e. School Development Fund) (Classes I-X)
Vidyalaya Vikas Nidhi (Classes XI-XIINon-science subjects)
Vidyalaya Vikas Nidhi (Classes XI-XIISciences)

25.00
100.00
40.00
50.00
20.00
40.00
160.00
160.00
200.00

Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan at http://www.kvsangathan.nic.in (accessed on July 30, 2007)

195

Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan: Fee Structure (per month) at http://kvsangathan.nic.in/feestructure

1.aspx (accessed on July 16, 2007)

90

4.4.2

Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti 196 (NVS), conceived under the National Policy on
Education - 1986, runs a chain of schools, called Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs),
all over the country. The first two of them were established in 1985-86 on an
experimental basis. It is envisaged that each district in the country (except the 30 in Tamil
Nadu where the state that has not accepted this scheme) will have one such school. The
present sanctioned number of these schools is 557 (covering 91 per cent of the districts),
of which 539 are functional currently. All these schools are fully residential and coeducational catering to students from class VI to class XII. Registration is made at class
VI through an open selection/entrance test conducted by the CBSE, and 32,000-35,000
new students are admitted annually, i.e. on average around 60-65 new students per school
annually. The purpose of these schools is to identify and then develop talented children
from rural areas mainly, who otherwise would not get the education they deserve because
they cannot afford it. Those registered get free education, board and lodging, clothing and
books. By the Samitis own estimation, their expenses per student per year stand at INR
6,500.00 (Board and lodging: INR 5,000.00; Uniform: INR 600.00; Books: INR 100.00;
Toiletries: INR 300.00; and other items like stationary: INR 500.00). This cost, however,
does not include any of the institutional costs, such as the salaries of teachers, buildings
and laboratories.

NIOS and the issues of access and equity

NIOS is the only initiative of the Central Government 197 that squarely addresses the issues of
access and equity touched upon in Subsections 4.2.4 and 4.3.6. It is true that the normal
reservations for SC/ST students are practised at all the school as usual, but all that stands in
absolute contrast with the intake of NIOS comprising a mix of dropouts, overworked adults,
housewives and out-of-school children. Though this situation must affect throughputs rates of
NIOS adversely, it is highly commendable for NIOS to be in the forefront of the process that
addresses these issues. This takes us to some of the salient features of NIOS in order to appreciate
its strengths and recognise its weaknesses on our way to estimate its cost-effectiveness vis--vis
the conventional systems of schooling.

196

Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas at http://www.navodaya.nic.in/jnvs.htm and

http://www.microsoft.com/india/education/pil/case_Nav. (accessed on July 16, 2007)
197

There are 10 State Open Schools in India and their mandates are comparable to that of NIOS, but
generally their operations remain limited to the respective States.
91

Table 4.10

Enrolment trend

198

since 1990-91

Academic Year
Enrolment (000)
1990-91
40
1991-92
34
1992-93
56
1993-94
64
1994-95
65
1995-96
77
1996-97
91
1997-98
112
1998-99
129
1999-00
147
2000-01
186
2001-02
214
2002-03
278
2003-04
321
2004-05
238
2005-06
267
2006-07
290
Average annual increase over the past 16 years

Variations ( %)
- 15.0
+ 64.7
+ 14.3
+ 01.6
+ 18.5
+ 18.2
+ 23.1
+ 15.2
+ 14.0
+ 26.5
+ 15.1
+ 29.9
+ 12.2
- 25.9
+12.2
+08.6
+13.0 +

More than 13 per cent sustained annual rise in enrolment in a single institution without any
corresponding increase in substantive staff and infrastructure is unheard of in the conventional
system of schooling in India. A system that displays such capacity, without making any
significant additional inputs, should be cost-effective as well as cost-efficient. But is it really so?
We must look into the characteristics of this enrolment.

198

National Institute of Open SchoolingEnrolment trend: http://nos.org/enroltrend.htm

(accessed on July 30, 2007)
92

Table 4.11

Enrolment by region and state

199

(an illustration)

Year - 2006-07
Regional
Centres
Hyderabad
Pune
Kolkata

Guwahati

Chandigarh

Kochi

Delhi Zone-I
Jaipur
Patna
Allahabad
Bhopal
TOTAL

State
Andhra Pradesh
Karnataka
Maharashtra
Goa
Orissa
Sikkim
West Bengal
Andaman & Nicobar
Assam
Manipur
Meghalaya
Nagaland
Tripura
Arunachal Pradesh
Mizoram
APO (Army Post Office)
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu & Kashmir
Punjab
Chandigarh
Kerala
Tamil Nadu
Pondicherry
Delhi
Gujarat
Rajasthan
Bihar
Jharkhand
Uttar Pradesh
Uttranchal
Madhya Pradesh
Chhattisgarh
INDIA

Secondary
level
678
235
9,397
2,191
2,442
1,359
8,992
1,063
1,394
5,494
1,360
2,473
402
2,023
2,261
3
27,861
4,491
423
7,299
940
1,558
255
1
37,551
610
5,173
3,455
1,697
14,218
6,408
3,892
765
158,364

199

Senior
Secondary
level
2,822
618
3,635
470
845
770
5,479
763
1,373
3,970
31
1,049
265
871
1,090
30
24,479
10,287
678
1,754
435
2,624
279
4
35,266
436
2,515
3,948
1,084
13,685
4,981
1,552
548
128,636

National Institute of Open SchoolingEnrolment in the last 5 years at

http://www.nios.ac.in/last5yrs.htm
(accessed on July 30, 2007)

93

Total
3,500
853
13,032
2,661
3,287
2,129
14,471
1,826
2,767
9,464
1,391
3,522
667
2,894
3,351
33
52,340
14,778
1,101
9,053
1,375
4,182
534
5
72,817
1,046
7,688
7,403
2,781
27,903
11,389
5,444
1,313
287,000

Table 4.11 (Continued)

FOREIGN STUDENTS
Region
Delhi Zone-II
Delhi Zone-II
TOTAL

Country
UAE
(United Arab Emirates)
Nepal

Sec.

Sr. Sec.

Total

341
228
569

442
418
860

783
646
1,429

Sr. Sec.
696

Total
2,554

130,192

290,983

DIFFERENTLY ABLE STUDENTS

Region
All India

SAIED #

Sec.
1,858

Grand Total

NIOS

160,791

# Special Accredited Institutions for the Education of Disadvantaged

Having divided its nation-wide activities into 12 regions, NIOS covers all the states and the
Union Territories of the country. Each region covers more than one state and/or Union Territory
and is administered by a Regional Office, usually stationed in a major city in the region. NIOS
operations go beyond the national boundary; the foreign operations are looked after by the
Headquarters at New Delhi. Another point to notice is the size of enrolment and the distribution
of enroleeseach state and Union Territory has representation at NIOS. The picture that emerges
is that of a truly national institution, which is open to every person without any restriction, except
those necessitated by academic considerations. One of the major attractions of NIOS has to be its
fee structure, which is not expensive.
Table 4.12

For 5 subjects
Male students
Female students
Exempted Categories
For each additional subject
Male students
Female students
Exempted Categories

NIOS fee structure 200

Secondary level

Senior Secondary level

INR 1000.00
INR 750.00
INR 550.00

INR 1150.00
INR 900.00
INR 625.00

INR 150.00
INR 150.00
INR 150.00

INR 180.00
INR 180.00
INR 180.00

Examination fee: INR 90.00 per subject without practicals.

INR 130.00 per subject with practicals.
Miscellaneous fee: INR 50.00 each for a duplicate copy of the Marks sheet,
Migration certificate, Identity card or Certificate.

200

NIOS at a Glance-2006, (2006), NIOS, New Delhi, p-25.

94

The overall fee charged by NIOS for both the secondary and senior secondary levels is much less
than that charged by KVs. Against this difference in costs to learners (which is analysed
elaborately in Subsection 4.5.6), what are the features of the throughput achieved by NIOS in
comparison with that of KVs?
4.4.3

Comparative effectiveness/performance of NIOS, KVs and JNVs

In terms of the quality of education provided at KVs and JNVs, their out put is usually compared
with that of IITs 201 . A look at their throughput is in place here.
Table 4.13

Comparative performance 202 (Classes X and XII): KVs, JNVs and Other
Schools 203 affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education
(CBSE)

Class X Results (pass %)

2001
KVs
81.80
JNVs
87.00
Overall (CBSE)
66.60
Class XII Results (pass %)
KVs
83.90
JNVs
84.20
Overall (CBSE)
75.20

2002
85.60
88.70
69.50

2003
84.60
88.50
68.00

2004
90.44
91.40
76.60

2005
89.95
90.82
74.60

2006
90.63
91.13
77.16

2007
95.64
-84.44

86.50
83.30
75.20

88.70
85.30
73.60

92.78
87.70
80.40

92.47
87.08
77.80

92.89
90.24
79.55

93.14
90.11
80.64

It may be noted that Class XII results of KVs are consistently better than those of JNVs, while
JNVs show better results at Class X equally consistently, though the differences in either case are
not significant. Looking at the overall percentages against CBSE, these percentages are lower,
because students from the Other Schools affiliated with CBSE also sit for the same
examinations and they do not perform as well as KVs and JNVs. As a result the overall CBSE
percentages remain low. Obviously, the Other Schools collectively do not perform as well as
KVs and JNVs, as generally there is a gap of 10-20 percentage points in the overall pass
percentages of the two sets of schools every year.
The point that emerges unambiguously is that in terms of student performance KVs and JNVs are
the best government-run institutions for the secondary level of education in the country. And one
201

Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are world class institutions and IIT graduates are valued all over
the world.

202

Derived from Comparative Result Analysis at http://kvsangathan,nic.in/resultanalysis 1.aspx

(accessed on July 16, 2007)
203

Both types of schools, KVs and JNVs, are affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education,
which prescribes the syllabus, conducts the examinations and also awards certificates. In addition to these
two types of schools, there are many other schools all over the country affiliated with the same Board.
Many of them are run by private management, some of which charge very high tuition fees, while some are
aided. The former are not accessible to those who cannot pay high fees, while the latter cater to masses
generally.
95

may plausibly guess that the pass percentage of the Other Schools may hover around 50-60 per
cent on average (see the observations following Table 4.19).
4.4.4

Performance of NIOS students

Considering the NIOS data as presented in official documents (see the tables below), the
performance of NIOS is really disappointing, but is it really so? Consider the April 2006 results.
NIOS examination results: April 2006 204

Table 4.14

APPEARED (1)
Sr. Sec.
Secondary
TOTAL

148,883

175,699

CERTIFIED (2)
Sr. Sec.
Secondary
56,489
47,521

PASS % (3)
Sr. Sec.
31.92

Secondary
32.15

MALE

101,921

119,660

31,130

37,459

30.54

31.30

FEMALE

46,962

56,039

16,391

19,030

34.90

33.96

The confusion lies in confusing certification with pass percentages. The number certified for the
relevant award in column 2 is actually the number of students who (at the April 2006
examination) brought the tally of their successfully completed subjects to what is required (i.e.
five subjects) for certification. Some of these students may have completed just one subject at this
examination, some two, some three and some all the five required. Obviously, there is no problem
with the details in the column 2, but what we have in column 3 is misleading and a potential
source of error for every estimation based on it, as the percentages are not of the passes, but of
those certified for the award out of the number who appeared at this examination. This confusion
also manifests itself in a different way (see Table 4.15 below).

204

National Institute of Open SchoolingExamination Results at http://www.nios.ac.in/oct05.htm

(accessed on July 30, 2007)
96

Results by region (April 2006) 205

Table 4.15
REGION
HYDERABAD
PUNE
KOLKATA
GUWAHATI
CHANDIGARH
KOCHI
DELHI ZONE I
NOSHQ
JAIPUR
PATNA
ALLAHABAD
DELHI ZONE II
BHOPAL
Total

Sr. Secondary
Appeared
Passed

Pass %

Secondary
Appeared

Passed

Pass %

4,651
4,844
9,800
9,248
28,834
2,419
34,303
779
2,205
3,509
6,837
38,761
2,693
148,883

17.59
30.88
32.60
36.63
31.84
17.53
28.50
35.56
35.01
49.50
43.18
32.86
28.63
31.92

1,674
12,839
15,523
14,578
31,943
1,084
33,992
672
3,802
5,489
4,796
44,588
4,719
175,699

381
4,437
5,433
6,387
8,277
341
8,847
295
1,607
2,797
2,311
13,653
1,723
56,489

22.76
34.56
35.00
43.81
25.91
31.46
26.03
43.90
42.27
50.96
48.19
30.62
36.51
32.15

818
1,496
3,195
3,388
9,180
424
9,776
277
772
1,737
2,952
12,735
771
47,521

Whether we look under the Secondary or the Senior Secondary column, what appears in the
passed column is actually the number of students who completed passes in five subjects and so
are qualified for certification, irrespective of the actual number of subjects they cleared at the said
examination. Here the word passed is used to mean certified (of Table 4.14). Seemingly, it is
the lingering influence of the conventional system and the erroneous application of the notion of
Full Time Equivalent (FTE) that leads to this confusion. NIOS fails to see that they are operating
at the level of subjects, not full courses/programmes as is done in the conventional system. This
confusion persists throughout the NIOS records/data pertaining to the performance of their
students and their results (see Table 4.16 below).
In over 17 years and across 34 examination sessions, except for November 1992, November 1994
and May 2003 examinations, the percentage of certification has never crossed the 40 per cent
mark. Most are at 20 per cent and 30 per cent and some go below 20 per cent. Like NIOS
themselves (as they do in Tables 3.14 and 3.15), the casual reader will read the percentages as
pass percentages, which they are not.

205

National Institute of Open SchoolingExamination Results at http://www.nios.ac.in/oct05.htm

(accessed on July 30, 2007
97

Profile of examination results: 1991-2006 206

Table 4.16
Exam
Jan-91
Jun-91
Nov-91
May-92
Nov-92
May-93
Dec-93
May-94
Nov-94
May-95
Nov-95
May-96
Nov-96
May-97
Nov-97
May-98
Nov-98
May-99
Nov-99
May-00
Nov-00
May-01
Nov-01
May-02
Nov-02
May-03
Nov-03
May-04
Nov-04
Apr-05
Oct-05
Apr-06
Oct-06
Apr-07
Total

Secondary
Appeared
21,560
23,076
15,193
24,507
13,683
34,035
18,418
37,860
18,200
25,393
28,161
50,640
31,287
63,387
38,640
76,845
45,326
90,380
53,320
98,948
52,039
12,2101
58,880
143,782
70,263
172,533
69,896
237,300
100,680
167,169
86,262
175,699
79,170
182,680
252,7313

Certified
5,050
5,388
3,622
6,700
3,328
9,140
4,431
12,067
4,899
4,692
4,895
15,082
8,141
17,889
9,268
18,204
9,674
25,309
16,366
31,818
13,625
33,849
15,804
48,653
20,309
99,250
23,663
77,570
26,786
46,728
26,743
56,489
28,054
59,710
793,196

%
23.42
23.35
23.84
27.34
24.32
26.85
24.06
31.87
26.92
18.48
17.38
29.78
26.02
28.22
23.99
23.69
21.34
28.00
30.69
32.16
26.18
27.72
26.84
33.84
28.90
57.53
33.85
32.69
26.61
27.95
31.00
31.46
35.43
32.69
31.38

Sr. Secondary
Appeared
13,406
18,116
10,504
15,191
8,633
22,275
13,019
28,054
14,209
22,383
22,644
34,049
21,786
39,483
24,283
48,202
28,955
57,761
34,806
71,453
36,842
93,175
48,403
100,942
56,100
117,872
70,385
170,052
84,474
136,560
75,605
148,883
69,834
162,371
1,920,710

Certified
3,730
5,185
3,055
4,736
3,716
6,700
4,942
10,864
6,196
5,169
5,893
7,900
5,258
9,138
5,559
11,538
6,773
13,426
9,777
13,024
8,808
17,858
12,267
23,579
14,913
39,603
20,181
36,660
17,999
36,436
24,247
47,521
22,843
51,447
516,941

%
27.82
28.62
29.08
31.18
43.04
30.08
37.96
38.73
43.61
23.09
26.02
23.20
24.13
23.14
22.89
23.94
23.39
23.24
28.09
18.23
23.91
19.17
25.34
23.36
26.58
33.60
28.67
21.56
21.31
26.68
32.07
31.92
32.71
31.68
26.91

The above table presents a distorted and incomplete view of the throughput of NIOS year after
year. The actual features of the student performance at NIOS emerge only when we look at
results/performance by subject 207 (see Tables 4.17 and 4.18 below).
206

National Institute of Open SchoolingExamination Profile at http://www.nios.ac.in/exampro.htm

(accessed on July 30, 2007)

207

National Institute of Open SchoolingSubject-wise pass percentage at

http://www.nios.ac.in/subacad.htm (accessed on July 30, 2007)
98

Table 4.17

Pass percentage at the secondary level by subject

Apr-04
APP.
143,907
201 HINDI
162,095
202 ENGLISH
623
203 BENGALI
1,397
204 MARATHI
1,135
205 TELUGU
1,939
206 URDU
154
207 GUJRATI
43
208 KANNAD
13,598
209 SANSKRIT
4,852
210 PUNJABI
52
228 ASSAMESE
1,266
231 NEPALI
117
232 MALAYALAM
124,254
211 MATHEMATICS
153,455
212 SCIENCE
213 SOCIAL SCIENCE 148,773
59,022
214 ECONOMICS
215 BUSINESS STUDY 26,010
66,046
216 HOME SCIENCE
487
217 TYPING (HINDI)
5,259
218 TYPYING (ENG)
34,890
219 WORD PROC.
2,559
222 PSYCHOLOGY
223 BHA. CUL. & HER. 1,380
Subject

Apr-05
PASS % APP.
94,198
77.31
115,087
54.27
551
77.68
1,515
90.40
573
57.79
1,036
91.69
160
82.46
52
51.16
7,650
53.38
4,265
82.52
65
90.38
1,253
82.70
359
93.16
76,922
55.92
96,415
54.30
101,732
64.63
44,049
71.11
26,463
62.83
53,764
75.82
224
54.00
4,109
60.42
23,282
83.15
3,642
49.55
2,220
69.92

99

Oct 04
PASS % APP.
23,382
82.03
45,484
60.32
150
69.87
111
81.78
272
80.45
237
79.82
12
87.50
10
46.15
3,667
44.47
455
79.60
10
72.30
282
58.26
32
93.03
34,307
42.59
38,260
40.81
35,694
53.43
13,280
65.39
7,501
60.84
11,007
64.37
124
62.05
1,331
65.19
4,499
84.63
522
44.12
339
54.68

Oct 05
PASS % APP.
13,892
71.49
32,041
47.64
155
70.66
168
81.08
49
55.14
199
81.85
10
66.66
8
10.00
2,405
49.85
425
73.18
17
50.00
485
47.51
12
75.00
28,787
27.11
36,239
39.01
32,901
43.12
11,560
64.63
7,544
48.31
11,984
53.89
66
73.38
1,038
63.26
2,844
71.92
1,276
33.52
691
42.18

PASS %
73.50
54.19
46.45
69.04
46.93
78.39
90.00
37.50
41.74
74.11
58.82
40.00
91.66
36.97
39.09
45.00
55.19
56.28
52.11
56.06
60.50
77.77
30.48
49.34

Table 4.18

Pass percentage at the senior secondary level by subject

SUBJECT
301 HINDI
302 ENGLISH
306 URDU
311 MATHEMATICS
312 PHYSICS
313 CHEMISTRY
314 BIOLOGY
315 HISTORY
316 GEOGRAPHY
317 POLITICAL SC.
318 ECONOMICS
319 COMMERCE
320 ACCOUNTANCY
321 HOME SCIENCE
322 TYPE (HINDI)
323 TYPE (ENGLISH)
324 STENO (HINDI)
325 STENO (ENGLISH)
326 SEC. PRACTICE
327 WORD PROCESS
328 PSYCHOLOGY
330 COMPUTER SCIENCE
331 SOCIOLOGY
332 PAINTING

APR - 02
APP.
PASS %
45,859 73.28
60,306 64.88
458
75.55
14,660 35.74
16,052 33.40
15,131 46.49
9,794
53.39
26,941 58.84
20,727 56.07
32,556 55.29
28,927 50.35
13,056 62.97
10,942 43.82
19,424 66.00
293
60.75
3,999
56.94
51
39.22
243
30.45
5,585
63.08
14,550 74.82
3,432
59.73

APR APP.
56,966
75181
615
17,859
22,174
20,960
13,906
32,190
23,273
39,934
33,291
14,573
12,181
23,442
258
3,468
30
140
6,158
17,960
4,239
2,396

03
PASS %
76.22
66.66
90.24
47.33
43.70
53.90
62.41
63.10
65.67
68.98
63.43
67.88
49.22
68.12
61.24
58.56
40.00
35.00
70.70
79.26
67.02
45.83

JUNE - 04
APR - 05
APP. PASS % APP.
78,433 72.63
62,488
84433
105177 62.51
784
747
74.23
24,874 47.70
18,606
33,610 33.57
21,595
30,857 34.79
20,956
20,848 41.16
13,983
40,937 65.37
33,855
28,133 49.19
21,092
51,007 55.96
42,927
37,663 46.42
34,942
16,602 59.40
16,146
13,918 45.05
13,228
31,596 64.99
26,853
206
182
65.05
2930
2,264
52.29
15
19
40.00
69
120
37.68
6,552
4,942
59.55
23,067 61.09
18,771
4,691
4,269
48.33
4,133
30.68
4,338
8,286
72.88
13,024
1,617

PASS %
69.46
64.09
65.06
46.00
36.73
39.78
48.94
69.46
52.67
62.49
55.62
63.82
43.43
64.41
60.99
58.17
47.37
36.67
67.08
62.63
65.10
41.22
72.57
65.18

Listed above are subject-wise results from various secondary and senior secondary examinations
chosen randomly. Subject-wise success (see Tables 4.17 and 4.18) at both the levels shows a
much better (and certainly correct) profile than the distorted details in Tables 4.14 through 4.16.
We notice that students generally perform much better in humanities and social sciences, such as
Hindi, history and sociology, while success rates are relatively lower in science subjects, such as
mathematics, physics and chemistry.

100

To show how results may be computed to present the correct picture of the performance of NIOS
students, presented below (see Table 4.19) is the existing and available data (four cases chosen
randomly) reworked in terms of subjects. We have taken the data from the results of four
examinations, two each of the years 2005 and 2006.
Corrected NIOS performance profile (a sample based on limited data) 208

Table 4.19

Examination
held in

Level
(Secondary
or Senior
Secondary)

# students
(head
count)
appeared
= (x)

# subjects
they
appeared
in = (y)

# subjects
they
passed in =
(z)

April 2006

Secondary
Senior Sec.
Secondary
Senior Sec.
Secondary
Senior Sec.
Secondary
Senior Sec
Secondary
Senior Sec

175,186
148,747
79,170
69,834
167,169
136,560
86,262
75,605
507,787
430,746

711,403
520,440
167,768
132,387
659,586
461,397
184,796
144,497
1,723,553
1,258,721

452,914
342,932
74,675
69,632
388,974
275,528
89,579
74,480
1,006,142
762,572

Oct. 2006
April 2005
Oct. 2005
Totals for 4
examinations

Average
no. of
subjects
each
student
appeared
in = (y/x)
4.10
3.50
2.10
1.90
3.95
3.38
2.10
1.90
3.39
2.92

Percentage
of passes in
subjects =
(z/y) 100

63.67
65.89
44.51
52.60
58.97
59.72
48.47
51.54
58.38
60.58

On average (with respect to the above data):

each student sits for around four and two subjects in the April and the October
examinations respectively,
the overall results in the April examinations are better than those in the October
examinations,
the number of examinees in April is usually about twice that in October,
all the subject-based pass percentages are not below 45 per cent mark, and
the overall pass percentage in the subjects appeared at the secondary level is 58.38,
and at the senior secondary level is 60.58.

The subject-wise pass percentages and the overall profile of NIOS results, as shown above,
though certainly not superlative like those of KVs/JNVs, appear to be comparable to the results of
Other Schools (see the discussion following Table 4.13). It, therefore, appears plausible to
assume that the performance of NIOS in terms of its throughput is comparable to that of the
Other Schools affiliated to CBSE, i.e. the performance of NIOS is like that of an average school
in Indianot a mean achievement, considering the background of the NIOS intake! But this
conclusion needs to be confirmed.

208

National Institute of Open SchoolingExamination Results at http://www.nios.ac.in/oct05.htm

(accessed on July 30, 2007)
101

4.4.5

Effectiveness of NIOS: position in the national profile

Consider the national profile of Secondary and Senior Secondary examination results (2003-04
and 2004-05) as compiled by the Council of Boards of School Education (COBSE) in India, New
Delhi, from the data contributed by 37 State Boards of Secondary and Senior Secondary
Education (see Tables 4.20 and 4.21). Almost all the Boards are represented here, and results
pertain to all the government, private aided and private unaided schoolsa realistic picture of the
performance of students at the levels concerned and that of the effectiveness of the systems
countrywide.
Table 4.20 National profile of secondary and senior secondary examination results
(2003/04-2004/05)

Overall pass percentage

Andhra Pradesh

2003-04 Results 209

Secondary Senior
Sec.
57.89
67.42
80.41
--

1a) Board of Secondary Education

1b) Board of Intermediate Education
Assam

-49.80

---

-55.54

53.18
--

2a) Board of Secondary Education

2b) Assam Hr. Sec. Education Council
Bihar

---

55.49
--

-70.07

58.48
--

3a) Bihar School Examination Board, Patna

3b) Bihar Intermediate Education Council
Chhattisgarh

---

85.94
--

-48.10

72.58
67.47

Chhattisgarh Board of Sec. Education, Raipur

Goa

57.47

74.59

54.90

72.33

Goa Board of Sec. & HS Education

Gujarat

52.69

60.78

56.49

--

Gujarat Sec. & HS Education Board

Haryana

59.17

39.21

61.81

54.19

Board of School Education

Himachal Pradesh

--

60.54

--

68.66

S.
N.

Names of School Boards

2004-05 Results 210

Secondary Senior
Sec.
63.36
70.65
72.41
--

Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education

209

A Study of Examination Results 2004, Council of Boards of School Education (COBSE) in India, New
Delhi. pp. 16-18.

210

A Study of Examination Results 2005, Council of Boards of School Education (COBSE) in India, New
Delhi. pp. 14-19.

102

Jammu & Kashmir

50.34

38.95

50.27

34.07

10

J&K State Board of School Education

Jharkhand

60.96

83.42

71.36

83.82

11

Jharkhand Academic Council, Ranchi

Karnataka

--

--

63.90

--

12

11a) Karnataka Sec. Education Examination Board

11b) Dept. of Pre-University, Karnataka
Kerala

---

57.61
59.23

---

60.39
75.93

13

Board of Higher Sec. Education

Madhya Pradesh

28.46

65.22

32.60

71.27

07.43

--

--

--

14

13a) Board of Secondary Education, Madhya Pradesh

13b) Madhmik Shiksha Mandal, M.P., Bhopal
(Correspondence)
13c) M. P. State Open School, Bhopal
Maharashtra

37.30
--

34.01
--

38.29
58.72

21.23
62.60

15

Maharashtra State Board of Sec. & HS Education,

Pune
Manipur

39.43

--

43.41

--

16

15a) Board of Secondary Education

15b) Council of Hr. Sec. Education
Meghalaya

---

54.75
62.12

---

35.79
73.88

17

Meghalaya Board of School Education

Mizoram

37.00

34.84

45.77

46.90

18

Mizoram Board of School Education, Aizawl

Nagaland

72.03

--

76.89

78.29

19

Nagaland Board of School Education, Kohima

Orissa

52.26

--

55.34

--

20

19a) Board of Sec. Education

19b) Council of Hr. Sec. Education
Punjab

-65.91

79.51
68.78

---

71.11
--

21

Punjab School Education Board, Chandigarh

Rajasthan

60.08

81.26

50.38

72.24

22

Board of Secondary Education, Ajmer

Tamil Nadu

77.36

--

77.80

76.83

23

State Board of School Education

Tripura

50.64

48.80

77.80

68.95

Tripura Board of Sec. Education, Agartala

103

24

Uttar Pradesh

--

--

69.71

90.64

25

UP Board of High School & Intermediate Education

Uttaranchal

48.12

72.95

49.15

73.35

26

Uttaranchal Shiksha Evm Pariksha Parishad

West Bengal

71.61

--

70.52

61.48

27

26a) West Bengal Board of Sec. Education, Kolkata

26b) West Bengal Board of Madrasah Education
26c) Rabindra Mukta Vidyalaya
Delhi

65.97
29.93
76.62

34.01
-80.36

66.37
-77.52

--81.00

Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi

The above profile of throughput percentages has been abstracted into four levels: Boards with
pass percentages below or equal to 40, between 41 and 60, between 61 and 80 and those between
81 and 100 (see Table 4.21 below). At the secondary level, a majority* of the Boards (41.7 per
cent) are at level II and at the Senior Secondary level, the majority* (50.0 per cent) are at level
III. Interestingly, the performance of NIOS in terms of passes in subjects (see Table 4.19) tallies
with the majority groups at the secondary as well as the senior secondary levels.
Table 4.21

Effectiveness/performance of NIOS: place in the national profile

Levels

Throughput
rate

I
II

00-40 per cent

41-60 per cent

III

61-80 per cent

IV

81-100 per
cent

Case of results at the Secondary

level

Case of results at the Senior Secondary

level

% of Boards
16.7 per cent
41.7 per cent
*
39.6 per cent

% of Boards
16.7 per cent
18.7 per cent

Place of NIOS

50.0 per cent *

With 60.58 per cent

subject passes

Place of NIOS
With 58.38 per cent
subject passes

02.0 per cent

14.6 per cent

It is true that this picture will vary depending on the way the throughput rates are classified, but it
is clear that the performance/effectiveness of NIOS is comparable to that of most schools in the
country (read the comments/observations on Tables 4.13 together with those on Tables 4.19 and
4.21). Comparing the averaged subject-based throughput rates of NIOS (see the last two rows in
Table 4.19) with the throughput rates of different Secondary/Senior Secondary Boards in the
country (see Table 4.20), we notice that at the secondary level, NIOS performed better than 13
and 12 State Boards and worse than 10 and 13 in 2004 and 2005 respectively. At the senior
secondary level, NIOS performed better than 11 and 8 State Boards and worse than 11 and 18 in
2004 and 2005 respectively. The Relative effectiveness ratio for NIOS against various comparator
Boards of Education in relation to 2004-2005 results is shown in Table 7.4.

104

4.5

Cost-efficiency of NIOS

Before looking into the cost issues of NIOS in the present situation, we review three earlier
studies.
4.5.1

The First Cost Study (1986): Open School (1982-86)

As narrated earlier, the Government of India started the Open School 211 on an experimental basis
in 1979 as a project within the Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi. It was to cater
to the needs of school drop-outs, working adults, house-wives and aspirants from socioeconomically disadvantaged sections of society. It (incorporated) flexibility and openness in the
system and this (was) a step towards meeting the needs of knowledge seekers, mostly second
chance learners, who (could not) pursue formal education due to domestic, economic and other
considerations 212 . The goals 213 of the school were as follows:
i) to offer a parallel non-formal system as an alternative to formal schooling,
ii) to provide an opportunity of education to out of school learners, school dropouts,
working adults, housewives, learners from disadvantaged sections of society and
those living in remote areas of the country,
iii) to offer bridge/preparatory courses to prepare students for the secondary level
courses,
iv) to offer secondary, senior secondary, technical, vocational and life enrichment
courses through distance teaching methods,
v) to promote an open distance teaching system through research, publications and
dissemination of information,
vi) to offer students outside the institutions, programmes of education equivalent to those
available within institutions,
vii) to measure what the student knows rather than how, when or where he/she learns it;
(That is, all knowledge seekers (were) to have equal opportunity and the learning
process (was) not confined to ones youth or to campus environment.), and
viii)
to provide a valuable tool in an educational crisis to solve problems of both
quality and quantity.
It may be noted that Open Schooling was seen as a non-formal and more importantly a parallel
alternative system (see Subsection 4.1.3) vis--vis the day schooling system (called the formal
system). Secondly, it aimed at target groups that had remained neglected that far, promising them
equivalent (to that available in the formal system) education. And thirdly, it perceived itself as an
operational tool that could solve the problems of access, equity and quality in educational
dispensation in the country.
Also, worthy of note is the fact that it adopted most of the salient features of openness-- i) open
entry system, ii) flexibility in the scheme of studies, iii) flexibility in examination schemes, iv)
multilevel registration, v) multi-media instructional material, vi) nominal fees with full exemption

211

As narrated in Section 4.2, Open School was the precursor of NOS, which was eventually upgraded as
NIOS.
212
Report on Study of Cost Effectiveness in Open School, New Delhi, (1986), Northern India Regional
Council of The Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India, New Delhi. p. 5.
213
Ibid. pp. 6-7.
105

for weaker sections of society and vii) periodical contact programmes 214 a very bold stance in
a super-conservative socio-educational environment.
The Government of India had been meeting its net expenses since 1983-84 215 . With every passing
year, the expenses increased along a very steep curve. For example, the budget estimates for
1986-87 were INR 6,858,000 against the actual expenses of INR 4,696,000 for 1985-86, an
increase of 46 per cent. Somewhat unusual for the official experiences and also for the
Government, this unthinkable rise motivated a cost study of the operation. The Northern India
Regional Council of the Institute of Cost & Works Accountants of India was commissioned (in
May 1986) to undertake a cost-benefit analysis of the Open Schooling system and also to assess
the reasonableness of the budget estimates for 1986-87. It was to be a comparative study
involving the Open School, the Patrachar Vidyalaya 216 (translation: Correspondence School) run
by Delhi Administration, Kendriya Vidyalayas run by the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and the
Government Schools of Delhi Administration. The schools compared are profiled in the
following table.
Table 4.22

Institutional profiles 217 of institutions involved in comparison

School
systems

Open School

Patrachar
Vidyalaya,
Delhi Amin.

Delhi Admin.
Schools

Kendriya
Vidyalayas

Enrolment:
1882-83
Enrolment:
1883-84
Enrolment:
1884-85
Enrolment:
1885-86
Enrolment:
1886-87
Features

3,164

--

661,987

313,000 (Approx.)

6,297 (+99.02 %)*

11,322

701,642 (+5.99 %)

338,671 (+8.20%)

7,328 (+16.37 %)

14,289 (+26.21%)

748,744 (+6.29%)

366,885 (+8.33%)

10,172 (+38.81%)

15,923 (+11.44%)

--

--

11,000 (+8.14%)(Projection)

--

--

--

Class V pass the minimum

entry qualification for bridge
courses and class VIII pass
for secondary classes; Hindi
as well as English used as the
medium of instruction;
registration valid for 5 years;
students to choose any 5
subjects and pass in as many
of them at a time as they
could; certificates issued on
clearing all the 5 subjects
within 5 years.

Correspondence
education;
minimum entry
qualification VIII
pass; classes from
IX to XII; all
subjects to be
studied
simultaneously and
all subjects to be
cleared at one
sitting; mainly for
Delhi region.

Day scholar system;

medium of
instruction - Hindi;
classes from VI to
XII; registration
done mainly at the
lowest level with the
provision of filling
vacancies at other
levels if required.

Day scholar system;

sciences taught in
English and social
sciences in Hindi;
classes from I to XII;
caters mainly to the
children of Public
Sector and Govt.
Employees with
transferable (across
States) jobs.

* Figures in parentheses present the increase percent.

214
215

Ibid. p. 6.
Ibid. pp. 7-8.

216

Run by Delhi Administration, this school used Hindi as the medium of instruction and functioned like a
traditional correspondence school with a small component of face-to-face tutorials.
217
Based on the Report on Study of Cost Effectiveness in Open School, New Delhi, (1986), Northern India
Regional Council of The Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India, New Delhi. pp. 11-12.

106

The annual increase of about 6 per cent in the enrolment of Delhi Administration Schools
represents the general trend at most schools all over the country. With the limited data that we
have, an 8 per cent annual increase at the Kendriya Vidyalayas seems to be consistent. The
Patrachar Vidyalaya shows higher increases, while the Open School shows much higher levels of
enrolment, but the increments are not consistent. It may be for this inconsistency that their
projection for 1986-87 mimics the trend at the Kendriya Vidyalayas. What is clear, however, is
that enrolments at the Open School would rise significantly as soon as they launched their senior
secondary and vocational courses and that the flexibility they provide would tell upon the
enrolments at the Patrachar Vidyalaya, which in fact was eventually closed. The students still on
its rolls were transferred to NIOS this year.
It was considered appropriate to assess the unit cost per student, i.e. cost on enrolment basis. The
approach has been deemed realistic since the scheme of studies in the Open School is in the
nature of providing the maximum and concentrated attention to the student in the year of
enrolment. Thereafter the link with the school is generally for applying to sit for examinations
and obtaining the results thereof 218 . Further, the costs have been divided into two types: fixed
and variable. And in this analysis 219 the fixed costs included the salary and benefits of office
personnel and the expenses for running offices, while the remaining expenses including those on
limited capital items were treated as variable costs, i.e. the costs that would vary depending on the
number of students registered and managed annually. Since all the four systems were affiliated
with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the examination fee collected from
students was passed on to CBSE, and therefore not included in the analysis. A similar approach
was followed in the case of the Patrachar Vidyalaya, as there were no leftovers from year to year
in their case. As for the Kendriya Vidyalayas and the Delhi Administration Schools, expenses
were calculated under the routine budget heads used by the respective systems. Based on actual
expenditures, the following table presents a comparative view of the costs per student per year in
the four systems.

218

Report on Study of Cost Effectiveness in Open School, New Delhi, (1986), Northern India Regional
Council of The Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India, New Delhi. p. 13.
219
Ibid. p. 14.
107

Table 4.23

Comparative average cost (INR per student per annum)

Institution

Academic
year

Enrolment

Expenditure
in INR 000

Open School

1983-84
1984-85
1985-86
1986-87
(Estimates)

6,297
7,328
10,172
11,000

Patrachar
Vidyalaya

1983-84
1984-85
1985-86

Kendriya
Vidyalayas

Delhi
Admin.
Schools

220

2,802
4,454
6,889
8,610

Fixed
cost per
student
211
228
319
306

Variable
cost per
student
234
380
358
477

Total
cost per
student
445
608
677
783

11,322
14,289
15,923

2,441
2,687
2,757

133
128
105

83
60
68

216
188
173

1982-83
1983-84
1984-85

313,000
338,671
366,885

260,962
323,634
402,243

130
147
175

704
809
921

834
956
1096

1982-83
1983-84
1984-85

661,987
701,642
748,744

559,561
675,528
795,124

209
237
253

636
726
809

845
963
1062

We notice that the costs per student per annum at Kendriya Vidyalayas and Delhi Administration
Schools are comparable and nearly four times that at the Patrachar Vidyalaya in 1983-84. On the
other hand, of the two distance education systems, the Open School is costlier than the Patrachar
Vidyalaya. The investigators identified the causes of these differences:

the Open School bought paper for their study materials from the open market at
commercial rates, while the Patrachar Vidyalaya got it from the Government at
subsidised rates,
the Open School operated in hired premises paying rents at commercial rates, while
the latter was lodged in government premises for which they did not pay any rents (in
fact, except the Open School, all the other three institutions had the advantage of
government rent-free premises),
the Open School had to pay rents for the hired premises to run their contact
programmes and also higher levels of remuneration to tutors to manage their contact
sessions, while Patrachar Vidyalaya used government schools rent free to run their
contact sessions, and
the quality of the study materials prepared by the Open School had a national
character and were of a better quality in terms of both the content and the
presentation (in pedagogic terms) and, therefore, required higher levels of
remuneration and expenses for course writers and the preparation of materials
respectively.

The above data can be tabulated in a different way to assess the relative cost efficiency of the
four institutions.

220

Ibid. p. 27.
108

Table 4.24

Relative cost-efficiency of the institutions compared

Institution

1982-83

Open School (OS)

Kendriya Vidyalayas
(KVs)
Patrachar Vidyalaya (PV)
Delhi Admin. Schools
(DASs)

1983-84

1984-85

1985-86

c/s/y*

CE**

c/s/y

CE

c/s/y

CE

c/s/y

CE

1.00
2.15

608
1096

1.00
1.80

1.00

1.00

445
956

677

834

0.49
2.16

188
1062

0.31
1.75

0.26

1.01

216
963

173

845

Averages over two years: 1983-1985

Average cost per student per year
Relative cost taking OS Costs as the norm

OS
526.5
1.00

KVs
1026.0
1.95

PV
202.0
0.38

DASs
1012.5
1.92

* cost per student per year (c/s/y)

** CE, i.e. cost-efficiency (Ratio of the norm with what it is compared to; under 1982-83, we take
KVs as the norm and under 1983-84, 1984-85 and 1985-86 we take OS as the norm.)
Overall,

the Open School managed a student at less than half the cost incurred by the
conventional schools in 1983-84 and slightly more than half the cost they incurred in
1984-85,
the cost per student at KVs was more or less the same as that at the Delhi
Administration Schools in 1982-83,
of the two distance education operations, the Patrachar Vidyalaya managed a student
nearly at one-quarter of the cost for a student at the Open School in 1985-86, and
looking at the averages per year (worked out over two years: 1983-1985), for these
two years, the cost per student per year at the Open School is slightly more than half
of that at the two conventional schools (KVs and DASs), while it is nearly three
times that at the Patrachar Vidyalaya.

The first thing that struck the investigators was that the mix in the student population, the range of
subjects offered and the facilities provided by the four institutions differed significantly. They
took note of these differences and also the potential of the Open School, and concluded that the
Open School was doing a pioneering role in taking education to the doorsteps of those citizens
of the country who had lost all hopes of brightening their career through proper
education..that it was fulfilling the social objectives of the Governmentand must be
pursued continuously and that the budget requirement of INR 8,610,000 projected by the
school (for 1986-87) appear(ed) to be reasonable 221 .
Though the Open School seemed to be doing well cost-wise, it did not show any significant
advantage with regard to the equity issue. The profile of students 222 , who attended the Open
School during the investigated five years 1981-1986 averaged out per year, is:

General: 85 per cent,

SC/ST: 15 per cent,

221

Ibid. p. 34.

222

Ibid. p. 35.
109

Male: 72 per cent,

Female: 28 per cent.

The participation of SC/ST students was much below the reservation norm of 22 per cent (see
Footnote 22) and that of women students also was low. Clearly, though the Open School seems to
be addressing the issue of access, it does not seem to have made any significant dent in that of
equity. It was, however, too early to make a dependable judgment.
4.5.2

The Second Cost Study (1997): National Open School (1990-96)

The Open School was remodeled as an autonomous institution in 1989 and renamed National
Open School (NOS). Gabas study 223 on the relative cost-effectiveness of NOS appeared in
1997. Some of its findings/details, which are relevant to the present study, are touched upon here,
though briefly.

Government grants to NOS declined progressively from 34 per cent of its income in
1990-91 to just 2.08 per cent in 1995-96, as the share of NOS own earnings in its
overall income increased from 66 per cent in 1990-91 to 97.92 per cent in 199596 224 , student fees and examination fees being the main sources of revenue.

The study shows that the recurring cost per student kept fluctuating till 1992-93, but
recorded gradual rise beginning 1993-94INR 697.56 in 1990-91, INR 905.20 in
1991-92, INR 708.67 in 1992-93, INR 820.27 in 1993-94, INR 1030.00 in 1994-95
and INR 1112.95 in 1995-96. Recurring cost has been defined to include all sorts
of costs that must be met year after year(including)salaries of teaching and nonteaching staff, maintenance of buildings and equipment, stationery, rent of building,
personal contact programme, etc. 225 The rise in costs has been attributed to various
measures initiated and introduced in 1993-94 to improve the quality of printed study
materials and to increase the number of contact programmes per subject. However,
the document does not indicate how the costs were computed.

Of greater interest is the cost comparison presented in the study 226 :

Table 4.25

Cost comparison: NOS and other types of schooling (1990-91)

Type of Schooling System

National Open School
Kendriya Vidyalayas
State Govt. Schools
Aided Schools
Unaided Schools

Number of
students
40884
30990
17741
33812
74115

Cost per student

(INR)
0637.00
0904.52
1019.04
0969.62
0747.63

Relative
cost-efficiency
1
1.42
1.60
1.52
1.17

223

Gaba, A. K. (1997), Is Open Schooling in India Really Cost Effective in M. Mukhopadhyay and M.
Parhar (Eds.) Open and Distance Education, Jawahar Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi.

224

Ibid. p. 120.
Ibid. p. 124.
226
Ibid. p. 125.
The data pertaining to other schooling systems was taken from Aggarwal, I. P. (1991), School Education,
Arya Book Depot, New Delhi.
225

110

Apart from some confusion in the details, as the NOS cost per student here varies from that
described above, the comparison is not instructive as the study does not show how the
computation was done. However, a point to note is that by 1991, NOS had already become one of
the largest schooling systems in the country. Further, the Efficiency Ratio added to the details
indicates the comparative cost-efficiency of NOS, which we will refer to later in this study.
4.5.3

The Third Cost Study (2006): National Institute of Open Schooling (2005-2006)

National Open School (NOS) was upgraded to function as the apex institution for school-level
ODL operations and named National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) 227 in 2002. It
conducted its own cost study internally in 2006, exactly 20 years after the first cost study on Open
School (see Subsection 4.5.1). Presented below (see Table 4.26) is the abstract of the said
comparative study, which involves Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti Schools, Kendriya Vidyalaya
Sangathan Schools and the National Institute of Open Schooling.

Table 4.26

Comparative costs per student at JNVs, KVs and NIOS

228

(Ref. the 10th Five Year Plan: 2002-2007) [Funds in INR]

Head

Navodaya Vidyalaya
Samiti Schools
551 (approved, but only
539 in operation)

Kendriya Vidyalaya
Sangathan Schools
931

National Institute of
Open Schooling
1825 (AIs) + 920 (AVIs) =
2745

180,391 (as on 3.06)

911,993

1,427,000

(All the classes put

together)

(On average nearly 327

students per school)

(On average nearly 980

students per school)

Average yearly
enrolment

30,000

100,000

(All the enrolees put

togethereach
registration valid for five
years)
289,000 (2005-06)

(about 55-65 per school)

(about 102-108 per

school)
36,300,000,000

Total number of
schools (in the
system)
Cumulative enrolment

i) Total grant during

the 10th Five Year
plan (Plan and Nonplan grants)

31,678,200,000

(289,905 actual)
273,800,000*

(from Non-Plan)
(9.57 per cent of the total)

ii) Expenditure from

Own Generated Funds

--

??

2,585,800,000
(90.43 per cent of the
total)

227
228

See Section 4.2 for details.

This abstract was very kindly made available by NIOS in July 2007.
111

Total amount
available for five
years (i + ii)
Average
grant/expenditure per
year
Average cost funded
by Government per
student per year

31,678,200,000

36,300,000,000

2,859,600,000

6,335,640,000

7,260,000,000

(100 per cent)

571,920,000

35,121

12,000**

1,906*** (1,973)

??

Percentage of Governments contribution to the average cost per student

100 per cent
??
Cost ratio w.r.t the
17.80: 1
6.08: 1
norm (cost at NIOS)

9.57 per cent

1:1

* Amount spent from self-earned income of NIOS (non-plan)

** Includes expenditure from VVN and Public Sectors contribution over and above Plan
and Non-Plan grants from MHRD.
*** This included the cost of books which is INR 500/- per candidate.
Source: KVS Annual Report (2005-06), NVS Annual Report (2005-06) and NIOS at a Glance
(2006).
There are a few difficulties in interpreting this abstract:

The study does not consider the actual expenditures of the three schooling systems.
Instead, it starts with the 10th Five Year Plan (2002-2007) budget funds approved for
and granted to the three institutions. From those figures, it computes the funding
available to each one of them for each of the five years of the plan period. Any other
institutionally-generated income is also taken into consideration. The number of
students registered by the three institutions in the year 1985-86 is taken as the norm
for the respective institutions and then costs per student are computed simply by
distributing the available funds over the number of students enrolled.
The study does not consider how different one institution is from the other, nor how
they spend and on what.
Furthermore, in the case of the KVs an additional sum of money is assumed to have
been spent spread over the five years of the plan, though the related Annual Report of
the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan does not make any clear mention of such a
source/spending.

Additional details (row- and column-wise) facilitate the interpretation of the available data.
Row 2 ,Column 4: NIOS does not have any schools. It works through Accredited
Institutions (AIs) and Accredited Vocational Institutions (AVIs).

112

10
11

Row 3, Column 1: Cumulative enrolment is not the same for NIOS and the other two
types of schools. For NIOS, it represents the total number of the students (enjoying a
stretched span of 5 year registration) on the rolls in 2005-06, while for the other two
systems, it represents the total number of students (classes I to XII or VI to XII as the
case may be) on the rolls in 2005-06.
Row 4, Column 4: 289,000 is certainly not the average yearly enrolment at NIOS (the
exact figure for 2005-06 was 289,905). Similarly, for NVS schools different documents
quote different figures, but here we take the listed figure 30,000 on board.
Row 8, Column 1: A grant is not the same thing as the expenditure, nor are they
necessarily equal.
Row 9, Columns 1, 3 and 4: In the column of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan Schools,
(7,260,000,000 911,993) = 7961 and not 12,000. Of course, there is a footnote
indicating that some more funds are involved, but then all those funds are not provided by
the Government. VVN (Vidyalaya Vikas Nidhi, i.e. School Development Fund) is built
on payments by students, not by the Government. Again, in the case of NIOS, most of the
expenditure has come from their own earnings, not from the Government.
Row 9, Column 4: The correct figure for NIOS is INR 1,973 not INR 1,906.
Rows 10 and 11 have been added to the original abstract to highlight the relative costs.
Also, various derived details have been added in some of the cells to enhance the details.
Assuming that the approach adopted for computing the per student cost per year is rational, one
can see that a student at a Navodaya Vidyalaya costs nearly 18 times that at NIOS and a student
at a Kendriya Vidyalaya more than 6 times.
4.5.4

Computation of the cost-efficiency of NIOS

Before attempting to compute the cost-efficiency of NIOS today, its helpful to reflect on the
three studies discussed above (see Subsection 4.5.1, 4.5.2 and 4.5.3) and outline the various basic
facts that should inform and guide any computation pertaining to NIOS as it operates now.
Comments on the Studies of 1986, 1997 and 2006
The major significance of all the three studies for the present one is that they serve as reference
points two decades apart to build comparisons across a long period of time. Further, they are
instructive in terms of the methodology of computation they have used.

The first two studies have used the actual expenditure data, while the third has used the
budgeted funds as the starting point. In this sense the third study is cruder than the first
two.
In order to find average costs, all the three have ignored the cost differences associated
with the different levels of students. For example, the cost per student per year at the XII
Class level should be more than that at Class I, VI or X levels, for the simple reason that
more qualified, and therefore costlier, teachers are needed at that level.

113

In all the three studies, there is no indication of the costs having been amortised over the
relevant number of years wherever necessary, for example, the costs incurred on
buildings or the course materials in ODL operations.
Though all the three studies involve ODL institutions and the conventional institutions,
none seems to recognise the basic differences between the two systems, as all of them
take recourse to FTE approach for computation.
All the three studies remain handicapped on account of the conventional budgeting
framework comprising plan and non-plan components. This framework, unless
deconstructed into activity based accounting/analysis, does not promote accuracy in the
computation of costs, especially in ODL operations.
In all the three studies, each student has been deemed as an annual entity, though each of
them remains on a course for two years at conventional schools. To get the per student
per course cost, the per student per year cost has to be doubled. On the other hand, in the
case of ODL students, certification is allowed by cumulative credits. So, annual costing is
not relevant here. Instead, computation has to be based on subject related costs.
The studies, especially the first two, use terms like cost-effectiveness without assigning
any meaning to them; for example the notion of cost-effectiveness is confused with the
notion of unit costs. The present study is specific about such notions (see Chapter 2 for
explanations).

These comments notwithstanding, this study too will follow some parts of the same methodology
of computation. And wherever a different approach is followed, it will explain and justify why
one and not the other approach has been adopted.
4.5.5

The approach adopted for computation in this study

The customary full-time equivalent (FTE) computation used in the conventional systems of
education for purposes of cost analysis does not suit such analysis in ODL systems because of the
radical flexibilities they offer to students. Experiences of the past few decades have shown that
with subjects or credits as the basis of computation (i.e. subject enrolments, subject examinations
appeared at, passes in the number of subjects, fee paid/charged per subject, examination fee per
subject, and so on), cost analysis in ODL has become easier and much more reliable.
A subject is significant as a unit of NIOS operations. Students joining NIOS must complete five
subjects successfully to claim certification at the secondary as well as the senior secondary level.
They are free to choose any combination of subjects, except that from amongst the
language/literature subjects, they must choose at least one, but not more than two. Further, they
are allowed to choose two more subjects, in addition to the five required, to try and see what
subjects suit them most. Accordingly, students (not all necessarily) take more than five subjects to
finally settle for the most suitable five. Once admitted in July/August, NIOS students may remain
on the school rolls for five years, during which period they are allowed nine chances (i.e. they
have the option to complete five subjects successfully at nine examinations conducted by NIOS
during those five years) to clear the five chosen subjects. To accommodate these nine chances,
NIOS conducts examinations (in all the subjects on offer for both the levels) twice in an academic
year in the months April/May and October/November. There are specific regulations to regulate
participation in examinations:

A student admitted in July/August cannot sit at the Oct./Nov. examination in the

same year.

114

A student who clears the secondary level examination in a particular year has to log
in two academic years necessarily before he/she can clear the senior secondary
examination completely.
If a student fails to complete at least five subjects successfully in five years, he/she
needs to seek admission once again to continue studies at NIOS.
A student may appear for one, two or more subjects at a time; those who want to
clear all the five subjects at one go are permitted to do so.
Fees to sit for examinations are not combined with the admission/subject fees, as
students pay examination fees only when they want to sit for an examination and
only for as many subjects as they choose.
Years have no significance here; students become subject-enrolees and must clear
subjects to claim certificates. It does not matter in which year the subject is cleared.

This realisation notwithstanding, the financial operations of the ODL systems in most developing
countries have to align with budgeting systems of the respective governments, which continue to
be based on the traditional plan and non-plan funding regime. Any attempt to deconstruct the
recorded accounts to mould them into subject/credit computation is extremely difficult, if not
entirely impossible.
The second issue is that of different types of student vis--vis different courses and subjects. The
services required by and the expenditure incurred on a student on vocational courses, or a student
of the I Primary class are not the same as those required by the secondary or senior secondary
students. Yet there is no simple way of disentangling the recorded accounts in order to compute
various costs for such differing student categories.
In our computations in the following subsections, a rational mix of FTE and subject-based
calculations will be followed to arrive at as accurate cost figures as possible. For each category of
computation, explanations have been provided in the form of notes.
4.5.6

Basic facts 229 that inform and guide the present cost computation

1. Definitions: Economics, physics and home science are called subjects at NIOS, while
secondary and senior secondary programmes are called courses.
2. Admissions begin in July and close in September (with late fee). Admissions for
vocational courses also take place during the same time with minor variations in actual
dates for the submission of applications for academic and vocational courses.
3. There is a lower age restriction for joining NIOS. Only those who have attained 14 years
of age can join the academic courses at NIOS, but there is no upper age limit for being on
the rolls.
4. At both the levelssecondary and senior secondarystudents must register for at least
five subjects (one of which must be a language subject and nobody can take more than
two language subjects) of their choice. In addition to these five subjects each applicant is
allowed to register for one or two additional subjects in order for them to see which
subjects they may be more comfortable withsome applicants do not take advantage of
this facility, some take one additional subject and very few take two. Accordingly, they
can sit for examinations in seven subjects, but they need to clear only five (at least one of
which must be a language subject) to claim the relevant certificate.
229

Sourced from NIOS At A Glance-2006, (2006), NIOS, New Delhi, and NIOS Prospectus for Academic
Courses, 2006-07, NIOS, New Delhi.
115

5. A registered student is supposed to benefit from the services (academic support such as
tutorials) available at ones study centre during the first year of ones registration.
Subsequently, till one clears all the required subjects, one is to be on ones own, leaving
room for the students of the new cohort(s).
6. A student pays the examination fee only for the subjects he/she is willing to sit for. It is
paid around a month or so before the commencement of the examination. This process is
no different for those who take vocational courses.
7. At the secondary level, a student can appear for examinations in all the five required
subjects at the end of the first academic year (July-April) in April and claim a certificate
if he/she clears all the five subjects. For the senior secondary level, however, one has to
have a gap of two years between ones secondary and senior secondary certifications. Of
these two years, a student has to be on NIOS rolls for at least one year.
8. If a student fails to claim a certificate (secondary or senior secondary) by the end of the
permitted registration span of five years for which he/she remains on rolls, he/she can
reregister for another five years, and he/she will be given exemption in the subjects (at
the most two) that he/she may have cleared already. Further, there is no restriction on
failuresone may appear in a subject as many times as one needs to clear it.
9. A failure from any other schooling system, who may join NIOS in July in a particular
year, is permitted to sit for the Oct./Nov. examination in as many subjects as he/she wants
to. Besides, he/she is given exemption in the subjects (at the most two) that he/she may
have cleared in the previous system.
10. Each subject is supported by 30 tutorials sessions. Subjects with practicals are supported
by 35 tutorial sessions.
11. Assignments are changed every year.
12. Students are expected to submit three assignments per subject. The assignment-responses
are assessed and commented on by tutors at study centres. Such assessment, however, is
used for formative purposes only.
13. NIOS has a budgetary system that combines earnings and expenditure pertaining to all its
courses in one and the same portfolio. It is neither activity driven, nor subject- enrollee
based.
14. The Central Government does not use any standard funding formula (i.e. @ per student
or per subject enrolment) to fund NIOS. Instead, plan-grants are given to NIOS on the
basis of their budget estimates.
15. There is no difference in the fees charged for subjects without and with practicals, but
there is a differential examination fee structure that differentiates subjects with practicals
from those without them.
16. Though there are concessions available in the case of admission/subject fees charged
from different categories of students, there are no such concessions available in the case
of fees for examinations. Examinees from all the various categories have to pay the same
fee to sit for an examination.
17. Similarly, there are no concessions in the fee charged for additional subjects (beyond the
required five) taken by any category of students.
18. Concessions to various categories of students are given at just one level. For example,
female SC/ST students (having already benefited from the general concession available
to SC/ST students) do not get the fee concession available to female students in the
general category.
19. Ex-servicemen and handicapped students also get the same fee concession as is available
to SC/ST students.
20. All the Accredited Institutions (AIs) are paid (on the basis of the number of students they
register and provide academic and administrative services to) at a flat rate of INR 250 per

116

student, irrespective of the categories of students concerned and/or the subjects they may
have registered for.
21. All the AIs are not necessarily examination centres. Examination centres are paid in
accordance with set norms which allow multiple variations depending on factors such as
the number of examinees and subjects.
22. Establishment expenditure includes expenses on the regular staff of NIOS, the peripheral
staff such as wage earners, and the contractual workers employed by NIOS during the
course of a financial year.
23. NIOS staff who work on various projects do not get paid for their work on such projects.
That work is counted as a part of their routine work and has to be performed during their
usual institutional time.

4.5.7

Cost-efficiency of NIOS: the present study

To discuss the cost-efficiency of NIOS, we have used three basic abstracts: enrolment at NIOS,
the actual income and expenditure (Non-plan) of NIOS (see Table 4.28) and the actual
expenditure of NIOS under its Plan Budget (see Table 4.29).
Table 4.27
Foundation Courses (L)
Vocational Courses (M)
Total (L + M) = x
Secondary Courses (X)
Sr. Secondary Courses (Y)
Total (X + Y) = y
Grand total (x + y) = z
Apportioning factor
for X+Y = y/z

NIOS enrolment 230 and apportioning factors

2001-02
815
17,770
18,585
114,272
72,924
187,196
205,781
0.9097

2002-03
1,087
22,321
23,408
143,853
83,122
226,975
250,383
0.9065

2003-04
-21,211
21,211
203,518
118,236
321,754
342,965
0.9382

2004-05
-20,985
20,985
140,501
97,568
238,069
259,054
0.9189

2005-06
-22,879
22,879
151,833
115,193
267,026
289,905
0.9210

2006-07
-22,166
22,166
160,791
130,192
290,983
313,149
0.9292

Foundation courses were abolished beginning the academic year 2003-04. To focus on the costs
pertaining to secondary and senior secondary students, costs are apportioned proportionately to
calculate those for the secondary and senior secondary level students, segregating them from
those for vocational courses. The last row in the table above shows the apportioning factor for
each year under investigation.

230

National Institute of Open SchoolingAcademic enrolment: http://www.nios.ac.in/enrolacad.htm

(accessed on July 30, 2007)
117

Table 4.28
millions)
Actual Income (INR
millions)
Admission fee
Examination fee
Other fee
Miscellaneous income
Sale of publications
Interest received
COL receipts
Total (A)
MHRD Grants (Plan)
Unutilised balance carried
over
Total of Grants (Plan) (B)

Abstract of NIOS income and expenditure: actuals 231 (INR

20012002
166.363
119.238
2.748
9.102
33.029

20022003
236.374
146.031
2.214
11.755
34.864

20032004
401.105
182.920
6.131
10.189
24.269

20042005
265.169
187.269
4.852
17.872
26.257

20052006
285.544
190.519
5.296
1.340
29.041
21.079

330.480

431.238

624.614

501.419

532.819

20062007
320.597
192.656
4.470
41.510
2.907
34.656
0.484
597.280

53.000
0.571

53.300
6.649

90.000
8.054

54.000
11.845

36.000
--

40.500
--

53.571

59.949

98.054

65.845

36.000

40.500

491.187

722.668

567.264

568.819

637.780

12.21

13.57

11.61

6.33

6.35
10.1%

40.015
91.025
0.00
53.275
47.068
167.531
0.990
1.881
---

50.146
130.531
0.00
79.063
48.658
187.516
0.00
0.561
---

52.628
119.919
0.00
63.867
44.787
109.398
0.00
0.600
0.743
17.155

57.526
118.167
0.00
62.043
45.410
122.104
0.731
1.325
0.619
69.197

60.897
102.797
0.00
66.814
50.068
151.369
0.00
1.681
0.308
41.266

0.00

0.020

Grand Total (income A + B)

384.051
Governments contribution
13.95
in the income of NIOS (%)
Average contribution per
year
Actual (Non-plan) Expenditure
(INR millions)
Establishment
29.070
Examination
53.431
Academic activities
0.491
Personal contact programme 38.308
Office maintenance
45.178
Paper and printing
108.639
Vehicles
0.00
Furniture and equipment
-COL expenditure
-Expenditure (incurred on
-Plan Items)
Expenditure of NER trf from
NER expenditure
Total Non-plan Expenditure
275.070
(X)
Deferred funds for the next
55.410
year (A-X)

401.785

496.475

409.097

477.122

475.220

29.453

128.139

92.322

55.697

122.060

Plan expenditure (Y)

[see Table 4.29 for details]
Grand Total (expenditure X
+ Y)

46.922

51.895

86.209

83.000

105.197

81.766

321.992

453.680

582.684

492.097

582.319

556.986

Subsidies

18.096

17.247

26.787

40.732

43.386

231

Based on various abstracts (of Accounts) very kindly arranged (July, 2007) by NIOS, New Delhi.
118

Notes on Table 4.28:

Academic activities: .writing of course materials, preparation of media materials, etc.
Beginning 2002-03, these activities were shifted to the Plan Head.
Other fees: .such as those for duplicate certificates.
Miscellaneous fees: sale of waste materials, tenders.
Publications: sample question papers, prospectus.
Establishment: ..salaries of the tenured staff and wages of peripheral staff.
Deferred funds: .may be considered as profit (in the commercial sense)
Subsidies: these are notional, equivalent to the amount lost (notionally) in the
process of allowing concessions to various categories of students, such as
SCs/STs.
Table 4.29

Abstract of NIOS plan expenditure: actuals 232 (INR millions)

Actual Expenditure

20022003

20032004

20042005

20052006

20062007

(INR millions)
Academic programmes
Media materials
Student support services
National database on Open Schooling
National consortium of Open Schools
Human resource development: training,
seminars and workshops

8.486
2.550
18.741
.050
0.273
0.810

8.917
3.576
18.793
-0.007
0.942

4.190
2.830
18.568
-0.264
0.056

3.175
1.732
19.302
-0.034
0.093

2.310
0.514
20.532
----

Research , evaluation, etc

Technical and professional

0.244
2.244

0.040
0.069

0.106
0.500

-0.500

---

support for developing Open Schooling

Library
Computer (ICT)
Advertisement and publicity
Buildings etc.
Vocational programmes
Total (B)

0.583
3.105
10.863
1.551
2.395
51.895

0.236
2.673
7.496
41.981
1.479
86.209

0.136
-3.020
52.098
1.232
83.000

0.168
2.145
1.951
75.245
0.852
105.197

0.163
0.775
3.438
52.415
1.619
81.766

Government grant
Last years unutilised balance
Total available for the year (A)
Surplus/deficit (A-B)

53.300
6.649
59.949
8.054

90.000
8.054
98.054
11.845

54.000
11.845
65.845
-17.155

36.000
-36.000
- 69.197

40.500
-40.500
- 41.266

232

Based on various abstracts (of Accounts) very kindly arranged (August, 2007) by NIOS, New Delhi.

119

The above three tables (Tables 4.27, 4.28 and 4.29) provide no idea of the costs per student per
year or those per subject per student. Of course, using the number of students enrolled every year
calculations of the type of earlier studies can be presented, but the intention is to be as realistic
and accurate as possible.
Table 4.30 is a reconstruction of the information presented in the above three tables. In this
reconstruction:

To avoid any possible confusion, no specific systems of numeration (i.e. millions etc
for the Western readers or lakhs/crores etc for the Indian readers) are used. Instead,
the actual figures are used, though they seem to be somewhat harsh to the eye.
The approach to computation for each category of expenditure has been explained in
the notes that follow Table 4.30.
The year 2001-02 has been left out of the computation, as the period 2002-07
provides a wholesome five years covering the entire 10th Five Year Plan period.
The letter (N) indicates that the item has been taken from the Non-plan Expenditure
and the letter (P) that from the Plan Expenditure from the Tables 4.28 and 4.29
respectively.
The logic of regrouping items (Plan and Non-plan) into different categories is
explained in the notes that follow Table 4.30.
The focus is on the expenditure, i.e. the costs.

120

Table 4.30
C
a
t.
A

NIOS Expenditure for 2002-07: a reconstruction (INR)

Expenditure head

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

Establishment (N)
Office maintenance
(N)
Paper & printing (N)
Student support
services (P)
Advertisement &
publicity (P)
National consortium
(P)
Computers etc. (P)
Total [A]

36,273,598
42,667,142

47,046,977
45,650,936

48,359,869
41,154,774

52,981,446
41,822,610

56,585,492
46,523,186

151,866,852
16,987,810

175,927,511
17,631,593

100,525,822
17,062,135

112,457,784
17,777,142

140,652,075
19,078,334

9,847,310

7,032,747

2,775,078

1,796,871

3,194,590

247,476

6,567

242,590

31,314

--

2,814,683
260,704,871

2,507,809
295,804,140

-210,120,268

1,975,545
228,842,712

720,130
266,753,807

Buildings etc (P)

28,138

787,731
28,138

957,457
28,138
787,731

1,386,013
28,138
787,731
957,457

Total [B]

28,138

815,869

1,773,326

3,159,339

974,080
28,138
787,731
957,457
1,386,013
4,133,419

Acad. programmes (P)

Media programmes (P)
National database (P)
Human resource
development (P)
Research etc. (P)
Technical support .
(P)
COL activities (N)
Vehicles (N)
Total

1,697,200
433,500
9,065
146,853

1,783,400
607,920
-176,382

838,000
481,100
-10,292

635,000
294,440
-17,131

462,000
87,380
---

44,419
--

7,506
12,947

19,481
91,890

-92,100

---

-179,487
2,510,524

--2,588,155
2,510,524

136,549
-1,577,312
2,510,524
2,588,155

114,020
134,650
1,287,341
2,510,524
2,588,155
1,577,312

57,239
-606,619
2,510,524
2,588,155
1,577,312
1,287,341

Total [C]

2,510,524

5,098,679

6,675,991

7,963,332

8,569,951

Furniture etc. (N)

Library (P)

170,513
52,940
223,453

52,633
22,142
74,775

55,134
12,497
67,631

122,033
15,473
137,506

156,199
15,146
171,345

223,453

223,453
74,775

223,453
74,775
67,631

298,228

365,859

503,365

223,453
74,775
67,631
137,506
674,710

Total

Total [D]

223,453

121

Personal contact
programmes (N)
Total [E]
56,743,750
80,438,500
59,517,250
CASE I includes the expenditure on examinations in the computation.
Examinations (N)
Total [F]
74,681,187
105,867,731
78,371,920

95,833,780

395,152,219

448,711,417

Number of students =
226,975
321,754
238,069
267,026
290,983
y
Cost per student (to
1739.80
1517.69
1498.83
1479.83
1542.05
cover five subjects) =
x/y
Average cost per student (for 5 subjects computed over 5 years: 2002-07) =1,549.59 or around INR 1550
Average cost per student (for 1 subject computed over 5 years: 2002-07) = INR 310
Average cost per student (for 5 subjects computed over 4 years: 2002-06) = INR 1551.68
CASE- II
In this case the expenditure on examinations has been excluded to compute the average costs per student (for 5
subjects over 5 years and over 4 years separately) in order to make comparisons across schools accurate and
reliable.

Grand total
[A+B+C+D+E] = z

Number of students =
226,975
321,754
238,069
267,026
290,983
y
Cost per student (to
1410.77
1188.66
1169.63
1150.55
1212.71
cover five subjects) =
z/y
Average cost per student (for 5 subjects computed over 5 years: 2002-07) = INR 1,226.46
Average cost per student (for 1 subject computed over 5 years: 2002-07) = INR 245.29
Average cost per student (for 5 subjects computed over 4 years: 2002-06) = INR 1,229.90 or INR 1230

O
P

320,210,736

382,455,416

356,824,614

87,926,971

Grand total
[A+B+C+D+E+F] = x

488,323,147

72,745,750

394,891,923

66,756,500

278,452,694

307,225,248

352,877,637

Notes on Table 4.30

Category A: At NIOS, secondary and senior secondary students are registered for five
years at one go. They pay according to the number of subjects they take (not less than
five and not more than seven). They are given all the course materials at the time of
registration. They are supported at the respective study centres for the first academic year
of their registration. Subsequently they are on their own as they sit for examinations as
and when they want within the set five years. This way the first phase of expenditure
incurred by NIOS on its students pertains to the first year of their registration, when they
receive the materials and tutorial support.
Here they are like year-based students in a conventional school and partake of expenses
on the establishment, office maintenance, paper and printing (used for study materials for
the year concerned), student support services (i.e. expenses on running Regional
Centres), advertisements and publicity, national consortium of open learning and
computers (Information and Communication Technology) on a yearly basis. The
expenditure under these heads is, therefore, assigned to the very first year of a cohorts
registration. But there are students on vocational (and earlier on foundation) courses too.

122

Since both categories provide similar services, to compute the expenditure assignable to
secondary and senior secondary students, we have apportioned the expenses listed in
Table 4.28 (NIOS-based abstract) appropriately using the respective apportioning factors
of the relevant years from Table 4.27. For example, for the year 2002-03, the expenditure
on establishment, INR 40,015,000 (see Table 4.28) is multiplied by the relevant
apportioning factor, 0.9065 (see Table 4.27) for the secondary and senior secondary
students and we get (INR 40,015,000 x 0.9065 =) INR 36,273,589, the entry under 200203 against establishment.
Category B: This pertains to buildings etc, items traditionally put under Plan Expenditure.
The basic year to year figures have been culled from Table 4.29 and computed at two
levelsfirst, the available amount has been divided using the relevant apportioning
factor (as in the case of Category A) to compute the apportioned amount for the
secondary and senior students; and then at the second level, this amount has been
amortised over 50 years to be shared by the future students as well. For example, the
expenditure incurred on buildings etc in 2002-03 was INR 1,552,000 (see Table 4.29). At
the first level of computationINR 1,552,000 x 0.9065 (the relevant apportioning factor)
= INR 1,406,888; and at the second level of computation this amount is amortised over
50 yearsINR 1,406,888/50 = INR 28,138, the entry under 2002-03 against Buildings
etc. [Figures in italics in the table pertain to the computation of amortisation.]
Category C: The first item, academic programmes, in this category is the expenditure for
developing study materials pertains exclusively to the secondary and senior secondary
students. Once they are developed 233 they remain in use for several (generally five) years.
So the cost of developing materials has to be amortised. For example, the cost of
developing academic programmes in 2002-03 was INR 8,486,000 (see Table 4.29). It is
amortised over five yearsINR 8,486,000 5 = INR 1,697,200 per year, the entry under
2002-03 against academic programmes.
233

Development of materials is not to be confused with the printing or production of materials. We

print/produce as much as we need for the year concerned; so the cost in this case is year based/related. The
cost for developing study materials, however, falls into a different category of costs. The NIOS
remuneration rates for developing study materials are as follows:
S.
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Activity
Writing self-instructional materials (up to 5000 words)
Content editing of the original Unit
Language editing of a Unit
Translating the materials (up to 5000 words)
Revision
Preparation of an assignment
Assessment of assignments (per assignment)
Proof reading: a) Normal;
b) With mathematical work (up to 350 words in either case)
Preparation of items for a Question Bank (per item)
Typing per page
Computer work: a) Graphics;
b) Scanning (per diagram in either case)
Word processing: a) Normal;
b) With mathematical data (with a floppy in either case)

123

Rates in
INR
2000.00
500.00
500.00
1000.00
500.00
150.00
5.00
5.00
7.00
10.00
5.00
40.00
25.00
15.00
20.00

The second item, media programmes, is. the expenditure for developing media materials
such as audio and video support for study materials. This pertains to academic (85 per
cent of the cost) 234 as well as vocational (15 per cent of the cost) courses. Such materials
too remain in use for five years after they are developed. Accordingly, media support for
academic (i.e. secondary and senior secondary) courses will cost 85 per cent of the
expenditure on such materials and it has to be amortised over five years as in the case of
Category A. For example, the cost of developing media programmes in 2002-03 was INR
2,550,000 (see Table 4.29); 85 per cent of which (i.e. INR 2,550,000 x 0.85 =) INR
2,167,500 relates to secondary and senior secondary courses. Further, it is amortised over
five yearsINR 2,167,500 5 = INR 433,500 per year, the entry under 2002-03 against
academic programmes.
The remaining six items in this category (i.e. national database etc, human resource
development etc, research etc, technical support etc, COL activities and vehicles etc) are
of relevance to all the students of NIOS and their utility and impact spills over a five year
period (as per official regulations of NIOS) including the year in which the related costs
are incurred. Accordingly, in their case the expenditure is first apportioned appropriately
for the secondary and senior secondary students and then amortised over five years. For
example, take the expenditure on human resource development in the year 2002-03 from
Table 4.29, i.e. INR 810,000. The apportioned amount for the secondary and senior
secondary students will be INR 810,000 x 0.9065 (the relevant apportioning factor) =
INR 734,265. Amortising it over five years we get INR 734,265 5 = INR 146,853, the
entry under 2002-03 against human resource development. And so on. [Figures in italics
in the table pertain to the computation of amortisation.]
Category D: In this category there are only two items, furniture etc. and library. The
basis of computation here is the same as in the case of the third set of items in Category
C, except that here the period of amortisation is longer, i.e. ten years (as per official
regulations of NIOS). For example, take the 2002-03 expenditure on library from Table
4.29, i.e. INR 584,000. The apportioned amount for the secondary and senior secondary
students will be INR 584,000 x 0.9065 (the relevant apportioning factor) = INR 529,396.
Amortising it over ten years we get (INR 529,396/10 =) INR 52,940, the entry under
2002-03 against library. And so on. [Figures in italics in the table pertain to the
computation of amortisation.]
Category E: In this category we have just one item, i.e. personal contact programmes. As
explained earlier, NIOS pays to AIs at the rate of INR 250 per student (in the first year of
ones registration) for providing academic support such as tutorials etc to the students.
Accordingly, this expenditure is year-specific and is best computed by multiplying the
number of students enrolled in a particular year by INR 250, the rate per student. For
example, take the number of students (secondary and senior secondary put together)
enrolled in 2002-03 from Table 4.27i.e. 226,975. Multiplying it by 250 we get INR
56,743,750, the entry under 2002-03 against personal contact programmes.
Category F: This is the most complex of all the categories to work on, because:
a student has the facility of nine different examinations to pass his/her five subjects,
he/she is free to appear in any number of subjects at any of these
examinations/chances,
234

As per information provided by NIOS, New Delhi.

124

the way examination centres are paid for their services in terms of the various items
of service and the number of students they serve is too complex to work on within the
scope of this study, and
it is not easy to disentangle accounts to track students progression.

The saving grace, however, is that the examination accounts stand alone, as students pay
for the subjects they sit for and do so as many times as they need to. To build a formula
to compute expenditure on examinations, the following facts are used:
1. Each registered student would sit for and pass in five subjects necessarily to obtain
certification.
2. NIOS spends at the most 65 per cent of the examination revenue on the actual
conduct of examinations. (This is not an arbitrary figure. We worked through the
examination revenue of 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07 (see Table 4.28) and also the
corresponding examinations related expenditure of these very years (see Table 4.28)
and found that the respective actual expenditures were 64.04 per cent, 62.02 per cent
and 53.36 per cent of the revenues of the corresponding years. Counting 65 per cent
of the revenue from examination fees as the corresponding expenditure on
conducting it is, therefore, a reasonable assumption.)
3. At the secondary level, 73 per cent of the subject registrations are in subjects without
practicals and 27 per cent are in subjects with practicals, while at the senior
secondary level the corresponding percentages are 70 per cent and 30 per cent
respectively (see Table 4.34 and the related explanation).
4. Examination fee for subjects without practicals is INR 90 and for those with
practicals is INR 130.
Derived from the above facts, four factors are used to compute what NIOS may spend on
examinations for the cohort of a particular year. The factors are (5)x(0.73)x(90)x(0.65),
(5)x(0.27)x(130)x(0.65), (5)x(0.70)x(90)x(0.65) and (5)x(0.30)x(130)x(0.65); the first two for the
secondary level and the last two for the senior secondary level.
Take the 2006-07 cohort160,791 registered for the secondary course and 130,192 for the senior
secondary course (see Table 4.27). All the 160,791 secondary students will sit for five subjects
each, i.e. 803,955 subjects in all; 73 per cent (i.e. 0.73) of these subjects are without practicals,
so NIOS will collect INR 90 as examination fee for each one of them, but will spend only 65 per
cent (i.e. 0.65) of the collected amount on the conduct of examinations. Thus NIOS will spend
INR 160,791 x 5 x 0.73 x 90 x 0 .65 = INR 34,332,898.28 on the conduct of examinations in nonpractical subjects. And 160,791 x 5 x 0.27 x 130 x 0.65 = INR 18,342,233.33 on the conduct of
examinations in subjects with practicals. Thus, overall NIOS will spend INR 52,675,132 on
examinations for the 160,791 secondary students of 2006-07 irrespective of when they sit for their
respective subjects. Again, using the senior secondary-specific factor, the expenditure for the
senior secondary students of 2006-07comes to INR 43,158,648, bringing the total expenditure for
the entire secondary cohort of 2006-07 to INR 95,833,780, the entry under 2006-07 against
examinations.
Case-I: Computation in Rows G, H (see also Table 4.27), I, J and K is straightforward.
Row I provides the year-wise cost per student for him/her to complete five subjects for
certification, while Row J presents the average cost (computed over five years) per
125

student per course = INR 1,550.00, (i.e. INR 310 per subject), and Row K presents the
average cost (computed over four years) per student per course = INR 1,551.68.
Case-II excludes the expenditure on examinations from the computation. Computation in
Rows L, M (see also Table 4.27), N, O, and P also is straightforward. Row N provides
the year-wise cost per student for him/her to study five subjects for certification, while
Row O presents the average cost (computed over five years) per student per course = INR
1,226.46, (i.e. INR 310 per subject), and Row P presents the average cost (computed over
four years) per student per course = INR 1,230.
4.5.8

Costs compared to two conventional day schooling systems

Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs): Table 4.31 presents the details of the actual expenditure of KVs
over the first four years of the 10th Five Year Plan. Here all the yearly costs are specific to the
year concerned, except those for buildings, which have been amortised over 50 years (see Table
4.31 below). Here the computation is on FTE basis mainly. One flaw in this computation is that it
does not recognise any difference between the costs incurred on the students studying at different
levelsclass I to class XII. It offers the cost per student per year in general and not specifically
that for the secondary or the senior secondary student. The best one may say is that the average
secondary level student will certainly cost more than what the computation shows here, for the
simple reason that higher level students need teachers with higher qualifications and, therefore,
higher wages.

126

Table 4.31

Expenditure at the Kendriya Vidyalayas2002-06 235 (INR millions)

Heads

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07
(Estimates)

Salaries (INR in millions)

Retirement benefits
(INR in millions)
Maintenance etc (INR in millions)
Misc. expenses (INR in millions)
Total [A] (INR in millions)

4,670.500
652.000

5,145.000
697.800

5,367.500
762.600

5,666.200
828.900

5,668.200
882.000

98.900
181.700
5,603.100

90.500
221.800
6,155.100

75.300
148.100
6,353.500

87.600
83.400
6,666.100

80.000
210.500
6,840.700

Construction etc (INR in millions)

(amortised over 50 years)

875.500
17.510

989.800
17.510
19.796

886.000
17.510
19.796
17.720

1,736.100
17.510
19.796
17.720
34.722

2,350.000
17.510
19.796
17.720
34.722
47.000
136.748

Total [B] (INR in millions)

17.510
37.306
55.026
89.748
Grand total (INR in millions)
[A + B]
5,620.610
6,192.406
6,408.526
6,755.848
6,977.448
Number of students
726,210
787,251
842,281
911,933
-(Number of schools)
(843)
(902)
(933)
(931)
Cost per student per year (INR)
7,739.65
7,865.86
7,608.54
7,408.27
Cost per student per course
15,479.30
15,731.72
15,217.08
14,816.54
(INR)*
Average cost per student per course (computed over 4 years 2002-06, as the actual expenditure for 2006-07
was not available at the time of computation) INR 15,287.50
* As the secondary as well as the senior secondary students need two years to complete a course, the cost
per student per course = approximately two times the cost per student per year.

[Figures in italics in the above table pertain to the computation of amortisation.]

Emmanuel Mission Secondary School (EMSS): In addition to the data from KVs, which are
supported by the Central Government, data was collected from Emmanuel Mission Secondary
School (EMSS), Bhilwara in Rajasthan, which is not among the richer States of the country. And
Bhilwara is a small town relatively. Affiliated with the Board of Secondary Education, Rajasthan,
EMSS caters to the typical middle class population of the society and builds its revenue on the
fees collected from students. It does not receive any support whatsoever from the government. It
runs classes from Nursery up to Class X using English and Hindi as the routine media of
instruction. In the academic year 2006-07, EMSS had 786 students on its rolls, of whom 158 were
in classes IX and X put together. It charges an annual fee of INR 5000 per student at the Nursery
level and INR 5700 at the secondary level, and maintains a sound teacher-student ratio for quality
services. For example, the 158 students at the secondary level were divided into six sections (the
largest sections had 29 students each and the smallest 21). EMSS has an enviable record of
posting 100 per cent throughput year after year for over a decade now. Thus, in terms of the pass
percentage of its students at the Board Examinations, its performance is better than that of KVs.
Using the available data (pertaining to the academic year 2006-07), course costs per student are
worked out as follows:
235

Kendriya Vidyalaya SangathanBudget: http://kvsangathan.nic.in/budget.htm (accessed on July 30,

2007).
127

Table 4.32

Cost per student: Emmanuel Mission Secondary School,

Bhilwara, Rajasthan 236 (INR)

Annual (2006-07) expenditure on Hindi Medium students

Annual (2006-07) expenditure on English Medium students
Annual (2006-07) rent for the school building
Total expenditure
Total no. of students
Expenditure per student per year
Expenditure on all the Secondary level students (158) in 2006-07
As six sections at the secondary level would need eight teachers with better
qualifications/experience to guide the students, an additional salary of INR
4,500.00 per month per teacher is added to the expenditure. Thus, the
annual additional expenditure on tuition for the secondary level students in
2006-07
Total expenditure on 158 secondary level students in 2006-07
The cost per secondary level student per year in 2006-07
As in the day school system, students need two years to complete the
secondary course, the cost per student per course

INR
607,500.00
501,376.00
1,200,000.00
2,308,876.00
786
2,308,876 786=
2,937.50
2,937.50 x 158= 464,125
(a)
4,500 x 8 x 12 = 432,000
(b)

(a) + (b) =
464,125 + 432,000 =
896,125.
896,125 158 = 5,671.68
5,671.68 x 2 =
11,343. 36

To relate the findings from the above table with those from Table 4.30, presented below is Table
4.33, which details the course-wise comparison and also the relative cost-efficiency of the three
institutions.
Table 4.33

Comparative costs per secondary student per course:

NIOS, KVs and EMSS
(INR)

Institutions

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

NIOS:
Cost/student/course
KVs:
Cost/student/course
EMSS:
Cost/student/course
Relative costefficiency

1410.77

1188.66

1169.63

1150.55

1212.71

(average
over four
years:
2002-06)
1229.90

15,479.30

15,731.72

15,217.08

14,816.54

--

15,287.50

--

--

--

--

11,343.36

1: 10.97

1: 13.24

1: 13.01

1: 12.88

1: 9.35

236

1: 12.43

Details collected from Padam Nath Khar, Advisor, Emmanuel Mission Secondary School, Bhilwara,
Rajasthan, during a planned visit to the school in September, 2007.
128

Observations

4.5.9

Given the special purpose as well as financial arrangements for JNVs, any cost
comparison involving JNVs (see Table 4.26) does not make any sense here.
An interesting comparison to note is that between the cost per student per year
(INR 1973) as computed in the 2005-06 NIOS Study (see Table 4.26) and that
reached in this study, i.e. INR 1230 (per course), the difference is not much, a
mere INR 743. However, the fact to note is that INR 743 is nearly three-quarters
of the course fee (i.e. fees for five subjects put together) at NIOS, and depending
on the category of the student concerned, it is even more than the full course fee
INR 550 (for SC/ST students). Obviously, it is a significant sum in the context of
private costs of education at NIOS.
According to the NIOS Study of 2005-06, the cost per student per year at KVs
was over six times (actually 12 times in terms of cost per course) that at NIOS
(see Table 4.26).
In 1983-85 the cost per student per year at the KVs and Delhi Administration
Schools was nearly two times of that at the Open School (see Table 4.24).
Computing the figures for the costs per student per course (i.e. two years in the
case of KVs and Delhi Administration Schools), KVs and Delhi Administration
Schools are nearly four times costlier than the Open School.
At present (2005-07), the cost per secondary student per course at KVs and
EMSS is more than 12 and 9 times respectively of that at NIOS (see Table 4.33).
In 1983-85, the cost per secondary student per course at the KVs was INR 1026 x
2 = INR 2052 (see Table 4.24); in 2002-06 it was INR 15,288 (see Table 4.33).
The rise in the cost per secondary student per course at KVs over a period of
about 20 years (as a ratio) is 15,288 2052 = 7.45, i.e. nearly 7 times.
In 1983-85, the cost per secondary student per course at the Open School was
INR 527 (see Table 4.24); in 2002-06 at NIOS it was INR 1,230 (see Table 4.33).
The rise in the cost per secondary student per course at NIOS over a period of
about 20 years (as a ratio) is 1,230 527 = 2.33, i.e. nearly 2 times.
From (vi) and (vii) above, the relative (NIOS : KVs) rise in the cost per
secondary student per course over a period of 20 years is 7.45 2.33 = 3.20. In
relative terms, the conventional mode of schooling (KVs and similar other
schools) has become more than 3 times costlier than the ODL system over the
past two decades. In other words, as the costs rise universally with the passage of
time, the conventional system of schooling turns to be more and more costly than
the ODL system. This finding should interest both the educationists and the
educational planners, especially in India, where the available levels of funding
are not even remotely adequate for the purpose.

Private cost of education at NIOS

A brief analysis of the registrations in three consecutive years (2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07)
should help determine out students private costs for education at NIOS and also ascertain the
trends in preferred subject loadings 237 . Table 4.34 below shows the subject-wise enrolment vis-vis the head count of enrolees.

237

Number of subjects actually taken by NIOS students at the secondary and senior secondary levels.

129

Enrolment by subject 238 2004-07 (an abstract)

Table 4.34
Academic
year

Secondary level
#
Subject enrolments
enrolled
Without
With
(head
practicals practicals
count)

2006-07

160,791

2005-06

151,833

2004-05

140,501

Totals &
averages

453,125

624,172
(73.27 per
cent)
596,758
(73.10 per
cent)
553,608
(73.12 per
cent)
1774,538
(73.17 per
cent)

227,756
(26.73 per
cent)
219,585
(26.90 per
cent)
203,494
(26.88 per
cent)
650,835
(26.83 per
cent)

Average
no. of
subjects
taken by a
student
5.30
subjects

Senior secondary level

#
Subject enrolments
enrolled
Without
With
(head
practicals practicals
count)
130,192

5.39
subjects

115,193

5.39
subjects

97,568

5.36
subjects

342,953

486,447
(69.76 per
cent)
434,535
(69.95 per
cent)
378,698
(71.07 per
cent)
1,299,680
(70.20 per
cent)

210,887
(30.24 per
cent)
186,603
(30.05 per
cent)
154,144
(28.93 per
cent)
551,634
(29.80 per
cent)

Average
no. of
subjects
taken by
a student
5.36
subjects
5.39
subjects
5.46
subjects
5.39
subjects

It may be noted that at either level (secondary or senior secondary) and uniformly across the
years, on average each student takes more than 5, but less than 5 subjects. The overall average
number of the subjects 239 taken by each student during 2004-2007 comes to 5.37, while the
averages for the secondary and senior secondary are 5.36 and 5.39 subjects respectively. This
figure is important as it has implications for the private cost of education at NIOS. Obviously, at
the time of registration, NIOS students do not register for as many as seven (the permitted
number of) subjects. Among the various possible reasons for this situation, affordability could be
a major issue, as most registrants do not seem to take advantage of the available facility of trying
two additional subjects.
The issue of affordability is being addressed by NIOS in their differential fee structure for
different categories of students. The objective of this approach is to address the vexing question
of equity in educational dispensation, especially with respect to women and deprived sections of
the society, supposedly the major target groups for NIOS.
NIOS charges different fees for different categories of students. The institution operates three
variations of fee per subject (for general category male students, general category female students
238

National Institute of Open SchoolingSubject-wise enrolment: http://www.nois.ac.in/subenrl.htm

(accessed on July 30, 2007)
239
Subjects available at NIOS at the secondary level: Languages subjects Assamese, Bengali, English,
Gujarati, Hindi, Kanada, Malayalam, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Telugu and Urdu. Other subjects
Mathematics, Science & Technology*, Social Sciences, Economics, Business Studies, Home Science*,
Typewriting*, Word Processing*, Psychology and Indian Culture & Heritage. Subjects available at NIOS
at the senior secondary level: Language subjectsEnglish, Hindi and Urdu. Other subjects
Accountancy, Biology*, Business Studies, Chemistry*, Computer Science*, Economics, Geography*,
History, Home Science*, Mathematics, Painting*, Physics*, Political Science, Psychology, Secretarial
Practice*, Sociology, Stenography*, Typewriting* and Word Processing*.
[* Subjects with practicals]

130

and for those given concessions), and two variations of examination feeone for subjects
without practicals and the other for those with practicals. Additional subjects are costlier at both
the levels. Altogether, there are 12 categories of subject-related fees being charged at present,
obviously to promote equity and provide support to the deprived sections of the society (see
Table 4.35 below).
Table 4.35

Private cost per student per subject including examination costs

(NIOS secondary level)

Student
category

Equity
issue
addressed

Subject
types

General

Men

Subjects
without
practicals
Subjects
with
practicals
Subjects
without
practicals
Subjects
with
practicals
Subjects
without
practicals
Subjects
with
practicals

Women

Categories
that get
concessions

SCs/STs,
Exservicemen,
and the
Differently
able ones

Private cost to a student at the secondary level (all the

amounts are in INR)
Fee/subject Additional *
Examination Total cost
fraction/subject fee/subject
(INR)
per
subject
200
150 x 0.072 =
90
300.80
(A)
10.80
200

150 x 0.072 =
10.80

130

340.80
(B)

150

150 x 0.072 =
10.80

90

250.80
(C)

150

150 x 0.072 =
10.80

130

290.80
(D)

110

150 x 0.072 =
10.80

90

210.80
(E)

110

150 x 0.072 =
10.80

130

250.80
(F)

* The fee for an additional subject at this level is INR 150 and the additional average fraction
(.36) registered for is distributed over five subjects0.36/5 = 0.072.

131

Table 4.36

Private cost per student per subject including examination costs

(NIOS senior secondary level)

Student
category

Equity
issue
addressed

Subject
types

Private cost to a student at the Senior Secondary level (all

the amounts are in INR)
Fee/subject Additional*
Examination Total cost
(INR)
fraction/subject fee/subject
per subject

General

Men

Subjects
without
practicals
Subjects
with
practicals
Subjects
without
practicals
Subjects
with
practicals
Subjects
without
practicals
Subjects
with
practicals

230

180 x 0.078 =
14.04

90

334.04
(G)

230

180 x 0.078 =
14.04

130

374.04
(H)

180

180 x 0.078 =
14.04

90

284.04
(I)

180

180 x 0.078 =
14.04

130

324.04
(J)

125

180 x 0.078 =
14.04

90

229.04
(K)

125

180 x 0.078 =
14.04

130

269.04
(L)

Women

Categories
who get
concessions

SCs/STs,
Exservicemen,
and the
Differently
able ones

* The fee for an additional subject at this level is INR 180 and the additional average fraction
(.39) registered for is distributed over five subjects0.39/5 = 0.078.
The interesting finding is that on average, NIOS spends (see Table 4.30, Case-I, for the average
cost per student per subject including examinations, i.e. INR 310.00) less per student per subject
than it charges in the case of four of its fee categories (i.e. categories B, G, H and Jsee Tables
4.35 and 4.36 above). It is only in the case of two categories (i.e. E and K) that fee charged per
subject is visibly lower than what is spent on a student per subject. In the remaining six categories
(A, C, D, F, I and L) the differences are not impressive.
Excluding the examination fees, the maximum and the minimum course fees for a secondary
student at NIOS are INR (210.80 x 5) = INR 1054 and INR (120.80 x 5) = INR 604 respectively.
Similarly, the maximum and the minimum course fees for a senior secondary student are INR
(244.04 x 5) = INR 1220 and INR (139.04 x 5) = INR 695 respectively.
Secondly, considering the fee structure of Kendriya Vidyalayas (see Table 4.9), a secondary
student pays a minimum/maximum of INR (40+20+160) = INR 220 per month (i.e. INR 220 x 24
months = INR 5,280 for a course) and a senior secondary student may pay a minimum of INR
(50+20+160) = INR 230 (i.e. INR 230 x 24 months = 5,520 for a course, or a maximum of INR
(50+20+40+200) = INR 310 per month (i.e. INR 310 x 24 months = INR 7,440 for a course).
Thirdly, a secondary student at Emmanuel Mission Secondary School (EMSS), Bhilwara,
Rajasthan (see the details following Table 4.31), pays a course fee of INR 5700 x 2 = INR 11400,

132

payable in installments over two years, while cost per student per course is INR 11,343.36 (see
Table 4.32).
Putting the three cases together, Table 4.37 presents a profile of the private costs at the three
institutions.
Table 4.37

Private cost per student per course (excluding examination costs):

NIOS, KVs and EMSS compared

S.
N.

Institution

Overall average
cost per student
per course (INR)

NIOS

1229.90

KVs

15,287.50

EMSS

11,343.36

Secondary level
Minimum
Maximum
Private Cost
Private Cost
(INR)
(INR)
604 (49.11 per 1054 (85.70
cent)
per cent)
5,280 (34.54
5,280
(34.54 per
per cent)
cent)
11,400
11,400
(100.50 per
(100.50 per
cent)
cent)

Senior Secondary level

Minimum
Maximum
Private Cost
Private Cost
(INR)
(INR)
695 (56.51 per 1220 (99.20
cent)
per cent)
5,520
7,440
(36.11 per
(48.67 per
cent)
cent)
---

The best case at NIOS is of the student who pays nearly 50 per cent of the cost of his/her studies;
the worst is of the student who has to pay more than 99 per cent of the actual cost. At KVs, the
best case is of the student who pays slightly more than one-third of the actual cost and the worst
is that of the one who has to pay nearly one-half of the actual cost. In the case of EMSS, a student
pays actually what is spent on him/her. EMSS is a non-profit institution run by missionaries in a
relatively small town for the middle class of the society. It does not offer any high-end facilities,
but makes sure that there is no wastage. With 100 per cent results for over a decade now, its
performance and so its cost-effectiveness is better than that of KVs. The cost per secondary
student per course at EMSS should, therefore, serve as a reliable and valid measure/norm for the
costs (being investigated) wherever they are computed in the country. With this in view, one can
see that with better conventional facilities available at KVs, its students enjoy subsidies ranging
from 51 per cent to 65 per cent depending on whether they are at the secondary or the senior
secondary level and what subjects they may have chosen for their studies. Also, with radically
different facilities available at NIOS, its students enjoy subsidies ranging from 1 per cent to 51
per cent on a similar basis.
4.5.10 Conclusions on costs
The overall conclusion is that at the secondary level of education in India, ODL operations are
patently much cheaper (in the ratio of 1: 9+ to 12+) than the conventional schooling systems and
more importantly, that such operations become progressively cheaper and still more cheaper (in
relative terms) with the passage of time.

133

Is there more to ODL than cost-effectiveness and cost-efficiency?

Living in abject poverty, Shailendra Kumar Verma, of illiterate parents, passed his senior
secondary examination as a student of NIOS, when he was eleven years old. Before joining
NIOS, he had never attended any formal schooling system. After he passed the NIOS Senior
Secondary Examination, he joined Lucknow University and obtained his first university degree
(Bachelor of Computer Applications) in first division this year. Now 14 years old, he has joined
the Master in Computer Applications Programme of IGNOU at its Lucknow study centre. He is
said to be the youngest student of the University and will not be charged any fees (INR 40,000 for
this programme).

Abstracted from a news item:

Daily Excelsior, Jammu, IndiaMonday, October 1, 2007. p. 7.

134

ECONOMY AND EDUCATION IN NAMIBIA

5.1

Introduction

The Republic of Namibia occupies an area of some 824,300 square kilometres and has a
population of approximately two million made up of 13 ethnic cultures and 16 language groups.
Although Gross National Product (GNP) is relatively high at US $7,418 per capita 240 and Gross
National Income per capita is of the order of US $2,990 241 , these average figures mask
inequalities in income that are among the highest in the world. Still, Namibia is far from being
among the poorest of the worlds countries: it has significant mineral deposits (diamonds,
uranium, copper, zinc, lead, tin, silver and tungsten, as well as semi-precious stones) that make
mining a mainstay of the economy. Fishery is also important, and there is potential to develop
some agricultural products (e.g. grapes), as well as the port facilities at Walvis Bay. However, the
potential for development is held back by a low skills base that hampers foreign investment 242 .
It is against this background that the education sector has over the past three years developed a
strategic plan, the Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme (ETSIP) 243 . It is
premised on the belief that a weak education and training system cannot facilitate the attainment
of complex and ambitious development goals and that the immediate need is to focus on
strengthening of the immediate supply of middle to high level skilled labour to meet market
demands and support overall national development goals [italics in original] 244 . ETSIP draws
attention to the importance of secondary education in developing and reinforcing the capacity for
continuous learning and flexible skill training and the evidence to suggest that export-led
growth is associated with investments at post-primary level 245 .
5.2

Demographic factors

The US Census Bureaus International Data Base estimates (as at 24 August 2006) indicate that
the mid-year population of Namibia in 2006 was just over two million (2.061 m), of whom
1.064m were male and 0.997m female. In 2005, there were 25 births per 1,000 population, and 18
deaths per 1,000. The population has a natural rate of increase of 0.7 per cent per annum the
same as the annual rate of increase. Current life expectancy at birth is 43.9 years. The total
fertility rate (per woman) is 3.2 though projections for 2025 suggest that this will fall to 1.8 at
which point deaths per 1,000 will exceed births per 1,000, leading to a natural rate of population
increase of 0.3 per cent 246 .
UNDP, Human Development Report 2006.
http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/statistics/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_NAM.html, accessed 19 April 2007.
GDP here is based on GDP PPP (purchasing power parity) a method that takes account of both national
income and national prices.
241
World Bank Key Development Data and Statistics, accessed 19 April 2007:
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTICS/0,,contentMDK:20535285~menuP
K:1192694~pagePK:64133150~piPK:64133175~theSitePK:239419,00.html
242
Mmantsetsa Toka Marope, Namibia Human Capital and Knowledge Development for Economic Growth
with Equity, Africa Region Human Development Working paper Series No. 84, Human Development
Sector, Africa Region, The World Bank, 2005, 2.17, p. 12.
243
Republic of Namibia, Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme (ETSIP), Planning for a
Learning Nation: Programme Document Phase I (2006-2011), February 2007.
244
Ibid. p. 2.
245
Ibid. p. 18.
246
US Census Bureau, International Data Base, Mid-2006 population estimates for Namibia, released 28
August 2006: http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/ipc/idbsum.pl?cty=WA, accessed 19 April 2007.
240

135

The mid-year population estimate for 2005 by age and sex is shown in Table 5.1 below, while
Chart 4.1 shows the population pyramid. The Population Dependency Ratio (number of the
population aged under 15 or over 64, relative to the number in the working ages of 15 to 64) is
high at 74.1 per cent. The under 15 Dependency Ratio is 67.1 (see Table 5.2). Chart 5.1
graphically shows the bulge in the school-aged population (Grades 1 to 12, aged 7 to 18 years).
Table 5.1: 2005 Mid-year population estimate by age and sex (000s), Namibia

Total population
Age 0-4
5-9
10-14
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
65-69
70-74
75-79
80+

Total
2,031
258
270
258
240
217
171
130
100
87
74
62
51
40
30
21
12
10

Male
1017
130
136
130
121
110
89
68
50
42
35
29
24
19
14
10
6
4

Female
1014
128
134
128
119
106
82
63
50
45
39
33
27
21
16
11
7
6

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Data Base, August 2006 version.
Table 5.2: Population Dependency Ratio, 2006
Population
('000s)
Total population
2,031
Population under 15
786
Working age population aged 15-64
1,172
Population over 64
83

%
1.000
0.387
0.577
0.041

Dependency Ratio under 15 and 65+

Dependency Ratio (youth only)

0.741
0.671

136

Chart 5.1: Population of Namibia, mid-2005 estimates, by age and sex

The raw population figures need to be placed in context. Some understanding of socio-economic
conditions in Namibia can be obtained from the recently published (November 2006) 2003/2004
Namibia Household Income and Expenditure Survey 247 . The survey is based on information
obtained from 10,907 private households (i.e. excluding institutions such as prisons, hostels,
police barracks and hospitals) with an 89.9 per cent response rate. At the time of the survey, there
were an estimated 371,678 private households with an estimated household population of
1,830,000.
Most of the population (65 per cent) and households (60 per cent) were in rural areas. Sixty per
cent of the population and 52 per cent of households are in the Northern Region (Caprivi,
Kavango, Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana and Oshikoto). The average household size was 4.9
persons with rural households being on average larger (5.4 persons) than urban households (4.2
persons). Of the population, more than half (51 per cent) are under the age of 20, with the
population in rural areas being generally younger than the population in urban areas in rural
areas 56 per cent of the population is under 20 years of age. Across the population as a whole
there are more females than males (91 males for every 100 females), but in urban areas there are
considerably more males than females in the age range 45-59 years, reflecting the impact of
migration in search of work.
Nearly 52 per cent of the population speaks Oshiwambo as the main language of communication
within the household, with Rukavango spoken by 11.8 per cent of the population and
Nama/Damara by 10.5 per cent. English is the main language of communication for just 1.3 per
cent of the population and Afrikaans for 8.2 per cent 248 .

247

Republic of Namibia: Central Bureau of Statistics, National Planning Commission, 2003/2004 Namibia
Household Income and Expenditure Survey: Main Report, Windhoek, November 2006.
248
Ibid. pp. 15-23.
137

5.2.1

Education levels

The survey looked at the level of education in households. Households were asked to report on
ability to read and write, school attendance and highest level of educational attainment for all
persons aged six years and above. Literacy levels are based on those who answered Yes to the
question if they could read and write in any language. On this basis, 83 per cent of the population
aged 15 and above is literate (this rises to 93 per cent for 15-24 year olds). At the national level,
there is little difference between males and females, but there are large differences at the regional
level.
School attendance is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 13. Eighty-five per cent of all persons
aged six and above said they had attended some kind of formal schooling; 15 per cent said they
had never attended school. This was also true for 10 per cent of those aged between 6 and 16 (7
per cent of urban children, 12 per cent of rural children). Nearly one in four (25 per cent) of those
aged 17 and above and living in rural areas said they had never been to school. Among the
population aged 17 years and above, the survey suggested that 16.7 per cent have no formal
schooling, while 31.7 per cent have primary schooling as their highest level of educational
attainment, 45.5 per cent have secondary schooling and 5.9 per cent have tertiary education.
Almost half (48 per cent) of females have attained secondary education compared with 43 per
cent of males a finding supported by Gross and Net Enrolment Rates data. The Gross
Enrolment Rate (GER) measures the total enrolment in a range of grades divided by the number
of people in the population of an age that should be enrolled in those grades. GER values over
100 per cent indicate the presence of over-age learners enrolled in a specific school phase. The
Net Enrolment Rate (NER) is the number of learners of an appropriate age enrolled in range of
grades, divided by the number of people in the population of the same age group. There is a
correlation between age and no formal educational attainment just 5 per cent of those aged 1519 fell into this category, compared to 57 per cent of those aged over 65 years 249 .
5.2.2

Sources of income

Households generally have more than one source of income, but in 46 per cent of Namibian
households, the main source of income was derived from salaries and wages (77 per cent in urban
areas, 26 per cent in rural areas), followed by business income (11 per cent). Forty-eight per cent
of rural households reported subsistence farming as their main source of income. A high
proportion of those who reported that subsistence farming was their main source of income had
no formal education (42.3 per cent) or just primary education (40 per cent). Conversely, 60.4 per
cent of those who reported wages and salaries to be their main source of income had secondary
education, and 81.3 per cent had tertiary education.
Of English, Afrikaans and Nama/Damara first-choice language speakers, 77.2, 72.6 and 71.2 per
cent respectively reported that wages/salaries were their main source of income. Of Oshiwambo
speakers, 46.2 per cent cited subsistence farming as their main source of income, and 35.9 per
cent cited wages/salaries as their main source of income 250 .

249
250

Ibid. pp. 25-32.

Ibid. pp. 33-38
138

5.2.3

Access to technology

The reliance of open and distance learning systems on technologies means that access to
electricity is a major factor in facilitating study through technologies such as main- powered
radios. The most reliable data here is the proportion of households that use electricity as their
power source for lighting. Across Namibia as a whole, the 2003/2004 household survey indicated
that 36.4 per cent of homes use electricity for lighting, but there are significant regional variations
(Erongo, 77.8 per cent; Khomas, 71.9 per cent; Kavango, 15.6 per cent; Omusati, 7.3 per cent;
Ohangwena, 4.8 per cent) 251 .
On the other hand, 71 per cent of households indicated that they owned a radio, which suggests
that a considerable number of radios are powered by battery or clockwork. Another 13 per cent of
households had access to a radio. Access to radios is higher in urban areas (79 per cent) than it is
in rural areas (66 per cent). Radio ownership is particularly high in Erongo (85.2 per cent), Karas
(82.9 per cent) and Khomas (79.5 per cent); lack of any access to a radio is highest in Caprivi
(26.4 per cent), Ohangwena (25.4 per cent), and Otjozondjuna (20.4 per cent).
Twenty-nine per cent of households reported ownership of televisions and 10 per cent had access
to television sets. Urban households had a higher level of ownership (57 per cent) than rural
households (10 per cent). Telephone and cell phone ownership was 33.5 per cent nationally, with
another 33.3 per cent of households reporting access to such facilities. Again there are marked
regional differences with 89.2 per cent of households in Ohangwena lacking access, compared
with 9.1 per cent in Khomas 252 . Although penetration of these technologies will increase,
inequalities in absolute and disposable incomes will hinder the development of a mass market.
As Table 5.3 indicates, lack of access to technologies and particularly those technologies crucial
to the use of ICTs in education, also affects schools:
Table 5.3: School access to electricity and telephones, 2005

Year
2002
2003
2004
2005

No electricity
903
828
787
801

Have
electricity
681
770
814
825

%age with
electricity
43.0
48.2
51.0
50.7

No phone
946
893
842
844

Have
phone
638
705
759
782

% with
phone
40.3
44.1
47.0
48.1

MOE Educational Management Information System, Educational Statistics

Source: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 (Table 57)

5.2.4

Proximity to education

Distance students are often required to travel to tutorial centres and examination centres, so
distance from public transport is a factor that needs to be taken into account. The 2003/2004
household survey indicated that 58 per cent of all households are less than 1 kilometre from
public transport, and 21 per cent for 1 to 5 kms from such a source. Eight per cent of households
are 21 kms and above from a source of public transport. Regions where a particularly high
proportion of households are more than 21 kms from public transport include Harap (21.4 per
251
252

Ibid. p. 51.
Ibid. pp. 71-3.
139

cent), Karas (19.8 per cent), Kunene (20.8 per cent), and Omaheke (38.6 per cent) 253 . People who
live some distance from a school may be attracted to distance education as a way of meeting their
need, especially if the distance education system is home-based. However, any requirement to
attend a tutorial centre based in a school may then become a barrier to their participation.
In Namibia, relatively few households are more than 21 kms from a primary school (7.9 per cent),
while 73.9 per cent of households are within 3 kms of a primary school. Again, there are regional
variations (in Omaheke 41.5 per cent of households are within 3 kms of a primary school, while
in Khomas 86.7 per cent are). Urban households are far more likely to be within this distance
(94.9 per cent) than rural households (59.7 per cent).
As one would expect, distance to a high school is greater. Only 41.1 per cent of Namibian
households are within 3 kms of a high school (urban, 84.2 per cent; rural 11.6 per cent) or a
combined school that offers both primary and secondary education (national figure 46.9 per cent,
urban 58.9 per cent, rural 38.8 per cent) 254 . For this reason, it is quite usual to provide hostel
accommodation for secondary school students. In 2004/2005, there were 194 hostels, with 59
serving the primary sector and 135 serving secondary and combined schools (i.e. comprehensive
schools covering both primary and secondary age groups).
5.2.5

Hostel accommodations

Hostels accommodated 46,455 learners in 2004/2005, and 47,488 learners in 2005/2006 255 .
Learners are resident 265 days a year. The provision of hostel places is a significant cost to the
education service especially at secondary level (one estimate suggests that some 90 per cent of
hostel places are occupied by secondary school pupils). More than 9 per cent of the basic
education budget is allocated to hostels. This represents two-fifths of what is spent on secondary
education and slightly less than one-fifth of what is spent on primary education 256 . Table 5.4
shows the number of hostels by level, the total government spend on hostel accommodation and
the unit cost per resident, in 2005-2006. The total spend in 2005/2006 was NA $223.8 million.
Parental contributions towards boarding fees depend on the type of hostel a learner is occupying.
There are four categories of hostels offering varying levels of service, and in 2005/2006 parental
contributions theoretically ranged from NA $198 to NA $825 a year. However, many parents are
partially or fully exempted from the fees, and the total amount of parental contribution in
2005/2006 amounted to just NA $7.376m 257 (see Table 5.5)

253

Ibid., p. 63.
Ibid. pp. 65-67.
255
MOE, Unit costs-hostels, Financial Year 2004/2005; 2005/2006.
256
Ministry of Education, Expenditure Issues Paper, 2005 (first draft). Electronic copy obtained from Mr T
Kakonda, Planning Division, MOE, Windhoek, Section 3.
257
Ministry of Education, Expenditure Issues Paper, 2005 (first draft). Electronic copy obtained from Mr T
Kakonda, Planning Division, MOE, Windhoek, Section 4; MOE, Unit costs-hostels, Financial Year
2005/2006.
254

140

Table 5.4: Primary and secondary education hostel accommodation

and hostel costs, 2005-2006
Region

TOTAL
Caprivi
Hardap
Karas
Erongo
Kunene
Oshikoto
Ohangwena
Oshana
Omusati
Kavango
Khomas
Omaheke
Otjizondjupa
Special
Education

Total #
of
hostels

#
primary
hostels

194
7
17
19
15
21
8
5
5
12
13
18
20
26
8

59
0
7
6
5
7
0
0
0
0
0
6
13
10
5

#
combined
and
secondary
hostels
135
7
10
13
10
14
8
5
5
12
13
12
7
16
2

Total cost
NA $

Unit cost
per learner
per day NA
$

223,799,247
9,798,461
18,283,213
13,711,873
13,297,907
19,553,221
13,457,545
8,178,390
8,946,503
13,703,685
14,092,438
26,826,833
19,236,446
38,519,713
6,203,018

18.78
22.80
30.90
22.05
21.31
15.75
19.54
13.27
10.86
9.25
13.72
33.84
15.29
24.33
25.54

Table 5.5: Parental contribution to hostel costs, 2005-2006

Total cost

Total
Parental
Contribution

Parental
contribution
as %age
Total Cost

Average
parental
contribution
per year

N$223,799,247

N $7,376,435

0.033

N $155.33

Average parental
contribution per
day (265 day
school boarding
year)
N $0.59

Source of raw data: Ministry of Education, Financial Year 2005/2006 Item 22: Unit Costs
Hostels; MOE, Number of Primary and Secondary [including Combined] Hostels.
5.2.6

Household income

The 2003/2004 Namibian Household Income and Expenditure Survey indicates that Inequality
of income in Namibia remains among the highest in the world 258 . In the survey:

Household consumption is defined as the sum of total expenditure on consumables such

as food, beverages, clothing, furniture and electrical appliances, as well as imputed rent
for free occupied or owner occupied dwellings.
Expenditures are cash except for imputed rent (estimated value of rent for free occupied
or owned dwelling units), which is treated as consumption in kind.
Household income is defined as the sum of total consumption and non-consumption
expenditures such as for livestock, motor vehicle license, fines, gifts, house and land.

258

Republic of Namibia: Central Bureau of Statistics, National Planning Commission, 2003/2004 Namibia
Household Income and Expenditure Survey: Main Report, Windhoek, November 2006, p. 95.
141

The report classified households into ten groups using adjusted per capita income (APCI) to rank
households from the lowest APCI to the highest. Households were divided into 100 equal sized
groups defined by ACPI. The first percentile includes the 1 per cent of households with the
lowest ACPI; the second percentile the 1 per cent of households after excluding those in the first
percentile having the lowest ACPI; the third percentile the 1 percent of households with the
lowest ACPI after exclusion of the first and second percentile, and so on. The percentiles were
then grouped:

Group A comprised the 25 per cent of households with the lowest APCI.
Group B is the 25 per cent of households which have a higher ACPI than Group A.
Group C is the 25 per cent of households with a higher ACPI than groups A and B.
Group D is the 15 per cent of households with a higher ACPI than groups A to C.
Group E is the 5 per cent of households having a higher ACPI than groups A to D.
Group F is the 3 per cent of households having a higher ACPI than groups A to E.
Group G is the two percent of households having a higher ACPI than groups A to F
combined.

Turning to the characteristics of these groups:

Group A comprises households in percentiles 1-25 with an average household size of 6.8
persons and consumption per capita in the households of NA $1,676.
Group B is percentiles 26-50 (average household size 5.4; per capita consumption NA
$3,396).
Group C is percentiles 51-75 (average household size 4.2; per capita consumption NA
$6,921).
Group D is percentiles 76-90 (average household size 3.6; per capita consumption NA
$16,922),
Group E is percentiles 91-95 (average household size 3.1; per capita consumption NA
$40,771).
Group F is percentiles 96-98 (average household size 2.6; per capita consumption NA
$69,131).
Group F is percentiles 99-100 (average household size 2.3; per capita consumption NA
$140,870).

The extent to which consumption is skewed is shown by the fact that the bottom 25 per cent of
households account for just 6.8 per cent of all consumption, and the bottom 50 per cent of
households for just 17.6 per cent of all income. In contrast, the top 2 per cent of households
account for 15.3 per cent of all consumption, and the top 5 per cent account for 28.4 per cent of
all consumption. At the lower end of the scale, the bottom 10 per cent of households have a
monthly per capita consumption of NA $135, compared with a monthly per capita expenditure of
NA $49,854 in the richest 10 per cent of households.
The average household consumption was NA $42,078 giving an average per capita
consumption of NA $8,546. Large discrepancies exist between urban areas (NA $15,400 per
capita) and rural areas (NA $4,900 per capita). Households in Khomas and Erongo regions
account for a far larger proportion of the nations total consumption than their numbers would
suggest (Khomas, NA $89,065 per household and NA $22,367 per head; Erongo, NA $52,675 per
household and NA $14,743 per head). In contrast, Ohangwena has the lowest consumption of NA
$21,685 per household and NA $3,467 per head. The regional disparities are important because if

142

one maps population density, location of schools and poverty, one finds that most of the
population and most schools are located in the north of the country, which is where poverty levels
are highest.
In Namibia, 59 per cent of households are headed by males and 41 per cent by females the head
being the person of either sex whom members of that household regard as the leader or main
decision maker. Female-headed households have a lower level of consumption accounting for
just 29 per cent of total consumption (overall the consumption per head in a female-headed
household is NA $6,132 compared with NA $10,204 in male-headed households). German- and
English-speaking households, which account for 1.8 per cent of the population, have the highest
household consumption level at roughly NA $193,500, and account for 13.5 per cent of total
consumption. Afrikaans households (8.2 per cent of the population) have a household
consumption level of NA $93,156, and account for 23.5 per cent of all consumption. Oshiwambospeaking households, which account for 51.9 per cent of the population, have an average
consumption per household of NA $31,188 and account for 36.2 per cent of total consumption.
There is a strong correlation between the highest level of education attainment by the head of the
household and annual per capita consumption within the household (Table 5.6):
Table 5.6: Annual consumption by highest level of educational attainment
of the head of the household
Educational
Attainment
of head
No formal
Education
Primary
Secondary
Tertiary
Not stated
Total

% all
households

% of
population

Average
household
size

% all
consumption

23.8

27.4

5.7

9.3

31.4
34.2
9.9
0.8
100.0

33.4
30.0
8.4
0.7
100.0

5.3
4.3
4.2
4.2
4.9

16.6
38.6
34.9
0.6
100.0

Average
household
consumption
NA $
16 530

Consumption
per capita
NA $

22 234
47 584
147 477
32 852
42 078

4 233
10 993
35 329
7 744
8 546

2 910

Source: Republic of Namibia: Central Bureau of Statistics, National Planning Commission,

2003/2004 Namibia Household Income and Expenditure Survey: Main Report, Windhoek,
November 2006, Table 8.1.5, p. 101
The average annual income (derived from the sum of total consumption and non-consumption
expenditures as defined above) is NA $43,521 per household, and NA $10,358 per individual.
Again there are wide discrepancies by region, by sex of head of household, by language spoken
within the household and by highest educational attainment of the head of the household. The
lowest 25 per cent of all households have an average annual household income of NA $11,545
(per capita, NA $1,692, adjusted per capita NA $2,040), compared with the richest 2 per cent
(annual household income NA $339,382, income per capita NA $147,838, adjusted per capita
income NA $157,979). The 25 per cent of households with the lowest ACPI account for just 7 per
cent of all income, while the 2 per cent of households with the highest ACPI account for 44 per
cent of total annual income. Similarly the ten percent of households with the lowest adjusted
income per capita account for just 2 per cent of total income in Namibia, while the richest decile
of households account for 44 per cent of total income.

143

5.2.7

Spending on education

When the survey looks at what people spend their money on, the findings show that in the
average Namibian household 24.3 per cent of the households total annual consumption goes
towards food and beverages, 21.3 per cent on housing, 16 per cent on travel and just 2.7 per cent
on education. As far as expenditure on education is concerned, there are regional variations, with
households in Erongo spending just 2.9 per cent of their total consumption on education, those in
Khomas 3.2 per cent, those in Oshikoto 5.6 per cent, and those in Hardago 1.2 per cent. Urban
households tend to spend more than rural households (2.9 per cent against 2.3 per cent). Among
language groups German-speaking households spend more (2.8 per cent) than do English (1.9 per
cent) and Afrikaans (1.9 per cent); Otijherero-speaking households spend 3.6 per cent,
Oshiwanbo speakers 3.2 per cent, and Caprivi language group speakers 3.3 per cent. Those
households where the head of the household has tertiary education spend more (3.7 per cent) than
those with secondary education (2.1 per cent), primary (2.7 per cent) and no formal education
(1.4 per cent), but of course those with tertiary education also earn more so they are spending a
higher proportion of a bigger income on education.
Further evidence related to household expenditure on education comes from parental
contributions to each schools School Development Fund. Each school is entitled to have a
School Development Fund which must be approved by the school board. The board determines
the level of fees to be charged per pupil but such contributions are legally strictly voluntary in
that no learner can be excluded on grounds of non-payment. A parent must apply to the school
board for full or partial exemption, whereas orphans are automatically exempted. This
contribution should not exceed NA $250 per learner for primary and NA $500 for secondary
learners. Although no learners can be exempted, they may self-exclude themselves from schools
with higher School Development Funds or those requiring uniforms 259 .

259

Ministry of Education, Expenditure Issues Paper, 2005 (first draft). Electronic copy obtained from Mr T
Kakonda, Planning Division, MOE, Windhoek, Section 4.
144

The 2004 Public Expenditure Tracking Survey showed that only 60 per cent of learners had paid
their fees. Contributions to the School Development Fund vary across regions, reinforcing
inequities (Table 5.7).
Table 5.7: Parental contributions towards school development funds (NAD), 2004 Public
Expenditure Tracking Survey data
Region
Hardap
Kavango
Khomas
Kunene
Omaheke
Omusati
Oshana
Private

Junior Primary
96.11
19.16
430.00
39.44
141.43
13.57
14.60
2,664.00

Senior Primary
126.00
31.73
430.00
41.11
141.43
21.29
32.11
2,664.00

Junior Secondary
291.67
61.67
1,858.33
55.00
170.00
37.70
950.00
950.00

Senior Secondary
312.50
75.00
1,858.33

Rural
Urban

40.28
963.06

50.80
1,018.24

110.07
1,251.50

380.00
1,362.78

National Average

226.91

267.20

402.74

1,011.79

250.00
950.00
950.00

Source: Draft version Public Expenditure Tracking Survey, 2004, cited in Ministry of
Education, Expenditure Issues Paper, 2005 (first draft). Electronic copy obtained from
Mr T Kakonda, Planning Division, MOE, Windhoek, Section 4.
Evidence for the generally low level of educational cost sharing by households comes from the
draft Expenditures Issues Paper (2005) prepared within the Ministry of Education. This shows
that
private financing of education expenditure forms a low percentage of total
expenditure in basic education. At the primary level in 2004/05 it constituted
approximately 8 per cent of the per learner cost incurred by government at that level
while for secondary learners the contribution increases to 9 per cent. Private financing is
limited to non-compulsory contributions to the school development fund [SDF], which
according to the Education Act, 2001 may be used to provide, develop and improve
reasonable and necessary families at school; and to uplift and improve educational, sport
and cultural activities at school. Private contributions may also be made towards extra
tuition received by learners especially prevalent at the junior secondary and senior
secondary phases where learners sit for school leaving examinations. This contribution,
according to the sacmeq ii survey, has increased from 35 per cent of learners receiving
extra tuition in at least one subject to 45 per cent although the exact nature of payment for
tuition received is not clear. 260

260

Ministry of Education, Expenditure Issues Paper, 2005 (first draft). Electronic copy obtained from Mr T
Kakonda, Planning Division, MOE, Windhoek, Section 2.
145

Moreover:
the draft report of the Public Expenditure Tracking Survey (PETS) for the education
sector 2004 indicates that on average 40 per cent of learners do not contribute to the
school development fund. This figure is likely to increase in the future with high
HIV/Aids rates, causing an expanding number of orphans and an increase in health costs.
Estimated numbers of children who have lost their mother or father or both parents to
aids are estimated at 47,000 (or about two per cent) in 2001. SDF may be used to
improve the quality of education by diverting funds to supplementary activities.
However, PETS indicates that most schools are not fully utilizing their contributions even
if pressing needs exist. This also causes an inter-generational discrepancy where learners
who contribute to the SDF are not the ones who benefit from its use. Current training of
school boards on general school governance and financial management and
accountability is expected to have positive effect on the utilisation of the SDF. 261
Overall, four per cent of all households are classified as severely poor (i.e. 80 per cent or more of
all household income spent on food), and 28 per cent are poor and severely poor (i.e. 60 per cent
or more of all household income spent on food). Poverty is in general a rural phenomenon (the
proportion of poor and severely poor households is 42 per cent in rural areas and seven per cent in
urban areas), and the highest shares of poor and severely poor households occur in Kavango (50
per cent of all households), Oshikoto (47 per cent), Omusati (47 per cent) and Caprivi (44 per
cent). In Khomas, four per cent of households are classified as poor or severely poor 262 .
5.3

Structure of the Namibian Education System

The general education system in Namibia follows a 4-3-3-2 system comprising lower primary,
upper primary, junior secondary and senior secondary schooling. In addition, a relatively small
number of children benefit from pre-primary provision, which may be limited to childminding, a
ten-week long school readiness programme or provision through nursery schools (where the level
of parental contribution required limits takers to more affluent families) or through opportunities
provided to workers as part of their employment benefits.
The recent draft Expenditures Issues Paper (2005) 263 points out that since independence in 2000:
education has enjoyed budget priority with far over 20 per cent of government
resources and over 7 per cent of GDP going towards the sector. While the sector has
made significant progress in expanding access to education, several challenges remain.
First among these are that resources are still inequitably distributed, with negative impact
on lower income groups and rural populations, and many school leavers have not
obtained levels of literacy and numeracy commensurate with their years of schooling.
Over the past few years resource allocations to the sector has decreased, both in terms
of spending as a share of government resources and as a share of GDP. More critically,
available funds have decreased in real terms, requiring the sector to make deliberate
efficiency gains in key cost drivers in order to protect spending in areas that are more

261

Ibid, Section 2.
Republic of Namibia: Central Bureau of Statistics, National Planning Commission, 2003/2004 Namibia
Household Income and Expenditure Survey: Main Report, Windhoek, November 2006, pp. 95-123.
263
Ministry of Education, Expenditure Issues Paper, 2005 (first draft). Electronic copy obtained from Mr.
T Kakonda, Planning Division, MOE, Windhoek, Section 1.
262

146

discretionary (such as text books and capital spending) but which are also critical for
current and future performance of the sector. [However] These gains were not made.
There have been many achievements:
The Net Enrolment Ratio for Grades 1 to 9 (primary cycle and first two years of junior
secondary cycle) is 96.4 per cent.
The enrolment ratio in senior secondary (grades 11 and 12) is about 55 per cent.
Gender balance has been achieved at all levels though not in all regions.
Survival to Grade 7 (end of primary education) is about 77 per cent of the age group, and
survival to Grade 10 (final year of junior secondary education) is 55 per cent.
83.5 per cent of secondary teachers and 55.6 per cent of primary teachers have
pedagogical training (i.e. the teachers hold at least the Basic Education Teacher Diploma
[BETD]).
To achieve these ends, the proportion of the GDP allocated to education between 1997 and 2003
averaged 8.95, with a peak of 9.7 percent in 2001/2002. This level could not be sustained, and
revenue to the education sector began to decline in real terms. The education budget draws a
distinction between development funds and operational expenditure. In recent years, a proportion
of the development budget has been diverted to pay for operational costs. This has affected the
Basic Education development budget in particular, leading to a reduction of 0.7 per cent in
2004/2005 and 0.49 per cent in 2005/2006. This has impacted on the extension and renovation of
school and college buildings since it is the Development Budget that is used to provide adequate
physical facilities such as schools, hostels, laboratories, latrines and teacher housing. As the
Expenditure Issues Review paper outlines, this points to the need for the sector to adjust its cost
base as a matter of urgency 264 .
5.3.1

Education challenges

Yet there are still many challenges facing the education sector, including:

the need to get better returns from the investment in education,

the need to orientate the education service to better support the development goal of
transforming Namibia into a Knowledge-based Economy,
the need to address access and equity issues,
the inefficient use of resources, and
the need to improve the quality of the output from the senior secondary level in order to
address the shortage of skilled labour 265 .

In particular, the lack of senior secondary education has negative implications on job creation,
self employment and results in lack of skilled labour266 . Just 47 per cent of learners completing
junior secondary school each year find a place at a senior secondary school 267 . Just one in three
Namibians get to secondary school 268 . The lack of space has contributed to youth unemployment
264

Ministry of Education, Expenditure Issues Paper, 2005 (first draft). Electronic copy obtained from Mr.
T Kakonda, Planning Division, MOE, Windhoek, Section 2.
265
Republic of Namibia, Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme (ETSIP), Planning for a
Learning Nation: Programme Document Phase I (2006-2011), February 2007, pp. 18-19.
266
Ibid. p. 24.
267
Office of the President, National Planning Commission, Millenium Challenge Account: Namibia,
Windhoek, Office of the President, 2007, p. 71
268
Ibid. p. 72.
147

and poor skills development, which hampers economic development 269 . As a direct result, the
ultimate objective is to expand access and capacity of senior secondary education through,
among other things, diversifying delivery modes including intensifying the use of open learning
programmes, such as NAMCOL centres 270 .
As part of the expansion of secondary education, six new secondary schools are to be built, each
with a capacity for 980 learners per year including 760 in hostels and (in existing schools) 50
blocks of three classrooms each, each block having a capacity for 150 learners 271 . Whether this
will be achieved will depend on funding and the extent to which rising building costs (influenced
by South Africas preparations for the 2010 Soccer World Cup) impact on the plans.
5.3.2

Improving efficiency in education

Among the measures that would improve efficiency in the education system, the Education and
Training Sector Strategic Improvement Plan looks for ways of reducing the unacceptably high
level of repetition rates, which range from 12.5 to 21.5 per cent per grade per year. Between 12
and 21 per cent more learners could be accommodated in each grade with no additional resources
if repetition rates could be brought down. Drop-out rates, low for the first six years of education,
climb from then on to reach 44 per cent in Grade 10 the end of compulsory education 272 . A
range of measures to improve the efficiency of the system is being examined.
Against this backdrop, the Education and Training Sector Strategic Improvement Programme
(ETSIP) seeks, within its prime focus on strengthening of the immediate supply of middle to
high level skilled labour, to meet market demands and support overall national development
goals 273 . It will do this by operationalising three main components:
(a) a pro-poor expansion of opportunities for high quality senior secondary education;
(b) a pro-poor expansion of opportunities for high quality and market responsive vocational
education and training; and
(c) an expansion of pre-entry programmes for tertiary education and training 274 .
Implementation of these components implies a series of other actions including the
implementation of a number of quality enhancing measures and greater efficiency in resource
utilisation 275 . A further critical priority, among others, is the creation of an enabling environment
for the development of lifelong learning 276 . Also stressed in relation to general education is the
need to improve the quality and relevance of textbooks, books and materials 277 .

269

Ibid. p. 71
Republic of Namibia, Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme (ETSIP), Planning for a
Learning Nation: Programme Document Phase I (2006-2011), February 2007, pp. 24-5.
271
Office of the President, National Planning Commission, Millenium Challenge Account: Namibia,
Windhoek, Office of the President, 2007, pp. 40-41, 72, 74.
272
Republic of Namibia, Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme (ETSIP), Planning for a
Learning Nation: Programme Document Phase I (2006-2011), February 2007, p. 28.
273
Republic of Namibia, Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme (ETSIP), Planning for a
Learning Nation: Programme Document Phase I (2006-2011), February 2007, p. 2.
274
Ibid. p. 3.
275
Ibid. p. 3.
276
Ibid. p. 4.
277
Ibid. p. 6.
270

148

Lack of a distance education policy

Missing is any coherent policy underpinning the role that distance education methods might play
in these action 278 , including:

the impact that distance education programmes have on the quality of learning materials
and textbooks,
the potential to develop learners self-learning skills,
the key role it has played in opening up access to education for disadvantaged,
marginalised and missed-out groups,
the role it plays in lifelong learning and vocational education 279 , and
the use of distance teaching technologies (particularly print and instructional radio) to
improve teaching and learning in traditional classrooms.

Although, in the Namibian context, the average qualification of teachers is perceived to have the
most significant impact on student performance taking costs into consideration according to a
World Bank study, the cost-benefit ratios show that providing textbooks or a science laboratory is
more than three and a half times more effective than further improvement in the qualification of
teachers 280 - and the use of NAMCOL texts in schools (already happening) could help here if they
were used more widely. Also missing is any analysis of distance educations potential for
lowering educational costs without diminishing and indeed sometimes enhancing quality 281 .
5.3.3

Potential of distance education recognised

Crucially, however, ETSIP:

acknowledges that the rate of improvement in the results of NAMCOLs alternative

secondary education programme learners has been significantly better than in formal
education. NAMCOL has developed high quality localised instruction materials and is
generally acknowledged to be a well-managed institution 282 ;
indicates that educational radio programmes covering formal, vocational, tertiary and
lifelong education and training are to be developed through a studio administered by
NAMCOL as a joint venture between NAMCOL and tertiary institutions 283 , and

278

At the time of writing (June 2007), a two-person mission (Roger Mills, Ros Morpeth) undertaken by the
International Research Foundation for Open Learning had just spent a short period in Namibia, working
with NOLNet, to address this lack. A subsequent mission in October 2007 (Ros Morpeth, Greville Rumble)
involving attendance at a NOLNet National Open and Distance Learning Consultative Seminar focused on
the drawing up of a national ODL policy and a framework for strategy development.
279
See for example Louise Moran and Greville Rumble (eds.) Vocational training through distance
education: A policy perspective, London, RoutledgeFalmer, 2004.
280
Cited in Ministry of Education, Expenditure Issues Paper, 2005 (first draft), Section 4.
281
On the issue of costs, see Greville Rumble, The costs and economics of open and distance education,
London. Kogan Page, 1997.
282
Republic of Namibia, Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme (ETSIP), Planning for a
Learning Nation: Programme Document Phase I (2006-2011), February 2007, p. 59. As part of the review
of lifelong learning and adult education, ETSIP makes clear that the legal framework and funding formula
for NAMCOL is to be reviewed and re-negotiated, and a review of adult education policy is to be led by the
Directorate of Adult Basic Education in conjunction, where appropriate, with the NAMCOL Board (ibid. p.
60)
283
Ibid. p. 61.
149

indicates that NAMCOL will diversify its programmes and make them more relevant to
the needs of the education system and the economy as it positions itself to cope with an
expected decline in the numbers of people seeking second chance secondary education 284 .

ETSIP acknowledges the role of the Namibian Open Learning Network Trust (NOLNet) in
serving over 40 open learning centres and supporting the distance learning activities of
NAMCOL, the National Institute for Educational Development, the Polytechnic of Namibia and
the University of Namibia 285 . In this connection, it is worth mentioning that Namibia has recently
published its third ICT Policy for Education, which identifies the implementation of ICTs in
schools with secondary grades as second among the priorities chosen for development 286 . The
policy sets development levels and schools with secondary level provision will be placed on at
least level 2 that is:

At least one room will be available with ICTs with Internet connectivity for use in
teaching basic ICT skills (word processing, Internet, e-mail).
There will be one computer for every 5 staff and one for every 10 learners.
Learning materials will be downloaded and occasionally created by teaching staff.
All teachers will have a Foundation Level ICT Literacy Certificate
At least two staff will have the Intermediate Level ICT Literacy Certificate or above.
Students will have one class per week access 287 .

Already in 2005, some 350 schools had some kind of ICTs. Selection of the first 40 secondary
schools for implementation began in June 2007 with a further 110 between September 2007 and
April 2008. Schools without space and electricity will be identified for infrastructure
development. NAMCOL has already developed a number of CD-ROM based lessons in physical
sciences and mathematics for use by its learners, as well as learners in the formal system, which it
is piloting in 2007. NAMCOL will clearly be able to build on the wider availability of ICTs in
schools since it uses many schools as tutorial centres.
5.3.4

School enrolments

Table 5.8 below gives the total number of enrolments in the Formal Education System between
1999 and 2006, by level, and the proportion of the total school population, by level that is female.
The other category embraces a range of special educational provision including classes offered
in regular schools for children with learning difficulties, and in one of the eight special schools in
the country. The 2006 enrolment figures are provided on a different base date (the returns made
on the fifteenth day of the new school year) to the figures for the other years, which are drawn
from the annual Education Statistics that are based on enrolments in August. The 2006 figures are
not therefore comparable with those for the other years, being on average about 2.5 per cent
higher than the August data.

284

Ibid. p. 61.
Ibid. p. 68.
286
Republic of Namibia, ICT Policy for Education, Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and
Culture/Ministry of Higher Education, Training and Employment Creation, Windhoek, n.d. (2005), p. 9.
287
Republic of Namibia, ICTs in Education Steering Committee, ICTs in Education Implementation Plan
Guide 2006, Windhoek, p. 13.
285

150

Table 5.8: Enrolments in the formal school system, 1999-2006

Year
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
*2006

Sub-total
Lower
Upper
Total Primary Primary Primary
500,071 382,291 230,579 151,712
514,196 388,497 232,386 156,111
528,958 396,252 237,274 158,978
544,550 404,780 243,755 161,025
553,197 408,597 245,776 162,930
550,545 403,412 239,407 164,005
555,096 404,198
239590 164,608
568,018 409,229 242,143 167,086

Sub-total
Secondary
115,771
123,797
130,577
137,099
141,752
144,289
148,104
156,261

Junior
Secondary
92,963
100,267
105,643
110,998
114,441
115,994
119,605
125,088

Senior
Secondary Other
22,808 2,009
23,530 1,902
24,934 2,129
26,101 2,671
27311 2,668
28,295 2,884
28,499 2,794
31,173 2,528

* 2006 data based on 15the Day Statistics and not therefore fully comparable with EMIS 288 data for 1999-2005.
Source:
MOE Educational Management Information System, Educational Statistics 2005, Table 19;
2006 data based on MOE 15th Day Statistics, 2006.

The proportion of female to male students (Table 5.9) indicates a good gender balance, with no
discrimination against girls. As will be noted, the pattern here is very different than at NAMCOL,
where two out of three of the students are women.
Table 5.9: Proportion of female enrolments, 1999- 2005

Sub-total
Lower
Upper
Sub-total
Year Total Primary Primary Primary Secondary
1999 0.51
0.50
0.49
0.51
0.53
2000 0.51
0.50
0.50
0.51
0.53
2001 0.51
0.50
0.50
0.51
0.53
2002 0.51
0.50
0.49
0.51
0.53
2003 0.51
0.50
0.49
0.51
0.53
2004 0.51
0.50
0.49
0.51
0.53
2005 0.51
0.50
0.49
0.51
0.53

Junior
Senior
Secondary Secondary Other
0.53
0.50
0.43
0.53
0.51
0.43
0.54
0.51
0.43
0.54
0.51
0.42
0.54
0.50
0.43
0.54
0.50
0.41
0.54
0.51
0.42

Source:
MOE Educational Management Information System, Educational Statistics 2005, Table 19.

Most of the population in Namibia lives in the north or the country. It is here that the vast number
of schools are located in the northern regions of Omusati, Oshana, Ohangwena, Oshikoto,
Kavango and Caprivi, and in the capital Windhoek in Khomas region. Table 5.10 below shows
the distribution of junior and senior secondary school learners in the formal system, by national
regions grouped to correspond with NAMCOLs four regions Central, North Eastern, Northern,
and Southern. The table shows that:

288

EMIS: Educational Management Information System

151

5.3.5

Roughly the same proportion of formal system students and NAMCOL subject
enrolments come from the national regions covered by NAMCOLs Central and North
Eastern Regions.
In comparison with the formal system, a higher proportion of NAMCOLs subject
enrolments come from those national regions covered by NAMCOLs Southern Region.
The proportion of NAMCOLs subject enrolments based in NAMCOLs Northern region
is lower than the proportion of the formal systems students coming from those regions.
However, in absolute terms, NAMCOLs Northern and Southern regions account for
three out of four of NAMCOLs subject enrolments and this is true of the formal
system's student numbers at secondary level.
Progression through the formal education system

Under ideal conditions a learner enters the system at Grade 1 at age 7 and progresses at the rate of
a grade a year until he or she leaves at the end of Grade 12 at age 17 or 18. Most learners do
indeed enter Grade 1 aged 6 or 7 though just over 14 per cent enter aged 8 or above 289 .
Repetition and early leaving may disrupt this progression (see Table 5.11). New entrants are
learners who are in their present grade for the first time. Promotion rates are calculated by
dividing the number of new entrants into a grade by the number of learners enrolled in the
previous year in the previous grade. The Repetition Rate is the number of students in a grade who
were enrolled in that grade in the previous year.
The rates given here, together with the school-leaving rate, are for the transition from the 2004 to
the 2005 school year. The figures show that notwithstanding the virtual automatic progression
from Grades 1 through 10, with students able to repeat just three years (one in lower primary, one
in upper primary, and either years 8 or 9 in junior secondary, between one in ten and two in ten
students repeat at each grade. Overall in 2005, over 100,000 of the total school population of
555,000 were too old for their grade that is, older than one year above the appropriate age at
Lower Primary, two years above that age in Upper Primary and three years above that age in
Junior Secondary. In 2005, there were just over 9,000 learners who were older than 16 still in
primary grades. In addition, in 2005 there were 15,438 learners aged 20 or over (2.8 per cent of
the total school population) still in school 290 .
Table 5.12 shows the percentage of the total number of learners of a particular age in school, by
grade. Thus 31.7 per cent of children aged six are in school the vast proportion of them in
Grade 1.
Table 5.11 shows that there is a steady leakage from the system as individuals leave school,
which increases at junior secondary level and is particularly high at the first real formal public
examination the Grade 10 JSCE. At that point, more than half of the school population (around
53 per cent) end their formal education in school 291 . In general the evidence suggests that very
few of those who leave school early return to the formal system. Rates vary over the year but the
significant rupture comes at Grade 10 when, following the gradual imposition of a policy that
only allows learners aged under 17 to repeat Grade 10, a large proportion of learners leave the
school system after they have written their Grade 10 examination.
289

Ministry of Education, Education Management Information System, Education Statistics 2005,

Windhoek, EMIS MOE, 2006, Table 22.
290
Ibid. p. 51.
291
Office of the President, National Planning Commission, Millenium Challenge Account: Namibia,
Windhoek, Office of the President, 2007, p. 71.
152

The Survival Rate shows the percentage of learners expected to stay in school until they reach at
least that particular grade assuming flow rates remain constant. One of the features of Namibias
Survival Rates is that they have been consistently higher for females than for males up to Grade
10 292 a factor that perhaps explains why more women enter NAMCOL than do men.

292

Ministry of Education, Education Management Information System, Education Statistics 2005,

Windhoek, EMIS MOE, 2006, p. 58.
153

Table 5.10: Formal system secondary school population and NAMCOL student-courses by level, by national regions grouped into
NAMCOL regions, 2003-2005; and NAMCOL student-courses by level and by NAMCOL regions, 2006
NAMCOL Central
NAMCOL North
Region
Eastern Region
2003 FORMAL
All JSC IGCSE
All JSC IGCSE
Erongo
7,100 5,440 1660 Caprivi
8,460 6,550 1910 Ohangwena
Kunene
3,242 2,632
610 Kavango 13,246 10,944 2302 Omusati
Otjozondjupa 6,941 5,822 1119
Oshana
Oshikoto
Total
17,283 13,894 3,389 Total
21,706 17,494 4,212 Total
%
0.12 0.12
0.12
0.15 0.15
0.15
NAMCOL
%
2004 FORMAL
Erongo
Kunene
Otjozondjupa
Total
%
NAMCOL
%

7,208 4,078
0.13 0.13

3,130
0.12

7,181 5,504
3,246 2,586
6,289 5,122

1677 Caprivi
8,156 6,157
660 Kavango 14,151 11,626
1167

16,716 13,212
0.12 0.11
6,729 3,724
0.12 0.13

3,504 Total
0.12
3,005
0.12

6,380 3,206
0.11 0.10

22,307 17,783
0.15 0.15
6,297 3,215
0.12 0.11

154

NAMCOL Northern
Region
All JSC IGCSE
18,281 16523 1,758 Hardap
23,889 19310 4,579 Karas
15,863 12557 3,306 Khomas
14,002 11956 2,046 Omaheke
7,2035 60,346 11,689 Total
0.51 0.53
0.43

NAMCOL Southern
Region
All JSC IGCSE
5,618 4,309 1,309
3,995 2,915 1,080
17,377 12,219 5,158
3,508 3,034
474
30,498 22,477 8,021
0.22 0.20
0.29

3,174
0.12

27,213 17,208 10,005

0.47 0.55
0.39

16,516 7,001
0.29 0.22

9,515
0.37

1999 Ohangwena
2525 Omusati
Oshana
Oshikoto
4,524 Total
0.16

19,252 17,304 1948 Hardap

24,286 19,608 4678 Karas
20,381 12,310 3393 Khomas
14,305 12,149 2156 Omaheke
78,224 61,371 12,175 Total
0.54 0.53
0.43

5,573 4,281
4,251 3,200
18,277 13,017
3,423 2,934
31,524 23,432
0.22 0.20

1,292
1,051
5,260
489
8,092
0.29

3,082
0.13

26,612 15,134 11,478

0.47 0.53
0.41

15,209 6,924
0.28 0.23

8,285
0.34

2005 FORMAL
Erongo
Kunene
Otjozondjupa
Total
%

7,327 5,624
3,462 2,792
7,200 5,976
17,989 14,392
0.12 0.12

1,703 Caprivi
8,047 6,074
670 Kavango 14,125 11,622
1,224
3,597 Total
0.13

22,172 17,696
0.15 0.15

1,973 Ohangwena
2,503 Omusati
Oshana
Oshikoto
4,476 Total
0.16

19,827 17,799 2,028 Hardap

24,747 20,030 4,717 Karas
16,116 12,747 3,369 Khomas
14,238 12,084 2,154 Omaheke
74,928 62,660 12,268 Total
0.51 0.52
0.43

5,676 4,443 1,233

4,622 3,555 1,067
19,174 13,828 5,346
6,254 3,462 2,792
35,726 25,288 10,438
0.24 0.21
0.37

NAMCOL
%

6,963 3,626
0.12 0.13

3,337
0.13

6,755 3,483
0.12 0.12

3,272
0.12

25,547 15,612
0.48 0.52

9,935
0.43

15,156 6,603
0.27 0.23

8,553
0.32

2006 NAMCOL
%

7,270 3,819
0.13 0.13

3,451
0.12

6,726 3,503
0.12 0.12

3,223
0.12

26,581 14,916 11,665

0.46 0.51
0.42

16,851 7,290
0.29 0.25

9,561
0.34

Sources: MOE Educational Management Information System, Educational Statistics, 2003, 2004, 2005, Table 13; NAMCOL
Statistical Digest, 2003 (Table 2.2), 2004, 2005 (Appendix, Table 1), 2006 (NAMCOL Enrolment Statistics 2006).

155

Table 5.11: Numbers of new entrants, repeaters and re-entrants, Grades 1-12 (2005); school
leavers 2004; Promotion, Repetition and School-leaving rates, Grades 1-11 (2004 to 2005
transition); and Survival Rates to Grades 2 to 12 (2004)
SchoolSurvival
2005: # of New Entrants, Repeaters, and Re- leavers
Promotion, Repetition and
Rate,
2004
entrants
School-leaving rates, 2004 to 2005 2004
Approx.
School- Survival
numbers
leaving to grades
rates
2 to 12
leaving Promotion Repetition
Total
New
ReGrade enrolment entrants Repeaters entrants
school Rates (%) Rates (%)
(%)
(%)
100% = 552,302
467,344
81,938
3,020
49,202
77.5
15.9
6.6
100
PRIMARY
1
66,210
53,803
11,959
448
2,110
77.1
19.6
3.3
n/a
2
57,253
48,748
8,176
329
947
84.4
14.1
1.6
96
3
58,217
50,954
6,930
303
1,186
85.4
12.6
2.0
94
4
57,910
49,418
8,172
320
1,415
82.9
14.7
2.4
92
5
61,589
47,962
13,308
319
2,992
73.0
22.1
4.9
89
6
51,972
44,938
6,828
206
2,361
82.2
13.3
4.5
84
7
51,047
43,299
7,551
197
3,618
77.2
15.6
7.3
79
SECONDARY
8
49,692
38,388
11,040
264
4,275
68.2
23.1
8.7
73
9
39,741
33,370
6,114
257
3,449
74.3
16.7
9.0
64
10
30,172
28,318
1,746
108
12,608
50.0
6.4
43.6
57
11
14,777
14,445
80
252
268
95.8
2.3
1.9
31
12
13,722
13,701
4
17
13,973
n/a
n/a
n/a
30

SOURCE: MOE Educational Management Information System, Educational Statistics 2005, Tables 29, 33, 30, and 31

156

Table 5.12: Rates of enrolment of 6 to 18 year olds, by grade, 2005

6
Total
31.7
Grade
Lower
1 30.7
Primary
2
0.3
3
0.0
4
Upper
5
Primary
6
7
Junior
8
Secondary 9
10
Senior
11
Secondary 12
Other
0.7
grades

Age
12
99.3

13
101.9

14
94.2

15
98.1

16
79.4

17 18
67.3 48

1.2
5.1
14.0
28.2
38.6
9.2
0.4
0.0
0.0

0.6
2.5
7.6
16.3
30.0
32.2
9.2
0.5
0.0
0.0

0.4
1.2
3.9
8.9
21.1
25.6
31.3
8.5
0.5
0.0

0.1
0.5
1.8
4.5
11.5
16.5
23.4
26.8
8.0
0.6
0.0
0.0

0.1
0.3
1.2
2.7
7.1
11.7
19.0
24.4
23.1
7.5
0.5
0.0

0.0
0.1
0.4
1.0
3.0
5.8
10.6
17.6
16.4
18.4
5.2
0.6

0.1 0.1
0.0 0
0.2 0
0.4 0.2
1.3 0.5
2.8 1.2
6.1 3.2
12.3 7.4
13.4 9.5
14.4 9.5
10.6 6.7
5.2 9.5

0.4

0.4

0.3

0.4

0.4

0.3

0.3 0.2

7
85.1

8
90.6

9
96.0

10
96.2

11
97.1

69.2
15.3
0.3
0.0

24.9
51.4
13.8
0.3
0.0

8.4
28.1
46.1
12.8
0.3
0.1
0.0

3.1
12.1
28.2
41.3
10.8
0.3
0.0
0.0

0.2

0.2

0.3

0.3

Source: MOE Educational Management Information System, Educational Statistics 2005, Table 27

Table 5.13 gives the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) and Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) for the
period 2000 to 2005. The GER measures the total enrolment in a range of grades divided by the
number of people in the population of an age that should be enrolled in those grades. GER values
over 100% indicate the presence of overage learners enrolled in a specific school phase. The NER
is the number of learners of an appropriate age enrolled in range of grades, divided by the number
of people in the population of the same age group. An NER at or near 100 per cent would indicate
that all or most children of the relevant age group are in school and are progressing at the ideal
rate (that is, being promoted each year). In Namibia, children normally start primary school at age
7. Data indicates reasonable performance to the end of primary education.
Table 5.13: Net Enrolment Ratios (NER) and Gross Enrolment Ratios (GER), 2000-2005

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005

NER
Grades Grades 81-7
12
91.3
45.4
89.1
48.3
93.7
48.2
95.7
52.0
94.0
51.8
93.6
49.5

GER
Grades Grades
1-7
8-12
119.4
64.1
114.9
67.3
117.8
51.1
120.5
70.3
118.8
61.8
117.3
63.0

157

Table 5.13 (Continued)

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005

NER MALES
NER FEMALES GER MALES GER FEMALES
Grades Grades 8- Grades Grades Grades Grades Grades Grades
1-7
12
1-7
8-12
1-7
8-12
1-7
8-12
89.0
40.1
87.0
42.7
119.5
60.8
119.2
67.4
87.0
42.7
93.5
50.6
114.9
63.4
114.9
71.1
92.7
43.9
94.4
52.4
119.5
45.9
116.2
56.0
95.0
27.2
96.3
56.6
122.6
67.2
118.5
73.2
92.7
46.9
95.2
96.4
120.4
65.0
117.2
71.1
91.7
44.8
95.4
54.1
118.3
59.8
116.3
66.0

Source:
MOE Educational Management Information System, Educational Statistics 2000,
2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, Table 28

In the period covered by Table 5.13, the Primary Level GER has been reasonably stable (in the
range of roughly 115 to 120). In 1994, it was 138 per cent, and in 1999, 123 per cent. A
decreasing GER indicates that over-aged learners are moving out of the system, to be replaced by
learners of the appropriate school attendance age. This trend would also be helped by Namibias
current rules on promotion, which encourage virtual automatic promotion through the primary
grades into junior secondary level.
5.3.6

Funding of schools

Although there is a private sector, in general terms it is the government that carries most of the
burden of providing general education. Of the 555,096 learners in school in 2005, 528,735
attended State schools, and 26,361 (4.7 per cent) private schools 293 . Table 5.14 below provides
information on the number of public and private schools in Namibia in 2005:
Table 5.14: Number of public and private schools in Namibia, 2005
Type of school
Primary
Combined*
Secondary
Other
Total

All
1,045
406
164
11
1,626

# Public
986
383
149
11
1529

# Private
59
23
15
0
97

% private
5.6
5.7
9.1
0.0
6.0

* A combined school covers elements of both the primary and secondary curriculum.
Source: Ministry of Education, Education Management Information System, Education
Statistics 2005, Windhoek, EMIS MOE, 2006, front piece.
The higher proportion of private schools at the secondary level may reflect either the shortage of
provision at this level or acceptance by more wealthy parents of standards in State primary
schools, coupled with a desire to improve their childrens chances of success at the secondary
level. This does not mean that there are not excellent State secondary schools there clearly are
293

Ministry of Education, Education Management Information System, Education Statistics 2005,

Windhoek, EMIS MOE, 2006, frontispiece
158

some: there are just not enough to meet demand, which is why there is a school building
programme underway.
In the meantime, the government subsidises private (fee-charging) schools throughout the
country. The Education Training Sector Improvement Plan includes an objective to remove the
subsidy to profit-making private schools, the level of reduction being tied through a formula to
the level of fees charged by the school. In some cases, the subsidy would be wholly removed.
Meanwhile, the public subsidy ranges from a minimum of the public salary equivalent of the
teachers to a maximum that includes a square meter tariff for the areas that the school uses for
education facilities and a subsidy for materials and supplies.
The justification of subsidy provision is that these private schools are engaged in the provision of
education. In their absence, the government would have to provide these services. The
government subsidy provided to learners in these schools ranged from NA $3,003 to NA
$2,604 294 .
5.3.7

Primary and secondary education provision

Although there is a clear distinction between primary and secondary education, within schools
this division is not clear-cut. While many schools do teach only at the primary level and some
also teach only at the secondary level, there are a number of combined schools that cross the
division between primary and secondary schooling. In 2005, for example there were 1,626
schools, both public and private. Of these 295 :

At Primary Level, there were 357 schools offering either the full Lower Primary curriculum
or in the case of new schools some of the lower primary grades; and 681 schools offered
the Lower and Upper Primary curriculum or a combination of lower and some of the upper
primary grades. There were also nine Upper Primary schools offering just Grades 5 to 7.
Of those combined schools that teach at both Primary and Secondary levels, 366 schools
offered the full or most of the Lower Primary to Junior Secondary grades (Grades 1 to 10); 21
schools offered some or all of the Upper Primary and Secondary grades (Grades 5 to 10); and
118 schools offered the full or most of Grades 1 to 12. In addition, three private schools in
Windhoek offered Grades 1 to 13 Grade 13 being equivalent either to the Advanced level or
the Hochsculreifeprfung (Abitur).
At Secondary Level, 68 schools offered Grades 8 to 10 (junior secondary level only), and 99
offered all or most of the secondary school Grades 8 to 12. In addition, one school offered
Grades 11 and 12 only.
There were three Other Schools.

5.3.8

Implications of automatic promotions

Free education is provided to all in Namibia under Article 20 of the Constitution up to the end of
primary education or to the age of 16, whichever comes first. Primary education is compulsory.
Children enter Grade 1 at the age of seven and follow the lower and upper cycles (Grades 1 4
and 5 7 respectively). For efficiency reasons, a semi-automatic promotions policy was adopted
294

Ministry of Education, Expenditure Issues Paper, 2005 (first draft). Electronic copy obtained from Mr T
Kakonda, Planning Division, MOE, Windhoek, Section 4.
295
Ministry of Education, Education Management Information System, Education Statistics 2005,
Windhoek, EMIS MOE, 2006, Table 3.
159

in 1996, under which learners are allowed to repeat just one grade in each primary school cycle
(Grades 1 to 4, 5 to 7). At the end of their primary education (nominally at age 13), students
proceed to Junior Secondary Education (Grades 8-10). Here too learners are permitted to repeat
just one of Grades 8 and 9, but not Grade 10.
One of the results of this virtually automatic promotions policy is that the Net Enrolment Ratio
for Grades 1-9 is 96.4 per cent 296 . Although there is a continuous assessment policy that in theory
monitors learners achievements, Marope et al reported a lack of correspondence in a large
number of schools between continuous assessment scores given by teachers and scores obtained
in examinations. This suggests that teachers over-mark and that as a result, learners are being
promoted without having mastered key competencies.
Performance in the Grade 10 Junior Secondary Certificate Examination (JSCE) is
correspondingly disappointing 297 . A further result of the policy of not letting learners repeat
Grade 10 (with the exception of those under 17) is that, at this stage, there is virtually no where
else for them to go except NAMCOL.
5.3.9

NAMCOLs approach

NAMCOLs system takes account of the subject passes that students already have, thus giving
these students the option to take just those subjects that they have failed outright or only gained a
grade D, E, F or G grade. NAMCOL also lets its students take only six JSC subjects since passes
in six subjects is all that is required to move on to senior secondary level.
Although NAMCOL does not have complete or wholly accurate data on the proportion of its JSC
students who are taking their JSC for the first time (i.e. those who never studied JSC subjects at a
traditional school), all the indications are that the vast majority of its JSC students are repeaters
trying to improve their grades and thus avoid reaching the end of their formal educational
ladder (see Table 5.15). NAMCOL's data suggests that the proportion of those taking JSC
through NAMCOL for the first time is insignificant. Indeed, most of NAMCOLs students at both
the JSC and International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) level have
enrolled to improve their grades.
The Tracer Study of NAMCOL students undertaken in late 2006 by Dr. Alicia Fentiman supports
this conclusion. Dr. Fentimans research focused on former IGCSE students who were enrolled in
NAMCOL between 1999-2001 when an average of just over 4,000 IGCSE learners were
registered in each of these years. As Fentiman acknowledges, she had some difficulty in tracing
NAMCOL students from this period. She also faced some scepticism on the part of students about
the use to which the research was going to be put. As a result, she was only able to obtain 478
completed questionnaires and conduct 75 in-depth interviews with ex-NAMCOL IGCSE

296

Republic of Namibia, Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme (ETSIP): Planning for a
Learning Nation. Programme Document Phase I (2006-2011), February 2007, p. 18.
297
Mmantsetsa Marope, Keiichi Ogawa, Albert Tuijnman, and Charmaine Villet, Adapting the General
Education System to Better Support Namibias Transition to a Knowledge-based Economy, Report No.
05/05/03 of the Human Capital and Knowledge Development for Economic Growth with Equity, EWP078682-ESW, Paragraph 3.3.10.
160

students. However, 95 per cent of the students who completed the questionnaire indicated that
they had enrolled in NAMCOL to improve their grades or points in the IGCSE examinations 298 .
Table 5.15: Proportion of NAMCOL students taking the JSC and IGCSE for the first time,
or for re-sit purposes, 1999, 2003, 2007

1999
2003
2007

IGCSE first IGCSE retime (NSSC sit (NSSCO

JSC first
time JSC re-sit
in 2007)
in 2007)
0.18
0.82
0.44
0.56
0.08
0.92
0.38
0.62
0.07
0.93
0.18
0.82

Notes:
"Resit" includes those who failed in the formal system
and those who passed but are trying to improve their
grades.
n/a: new software introduced at the start of 2000
meant that this data became unavailable.
The figures should be treated with care.
Source:
NAMCOL, Statistical Digest 1999, Figure 1.5; 2003
(p. 11); 2007 data supplied by NAMCOL 15/5/07

The Junior Secondary Certificate Examination (JSCE) acts as a gateway for entry to Senior
Secondary education (Grades 11 and 12). To progress beyond junior secondary school, students
are required to reach a certain standard in the examination in their best six subjects, as well as
passing English. The government has raised the level of performance (points score) at which it
will allow those who pass the JSCE to progress to senior secondary school in order both to raise
standards and contain senior secondary numbers within existing capacity, financial as well as
physical. The number of points needed at Grade 10 to progress to Grade 11 within the State
system has gone up from 22 points in 2000 to 23 points (2001 on) and now to 24 points 299 .
5.3.10 Senior secondary routes
At the Senior Secondary school level there are, in theory, two routes open to candidates the
ordinary and the higher route. The International General Certificate of Secondary Education
(IGCSE) and its replacement, the Namibia Senior Secondary Curriculum Ordinary Level
(NSSCO), differ from the Higher International General Certificate of Secondary Education
(HIGCSE) and Namibia Senior Secondary Curriculum Higher Level (NSSCH) in three respects:
content, pace and prospective outcome.
Promotion from Grade 11 to grade 12 is virtually automatic. All students entering Grade 11 in
January of their Year 11 start with the IGCSE curriculum. Whereas the vast majority of students
298

Alicia Fentiman, Tracer Study of former NAMCOL learners: Research Report, Cambridge, IRFOL,
Centre for Educational Research and Development, Von Hgel Institute, St Edmunds College, February
2007, Section 3.10.
299
Ministry of Education, Educational Programmes Implementation, Internal memorandum, A J to EMT
(dated 31 March 2005) Re Feedback on a Review of the 2004 Examination Results: An Updated Version of
the Tracer Study (2003), a Comparative Summary of the 2004 (H)IGCSE and JSC Results).
161

progressed through the IGCSE curriculum over two school years, high fliers who are at one of
the 48 schools that offered the HIGCSE were able to take the IGCSE curriculum at speed
(completing this within about eight to nine months) before moving on to the more advanced
HIGCSE curriculum. Prior to their examinations in their second year they could, with advice
from their school, decide whether they would enter for the HIGCSE examination in their subject,
or sit the easier IGCSE examination.
Similar arrangements are now in place for the NSSCO and NSSCH. The implications of a
students choice are far-reaching; only students who have obtained four passes in HIGCSE
subjects are eligible to attend a South African university and it is higher education there that
will provide Namibia with the advanced knowledge workers that it needs if it is to enter the ranks
of those countries with a Knowledge Economy. In 2004, only 32 of the 48 schools offering the
HIGCSE produced candidates qualified for entry to the South African university system. Just 465
individuals (15 per cent of all candidates) qualified to study in South Africa 300 . Due to the
requirements of the programme, NAMCOL is not able to offer NSSCH courses.
The points achieved in the Grade 12 examinations also govern entry to post-senior secondary
school destinations within Namibia. For example, under IGCSE the ultimate aim was to gain
passes in IGCSE at grades A (7 points), B (6 points) and C (5 points), together with a minimum
grade in English. The minimum requirements in 2004 were:

For a government job, minimum 20 points from any selection of five subjects, together
with an E+ in English.
For entry to a College, minimum 25 points in six subjects all passed at grades A, B or C,
together with an E+ in English.
For entry to the Polytechnic of Namibia, minimum 25 points in six subjects all passed at
grades A, B or C, plus an E+ in English.
For entry to the University of Namibia, minimum 25 points in five subjects all passed at
grades A, B or C, together with a D+ in English.

The Education Statistics produced by the Education Management Information System do not
show destination statistics for those leaving school at the end of either Grade 10 or Grade 12.
They do, of course, provide information on the internal promotion rate from Grade 10 to 11
(junior to senior secondary school). This has fluctuated between 48 per cent and 58 per cent in the
period 1998 to 2004. In 2000 and 2001, just 19 per cent of IGCSE candidates passed with A, B
and C grades, and in 2002, 2003 and 2004, just 20 per cent did. In other words, as A J Gous
comments in his Tracer Study on the 2004 results, only 20 per cent of the students who finish
Grade 12 students have an academic future 301 .
Performance in the JSCE examinations influences students' chances of success at
IGCSE/HIGCSE level 302 . The data shows that of those entering Grade 11 with the minimum
300

Ministry of Education, Educational Programmes Implementation, Internal memorandum, A J Gous to

EMT (dated 31 March 2005) Re Feedback on a Review of the 1004 Examination Results: An Updated
Version of the Tracer Study (2003), a Comparative Summary of the 2004 (H)IGCSE and JSC Results).
301
Ministry of Education, Educational Programmes Implementation, Internal memorandum, A J Gous to
EMT (dated 31 March 2005) Re Feedback on a Review of the 2004 Examination Results: An Updated
Version of the Tracer Study (2003), a Comparative Summary of the 2004 (H)IGCSE and JSC Results).
302
Ministry of Education, Educational Programmes Implementation, Internal memorandum, A J Gous to
EMT (dated 31 March 2005) Re Feedback on a Review of the 2004 Examination Results: An Updated
Version of the Tracer Study (2003), a Comparative Summary of the 2004 (H)IGCSE and JSC Results).
162

points necessary to enter senior secondary school, around 9 out of every 10 students will not gain
sufficiently good grades in their senior secondary examination to be eligible for a government
job, and none will get into higher education (Table 5.16). Those with 27 points in the JSCE
examinations will have some chance (around 1in 2) of being eligible for a government job, while
1.5 to 2 in 10 will be eligible to enter some form of tertiary education in Namibia (Table 5.17).
Table 5.16: Potential eligibility of Grade 12 graduates who entered Grade 11 with the
minimum qualifications

Senior Secondary
School Cohort
2000-2002
2001-2003
2002-2004

2004 cohort: % eligible to enter govt job or HE in Namibia

Entering
on leaving Grade 12
Grade 11 with
Ineligible for Eligible for
the minimum govt job (under govt job (20
pts needed
20 pts at 24 points at Eligible for HE in Namibia
that year
(25 points + at IGCSE)
IGCSE)
IGCSE)
22
0.92
0.08
0
23
0.88
0.11
0
23
0.92
0.08
0

Table 5.17: Potential eligibility of Grade 12 graduates who entered Grade 11 with 27 points

Senior Secondary
School Cohort
2000-2002
2001-2003
2003-2004

Entering
Grade 11 with
27 points
27
27
27

2004 cohort: % eligible to enter govt job or HE in Namibia

on leaving grade 12
Ineligible for Eligible for
govt job (under govt job (20
20 pts at 24 points at Eligible for HE in Namibia
(25 points + at IGCSE)
IGCSE)
IGCSE)
0.4
0.6
0.16
0.52
0.48
0.14
0.44
0.56
0.2

Gous's study also indicated that success in English was crucial to overall success. Students who
obtain an F in English at Grade 10 have only a 10 per cent chance of passing Grade 12 and being
eligible for a government job, whereas those with a D in English at Grade 10 have a 91 per cent
chance of passing Grade 12. Similarly, students who obtain a Grade F in English at Grade 10
have no chance of entering higher education in Namibia, whereas a Grade C pass gives them a
two-thirds (67 per cent) chance of doing so (Table 5.18).
Table 5.18: Potential eligibility of Grade 12 graduates who entered Grade 11 with Grades
C, D, E, and F in the JSCE
Grade 10 results
in English

Grade F
Grade E
Grade D
Grade C

2004 cohort: Eligibility on the basis of their

IGCSE results
Ineligible
Eligible for
Eligible for
for govt job
govt job
HE
90%
10%
0%
34%
66%
16%
9%
91%
44%
0%
100%
67%

163

One other significant fact to come out of Gouss Tracer Study was that the points scored by
students in the JSCE act as a powerful predictor to success in the HIGCSE and (by extension)
the new NSSCH 303 : In 2004:

5.4

Students with 34 to 36 points at Grade 10 have a 4 per cent chance of success in

HIGCSE.
Students with 37 to 39 points at Grade 10 had a 15 per cent chance of success in
HIGCSE.
Students with 40 to 42 points at Grade 10 had an 81 per cent chance of success in
HIGCSE.
Secondary schooling within the context of labour market

It is against this background that it is worth exploring the relationship between schooling and the
labour market.
Education per se is widely seen as a necessary precondition for economic growth within the
knowledge-driven economies of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Although
Professor Alison Wolf has recently questioned the link between it and economic growth 304 , there
is a clear connection between education and private benefit as measured by the rate of return. As
she concludes, for individuals Get educated, get richer seems like sound advice 305 .
Moreover, in countries where wage differentials between the educated and the under-educated are
significant and even widening (as in the USA and the UK), teenagers and their parents know that
without a qualification, an individual is increasingly unlikely to be considered for a job, whatever
the qualifications actually (as opposed to formally) required to do it 306 . Not surprisingly,
ambitious young adults who have the potential to improve their educational standard will wish to
do so, in an attempt to gain some status on the qualifications ladder, and hence in the job market.
Education therefore matters to individuals, and this is as true in Namibia as elsewhere. As long as
individuals (and their parents) understand that educational qualifications matter when it comes to
securing any, let alone well-paid, employment, there will be a continuing demand for education.
It is not, therefore, surprising that public rhetoric also stresses the value of education to
individuals and society.
But if education matters, the next question must be: what kind of education is most important?
The first pre-requisite is the possession of basic academic skills. As Wolf comments, Poor
literacy and numeracy especially the latter have a devastating effect on peoples chances of
well-paid and stable employment 307 . At the other end of the spectrum, there is a clear payback
from the possession of higher-level qualifications, although at the top end of the qualifications
scale, the wage premium enjoyed by graduates varies depending upon the subject studied. In
between is a vast array of qualifications more or less directly tied to vocational outcomes.
303

Ministry of Education, Educational Programmes Implementation, Internal memorandum, A J Gous to

EMT (dated 31 March 2005) Re Feedback on a Review of the 2004 Examination Results: An Updated
Version of the Tracer Study (2003), a Comparative Summary of the 2004 (H)IGCSE and JSC Results.
304
Alison Wolf, Does education matter? Myths about education and economic growth, London: Penguin
Books, 2002, p. 24.
305
Ibid. p. 21.
306
Ibid. p. 177.
307
Ibid. p. 34.
164

At the public policy level, there has been a significant shift in thinking over the last 30 years as
policymakers and politicians have come to argue that the real purpose of education is to prepare
people for the world of work and to promote economic growth. In this context, it is increasingly
argued that spending on education needs to be properly targeted to develop the skills and
knowledge that modern economies require.
5.4.1

Weaknesses in the education system

These commonly held views inform a great deal of what has been written about the relationship
between education and the economy in Namibia. Against an existing acute shortage of skilled
labour across all sectors of the economy, and predictions that the demand for skilled labour will
only grow 308 , Dr Maropes recent study on Namibia Human Capital and Knowledge Development
for Economic Growth with Equity (2005) argued that in its current state the education and
training system [in Namibia] cannot effectively support either the attainment of national
development goals or the aspired for transition to a [Knowledge Economy] 309 . Among the key
weaknesses that she identified in the education system 310 are:

poor learning outcomes,

the inefficiency of the system (e.g. repetition and drop-out rates),
persisting inequalities including pockets of inequality of access that in particular affect
rural areas and some language groups, as well as lack of access to secondary
education 311 , and
poor relevance to the economy (the education and training system fails to meet labour
market skills requirements 312 ).

Similar sentiments underpin government policy. Following a fundamental review of the

performance of its economy, the Government of Namibia articulated a broad development
framework with the aim of achieving a level of development and a quality of life comparable to
the developed world 313 . This Vision specifically recognises the key role of education and training
in driving development and achieving the goal of transforming Namibia into a Knowledge
Economy.
Such an economy, it is argued, would have an improved capacity to apply knowledge and
technology in ways that will improve productivity and in turn, lead to a virtuous circle in which
high productivity leads to better profitability, improved investment returns, and reduced

308

Mmantsetsa Toka Marope, Namibia Human Capital and Knowledge Development for Economic Growth
with Equity, Africa Region Human Development Working paper Series No. 84, Human Development
Sector, Africa Region, The World Bank, 2005, 2.22, p. 13.
309
Ibid. 8.1, p. 95.
310
Ibid. pp. 95-97.
311
Ibid. 8.9, p. 96.
312
Ibid. 8.10, p. 96.
313
Office of the President, Approach to Namibia: Vision 2030, Windhoek, National Planning Commission,
2001.

165

domestic capital flight 314 . A prior condition of achieving a Knowledge Economy is the
development of a knowledge society (educated, skilled, ICTs-savvy) 315 .
The development of such a society is a challenge, given that from about 1993 on, a decline in
productivity was attributed among other factors to inadequate skill levels in the labour force. As
Marope commented: productivity is correlated to high human skills. For instance, Namibias
firms record high units of outputs if they have a critical mass of employees with tertiary education
and training. The same relationship could not be found with respect to employees with primary
education 316 .
Low levels of education are not only associated with poor productivity. There is also a close
correlation between lack of skills/education and unemployment 317 . Indeed, Namibias current
education and training system is not delivering sufficiently high levels of highly educated and
trained labour to meet demand. There is a shortage of employment-based training and skills
development opportunities 318 . Industry offers task-specific training that fails to provide
transferable skills and hence fails to support labour mobility. The low skills base then runs the
danger of locking Namibia into a vicious cycle where skills shortages attract Foreign Direct
Investments that require low skilled labour and hence have little interest in breaking the cycle by
investing in skills development.
5.5

Cost-benefits of education

Cost-benefit seeks to measure in economic terms the benefit of education to the individual, the
employer and society. In all three cases, education is treated as an investment decision in which
the cost of education (to the individual, the employer, and the state) is measured against the
economic benefits that flow from that investment, as measured through increased lifetime
earnings, increased productivity and profit, and increased revenues from taxation on higher
earnings.
In general, because the cost of education is heavily subsidised by the state, private rates of return
are usually higher than social rates of return. Lack of access to education in developing countries
tends to push up the rates of return on education in those countries, when compared with
developed countries. The private and social rate of return on primary education rise to infinity in
those societies where basic skills are a prerequisite for productive employment, while the rate of
return on basic education (as measured through increased earnings) tends to diminish to the extent
that a particular level of education has become a more or less universal norm. Better rates of
return are gained from those levels where universal access has yet to be achieved. The private rate
of return on higher education tends to exceed that of secondary education, in part because of the
heavy subsidies given to those entering higher education, and in part because access to higher
education is often rationed.

314

Mmantsetsa Toka Marope, Namibia Human Capital and Knowledge Development for Economic Growth
with Equity, Africa Region Human Development Working paper Series No. 84, Human Development
Sector, Africa Region, The World Bank, 2005, 1.4, p. 2.
315
Ibid. 1.4, p. 2.
316
Ibid. 1.11, p. 4, drawing on N. Westergaard-Nielsen, D. Hanshom, D. Motinga, Analysis of Namibias
Labour Market: The Demand Side. Background Report 02/05/03 of the ESW-P078682, Namibia Human
Capital and Knowledge Development for Economic Growth with Equity. Windhoek, 2003.
317
Ibid. 1.18, p. 6.
318
Ibid. 2.17, p. 12.
166

Education has a positive effect on earnings, according to a report by Tekaligne Godana and
Keichi Ogawa 319 , based on a nationally representative sample survey of 2500 individuals aged
over 15 and not attending school. Of the sample, 33 per cent were in full-time employment, 7.6
per cent were in part-time employment, and 44.4 per cent were unemployed; 11 per cent were old
or disabled, 2.3 per cent were unpaid family workers, and 1.6 per cent students. Of those in
employment (882 individuals), 35.3 per cent were in the public sector and 64.7 per cent in the
private sector 320 .
The report analysed hourly wage rates. It found that:
urban wage levels were significantly higher than rural wages (median NAD 12.50 against
6.58),
males earned more than females (median NAD 10.00 against 7.50),
public sector wages were significantly higher than private sector rates (median NAD
15.10 against 6.79), and
education had a significant bearing on earnings (see Table 5.19).
As the report says:
People with primary education and junior secondary education have very similar wages
while wages are much higher for those with senior secondary, college and university
education. Especially, it is noteworthy that the median wage for people with senior
secondary education is more than double those of with only junior secondary education.
[There is] A real jump in wages between those two levels. The wage jump is also high
between senior secondary education and college education. 321
Table 5.19: Hourly wages (in NAD) by Educational Level, 2003
No schooling
Primary education
Junior secondary
Senior secondary
College
University/Polytechnic

Mean
6.26
13.72
12.70
22.13
26.52
42.98

Median
2.50
5.26
6.14
13.42
24.31
27.78

Std. Dev.
9.57
24.61
22.03
32.28
19.55
54.63

Cases
49
199
335
274
99
51

Source: Household Survey (2003), cited in Tekaligne Godana and Keichi Ogawa, The cost and
financing of education and training, Report 07/05/03 of the Human Capital and Knowledge
Development for Economic Growth with Equity study, EW-PO78682-ESW, Table 7.2.
Westergaard-Nielsen, Hansohm and Motinga drew on this data to show how completion of each
educational level impacted wages. In essence, wage levels double when somebody completes
senior secondary school, and the same happens when college is completed 322 .
319

Tekaligne Godana and Keichi Ogawa, The cost and financing of education and training, Report 07/05/03
of the Human Capital and Knowledge Development for Economic Growth with Equity study, EWPO78682-ESW, Section 7.
320
Ibid. 7.1.1 and 7.1.2
321
Ibid. 7.1.4.
322

Niels Westergaard-Nielsen, Dirk Hansohm and Daniel Motinga, Analysis of the Namibian labor market: The
demand side, Report No. 02/05/03 of the Human Capital and Knowledge Development for Economic Growth with
Equity study, EW-P078682-ESW.

167

Table 5. 20: Returns to education expressed as an index with no school equal 1

Level of education completed
No schooling
Primary education
Junior Secondary
Senior Secondary
College
University/Polytechnic

Wage factor
1
2.104
2.456
5.368
9.724
11.112

Median
2.5
5.26
6.14
13.42
24.31
27.78

Source: Niels Westergaard-Nielsen, Dirk Hansohm and Daniel Motinga, Analysis of the
Namibian labor market: The demand side, Report No. 02/05/03 of the Human Capital and
Knowledge Development for Economic Growth with Equity study, EW-P078682-ESW.
Godana and Ogawa's study of rates of return to education was the first of its kind for Namibia.
They found that while the overall private rate of return per additional year of schooling was
around 11 per cent, this actually masked huge differences arising from the level at which that
education occurred.
The returns to primary education and junior secondary education are extremely low (in
fact negative for primary education) and statistically highly insignificant. This is
indicative of the low quality of education received by those in the labor force today....
The returns to senior secondary education and post-secondary education are extremely
high, 28 per cent and 34 per cent respectively. ... Such a dramatic jump in returns to
education from junior secondary to senior secondary can hardly be explained by a
dramatic difference in productivity between those with junior secondary education and
senior secondary education. Perhaps it has to do more with the scarcity premium people
with post junior secondary education receive due to the limited access to education
beyond grade 10. If that is so it raises an important equity issue where the bulk of
education expenditure actually benefits a few select lucky to proceed beyond junior
secondary education. If people do not receive any economic benefit from the education
they received it can hardly be said that they have benefited from government expenditure
on education. 323
One of the reasons put forward for the poor rate of return on primary education is its poor quality:
As Godana and Ogawa conclude, "The [private] returns to education are highly skewed to those
with education beyond junior secondary level". 324
As far as the private rates of return are concerned, the same study indicates that although primary
and secondary education in Namibia is in principle free, all schools have voluntary development
funds to which parents are asked to contribute, the cost of these contributions varying
significantly from school to school. In addition, parents meet other costs (e.g. uniforms, books),
while attendance at school may well involve a loss in potential earnings.

323

Tekaligne Godana and Keichi Ogawa, The cost and financing of education and training, Report 07/05/03
of the Human Capital and Knowledge Development for Economic Growth with Equity study, EWPO78682-ESW, 7.2.9 to 7.2.10
324
Ibid. 7.1.16
168

The main social cost of education is the significant government subsidy to education. Godana and
Ogawa's calculations and assumptions led them to the following Private Internal Rate of Return
(PIRR) and Social Internal Rate of Return (SIRR) on education, by level (Table 5.21) 325 . Note
that in this table, the Private Rates of Return cited in this table are based on completing a certain
level of education, and are not directly comparable with the rates of return mentioned above,
which are returns to additional years of education 326 .
Table 5.21: Private and Social IRR for different levels of education
Average
annual
earnings
No formal
education
Completed
primary
education
Completed
junior
Secondary
education
Completed
senior
Secondary
education
Post
secondary

Total
private
costs of
education

22867

Annual
private costs
of education
(NAD)
-

Annual
government
subsidy per
student (NAD)
-

PIRR
%

SIRR
%

29054

280

11714

2307*

46837

421

29475

2880*

17

16

59772

526

47363

2880*

13

12

102900

4500***

64272

23417**

14

10

* Based on operational costs for 2001.

** Average subsidy for UNAM and the Polytechnic.
*** Private costs for post secondary education are estimates based on tuition fees and required
expenses for books.
As children not attending primary school help at home in various ways we have assumed that the
opportunity cost of attending primary school to be 50 per cent of the earnings of an adult with no
education.
Source: Tekaligne Godana and Keichi Ogawa, The cost and financing of education and
training, Report 07/05/03 of the Human Capital and Knowledge Development for
Economic Growth with Equity study, EW-PO78682-ESW.
Godana and Ogawa conclude that "Both the private and social IRR are quite high for all levels of
education except for completing primary education". Completing primary education has "a
positive impact on wages" with a 6 per cent PIRR. Completing junior secondary level education
has a high private and social return. The private rate of return for post-secondary education is low
because of the high private cost of attending that level of education 327 .

325

Ibid. 7.3.7
Ibid. 7.3.8
327
Ibid. 7.3.8
326

169

Reviewing the evidence, Marope, Ogawa, Tuijinman and Villet argued that:
The analysis of rates of returns to schooling sheds additional light on the inadequacy of
skill supply. The findings show that the private return to primary education is close to
zero. The return to junior secondary education is only a few percentage points. The return
to senior secondary education is substantial (28 percent) and the return to tertiary
education is gigantic (34 percent). These findings are interpreted as follows.
Because the primary system fails to build foundation skills such as functional literacy and
numeracy and employability skills to a sufficient degree, the formal labour market does
not absorb persons with only primary schooling. Hence there is no private return to
primary schooling in the wage economy. The population with primary school as highest
level of educational attainment is therefore largely dependent on work in agriculture or
the shadow economy. The small positive rate of return to completed junior secondary
education is an indication that those with this level of schooling are employable but will
have low wages on the labour market. In trying to actually realize economic benefits from
its investment in human capital, Namibia should focus on the difference between a zero
return for completed primary education and a positive rate of return to junior and senior
secondary education. The inevitable conclusion is that Namibia needs to expand access to
secondary education as rapidly as possible so that all young Namibians are educated at
least to this level 328 .

328

Mmantsetsa Marope, Keiichi Ogawa, Albert Tuijnman, and Charmaine Villet, Adapting the General
Education System to Better Support Namibias Transition to a Knowledge-based Economy, Report No.
05/05/03 of the Human Capital and Knowledge Development for Economic Growth with Equity, EWP078682-ESW, 5.2.9 and 5.2.10
170

OPEN SCHOOLING IN NAMIBIA: THE NAMIBIAN COLLEGE OF OPEN

LEARNING

6.1.1

Structure of NAMCOL

The Namibian College of Open Learning (NAMCOL) has its headquarters in Katutura, a
dormitory suburb a few kilometres north of central Windhoek. The College, whose supreme
authority is its Board of Governors, has its main administrative functions located here. These
include:
the Office of the Director (to whom the Research and Evaluation manager currently
reports),
the Programmes and Materials Development Division,
the Management and Support Services Division,
and the Finance and Administration Division (see Chart 6.1).
The Programme Materials and Development Division is responsible for the development and
revision of subjects offered in the secondary school and professional programmes, desktop
publishing, the print shop, audio and radio production, and the despatch of materials to the
regions. The Computer Based Learning Centre (CBLC) facilitator reports in here as well. The
Management and Support Services Division is responsible for learner support, marketing, the data
unit, human resources, and research and evaluation. The Finance and Administration Division
covers accounts, IT, logistics and administration. It also manages the bookshop, which sells both
NAMCOL and University of Cambridge Press NSSCO materials.
The Board has approved a reorganisation and strengthening of the structure that will create a
separate Marketing and Sales Unit within Management and Support Services that will be
responsible for marketing and the bookshop.
NAMCOL has four regional offices (Northern, North-Eastern, Central, and Southern). Each of
the NAMCOL regions covers a number of political regions:

Central: Erongo, Kunene and Otjozondjupa

Northern: Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto
North Eastern: Caprivi and Kavango
Southern: Hardap, Karas, Khomas and Omaheke

The Northern Region regional office and resource centre at Ongwediva is owned by the College,
and one of NAMCOLs two Computer-Based Learning Centres is located there. The Southern
Regional Office is located at NAMCOL's head office, the Central Region is located in rented
premises and the North Eastern office is located in government buildings, free of rental charge.
The College makes use of facilities in schools to deliver many of its services to students. The
actual accommodation is free of charge, but the College does pay each school an agreed sum for
its use of electricity, telephones and toilets. Heads of Centre are employed on a casual basis and
are paid NA $111.96 an hour. Each Region is divided into a number of Areas, under the
management of an Area Co-ordinator. The Co-ordinators are responsible for the enrolment points
where students are admitted and the tutorial centres that are in their area. This job is a pivotal one
in the success of NAMCOL at the local level. In 2006, the regions collectively established 118
enrolment points and 99 tutorial centres nation-wide.

171

BOARD of
GOVERNORS

Office of the Director

Management and Support

Services

Finance, Administration
and IT

Programme and Materials

Development

Research and Evaluation

Humanities, Languages
and Social Sciences

Marketing and Sales

Commercial, Vocational
and Professional

Learner Support

Materials Production and

Despatch

Regional Offices (4)

Human Resources

Chart 6.1: NAMCOLs emergent organisational structure

The recent reorganisation and strengthening of NAMCOL will involve the creation of five new
full-time positions including a manager for the new Marketing and Sales Unit in Management and
Support Services, a Programme Developer for ICT and eLearning, and some additional support
posts. Table 6.1 shows the staffing levels in 2005. Table 6.2 shows the number of students per
full-time staff excluding the new positions.
What really distinguishes the College is the relatively small number of full-time core staffing
positions relative to the number of students it has and the heavy use of peripheral staff (staff on
flexible contracts under which they are paid hourly or for the accomplishment of specific tasks).

172

Table 6.1: NAMCOL staffing

FULL-TIME STAFF
Regional
Head Office
Centres

----------------- PART-TIME STAFF ---------------Course Content

Centre
Casual
Tutors Contract
writers Editors
Heads
19
10
92
890
7
12
93
931
7
17
89
912
8
10
104
922
40
12
7
110
799
46
3
8
110
892
49
10
16
105
1,026
71

2000
2001
2002
43
22
2003
41
20
2004
45
20
2005
48
20
2006
48
21
Source:
NAMCOL Statistical Digest 2000, 2001 (all Fig 4.2), 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 (Figs.
4.1 and 4.2).

Table 6.2: Number of full-time staff per learner

2002
2003
2004
2005
2006

6.2

# part-time
secondary
school # full-time
learners
staff
2,5982
65
26,483
61
24,835
65
26,482
68
28,090
69

# part-time
secondary school
learners per FT
staff member
400
434
382
389
407

The origins and purpose of NAMCOL

Prior to Namibian Independence (31 March 1990) there were a number of continuing and
distance education programmes available to Namibians leading to the Grade 10 Namibia School
Certificate (NSC) examination, and these were continued. Among these was the establishment by
SWAPO 329 with the help of the Commonwealth Secretariat 330 and the (now defunct) International
Extension College (a distance education consultancy and development agency based in the
UK) 331 of a Namibian Extension Unit 332 operating out of Zambia. Within Namibia, the
329

SWAPO: The South West Africa People's Organisation. Now a political party, SWAPO, which was
formed in 1960, emerged as the dominant liberation movement in the struggle for Namibian independence
from South African rule. The movement launched its armed struggle in 1966.
330
The Commonwealth Secretariat is the administrative arm of the Commonwealth of Nations (established
in 1931), a voluntary association of independent states all of which, with the exception of the United
Kingdom and Mozambique, were former British colonies.
331
The International Extension Unit was set up in 1971 to provide and advice and support in distance
education and open and flexible learning in developing countries. It ceased to be active from 31 March
2006.
173

Department of National Education provided distance education courses for teacher. 333 . In late
1994, these two initiatives were brought together as the Department of Adult and Non-Formal
Education within the then Ministry of Basic Education and Culture 334 . At the same time,
coincidentally, the national curriculum was reorganised into a two-tier secondary system leading
to the Grade 10 Junior Secondary Certificate and the Grade 12 International General Certificate
of Secondary Education. These examinations were introduced in 1993/94, and the preindependence NSC was phased out at the end of 1996. Table 6.3 shows the number of learners
taking these non-formal, out-of-school programmes by mode of study during this formative
period.

332

"The Namibian Extension Unit (NEU), a distance education program for Namibian refugees in Zambia
and Angola, was established in 1981 and began teaching courses in mid-1982. Its purpose [was] to provide
basic education to adult Namibian refugees using the distance education format. The NEU provide[d]
courses in study skills, introductory English and basic mathematics; courses in agriculture, child care and
nutrition, personal hygiene and community health, and secondary school English are being prepared. NEU
distance learning activities [were] carried out in study centres throughout Angola and Zambia, under field
supervisors for each country. Part-time tutors [were] employed to help the students in their studies; they
[were] assisted by study group leaders--students a few courses ahead who [were] responsible for classroom
procedures and helping students with lessons. NEU course materials [were] produced in writers' workshops
organized by the Unit. NEU staff and teachers from Namibian Health and Education Centres help[ed] in the
writing, and international experts and consultants also participate[d]. The NEU [was] autonomous within
the United Nations Institute for Namibia, and [was] overseen by a Board of Project Management. Financial
assistance [was] provided by a variety of international sources. [In 1985] Approximately 165 employees
work[ed] in the study centres to serve about 2,000 students; both figures [were] expected to rise as more of
the target population of 40,000 Namibian refugees with at least four years of primary schooling [were]
reached." Source: ERIC:
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERIC
ExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED266290&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno&accno=ED266290
accessed 2 October 2007. "After 1990, when refugees began returning home, the Namibia Extension Unit
was reorganized to provide traditional formal education by means of distance education. Sponsored by the
United Nations Fund for Namibia, the Ford Foundation, OXFAM (UK), and the Swedish International
Development Agency, the unit now provides practical skills in literacy and basic education, as well as
professional education and training for adults who have at least four years of primary education. Instruction
is via printed correspondence texts and audiocassettes." Source: Namibia Non-Formal Education,
http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1049/Namibia-NONFORMAL-EDUCATION.html, accessed 7
October 2007.
333
This led to the award of the National Education Certificate. The programme was phased out around
1994 see Erica Shilongo, "Historical Overview of Educational Assessment in Namibia", Reform Forum
18 (September 2004), p. 4: Available at http://
www.nied.edu.na/publications/journals/journal18/Article4.doc, accessed 7 October 2007.
334
NAMCOL, http://www.namcol.com.na/History.htm - accessed 2 October 2007.
174

Table 6.3: Continuing and distance education provision in Namibia, 1991-1998

Exam
Distance
Education
Mode
Grade 10 JSC
Standard
NSC
10
Grade 12 IGCSE
Sub-total
Face-toFace
Mode
Grade 10 JSC
Standard
NSC
10
Grade 12 IGCSE
Sub-total
TOTAL

1991 1992

1993 1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

164

393

1021

2002

3020

6,612
9,632

66,484

~600

260 1,112

832

563

~600

260 1,112

996

956

3,334
d/c
1,197 6,401
5,552 8,403

1,357 4,406

4,055 4,701

5,500
+ 5,300 8,390 2,427 1,183

1,226

d/c
3,496

5,500
+ 5,300 8,390 3,784 5,589 5,281 8,197
~6,10
0 5,560 9,502 4,780 6,545 10,833 16,600

3,287
10,311
19,943

Note:
d/c = discontinued
Source: NAMCOL, Statistical Digest 1999, Figure 2.2

Meanwhile, the new government began to reform the educational system. In February 1991, a
Core Planning Group, representative of both the public and private sectors, the unions and nongovernmental organizations, was set up to examine the potential for distance education in
Namibia. The findings of this group were reflected in the Report of the Commission on Higher
Education, which also endorsed the establishment of a distance education college. In October
1991, the then Ministry of Education (MEC) invited Florida State University to coordinate a
consultancy review and to make proposals for distance education in Namibia. The report of this
review group, entitled Taking Education to the People, also recommended the creation of a semiautonomous, distance education college, and it provided a plan of action for its establishment.
6.2.1

NAMCOL is established

In 1993, the MEC gained Cabinet approval to establish such an institution. An Interim
Development Board was appointed by the Minister in July 1994 to assist in planning the
establishment of the College, drafting the necessary legislation and drawing up frameworks for
the College's management. The Board and the Minister decided that the new structure would be
called the Namibian College of Open Learning (NAMCOL) 335 . It was also decided that the new
335

NAMCOL, http://www.namcol.com.na/History.htm - accessed 2 October 2007.

175

institution would have responsibility not only for distance education programmes, but also for
face-to-face components of the Ministrys continuing education programme.
Initially a separate unit was set up within the Ministry with sole responsibility for the functions
that were to be outsourced. Thus, in November 1994, the Public Service Commission sanctioned
the break-up of the Directorate of Continuing Education into two directorates. The Directorate of
Adult Basic Education was tasked with the administration of adult literacy and basic skills
development, while face-to-face and distance education programmes were allocated to a new
directorate, NAMCOL. Finally, by proclamation of His Excellency, the President, the NAMCOL
Act (Act No. 1 of 1997) came into effect on 25 September 1997 336 . Under the Act, NAMCOL
was established as an autonomous, state-supported institution with responsibility for the
programmes previously administered through the Continuing Education Programme of the
Ministry of Basic Education and Culture. The Act specified NAMCOLs purpose as being:
to contribute towards the social and economic development of Namibia by upgrading
the educational level of adults and out-of-school youths through programmes of open
learning; by devising, developing and offering programmes to address the diverse needs
of such adults and out-of-schools youths; and by providing opportunities for adults and
out-of-school youths to upgrade their professional and vocational skills, as well as their
level of general education 337
It would do this by using technologies that would take education to the people, and by
broadening:
access to education by establishing and maintaining tutorial centres in the various
regions of Namibia for those Namibians who have been deprived of formal education or
vocational training or who are too old or for other reasons are unable to engage in
conventional school-based education 338 .
NAMCOL began teaching Junior Secondary Certificate (JSC) and International General
Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) courses in 1994. NAMCOLs Alternative Secondary
Education Programme (ASEP) has always been the mainstay of its activity, although it has over
the years introduced a number of professional vocational programmes:

The two-year distance-taught Certificate in Educational Development (CED) was

introduced in 1997.
The two-year Commonwealth Diploma in Youth in Development CYP) was offered by
NAMCOL in partnership with the Zimbabwean Open University between 2002 and 2004,
and then offered on its own from 2005.
The National Higher Diploma in Adult Basic Education for Training (HDABET) was
offered in collaboration with the distance teaching University of South Africa, from 2004.
The one-year Certificate in Local Government Studies (CLGS) was offered for the first
time in 2006.

The number of enrolments on these programmes is relatively small in comparison with the
Alternative Secondary Education Programme (Table 6.4).
336

Frances Ferreira (n.d.) The Namibian College of Open Learning: A Case Study. Mimeo.
Ibid. Section 4 (a).
338
Ibid. Section 4 (b).
337

176

Table 6.4: Number of students enrolled in NAMCOL

professional programmes, 2003-2006
CED students
CYP students
HDABET students
CLGS students
Total

2002
83
28

2003
104
28

2004
86
28
61

2005
106
25
15

111

132

175

146

2006
127
40
19
93
279

Further professional programmes are planned for launch in 2008 (a Certificate in Business
Management) and 2009 (a professional qualification in Early Childhood Development).
In addition to its professional programmes, NAMCOL undertakes a number of other quasicommercial activities that lie outside the scope of this review. It has set up two Computer-Based
Learning Centres (CBLCs), one at its headquarters in Windhoek and the other in the north at
Ongwediva. The latter was opened in July 2006. Recent developments indicate that the initial
pump-priming phase when CBLC was being set up has now ended and that the CBLC has
become an autonomous, self-sustaining profit centre in its own right.
A proportion of each print run of NAMCOLs JSC Study Guides are produced for commercial
sale through NAMCOLs bookshops at Windhoek and Ongwediva, through the three other
regional offices and through commercial bookshops. In addition, Examination Booklets with past
question papers are produced and sold on a purely commercial basis (that is, NAMCOL students
have to buy them at cover price along with anyone else). NAMCOL is also the countrys sole
distributor of the new Namibia Secondary School Curriculum (NSSCO) Study Guides, which are
published by Cambridge University Press. NAMCOL staff undertook some of the adaptation of
these guides and sales to individual students in the formal system and to schools have been brisk.
The aim is to ensure that the bookshop is a fully self-funding, autonomous profit centre within
NAMCOL.
NAMCOL is also currently involved in a significant research programme the Orphans and
Vulnerable Children Project.
6.3

The development of NAMCOLs pedagogic system

The origins of NAMCOL within the dual mode operations of the Ministerial Directorate meant
that in its early years, the College offered its alternative secondary programme through two
routes. Those students who opted to take the programme through the distance learning route were
provided with printed study materials, undertook a number of assignments that were marked by
correspondence tutors and were given an opportunity to attend vacation workshops twice a year
where they could have access to more concentrated face-to-face teaching in support of their
distance learning. Other students opted to take the alternative secondary programme through
afternoon or evening face-to-face classes at one of the tutorial centres NAMCOL ran around the
country (of which there were over 80 in 1999). These students were not given the study guides: if
they wanted them, they had to purchase them separately. At this stage in the Colleges
development, not all the subjects available through the face-to-face mode were also available to
the distance learners.

177

In 1999, the College decided to blend these approaches for learners in the Caprivi, Hardap and
Karas regions as a pilot project. The learners in these regions (who were classified by the College
as distance learners) were given the printed course texts and submitted their assignments for
correction by a correspondence tutor. They also had the opportunity to attend the vacation
workshops, but in addition they were given on average four hours tuition per week.
In January 2003, the College changed its system again and adopted what it calls the Open Mode
of study. However, once again two options were offered to students. In the first, the Contact Open
Mode, the students continued to get the course materials and to have their assignments marked by
a tutor, and they were also offered face-to-face support. The approach adopted differed from the
blended approach tried out in the Caprivi, Hardap and Karas regions in that the amount of face-toface tuition offered was reduced from four to two hours per week, and the twice-yearly vacation
workshops were withdrawn for these students. A second group, the Non-contact Open Mode
students, received the course materials, had their assignments marked by a tutor and were offered
attendance at the twice-yearly vacation workshops. This accommodates learners who dont have
easy access to a study centre for face-to-face tuition.
The overall package now offered to Contact learners in the secondary education programme is:

A one-day orientation workshop (five hours),

A full set of the NAMCOL Study Guides and/or textbooks needed to study each subject,
A copy of NAMCOLs Good Study Guide,
Two hours of face-to-face tuition per week in each subject taken over the 26-week
teaching year,
For learners who cannot attend the weekly tutorials, two vacation workshops per year,
Three assignments per subject, set nationally but marked by local tutors, and
Access to self-supervised study halls 339 .

Students must make their own arrangements through the Directorate of National Examinations
and Assessment to register and pay the fee for examinations.
6.4

NAMCOLs learners 340

Table 6.5 provides information on the number of registered learners taking NAMCOLs
Alternative Secondary School Programme by level (Grade 10 or JSC, and Grades 11 and 12 or
IGCSE) between 1999 and 2006. The table also shows the mode of learning followed by the
students and indicates the size of the NAMCOL contribution, relative to the number of students in
the formal system. In recent years, NAMCOLs contribution at the junior secondary level has
been equivalent to adding some 11 per cent to the formal student numbers at this level, while its
contribution at the senior secondary level has been very significant with nearly one in every two
places at this level being offered through NAMCOL. It should be noted that most of NAMCOLs
students register in order to resit examinations that they cannot resit through the formal system
339

NAMCOL, Handbook for Learners 2007.

Information on NAMCOLs learners is based on the information provided in NAMCOLs annual
statistical digests, viz. NAMCOL, Statistical Digest 1999, Windhoek, NAMCOL, 2000; NAMCOL,
Statistical Digest 2000, Windhoek, NAMCOL, 2001; NAMCOL, Statistical Digest 2001, Windhoek,
NAMCOL, 2002; NAMCOL, Statistical Digest 2002, Windhoek, NAMCOL, 2003; NAMCOL, Statistical
Digest 2003, Windhoek, NAMCOL, 2004; NAMCOL, Statistical Digest 2004, Windhoek, NAMCOL,
2005; NAMCOL, Statistical Digest 2005, Windhoek, NAMCOL, 2006; and the draft Statistical Digest
2006, which was due to be published in July 2006.
340

178

(see Table 5.15), so most of NAMCOLs places are occupied by ex-formal secondary students
who would otherwise be written off as failures.
Table 6.5: Number of NAMCOL learners by level and by mode of study, 1999-2006

Year
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006

NAMCOL DISTANCE MODE

JSC as IGCSE
%
as %
Junior
Senior
Secondary Secondary Formal Formal
Total
(JSC)
(IGCSE) System System
10,191
3,509
6,682
0.02
0.02
10,850
3,863
6,987
0.02
0.06
12,277
3,903
8,374
0.04
0.34
15,401
5,488
9,913
0.05
0.38
NAMCOL OPEN LEARNING MODE
26,460
14,012
12,448
0.12
0.46
25,115
13,308
11,807
0.11
0.42
26,701
13,317
13,384
0.11
0.47
28,990
13,577
15,413
0.11
0.49

NAMCOL FACE-TO-FACE MODE

JSC as IGCSE
% as %
Junior
Senior
Secondary Secondary Formal Formal
Total
(JSC) (IGCSE) System System
11,040
7,155
3,885
0.08
0.17
12,352
8,373
3,979
0.08
0.17
12,765
8,506
4,259
0.08
0.17
16,905
11,898
5,007
0.11
0.19

Sources:
NAMCOL Statistical Digest, 1999, 2000, 2001 (frontispiece and Fig. 1.2), 2002, 2003 (Table 1.1),
2004, 2005 (Fig 1.1), 2006, NAMCOL Enrolment Statistics 2006.

Unfortunately we do not know how many subject passes individuals have when they enter
NAMCOL. There is a difference in course-load: students who are resitting their JSC exams can
take up to six subjects, while first-time students are limited to three subjects. The majority of
NAMCOLs students register for a couple of subjects (see Table 6.6). This may indicate that
many of them are seeking to improve their scores in just one or two subjects, or it could reflect
careful management of their progress by limiting the number of subjects they commit to take. It
could also reflect the fact that, given the high level of unemployment among NAMCOL students,
they cannot afford to take more than a couple of courses a year. Table 6.7 shows the distribution
of students taking from one to seven subjects at JSC and IGCSE levels.

179

Table 6.6: NAMCOL students: Average number of subject registrations by level, 1999-2006

Year
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006

# subjects taken
# learners
# subjects/learner
JSC
IGCSE JSC IGCSE JSE
IGCSE
6,904
12,723 3,905 6,682 1.77
1.90
7,124
13,329 3,863 6,987 1.84
1.91
7,285
16,574 3,903 8,374 1.87
1.98
9,505
19,563 5,488 9,913 1.73
1.97
31,493
25,824 14,012 12,448 2.25
2.07
29,475
24,307 13,308 11,807 2.21
2.06
28,846
26,641 13,317 13,384 2.17
1.99
29,528
27,900 13,577 15,413 2.17
1.81

Sources:
NAMCOL, Statistical Digest 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
(all Fig. 2.5) 2003 and 2004 (Statistical Digest 2004 Figs
3.3 and 3.4), 2005 (Tables 3.3 and 3.4), 2006, NAMCOL
Enrolment Statistics, 2006.

Table 6.7: Number of students by subject load, 2004 and 2005

NAMCOL: Number of subjects taken by students

1
2
3
4
5
6
2,125
6,781
3,215
287
41
27
3,356
4,894
3,215
287
41
27

2004

JSC
IGCSE

All
12,476
11,821

2005

JSC
IGCSE

13,325
13,479

2,315
4,166

7,027
5,603

3,555
3,396

350
247

54
40

24
27

0
0

2006

JSC
IGCSE

29,528
27,900

2,423
5,088

6,893
5,922

3,854
3,130

322
302

59
48

33
24

0
0

0
1

Source: NAMCOL Statistical Digest, 2004, 2005, 2006 (Figure 2.5).

Table 6.8 shows the number of open learning mode subject registrations at NAMCOL from 2003
to 2006, by Contact and Non-contact modes. Contact students receive access to the weekly
tutorials; Non-contact students do not have access to this service but may instead attend a
vacation workshop twice a year. As the table shows, a very high proportion of the JSC students
(nine out of ten) choose the open learning route that allows them to attend the weekly tutorial
sessions. However, at the senior secondary level, a higher proportion of students choose to study
without contact sessions (between three and four out of ten).

180

Table 6.8: NAMCOLs subject enrolments, by open learning mode

JSC (Grade 10)

Year
2003
2004
2005
2006

Total
57,317
54,721
55,965
58,891

IGCSE (Grade 12)

%
JSC
% Non- %Non- IGCSE
% Non- NonTotal Contact Contact contact contact Total Contact Contact contact contact
31,493 28,315
0.90 3,178
0.10 25,824 14,423
0.56 11,401 0.44
29,475 26,319
0.89 3,156
0.11 24,307 14,534
0.60 9,773 0.40
28,848 25,716
0.89 3,132
0.11 26,640 17,229
0.65 9,411 0.35
29,528 26,498
0.90 3,030
0.10 27,900 18,971
0.68 8,929 0.32

Sources: NAMCOL Statistical Digest, 2003 (Table 2.3), 2004, 2005, 2006 (Appendix, Table 1).

Table 6.9 shows the proportion of NAMCOL students who are female. Comparison of this table
with Table 5.9, which shows the position in the formal system, makes it clear that NAMCOL has
proportionately more female students studying with it than does the formal system. Between six
and seven out of every 10 students are female compared to the roughly equal division between
male and female students in the formal system.
Table 6.9: Proportion of NAMCOL students who are female

Year Total
1999 0.69
2000 0.71
2001 0.68
2002 0.68
2003 0.67
2004 0.66
2005 0.65
2006 0.65

Junior
Secondary
(JSC)

0.66
0.66
0.65
0.64
0.63

Senior
Secondary
(IGCSE)
0.69
0.71
0.68
0.69
0.68
0.68
0.67
0.66

NAMCOL Statistical Digest, 1999, 2000,

2001 (all frontispiece and Fig. 1.2),
2002, 2003 (Table 1.1), 2004, 2005
Sources: 2006 (Fig 1.1).

Although there are older students in the formal system, relative to the age at which one normally
expect them to be for their grade (see Table 5.12), NAMCOLs students are generally much older
than the students in the formal system (Table 6.10). In 2005, roughly one in two of NAMCOLs
students was aged between 20 and 24, and roughly one in three was between 16 and 19 years old.
There were also a significant number between the ages of 25 and 34.

181

Table 6.10: Age of NAMCOL students

Age
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006

n=
19082
20466
22419
27863
26512
25269
26815
28317

<16
0.00*
0.00*
0.00*
0.00*
0.00*
0.00*
0.00*
0.00*

16-17
0.02
0.03
0.03
0.04
0.01
0.01
0.05
0.05

18-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60+
0.15 0.53 0.17 0.06 0.03 0.01 0.01 0.00* 0.00*
0.0
0.18 0.52 0.16 0.07 0.03 0.01 0.01 0.00* 0.00*
0.0
0.19 0.51 0.16 0.05 0.03 0.01 0.00* 0.00* 0.00* 0.00*
0.21 0.51 0.15 0.05 0.02 0.01 0.00* 0.00* 0.00* 0.00*
0.14 0.57 0.18 0.06 0.02 0.01 0.00* 0.00* 0.00* 0.00*
0.16 0.58 0.16 0.05 0.02 0.01 0.00* 0.00* 0.00* 0.00*
0.26 0.50 0.12 0.04 0.02 0.01 0.00* 0.00* 0.00* 0.00*
0.25 0.49 0.13 0.05 0.02 0.01 0.00* 0.00* 0.00* 0.00*

* some learners in this age category, but statistically insignificant

Source:
NAMCOL, Statistical Digest 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 (Fig 1.4), 2003 (Table 1.2), 2004, 2005 (Table 1.1).

Labour market data shows the key importance of education with regards to employment. Table
6.11 shows the percentage of all NAMCOLs students (including professional programme
students) not doing paid work. What is significant here is that very few of NAMCOLs students
are in paid work.

Table 6.11: Percentage of NAMCOL students not doing any paid work

Year
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006

Number not As per cent of all

doing paid
NAMCOL
learners
work
18,062
94.6
18,410
90.0
29,665
92.0
25,982
93.2
26,483
99.7
24,835
98.2
26,482
98.6
28,119
99.0

JSC not
working

IGCSE not
working

99.0

99.0

Note: Some learners may report unemployment in order to obtain

financial help.
Source: NAMCOL Statistical Digest 1999 (p. 8), 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
(p. 7); 2004 (p. 5), 2005 (p. 6), 2007 (NAMCOL, Enrolment Statistics 2006).

182

6.5

NAMCOLs curriculum

The curriculum of the Alternative 341 Secondary Education Programme (ASEP) offered through
NAMCOL conforms to the requirements of the Ministry of Education and prepares NAMCOLs
learners in most cases for the same public examinations as those taken by secondary students in
the formal educational system. The exceptions to this are the language courses at the JSC level
where, instead of the focus on language and language skills, and hence on the testing of oral
skills, the focus is on literature and hence on reading and writing skills. As a result, NAMCOLs
students do not sit an oral examination at the JSC level. At the NSSCO level, the language
examinations of full- and part-time students are the same. There are also some differences in the
JSC Accounting examination.
At the Junior Secondary Certificate (JSC) level, NAMCOL offers only the final year curriculum
(year 10) of the JSC three-year curriculum (Grades 8 10). Students entering NAMCOL are
required to have successfully completed the JSC at year 9. In the formal system, students take the
JSC in a number of subjects generally nine but their overall JSC points grade will be judged
on their performance in their best six subjects. NAMCOL students who have failed to obtain a
sufficiently high grade in the formal system or within NAMCOL and who are seeking to resit the
examinations are allowed to resit up to six subjects. Students who are taking the JSC for the first
time through NAMCOL are allowed to study just three subjects each year. As Table 6.6 shows,
NAMCOL's JSC students are enrolled in an average of 2.17 subjects each in 2005 and 2006,
while IGCSE students took fewer than two subjects a year. Table 6.7 above shows the distribution
of subject loads taken by NAMCOL students in 2004 and 2005.
In 2006, the curriculum reformed at the senior secondary level: the International General
Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and Higher International General Certificate of
Secondary Education (HIGCSE) were replaced by the Namibia Senior Secondary Curriculum
(NSSC) which covers the final two years of schooling (years 11 and 12), and is offered at two
levels ordinary (NSSCO) and higher (NSSCH).
In the regular full-time schooling system, year 11 of the new NSSC curriculum was introduced in
2006, and year 12 in 2007. NAMCOL introduced the new NSSC curriculum only in 2007. This is
because, whereas in the full-time school system, the curriculum of each subject is taught over two
years, at NAMCOL the full two-year curriculum is taught in a single calendar year. Misleadingly
(and the comment applies as much to the IGCSE as the NSSCO curriculum), NAMCOL indicates
in its prospectus that it offers year 12, on the grounds that at the end of the year its students will
have completed the courses to this level. In fact, the students will have completed years 11 and 12
in the subjects they take. It would therefore be more accurate to describe NAMCOLs one-year
courses as covering the combined years 11 and 12 curriculum (two academic years in one
calendar year system). However, whereas in the full-time formal system students study six
subjects at the same time, in NAMCOL they are allowed to take only three subjects a year unless
they are resitting the examination, in which case they can take up to six subjects. Thus the time

341

Alternative in the sense that it is offered in an alternative (distance education) mode to the classroombased face-to-face regular school system, rather than in the more usual sense of alternative as an
alternative adult-focused school curriculum. As a term "alternative" is a slippery concept because what is
alternative in one jurisdiction is not so in another.
183

taken to complete the NSSCO curriculum in six subjects is the same in both NAMCOL and the
regular schools 342 .
In 2007, NAMCOL offered the following subjects at the JSC level:

Accounting,
Afrikaans as a first language,
Afrikaans as a second language,
Agriculture,
Business Management,
English as a second language,
Geography,
History,
Life Science,
Mathematics,
Oshikwanyama as a first language,
Oshindonga as a first language,
Otijherero as a first language,
Physical Science,
Rukwangali as a first language,
Rumanyo as a first language,
Silozi as a first language, and
Thimbukushu as a first language 343 .

The new Accounting and Mathematics syllabuses will be phased in over the next three years.
NAMCOL will therefore only introduce its new materials in 2009.
At the NSSCO level, NAMCOL offered the following subjects in 2007:

Accounting,
Afrikaans as a first language,
Afrikaans as a second language,
Agriculture,
Biology,
Business Studies,
Development Studies,
Economics,
English as a second language,
Geography,
History,
Oshikwanyama as a first language,
Oshindonga as a first language,
Otijherero as a first language,
Mathematics,

342

Resit NSSCO students will be allowed to resit six subjects at a time but this regulation will not
become operative until 2008.
343
NAMCOL, Handbook for Learners 2007, Windhoek, NAMCOL.
184

6.6

Physical Science,
Rukwangali as a first language,
Rumanyo as a first language,
Silozi as a first language, and
Thimbukushu as a first language 344 .
Course materials development, production and distribution

Whenever a subject is to be introduced, a course specification is drawn up by the Programme

Developers in NAMCOLs Programmes and Materials Development (PMD) Division. The
specification indicates among other things the structure of the course, its assessment strategy, its
tutorial strategy, the likely contributors to the course (developer, writer(s), instructional designer,
content editor, language editor, secretary, Desk Top Publishing [DTP] Technician), any special
printing needs and any sources of external funding. The course is then costed and the course
proposal forwarded for approval by NAMCOL's Board.
Once a course specification has been approved by the Board, the PMD Division proceeds to
formally recruit (through the Human Resources Unit) course writers, arrange for contracts to be
issued, and where necessary, train any of the writers who have not worked in distance education
before. Writers may work alone or in a team. Writers are paid a fee of NA $1,518 for a selfcontained study guide of 23-30 pages, and NA $759.50 for a wrap-around guide to a textbook
these latter being 5 to 10 pages in length.
The development and production team include:

the Programme Developers within PMD (who act as instructional designers),

the contracted course writers and content and language editors,
contracted illustrators,
typists,
DTP Technicians,
the Materials Production Manager, and
the Programme Manager.

Materials are produced to a production schedule and writers are penalised if they hand material in
late (5 per cent of the fee for being 1 to 10 days late, 15 per cent for being 11 to 30 days late, and
30 per cent if they are over 31 days late). Writers who revise a self-contained study guide are paid
NA $1,012 for work involving a revision of 60 per cent or more of the material, and lesser
amounts for lesser revisions (NA $759 for revisions of from 20 to 59 per cent; NA $352 for
revisions of under 20 per cent). A similar sliding scale at 50 per cent of these rates applies to
those revising wrap-around textbook guides.
Writers also produce the initial (first year of presentation) set of Tutor-Marked Assignments at
this stage, together with marking keys, and also the Self-Marked Assignments together with
model answers that students can use to check on their understanding. (Assignments are revised
each year, and subject moderators prepare the assignments used in the second and subsequent
years of the course annually). In conjunction with the Course Developer, writers also prepare the
first Tutorial Letter which is designed to give learners information about a course. Assignment
writers are paid NA $468 for a set of three JSC course assignments, and NA $806 for a set of
344

NAMCOL, Handbook for Learners 2007, Windhoek, NAMCOL

185

three NSSCO assignments. The Course Developer, assisted by writers, also prepares the Tutor
Notes for the course.
The various steps in the production process are defined in the House Style Manual 2006. Content
and language editors are brought in and paid at a rate of NA $22 per A4 page edited; proofreaders
get NA $5.50 per page. Assignments are also edited (NA $15 per set) and proofread (NA $5 per
set). Typing support is also brought in at NA $165 per set of assignments and tutorial letters.
Much of the development and production work is thus outsourced to peripheral staff, thus
avoiding the cost associated with hiring core members of academic and production staff.
The physical separation of teachers from students means that NAMCOL's courses are delivered
through a range of media coupled with some face-to-face teaching. The prime teaching medium is
print. All the Junior Secondary School Certificate (JSC) subjects, with the exception of the
languages and Accountancy, are based on self-contained study guides. With the exception of
Namibian language subjects, the NSSCO subjects are based around study guides that have been
developed by NAMCOL in conjunction with Cambridge University Press. NAMCOL buys these
study guides at a discount. Because it would not have been economically viable to develop study
guides in Namibian languages, for these subjects NAMCOL uses textbooks developed by local
Namibian publishers.
In addition to print, NAMCOL uses audio, delivered through radio and or via audio-cassettes.
Audio materials are recorded in NAMCOLs audio studio. Audiocassettes are used in the Grade
10 and Grade 12 English courses (there are two tapes per course), in the Grade 12 Maths course
(1 tape) and the Grade 10 Maths course (1 tape).
Radio programmes are used to supplement the course materials in a number of courses. These are
transmitted by the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC). Programmes are 10 minutes long
and are broadcast on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays free of charge. Individual Course
Developers choose the five or six programmes that they will make each year across the two or
three subjects for which they are responsible. The radio programmes thus focus on different
topics within subjects each year. Since NBC makes just three 10-minute slots available each week
for educational use, and since NAMCOL has to share the available slots with other educational
providers, the level of radio use is actually very modest.
Digital materials have been developed as a pilot programme to supplement the JSC and NSSCO
Physical Sciences and Mathematics courses, in collaboration and funded by UNESCO. In
addition, materials for the English Grade 10 and Grade 12 are being developed by NAMCOL.
These materials are perceived to be an additional support for students in remote areas.
Once developed, the course materials go into production passing through typists (few authors
submit electronic copy or even typed manuscripts), desktop publishing (DTP) (cover design, page
layout), and then proofreading, before being peer reviewed. Following any further changes the
materials are signed off and go for printing. Printing is contracted out either under tender
arrangements or following a quotation. Although most printing is done externally, there is a small
internal printing unit that does some of the smaller jobs in-house. NAMCOL has already
supported some hearing impaired learners (where the cost of sign language interpreters was paid
by another agency), and it is currently discussing the production of Braille versions of its
materials.

186

Material coming back from the printers is checked for quality on receipt in the warehouse. In the
warehouse, materials are pre-packaged as packs for each course. Each student pack contains study
guides, tutorial letter, assignments and blank paper for use by learners. The assignments are
revised each year. Where textbooks are used, these are also included in the packs.
These packs are sent to the regions. The number sent correspond to the regional estimates of the
number of students they will enrol on each course, as agreed by the Colleges authorities. Tight
control is maintained on stock levels through a Materials Reconciliation system that reconciles
packs despatched to regions, enrolments and unused packs returned. Regions have to account for
discrepancies. The materials are sent out to the regions prior to the opening of admissions, and
regions hand out the appropriate packs of course materials to the students at the Enrolment point
following completion of the enrolment formalities. Students will also receive generic materials
such as the Good Study Guide at this point.
Students can also purchase NAMCOLs Examination Booklets. For each subject examination
covered, these booklets provide them with past questions and advice on how to tackle the
different kinds of questions asked. These booklets are priced of NA $40. Nine guides have been
prepared at the JSC level and eleven guides based on the IGCSE curriculum, while guides to the
new NSSCO examinations will be prepared from 2008 on, by which time the first cohort of
students will have sat the new examinations.
6.7

Learner admission, teaching, assessment and support

The National Examinations, Assessment and Certification Board of Namibia lays down
requirements for registration to sit the Grade 10 (JSC) and Grade 12 (NSSCO) examinations.
Students have to satisfy these requirements not least because both NAMCOLs courses and the
examinations are heavily subsidised by the Government and NAMCOL will not therefore admit
students who will not be eligible to sit the examinations.
In 2006, NAMCOL enrolled students at 118 enrolment points. The number of these points
fluctuates each year. Enrolment takes place from January to March. At these enrolment centres,
the Enrolment Officer, assisted by one or even two Assistant Enrolment Officers, completes an
enrolment form and, if students change their minds at a later date, a Change of Details Form.
These are optically readable forms. Forms are only completed if the student has paid the
registration fee and appropriate course fees (either in cash or by a postal or money order). All
payments are receipted. It is at this stage too that the course packs of materials are given to the
student. Cash is banked daily.
Enrolment Officers are only allowed to accept forms up to the strict quota limits (see below) that
have been set for each subject at each enrolment centre. Completed forms are sent to NAMCOLs
headquarters. At the end of the enrolment period, the Enrolment Officers claim a flat fee of NA
$500 plus a per capita fee of NA $5 for each enrolment form they have correctly completed.
NAMCOL has a record of the number of enrolment forms that have been returned because of
errors in completion.
Because NAMCOL is seen as an open college, it is sometimes thought that enrolment is open
to all comers provided that they satisfy the registration regulations laid down by the National
Examinations, Assessment and Certification Board of Namibia and the College. This is not so.
The amount by which the Government subsidises NAMCOL is based on the number of subject
enrolments in the previous year, so that were NAMCOL to suddenly increase enrolments, a one-

187

year funding gap would emerge. During that time, the College would need to fund out of its own
resources all the flexible costs (e.g. cost of materials given to students, additional costs of face-toface teaching incurred if the number of class groups expanded and costs of marking assignments)
that the additional students give rise to, together with any other costs there might be (e.g.
additional clerks to handle student fees).
NAMCOL would need to know that it could meet this additional one-year cost from its existing
revenue base. In addition, the volume of stocks of materials available may constrain NAMCOL
from taking additional students in a particular year. NAMCOL therefore sets rigorous subject-bysubject quotas on a regional basis, and regional managers have to adhere to these quotas strictly.
ASE students pay a once-off registration fee of, in 2007, NA $30 and a course fee of NA $100 for
each JSC subject that they take, or NA $160 for each NSSCO subject that they take. Students who
cancel or change their course registrations pay an administrative charge equivalent to 20 per cent
of the course fee. Registration fees are not refundable 345 . In addition, students will pay
examination fees to the Directorate of National Examinations and Assessment of, at 2007 rates,
NA $27 per subject (first-time takers) or NA $38 (resits) per subject at the JSC level, and NA $75
per subject (first-time takers) or NA $105 (resits) at the NSSCO level.)
6.7.1

Regional structure

Regions are divided into Areas under the management of an Area Co-ordinator. In the Northern
Region, there are four Area Co-ordinators. At the end of the Enrolment period, the Area Coordinators plan tuition. If the number of students enrolled at a particular Enrolment Centre is not
enough to justify offering tuition there, then the Enrolment Centre is not confirmed as a Tutorial
Centre. If there are at least three groups of 30 students, then the Enrolment Centre becomes a
Tutorial Centre.
Most Enrolment Centres do become Tutorial Centres. In the Northern Region in 2006, only two
failed to make the transition. In those Centres where the transition occurs, the Enrolment Officer
almost always becomes the Head of Centre. Formally, the Director of NAMCOL on
recommendation of the Regional Manager appoints the Heads of Centre.
Students who enrol at an Enrolment Centre that does not become a Tutorial Centre may still be
asked to hand their assignments to the assignment coordinator at the Centre. So far as tuition
goes, they can either go to another Centre, or they can opt to become Non-contact learners. As
Non-contact learners, they become eligible to attend the five-day Vacation Workshops that are
held in the first week of the two school holidays.
All students are offered a one-day (five-hour) orientation workshop on commencement of their
studies. This first Orientation Session is a key date to which learners, tutors, parents, and local
dignitaries are invited. At this session, learners meet their tutors, get their study calendars and are
told when the public examinations will be held.
In 2006, tuition took place at 99 Centres. Each year, a number of communities approach the
Regional Managers asking NAMCOL to adopt their school as a NAMCOL Centre. Whether this
happens depends on demand and also on how near the community is to other existing centres. In
the Northern Region, a distance of 15-20 kms can be a considerable problem for students when it
345

NAMCOL, Handbook for Learners 2007.

188

comes to travel, but a new centre would not normally be set up if there were an existing centre
within 10 kms.
Tutorial classes commence in March and are offered during the normal school term. During June
and July, the Area Co-ordinators are on the road constantly visiting Tutorial Centres where they
assess the work of the Heads of Centre and also the work of the tutors. They sit in on tutorials
and, after an observation session, will sit with the tutor and give feedback on their performance.
They will also take the opportunity to discuss any monitoring reports tutors may have received on
their assignment marking. Most Area Co-coordinators need to stay away from home when on the
road. During these visits, they may meet with the Centre Management Committee, which is rather
similar to a School Board. There are also other activities that may demand their attention for
example, the HIV/AIDS clubs, Centre sports events and the encouragement of student Self-Study
Groups.
6.7.2

Tutor recruitment and training

Tutor recruitment takes place from December to February. The tutors are drawn from teachers in
the regular formal system generally from the school in which the Tutorial Centre is based.
Although tutors are on an annual contract, once a good tutor is in the system, they are retained
by the Area Co-ordinators. Vacancies and the places of poor tutors who have not been reappointed are filled from the recruits that come forward. The Regional Managers, advised by
Heads of Centre, appoint the tutors.
December to February is also the period when the Area Co-ordinators train tutors, Enrolment
Officers and Heads of Centres. Overall, they spend eight weekends per year training tutors. As
subject experts, tutors do not need to be trained in content, but they do need familiarisation with
distance education practice and NAMCOLs procedures. (Also, from October to March, Area Coordinators are marketing NAMCOL and its services to communities.)
Tutors are paid NA $74.18 per hour for tuition, and NA $13.20 per assignment marked (2007
rates). The tutors employed by NAMCOL appear to be making extensive use of NAMCOLs
materials the Examination Booklets and the Study Guides in their formal teaching. Given the
undoubted quality of these materials, there is a wholly hidden cost-benefit to the education system
arising from this transfer of skill from NAMCOL into the formal school system.
Students enrolment forms are scanned, and it is at this point that the Data Capturing Clerks in the
Data Unit allocate students to a tutor. A tutor allocation list is then generated automatically.
Regional Centres use these lists to timetable classes. Students are offered two hours face-to-face
tuition per week in each subject they are taking over the 26-week academic term. They thus get
52 hours tuition per subject.
Tutorial groups are only offered in centres where there is a minimum of 15 students wanting to
take the subject. The budget is based on one tutorial group for every 30 students. A second group
is only established where there are more than 60 students in a centre taking the subject. This
means that some tutors have large groups of 50-60 students. Pre-agreed quotas thus essentially
drive the number of tutors appointed for subjects by the Centre.
Students who are unable to attend the regular tutorials (Non-contact students) are given the
opportunity to attend two vacation workshops per year. The vacation workshops are offered at a
limited number of centres, and students are responsible for any travel and accommodation costs

189

that they incur in attending the workshops. The workshops take place in the first week of each
holiday. During the week, the Non-contact students get 10 hours tuition in each subject. The final
vacation workshop of the academic year focuses on examination techniques and questions. Area
Co-ordinators monitor these workshops. Heads of Centres who administer these workshops are
paid at a rate of NA $111.96 an hour.
6.7.3

Student assignments

Students are expected to do three assignments per course, due roughly at the end of May, end of
June and end of July. Students studying languages at the NSSCO level have to do oral
assignments. Interlocutors who carry out the oral assessment are paid NA $15 per oral
assessment. The first time the course is offered, the assignments will have been set by the course
writer(s); thereafter, the assignments are set by part-time moderators who are experienced and
qualified teachers working in the formal system. New assignment questions are prepared each
year. Moderators, who oversee the planning of the course calendar, develop assignments and
check on the quality of tutor marking and the teaching comments made on assignment scripts.
They are paid NA $1,055 for writing a set of three assignments for each course, producing a
tutorial letter (usually two to three pages long), drafting or revising an existing Study Programme
(course calendar) and writing reports to tutors on the quality of their marking and their comments
on students' written work.
Students hand their assignments in to their tutor (or the Head of the Centre). There are
arrangements for students who are unable for any reason to attend the tutorials (Non- contact
students) to get their assignments to a marker. Assignments have to be submitted by the due date.
Late assignments are not accepted. Assignments are marked by the subject tutors at the students
centre and then handed into the Head of Centre who arranges for them to be sent to the Regional
Office in bags that records on an external control sheet how many assignments there are, for
which subject and corrected by which tutor.
At the Regional Office, the Area Co-ordinators open the sealed bags with the assignments, check
that the number inside tallies with the accompanying control sheet that records the names of the
tutors students, which ones submitted assignments and that the grade awarded is recorded
properly. The Area Co-ordinators copy the tutors report form as a fail-safe record against loss.
The Regional Office then sends assignments off to the Assignment Room at Headquarters in
Windhoek, which captures the information from the assignment cover. The original assignments
are passed to the Data Centre where the clerks record the marks from the original assignment,
print out a new mark list, and generate a list of assignments that will be moderated. At this stage,
the moderators undertake a final check that the marks input by the Data Centre accord with the
marks given by the tutor. Throughout this process, there is a rigorous checking mechanism to
keep track of assignments and ensure that the grades are recorded correctly. As a failsafe
mechanism, students can ask for their records to be interrogated to ensure that all their
assignments have been entered. Staff in the Data Centre arrange for marked assignments to be
sent back to the Centres as soon as the marks have been recorded.
Meanwhile the selected sample of assignments to be moderated are photocopied and passed to a
moderator. Generally 10 per cent of scripts are moderated, but in subjects where very few
assignments are generated, a higher proportion of papers will be moderated in order to provide
moderators with sufficient work to generate a reasonable income and make the task financially
worthwhile. The purpose of moderation is to ensure that the work has been corrected and marked,

190

and that marking standards are consistent. Moderators are paid NA $16.50 per assignment
moderated. They are penalised 15 per cent of the payment if their moderation is more than seven
calendar days after receipt of the assignment, and 30 per cent if it is more than 11 days after
receipt.
The original assignments together with a copy of the tutors control sheet are sent back to the
tutor from whom the student can reclaim them. The assignment turn round time is 21 days, which
is comparable with the best international standards in paper-based distance education systems.
(Electronic systems such as those operated by the University of Maryland University College can
achieve better return rates.)
Assignment completion rates are clearly crucial to cost. At the JSC level, the assignments are
compulsory (since there is an element of continuous assessment). In 2006, about 95 per cent of
the first assignments on a course are submitted. This drops to 88-90 per cent for Assignment 3. At
the IGCSE level, most of the first assignments are submitted, but perhaps only 60-65 per cent of
the second and third assignments are. NAMCOL has accurate statistics on assignment completion
rates by course.
6.7.4

A higher drop-out rate

One of the problems faced by distance educators is the fact that in general drop-out is higher in
distance systems that in traditional face-to-face education. Studies have indicated that there are a
number of causes for this, including:

the motivation of adult students to continue studying in the face of family and workrelated pressures,
the interest that adult learners have in taking an examination as opposed to merely
studying a course,
the inherent difficulty faced by learners who are isolated home study students,
the fact that some students find that either the method of study (distance education) or the
particular course (curriculum/content) they are taking is not for them, the difficulty in
finding time to study, and
the fact that in many cases the cost of study is too great.

Table 6.12 shows the level of drop-out experienced by NAMCOL JSC learners in the period 1999
to 2005. As explained earlier, NAMCOLs teaching system changed from 2003. The figures for
1999 to 2002 distinguish between those NAMCOL students who studied the JSC at a distance
and those who studies in face-to-face. In 1999, there was some confusion when students came to
register with the DNEA to take the examination and some of NAMCOLs distance students
appear to have registered as NAMCOL face-to-face students. However, if we take the data for
2000, we can see that 6,124 students registered with NAMCOL as distance students, and that just
seven in ten of these students (72.6 per cent) registered with the DNEA to sit the examination,
and 27.4 per cent (the first recorded sign of drop-out) failed to do this. A further 19.4 per cent had
an incomplete status in the examination (perhaps because they failed to turn up on the day for an
examination, because an assignment mark is missing or because a learner carried forward a
component of the course from the formal system but failed to tell the DNEA that he/she was
doing this). In 2000, the total drop-out and incompletes was 46.8 per cent (column 7). Some of
the incomplete statuses will later be resolved in the favour of the student.

191

If we compare this with the performance of NAMCOLs face-to-face learners who were in effect
following an alternative afternoon and evening face-to-face programme outside of the official
formal system, we can see that a higher proportion of these students enrolled with NAMCOL
registered to sit the examination (91.9 per cent), and that the overall drop-out plus incompletes
rate by the time it came to sit the examination was much lower (16.8 per cent compared with 46.8
per cent in the distance programme).
From 2003 NAMCOL no longer taught students exclusively face-to-face, but instead adopted a
blended open learning approach in which most students studied using a mix of materials-based
learning and face-to-face support (the Contact students see Table 6.12). These students had a
lower drop-out rate than did the pure distance students of the earlier period, with just one in five
or less of them dropping out or failing to complete. Also, performance seems to have improved in
the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 (20.7, 18.6, and 16.6 per cent respectively).
Table 6.12: Drop-out among NAMCOL JSC learners, 1999-2005
DISTANCE EDUCATION

NAMCOL
subject
enrolments
at JSC level
Column #
2
6,904
1999
7,124
2000
7,285
2001
9,505
2002
2003
2004
2005

31,493
29,475
28,846

NAMCOL
Total droplearners
out & NAMCOL
who did not
subject
DNEA enter exam Incomplete incomplete
subject (%) (100% Status in (%) (Col 4 enrolments:
+ 5)
entries ()
n=
- col 3) exam (%)
3
4
5
6
7
48.6
51.4
7.4
58.6
16,965
72.6
27.4
19.4
46.8
19,328
85.2
14.8
17.8
32.6
19,795
76.7
24.5
17.9
41.2
27,194
OPEN LEARNERS
86.7
13.3
7.3
20.7
87.8
12.2
7.2
18.6
89.5
10.5
6.1
16.6

FACE-TO-FACE
NAMCOL
learners
Total dropwho did
out &
DNEA not enter
subject exam (%) Incomplete incomplete
entries
(100% - Status in (%) (Col 9
+ 10)
(%)
col 8) exam (%)
8
9
10
11
105.5
(5.5)*
6.4
0.9
91.9
8.1
8.7
16.8
95.6
4.1
9.1
13.2
87.7
12.4
9.1
21.4

* Some distance candidates appeared to register as face-to-face candidates

Source:
NAMCOL Statistical Digest 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 (all Fig. 3.10), 2003 and 2004 (2004 Statistics Table 3.3), 2005
(Table 3.3).

Table 6.13 shows the performance for the IGCSE students in the period 2003 to 2005. Here (as
column 7 shows) the trend in performance has been more erratic, but overall fewer than one in five of
these students dropped out between registration with NAMCOL and the sitting of the examination
through the DNEA.

192

Table 6.13: Drop-out among NAMCOL IGCSE learners, 2003-2005

Column
2003
2004
2005

OPEN LEARNERS
NAMCOL
DNEA
Total droplearners
NAMCOL
subject who did not
out &
subject entries, May/ enter exam Incomplet
incomplete
June and (%) (100% e Status in (%) (Col 4 +
enrolments at
IGCSE level Oct/ Nov (%)
5)
- col 3) exam (%)
2
3
4
5
6
25,824
98.7
1.3
13.2
14.5
24,307
88.3
6.2
10.6
22.4
26,641
91.0
9.0
8.1
17.1

Source: NAMCOL Statistical Digest 2004, 2005 (Table 3.4).

In respect of drop-out during the course, NAMCOLs performance is very good by distance
education standards. The statistics on examination success must remain provisional, given the
unresolved position of the "incompletes". But even given this, it is when we get to the
examinations that performance is more disappointing.
6.8

Examinations and comparative performance

NAMCOLs ASEP students are responsible for enrolling themselves in the public JSC and
IGCSE examinations through the Directorate of National Examinations and Assessment (DNEA).
Examinations therefore represent a nil cost in this programme. The examinations at the JSC level
take place in October/November. However, IGCSE candidates have been able to opt to sit the
examinations early, in May/June, or later in October/November, and a proportion of candidates
(currently about 10 per cent) do this (see Table 6.14).
Table 6.14: IGCSE Candidates, 1998-2005, by choice of examination sitting

1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005

Part-Time IGCSE Subject

Entries
Oct/Nov May/June Total
12,973
2,911 15,884
15,337
4,065 19,402
17,571
2,717 20,288
22,757
2,438 25,195
24,408
2,868 27,276
22,752
2,748 25,500
21,765
3,085 24,850
24,814
3,692 28,506

as % of total
Oct/Nov May/June
0.82
0.18
0.79
0.21
0.87
0.13
0.90
0.10
0.89
0.11
0.89
0.11
0.88
0.12
0.87
0.13

Source: NAMCOL Statistic Digest, 1999 (Fig. 3.9), 2000 (Fig. 3.6), 2002
(Tables 3.6, 3.9), 2005 (Tables IV and V).

193

When IGCSE was first introduced, the results were published by Cambridge International
Examinations. Their figures included a small number of candidates studying the IGCSE part-time
at the Windhoek International School and at St. Pauls College 346 . So although it was a reasonable
assumption that the published results reflected the performance of NAMCOL students who made
up the bulk of the candidates for examination, firm conclusions about the performance of
NAMCOL students had to be subject to this caveat.
The DNEA is now responsible for issuing statistics on the examination results, and a similar
caveat applies to their published figures. Their published statistics distinguish between the results
of full-time learners (that is, students registered in the formal system), and part-time learners.
NAMCOL's students are categorised as part-time learners by the DNEA. Although the vast
majority of part-time learners in the country are registered with NAMCOL, there are also some
non-NAMCOL part-time learners. The DNEA statistics do not draw a distinction between the
NAMCOL and non-NAMCOL learners. In recent years, however, NAMCOL has begun to
publish statistics that, through additional analysis, do distinguish between those part-time
examination candidates who are registered with the College and those that are not.
A further complication arises when comparisons of examination performance are attempted. A
small number of students who register with NAMCOL because it is recognised by the
Government, and who therefore benefit by receiving NAMCOLs study materials, are also
registered with the non-registered private institutions to receive additional tuition. Whether these
students perform better than NAMCOLs own Contact open learners or not is an open question.
Even if they do, it would be unclear whether they perform better because they are in essence
being crammed, because they have access to NAMCOLs study guides, or because, given the fees
charged by private institutions, they come from a privileged social background.
In spite of these complications, the vast majority of part-time candidates (over 90 per cent) for the
JSC and IGCSE examinations are NAMCOL students. So even where the data does not
distinguish between NAMCOL and other candidates, one can take the DNEA data on
examination performance as a reasonable reflection of NAMCOL students success rates. Table
6.15 below shows the cumulative percentage of full- and part-time JSC candidates in the years
2000 to 2006 by the proportion who gained an A grade, a grade in the range A to C, a grade in the
range A to D and a grade the range A to G. The part-time candidates include NAMCOL students.
In the period 2000 to 2002, the NAMCOL results include both face-to-face afternoon and
evening-school candidates and distance education candidates. After 2003, the NAMCOL results
cover Contact and Non-contact open learning students. Taking the 2006 results, the table shows
that 2.7 per cent of full-time candidates gained an A, against just 0.4 per cent of part-time
candidates; 20.7 per cent of full-time candidates gained A to C result against 9.0 per cent of parttime candidates. Because the percentage results are cumulative, if we want to know what
proportion of students gained a D and G result, we would need to subtract the A to C result from
the A to G (e.g. full-time candidates A to G result is 92.8 per cent, A to C is 20.7, so D to G is
72.1 per cent). The table does not show the number of incomplete entries which will equate
with 100 per cent less the percentage of A to G results (i.e. for 2006 full-time candidates, 100 per
cent less 92.8 per cent or 7.2 per cent).

346

NAMCOL, Statistical Digest 1999, Windhoek, NAMCOL, 2000.

194

Table 6.15: Cumulative percentage achieving given grades at JSC, full- and part-time
candidates, 2000 2006

Year
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006

#
FT
200,485
225,506
248,571
260,816
259,392
269,955

Full-time candidates*
Cum. % by Grade bands
A A to C A to D A to G
2.7
19.7
42.7
91.2
2.7
20.8
43.2
90.5
2.8
20.8
43.1
91.2
2.7
20.3
41.8
90.5
2.6
20.5
42.9
91.5
2.9
20.5
43.8
92.6
2.7
20.7
43.7
92.8

#
PT
24,379
26,293
32,326
28,573
26,756
26,571

Part-time candidates
Cum. % by Grade bands
A A to C A to D
A to G
0.5
9.0
28.5
79.9
0.7
10.5
31.1
79.4
0.5
9.2
27.4
81.1
0.4
8.6
25.7
83.3
0.4
11.7
32.0
88.2
0.5
10.5
31.2
89.6
0.4
9.0
28.0
87.0

* Full-time candidates have studied in regular schools.

Part-time candidates have studied through NAMCOL or some other non-traditional
programme.
Source: Directorate National Examinations and Assessment: Statistics
of the Oct/Nov 2006 National Examinations for the Examinations
Board Meeting of 27 March 2007, pp. 36, 157.

Analysing the table further, we can say that in recent years, roughly one in five (20 per cent) of
full-time candidates at regular schools have passed with grades A to C and another one in five
candidates have obtained a grade D. Three in five achieved grades E to G .NAMCOL students did
not perform as well. About one in ten of NAMCOLs students passed on grades A to C, about
two in ten obtained a grade D and seven in ten received grades E to G. The results are actually not
very good for full-time candidates, showing the massive wastage at the junior secondary level
Grade 10 examinations.
The part-time results are also not very encouraging. NAMCOL provided some additional analyses
of the part-time results in which it distinguishes between all the part-time results and those
specific to NAMCOL and to private candidates who were studying at other institutions (19992002 inclusive), and in respect of NAMCOL results, the difference between NAMCOLs distance
learners and its face-to-face students in the JSC examinations (1999-2002 inclusive) (see Table
6.16). The table shows that while NAMCOL did not perform as well as all part-time provision,
NAMCOLs face-to-face afternoon and evening school provision performed better than the
NAMCOLs distance education mode. The table also shows that private candidates performed
better than NAMCOLs distance education students, but generally not as well as NAMCOLs
face-to-face learners.

195

Table 6.16: JSC Part-time results, 1999-2002: All part-time students, NAMCOL part-time
by mode, and part-time private students
#
22,045
24,379
26,293
32,276

Year
1999
2000
2001
2002

NAMCOL Distance Education Mode

# A A to C A to D A to G
3,353 0.5
3.4
15.2
55.2
5,172 0.3
4.1
15.8
71.9
6,207 0.3
5.3
20.2
71.1
7,292 0.3
4.3
15.0
70.0

Year
1999
2000
2001
2002

NAMCOL Face-to-Face Mode

# A A to C A to D A to G
17,891 0.3
6.4
24.8
69.6
17,762 0.5
10.2
31.7
82.3
18,993 0.8
11.8
34.1
81.9
24,360 0.5
10.5
30.7
84.0

Year
1999
2000
2001
2002

#
801
1,445
1,093
624

A
0.3
0.5
0.7
0.5

All Part-time
A to C A to D
5.8
23.1
9.0
28.4
10.5
31.1
9.2
27.5

Year
1999
2000
2001
2002

Private candidates
A A to C A to D
0.3
3.3
13.1
0.6
7.6
23.3
2.5
13.8
34.3
0.4
5.5
17.0

A to G
67.1
79.7
79.4
81.2

A to G
57.5
69.1
77.8
33.5

Source: NAMCOL, Statistical Digest 2000 (Fig. 3.4),

2001 (Fig. 3.4), 2002 (Table 3.4).

NAMCOLs results need some unpacking. As Table 5.15 shows, and as Dr. Alicia Fentimans
tracer study confirmed 347 , the majority of NAMCOLs students are students who failed some of
their subjects in the full-time examinations and are trying again to get a better result.
One way of reading NAMCOLs JSC results is to say that, for an additional cost, it saves
something like another 10 per cent of the formal systems JSC candidates from the scrap-heap
of academic failure, given the formal systems regulations barring resit of the Grade 10
examination except for those aged 16 or under. As Table 6.10 shows, very few of NAMCOLs
students are aged under 18. Moreover, although NAMCOLs results do not look that good, there
are extenuating circumstances, for the vast majority of NAMCOL students are individuals who
are either not among the best of the age group, or who have been failed by the system (i.e. they

347

Alicia Fentiman, Tracer Study of former NAMCOL learners: Research Report, Cambridge, IRFOL,
Centre for Educational Research and Development, Von Hgel Institute, St Edmunds College, February
2007.
196

are among the four out of five who have already failed once at the JSC examination to obtain the
required grade C or better pass).
At the IGCSE/NSSCO level, the part-time results are not nearly as good as those of full-time
candidates, as Table 6.17 shows. Also, as NAMCOLs analysis of the difference between its own
candidates and all part-time candidates suggests, NAMCOL is not matching the results obtained
by the non-NAMCOL part-time candidates, of whom there were 3,650 in 2004 and 4,194 in 2005.
Private students accounted for 16.8 per cent of all part-time candidates in 2004, and 16.9 per cent
in 2005.
Table 6.17: Cumulative %age achieving given grades at IGCSE, Full- and Part-time
candidates, 2000 2006
FULL-TIME CANDIDATES

Year
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005

ALL PART-TIME CANDIDATES

NAMCOL PART-TIME CANDIDATES

All
All fullAll
partNAMCOL
A* A* to A* to
time
to A
C
D A to G time A* to A A* to C A* to D A to G part-time A* to A A* to C A* to D A to G
65165 1.6 19.1 35.8 88.9 17571
0.6
7.6
16.6 72.6
n/a
66288 1.7 19.4 36.4 89.1 22757
0.4
7.4
16.4
74
n/a
72624 1.5 19.4 37.1 82.9 24408
0.4
6.7
16 75.3
n/a
71514 1.5 20.2 38.4 90.8 22.752
0.4
7.6
18.1 75.6
n/a
79414 1.5 19.8 38.7 91.3 21756
0.4
7.8
19.3 77.5
18106
0.3
6.7
17.3 76.7
77669 1.6 21.2 40.5 92.2 24814
0.3
7.5
19.2 79.8
20620
0.2
6.8
17.8 79.1

NAMCOL Statistical Digest 2001 Table 3.7), 2003 (Table 3.6), 2004, 2005 (Table 3.2)

Tables 6.18 and 6.19 below show the percentage of candidates in the October/November 2006
examinations at the JSC and IGCSE level, respectively, gaining a particular grade, A* (IGCSE
only) or A to G, and a grade U (incomplete candidature). The Tables show the performance of all
full-time and all part-time candidates for all subjects, and for certain key academic subjects. The
all subjects category is not strictly comparable because full-time candidates at the JSC and
IGCSE levels have a number of subject options available to them that are unavailable to part-time
candidates. Also, at the JSC level, English as a Second Language is not strictly comparable
because part-time candidates are not tested on their oral knowledge of the language. Both tables
show the consistent underachievement of the part-time learners when compared with the full-time
students.

197

Table 6.18: Junior Secondary Certificate Examinations: overall and key subject results by
grade, full- and part-time candidates, Oct/Nov 2006 Examinations

Attendance type Subject

Full-time
All
Part-time
All

A
2.7
0.4

B
5.5
1.7

C
12.3
6.9

Grade
D
E
23.2 20.4
19.0 21.3

F
17.1
20.6

G
11.3
17.1

U
7.2
13.0

Full-time
Part-time

English as a
Second Lan.

2.4
0.1

5.6
0.2

11.3
2.0

23.7
8.9

24.7
18.7

21.9
32.3

9.4
27.8

1.4
10.0

Full-time
Part-time

Maths

4.3
0.6

5.2
1.3

9.1
3.4

18.6
13.3

14.1
13.0

16.6
20.4

16.1
20.2

16.0
27.8

Full-time
Part-time

Physical
Science

2.5
0.1

4.9
1.1

10.9
6.1

22.8
21.7

17.6
19.9

16.9
20.6

14.6
18.5

9.8
12.1

Full-time
Part-time

Life Science

2.0
0.1

5.2
1.4

12.9
8.5

25.7
24.3

22.5
24.5

18.3
19.9

10.4
14.3

3.0
7.1

Full-time
Part-time

Geography

1.9
0.0

4.9
0.6

12.1
4.9

25.3
21.9

18.1
19.5

16.7
21.4

12.5
17.6

8.5
14.1

Full-time
Part-time

History

1.3
0.4

3.7
1.5

9.9
7.8

25.2
22.9

20.3
19.3

20.6
22.5

13.6
17.1

5.2
8.5

Full-time
Part-time

Business
Management

1.5
0.5

3.9
1.4

11.8
6.4

19.6
14.6

14.8
15.2

17.5
14.6

15.2
18.7

15.7
28.6

Full-time
Part-time

Agriculture

3.5
0.6

8
3.9

16.6
8.7

21.7
16.1

23.8
23.9

18.2
22.5

6.5
16.7

1.7
7.6

Source:

Directorate National Examinations and Assessment: Statistics of the Oct/Nov 2006

National Examinations for the Examinations Board Meeting of 27 March 2007,
pp. 1-3, 154

198

Table 6.19: International General Certificate of Secondary Education Examinations:

Overall and key subject results by grade, full- and part-time candidates, Oct/Nov 2006
Examinations

Attendance type
Full-time
Part-time

Subject
All
All

A*
0.4
0.0*

A
1.3
0.3

Grade
B
C D E F G U
5.4 15.4 19.6 21.3 19.5 10.2 6.9
1.3 6.9 13.0 19.9 24.4 15.4 18.8

Full-time
Part-time

Business
Studies

0.0
0.0

0.6
0.0

4.8
0.3

Full-time
Part-time

Development
Studies

0.2
0.0*

1.7
0.4

5.1 14.1 15.1 16.8 25.6 15.2 6.2

2.0 9.1 11.8 14.8 25.2 19.3 17.4

Full-time
Part-time

Economics

0.0
0.0

0.3
0.0

3.0 21.6 23.1 24.3 11.0 3.8 12.9

0.4 6.2 13.1 24.6 10.1 12.2 33.4

Full-time
Part-time

Geography

0.3
0.0

0.6
0.0

1.8
0.0

7.6 14.0 22.8 23.0 18.4 11.5

2.1 7.9 22.2 24.5 22.7 20.6

Full-time
Part-time

History

0.7
0.0

0.7
0.3

1.7
0.7

7.2 30.5 17.1 32.7 23.5 6.5

3.7 9.0 17.9 31.7 25.4 11.5

Full-time
Part-time

English as a
second lan.

4.6 14.6 29.3 29.2 13.8 7.7 0.0 0.0* 0.0

0.0 0.0* 0.5 3.6 10.2 23.2 34.4 10.9 17.2

Full-time
Part-time

Maths

0.2
0.1

0.8
0.1

3.1 15.8 17.3 21.2 17.2 13.1 11.3

0.5 7.7 16.6 20.7 17.0 11.5 25.8

Full-time
Part-time

Agriculture

0.1
0.0

0.5
0.0

6.0 24.6 23.7 25.9 17.9 1.2 0.1

0.5 10.6 19.1 20.2 36.0 13.1 0.5

Full-time
Part-time

Biology

0.1
.0.0

1.3
0.0

5.7
0.0

Full-time
Part-time

Physical
Science

0.9
0.1

2.3
0.4

5.9 13.7 18.5 21.5 19.9 13.3 4.0

1.4 6.6 15.3 24.7 19.2 16.6 16.0

Full-time
Part-time

Environmental
Management

0.2
0.0*

1.0
0.3

5.1 13.5 18.4 25.0 21.6 11.4 3.8

1.3 6.9 13 19.9 24.4 15.4 18.8

16 19.7 24.2 21.0 10.7 3.0

4.5 10.7 21.6 24.6 20.3 18.0

15 15.9 18.5 16.1 12.7 14.7

0.0 7.1 7.2 0.0* 14.3 71.4

* = passes under 0.05%

6.8.1

Analysis of underachievement

The relative underachievement of part-time students is analysed further in Table 6.20, which
shows the percentage of full- and part-time candidates gaining A to C grades (A* to C at the

199

IGCSE level), and A to G grades (A* to G at IGCSE) in all examined subjects, and in key
subjects. Once again the all subject category is not strictly comparable. Also, the data given
here is for all part-time students, including a proportion that are not NAMCOL students. This
proportion is known to be quite significant at the IGCSE level.
The table shows the results for the November 2005 and November 2006 examinations. The
Effectiveness Ratio first described in Chapter 2 is derived by dividing the percentage of part-time
students who achieve a given level in their examinations (in this case, grades A to C and A to G
for JSCE, and A* to C and A* to G for the IGCSE examination) by the percentage of full-time
students who achieve these grades. Thus, 21.01 per cent of IGCSE candidates gain an A* to C
grade in Physical Sciences, compared with 9.02 per cent of part-time candidates. The
Effectiveness Ratio is thus 9.02 divided by 21.01 or 0.429. An Effectiveness Ratio of 1.0 would
mean that the part-time system is as effective as the full-time system. Any score less than 1.0
(including this one) indicates that the distance system is less effective than the traditional system.
Table 6.20: Comparison of full-time versus part-time results using the Effectiveness Ratio,
November 2005 and November 2006 examinations
November 2005 Examinations
FT PT
FT PT
A to A
C to
C

Effect. A to A to
Ratio
G
G Effect.

November 2006 Examinations

FT PT
FT
PT
A to A to
C
C Effect.
Ratio A to G A to G Effect.

JSC Subject
All
English as a 2 Lang
Maths
Physical Science
Life Science
Geography
History
Business Management
Agriculture

10.
5
1.4
8.9
5.2
11
5.5
5.4
11.
20.6 6
14.
27.5 7

20.7
17.1
21
16.4
17.2
18
17.3

0.507
0.082
0.424
0.317
0.640
0.306
0.312

92.6
99.8
79.8
85.8
96.9
91.5
93.4

89.6
98
72.1
77
92.8
88.2
91

0.968
0.982
0.904
0.897
0.958
0.964
0.974

20.5
19.3
18.6
18.3
20.1
18.9
15.1

9.0
2.3
5.3
7.2
9.9
5.5
9.7

0.439
0.119
0.285
0.393
0.493
0.291
0.642

92.8
98.6
84.0
90.2
97.0
91.5
94.8

87.0
90.0
72.2
87.9
92.9
85.9
91.5

0.938
0.913
0.860
0.975
0.958
0.939
0.965

0.563 90.8 84.5

0.931 17.2

8.3 0.483

84.3

71.4 0.847

0.535 98.7 93.8

0.950 28.1 13.2 0.470

98.3

92.4 0.940

200

FT PT
A* to A*
C to
C

FT

FT

PT

PT

FT

PT

A*
Effect. A to A to
to C A* to Effect.
Ratio
G
G Effect.
C Ratio A to G A to G Effect.

IGCSE Subject
All

21.70

Business Studies

19.48

Development Studies

22.84

Economics

27.46

Geography

11.78

History

6.31

English as a 2 Lang

13.29

Maths

17.40

Agriculture

31.24

Biology

17.65

Physical Science
Environm'l
Management

21.01
21.72

7.5
2
7.4
6
11.
74
12.
44
3.5
3
1.4
4
1.7
2
5.7
0
11.
47
5.5
2
9.0
2
7.1
8

0.347 92.23 79.75

0.865 22.5 8.50 0.379 93.09 81.22 0.872

0.383 94.33 80.59

0.854 21.4 4.80 0.224 96.97 82.00 0.846

0.514 94.22 79.17

0.840 21.1 11.46 0.543 93.75 82.57 0.881

0.453 89.83 72.02

0.802 24.9 6.64 0.267 87.08 66.60 0.765

0.300 91.15 82.92

0.910 10.2 2.12 0.207 88.50 79.35 0.897

0.228 91.02 84.27

0.926 10.3 4.65 0.454 93.47 88.46 0.946

0.129 93.18 78.74

0.845 16.5 4.08 0.247 93.08 82.81 0.890

0.328 85.08 70.86

0.833 19.9 8.34 0.419 88.70 74.22 0.837

0.367 99.63 99.60

1.000 31.2 11.08 0.355 99.88 99.52 0.996

0.313 82.87 68.70

0.829 22.1 7.17 0.325 85.29 67.47 0.791

0.429 94.20 83.25

0.884 22.8 8.38 0.367 95.97 83.97 0.875

0.331 96.77 89.20

0.922 19.8 9.88 0.498 97.17 88.02 0.906

What the table shows in the final column for each year (the A to G Effectiveness Ratio) is that
although the part-time system never equals or surpasses the full-time system in effectiveness, in a
number of subjects and with one or two comparatively rather poor results (Biology and
Economics IGCSE) it approaches the full-time system in respect of the proportion of students
gaining grades A to G (JSCE) or A* to G (IGCSE examination). However, when it comes to
comparing the effectiveness of the two approaches in respect of performance at grades A to C
(JSCE) and A* to C (IGCSE examination), the part-time candidates do not perform as well as the
full-time students. At this all-important level of success, the Effectiveness Ratio ranges from 0.31
to 0.64 at the JSC level, and 0.23 to 0.51 at the IGCSE level, depending on the subject.
6.8.2

Strategies for improving student performance

The table indicates the challenge facing part-time providers including NAMCOL. This is to
improve the performance of students who are currently gaining grades D to G, so that they
achieve the only grades that count A to C at the JSC level, and A* to C at the senior secondary
level.
There are a number of possible strategies for doing this including:

201

increasing the amount of face-to-face teaching above the current level of two hours per
subject per week,
increasing the number of tutorial centres so that more learners who currently opt for the
Non-contact option can get to face-to-face sessions,
changing the nature of the teaching system by using more radio and introducing
television programmes into the teaching system, and
focusing on the quality of the lessons given.

NAMCOL has put in costed bids for additional support. Broadly speaking, the cost of each of
these options is as follows:

Television. NAMCOL reckons that a 26-minute television programme costs NA $3658 to

produce, and that to produce one monthly programme for three subjects taught over nine
months would cost NA $ 98,753. If these programmes were re-used over a number of
years say five the annualised cost of doing this would drop to under NA $20,000 a
year. On top of this, there would be an annual Namibian Broadcasting Corporation
transmission charge of NA $4,111 per programme, or for 27 programmes NA
$111,000. Neither of these cost items is driven by student numbers per course, so the cost
per student would depend on the numbers registering on the courses chosen.
Radio. NAMCOL estimates that a 26-minute radio programme would cost NA $1,485 to
produce, so to provide a weekly programme over 26 weeks for three subjects would cost
just under NA $116,000. This would be a recurrent annual cost unless the programmes
were reused from one year to the next, in which case the annualised cost would be, for a
five-year life, just over NA $23,000. In addition, there is the Namibian Broadcasting
Corporation transmission charge of NA $763 per programme, or about NA $60,000 for
all the programmes. Neither of these cost items is driven by student numbers per course,
so the cost per student would depend on the numbers registering on the courses chosen.
Face-to-face teaching. NAMCOL has estimated the additional cost of this option on the
basis that it teaches in 105 centres, and on the basis that it increases the existing provision
of two hours per week to four, six or eight hours. The table below shows the total cost of
doing this for 1,487 class-groups. Since each subject group had on average just fewer
than 40 subject enrolees in 2006, a figure of 40 has been used to calculate the cost per
subject-enrolee (Table 6.21). The figures illustrate the way in which total costs escalate
rapidly in response to comparatively modest increases in the flexible cost per student
course.
Table 6.21: Cost of increasing tutorial hours per week
Contact
sessions/week
# hours tuition/week
105 centres
# class-groups
Cost/class-group
2,501.16
Cost per subject
Enrolee (40 learners
/group)

1
2
3,719,225.93
1487

2
4
7,438,451.86
1487

3
6
11,157,677.79
1487

4
8
14,876,903.72
1487

5,002.32

7,503.48

10,004.64

125.06

187.59

250.12

62.53

202

NAMCOL has also considered the cost of increasing the number of centres it has while also
increasing the amount of tuition per week. Increasing the number of centres would take
NAMCOL into smaller communities and also tend to reduce the number of learners per centre
unless student numbers grow. Class sizes would fall, but overall costs would increase as classes
are offered in more centres. This is precisely the predicament that faced the Mexican
Telesecundaria as it expanded into more and more remote or smaller communities, with the
results that costs per student began to climb 348 .
6.9

Destination of NAMCOL learners

Reference has already been made to the Tracer Study of NAMCOL students undertaken in late
2006 by Dr. Alicia Fentiman 349 . The study focused on former IGCSE students who were enrolled
in NAMCOL between 1999-2001, when an average of just over 4000 IGCSE learners were
registered in each of these years. As Dr. Fentiman acknowledged, it proved difficult both to trace
and gain the co-operation of the ex-NAMCOL students. As a result, only 478 completed
questionnaires were received, and just 75 in-depth interviews with ex-NAMCOL IGCSE student
were undertaken 350 . Of those who completed the questionnaires, three in four (76 per cent) were
women and one in four (24 per cent) were men 351 a proportion roughly equivalent to the gender
division of NAMCOLs student body for those years (see Table 6.9).
Three out of four (77 per cent) of the respondents came from just four regions of Namibia:
Khomas (where the capital, Windhoek, is located), Erongo (where Swakopmund and the
development area of Walvis Bay are located), and Oshana and Kavango in the more populated
north of the country. One in four of the respondents (26 per cent) came from Khomas 352 .
Changes to the research design to boost the number of respondents led to a house-to-house search
for ex-NAMCOL students in the heavily populated town of Katutura where NAMCOLs
headquarters is based, and also to an attempt to locate ex-students at the Ramatex factory where
many ex-students are employed. In these respects, the sample was not necessarily
representative 353 . Over half (53 per cent) of the respondents were aged 26 to 30 354 , and hence
would have fallen squarely in the median range of NAMCOLs learners in 1999-2001 (i.e. 20 to
24 years old, see Table 6.10).
Nineteen out of twenty (95 per cent) of the students who completed the questionnaire indicated
that they had enrolled in NAMCOL to improve their grades or points in the IGCSE
examinations. The respondents had studied a total of 1,096 subjects, at an average subject load of
just over 2.5 subjects per head, which is significantly higher than the range of 1.90 to 1.98 taken
by the average IGCSE student in the relevant years. The most popular subjects had been English
as a Second Language, which accounted for over one in five of all subject registrations, followed

348

Greville Rumble, The Costs and Economics of Open and Distance Learning, London, Kogan Page,
1997, p. 135.
349
Alicia Fentiman, Tracer Study of former NAMCOL learners: Research Report, Cambridge, IRFOL,
Centre for Educational Research and Development, Von Hgel Institute, St Edmunds College, February
2007
350
Ibid. Sections 1.3, 3.0
351
Ibid. Section 3.1
352
Ibid. Section 3.2.
353
Ibid. Section 2.3.
354
Ibid. Section 3.3.
203

by Development Studies and Biology/Life Science 355 . These three subjects accounted for 56 per
cent of all subject registrations by the respondents. Given the crucial importance of English as a
qualification for academic and employment progression, the fact that English as a Second
Language figured highly among the subjects taken comes as no real surprise.
In spite of the acknowledged methodological difficulties associated with Dr. Fentimans
research 356 , her work provides some interesting pointers to the destination of NAMCOLs senior
secondary learners:

Academic qualifications: Of the 436 respondents who replied to the question:

o
o
o
o
o

351 (82.4 per cent) indicated that the Grade 12 IGCSE remained their highest
academic qualification,
Fourteen (3 per cent) had gone on to do vocational qualifications,
25 (5.7 per cent) had gained a tertiary certificate of some kind,,
40 (9.2 per cent) had completed a tertiary diploma, and
6 (1.4 per cent) had gained a first degree 357 .

Among the courses that NAMCOLs ex-students had enrolled in after leaving NAMCOL,
26 had enrolled on computer courses, 19 had enrolled on the Basic Education Teacher
Diploma (BETD), 10 had taken courses in Human Resource and other areas of
management, and 12 had enrolled on some form of vocational course 358 .

Further education: 135 (39 per cent) of the respondents were currently enrolled in some
form of further education. Of these:
o
o
o
o
o
o

40 (29.6 per cent) were taking further courses with NAMCOL,

21 (15.6 per cent) were in some form of vocational training,
24 (17.8 per cent) were at the Polytechnic of Namibia,
23 (17 per cent) were at the University of Namibia,
23 (17 per cent) were at a College of Education, and
5 (3.7 per cent) were studying with the distance-teaching University of South
Africa (UNISA) 359 .

Paid employment: Statistical data (see Table 6.11) suggests at least nine out of ten of
NAMCOLs students in the years 1999 to 2000 were not doing any paid employment. Of
the former NAMCOL learners, in answer to the question Are you currently employed?
o
o
o

56 per cent said that they were,

41 per cent said that they were not, and
3 per cent gave a nil response.

Some of those who were unemployed would have been in full-time education 360 .
Unfortunately at this point in her report, Fentiman only gives percentages and not actual
355

Ibid. Section 3.6.

Ibid. Section 4.
357
Ibid. Section 3.7.
358
Ibid. Section 3.7.
359
Ibid. Section 3.7
360
Ibid. Section 3.8
356

204

figures, but this suggests that about 240 individuals were employed, 175 were not and 13
did not respond. Again figures are not given, but from the information given one can infer
that of those employed, 33 per cent (about 141 individuals) were employed in private
sector enterprises, 4 per cent (17 individuals) were self-employed, and 20 per cent (about
86 individuals) secured employment with in a government post 361 .

Time to achieve employment: When asked how long it took them to get a job after they
had left NAMCOL,
o
o
o
o

63 took under six months;

50 between six months and a year;
54 took one to two years; and
98 took over two years.

We can infer that some individuals gained employment, only to lose it 362 .

Salary: 64 per cent (275) of the respondents were prepared to divulge their monthly
salary. Of those that did,
o
o
o
o
o

53 (19 per cent) earned under NA $ 500 a month,

151 (55per cent) earned between NA $ 501 and NA $ 2500,
56 (20per cent earned between NA $ 2501 and NA $ 5000,
13 (4.7per cent) earned between NA $ 5001 and NA $ 10,000 a month, and
2 earned over NA $ 10,000 a month.

Unfortunately Fentiman gives neither absolute figures nor percentages for the number of
students who indicated they were unsatisfied, satisfied, very satisfied, or extremely
satisfied with their employment, but reading off from her bar chart indicates that roughly
170 students were unsatisfied, roughly the same number did not respond to the question,
and the rest expressed some degree of satisfaction with their employment 363 .

Applicability of learning: Respondents were asked if they were finding what they had
studied at IGCSE at NAMCOL useful in their present position. Again Fentiman does not
give figures so it is unclear whether her percentages are based on the total survey
population (248 students) or just those who had jobs at the time of the study (which as the
wording of the question implies would give a base of about 240 for this question). Of the
unknown number who did respond to the question;
o
o

19 per cent of the respondents chose not to answer it,

42 per cent said that what they had studied did not help them in their current
position but of course some continued with further studies that might have had
greater relevance, and
39 per cent said that what they had learnt was useful in their present
occupation 364 .

361

Ibid. Section 3.8

Ibid. Section 3.8
363
Ibid. Section 3.8.
364
Ibid. Section 3.9.
362

205

The in-depth interviews allowed some of these points to be followed up and Fentiman says
(without quantifying the statement) that the majority of respondents were pleased with the
qualifications they gained at NAMCOL, and that some of the respondents indicated that
NAMCOL had indeed helped them improve their IGCSE grades and hence opened previously
closed doors to further study 365 .
For all its flaws, Fentimans report is the best that we have and does suggest that NAMCOL has
had a positive and beneficial impact on at least a reasonable proportion (more than 50 per cent) of
its former students.
6.10

Quality assurance 366

NAMCOL recognises that a strong commitment to quality will help distance education systems
break free from the reputation for poor quality that hung around a number (although not all) of the
19th and 20th century commercial correspondence colleges. NAMCOL has a number of quality
assurance measures in place, all guided by a Quality Assurance Policy. A key quality initiative is
a process for reciprocal external peer reviews with BOCODOL. In addition to gaining helpful
feedback from colleagues at BOCODOL about quality assurance, NAMCOL gains valuable
information by conducting quality audits at BOCODOL.
It is generally accepted that the quality of distance education programmes rests on five
foundations:

the quality of institutional leadership and its ability to articulate a vision that will ensure
survival,
sound financial management,
the quality of the programmes, courses and learning materials both in respect of their
academic content and relevance, and the quality of the pedagogy underpinning their design,
the quality of the student support services including the quality of the advice given to
students, the quality of teaching, and the quality of the assessment process (both formative
and summative), and
the quality of the logistical system underpinning the student support system and the materials
distribution system (for example, timely despatch of materials to students so that they have
them to hand when they need them, timely feedback on student queries, rapid turnaround
between receipt of an assignment and the return of the corrected assignment to the student).

NAMCOL has been fortunate both with the quality of its senior management and with the fact
that it has enjoyed the sustained support of government and senior civil servants within the
Ministry of Education. It has regularly assessed it position and is currently operating under its
third three-year strategic development plan (for 2005-2008) that was agreed following extensive
consultation with stakeholders.
Financial management, which operates within a framework of guidelines and defined processes
and procedures, is sound, and the College keeps within its budget. The level of government
subsidy is based on a formula that was initially proposed in 1977 and that has been used with
minor changes ever since. The formula as currently agreed assures NAMCOL that it will receive
a level of government subsidy based on:
365
366

Ibid. Section 3.10.6.

This section is based in part on NAMCOL, NAMCOL's Quality and Standards Document, May 2005.
206

[(The unit cost per subject enrolment of formal junior secondary education x 0.65
x number of junior secondary subject enrolments in NAMCOL)
+
(The unit cost per subject enrolment of senior secondary education x 0.65 x
number of senior secondary subject enrolments in NAMCOL)]
x
an agreed allowance for inflation (to be checked annually).
The most challenging aspect of this formula is that the funding level for any year is applied to the
number of students that NAMCOL had enrolled in the previous year. So while there is no formal
ceiling on the number of students that NAMCOL can enrol, the College has to fund any student
number expansion from its own reserve funds or from other income streams (notably student
fees) for the first year of expansion.
6.10.1 Process of accountability
NAMCOL operates within a defined process of accountability including:
the preparation of annual reports and annual financial statements, coupled with external
audit,
reciprocal peer quality audits with the Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning
(BOCODOL),
a requirement that the College adhere to any regulations laid down by the National
Examinations, Assessment and Certification Board (NEACB) of the Namibian
Qualifications Authority, and
the duty to comply with legislation such as the Affirmative Action Act of 1998 367 .
The NEACB lays down the entry requirements that NAMCOL students must comply with before
they can register for the JSC and IGCSE/NSSCO level and it this Board, rather than NAMCOL
itself, that awards qualifications and hence guarantees the quality of the qualifications offered by
NAMCOL at the secondary level. The actual examinations sat by NAMCOL's secondary level
students are administered by the Directorate of National Examinations and Assessment in the
Ministry of Education. It is therefore this Directorate rather than the College that vouches for the
integrity of the examination process.
However, it is NAMCOL's internal quality assurance processes that really underpin the quality of
what the College does. The College's Programme Developers serve on the curriculum panels and
committees of the National Institute for Educational Development (NIED). Through this, the
College keeps track of changes in the JSC and IGCSE/NSSCO curricula. Materials are developed
and produced in conformity with the standards, processes and procedures laid down in
NAMCOL's House Style Manual, which has been produced by the Programme and Materials
Development Division of the College. The House Style Manual also sets out procedures for the
revision of existing materials and the integration of media and technology in the design and

367

The Affirmative Action Act (Act 29 of 1998) promulgated the Affirmative Action Policy of the
Government. The Act requires that no person shall be discriminated against on the basis of race, sex, creed,
colour, religion, age, mental or physical disability, and that all persons shall be treated equally with regard
to recruitment, terms and conditions of employment, human resource practices, and in relation to access
and participation in programmes and activities.
207

delivery of study materials 368 . All contract staff involved in materials development are provided
with training, and course writers are given a Course Writers Manual to assist them in the process
of writing quality distance education materials. The draft study guides are checked for their
quality before they are finally produced. The Materials Production and Despatch Unit follows a
set of pre-agreed procedures when materials are packed and despatched in order to minimise
mistakes and ensure timely delivery of materials to learners.
The College maintains rigorous control over the admissions process to ensure that those
individuals offered a place are qualified and will be allowed to sit the examinations by the
Directorate of National Examinations and Assessment. The number of individuals allowed to
enrol is controlled for financial and capacity reasons, and strict control is maintained on the
numbers offered a place on NAMCOL's courses. Enrolment forms, which are handed in by
applicants at one of the over 100 enrolment centres set up by the College, are sent to the College's
headquarters where they are scanned in order to generate a student record. There is a process by
which the data entered on the initial record is verified.
Similarly, strict procedures and checks apply in the assignment handling area, and a proportion of
all submitted assignments are moderated to check on the quality of the marking and formative
feedback given to students on their work. Tutors are penalised (through the docking of a
proportion of their payment) for failing to mark assignments on time. This is of key importance
given research that indicates that drop-out in distance education is directly correlated with the
length of the turnaround time between the date a student submits their assignment for correction
and marking, and the date they receive the marked assignment back.
Management reports are generated from the data collected by the administration, and an annual
Statistical Digest is prepared 369 . Longitudinal data in now available in a number of areas to
analyse trends. The Research and Evaluation Unit is responsible for:

evaluating and monitoring the programmes, materials and services offered by NAMCOL
with a view to improving on effectiveness, efficiency and quality,
conducting market research to establish the level of demand for all new programmes that
the College intends to offer, and
overseeing research and evaluation consultancies.

Regular surveys are carried out to gather information from students on the quality and usefulness
of the course materials with the view to improve on this, the causes of student drop-out, the
impact of programmes, and the impact of workshops and training sessions held in support of staff
training and development.
The overall effect of the measures in place, coupled with the stress on staff development and
internal and external communication with stakeholders is that NAMCOL exhibits many of the
characteristics of a successful learning organisation.
368

NAMCOL, House Style Manual: 2006 Revised Edition, NAMCOL, Programme and Materials
Development Division, 2006.
369
NAMCOL, Statistical Digest 1999, Windhoek, NAMCOL, 2000; NAMCOL, Statistical Digest 2000,
Windhoek, NAMCOL, 2001; NAMCOL, Statistical Digest 2001, Windhoek, NAMCOL, 2002; NAMCOL,
Statistical Digest 2002, Windhoek, NAMCOL, 2003; NAMCOL, Statistical Digest 2003, Windhoek,
NAMCOL, 2004; NAMCOL, Statistical Digest 2004, Windhoek, NAMCOL, 2005; NAMCOL, Statistical
Digest 2005, Windhoek, NAMCOL, 2006; and the draft Statistical Digest 2006, which was due to be
published in July 2006.
208

6.11

Unanswered questions

Before turning to the issue of costs, it is worth reviewing some of the questions that arose during
the research that could not be answered usually because the requisite data does not exist or
because existing analyses provide only partial answers. What follows is by no means an
exhaustive list. Among the unanswered questions are the following:

Why do potential applicants not enrol in NAMCOL?

Why, when there is a roughly 49 to 51 male/female division of the genders in the formal
school system at the primary and senior secondary level, but a 46 to 54 male/female
division at the junior secondary level, does NAMCOL not attract more boys and young
men or conversely, why does NAMCOL more men than women? NAMCOL's gender
balance is about 36 to 64 male to female at the junior secondary level, and 33 to 66 at the
senior level.
What proportion of NAMCOL students have not studied previously at the JSC and/or
IGCSE/NSSCO level? What are the demographic characteristics of these students
(gender, age) and how do they differ from the students who did sit, but failed, some of
their subject examinations in the formal system, and hence come to NAMCOL to retake
some subjects?
Is there any difference in the demographic characteristics of NAMCOL and nonNAMCOL part-time students?
Within NAMCOL, is there any demographic difference between the Contact and Noncontact mode students with respect to their demographic characteristics? What might
such findings say about NAMCOLs current pedagogic and support strategies?
What proportion of NAMCOL registered students is also enrolled in other private
institutions at the same time, and is there any correlation between the fact they have
additional support and their examination results? What might such findings say about
NAMCOLs current pedagogic and support strategies?
How much time do NAMCOLs students spend studying?
Is there any discernable correlation between the examination successes of NAMCOL
students, and demographic characteristics? For example, do women students perform
better than men? Do older students perform better than younger ones? Do students
resident in areas where there are better employment prospects perform better than those
living in areas of high unemployment?
Is there any correlation between the grades that a student achieved in the examinations
when they were part of the formal system, and their achievement in the examinations
following study at NAMCOL? Does NAMCOL add-value? Do the students who have
already failed a subject at Grade 10 or Grade 12 in the formal system, get a higher grade,
the same grade or a lower grade when they sit the examinations as part-time candidates?
Why do NAMCOL students drop-out?
With respect to the Tracer study and any further studies on the destinations and academic
and employment outcomes for NAMCOL students, are there any discernible differences
between those who succeed and those who do not in terms of demographics (gender, age,
geographical location, social background) and ultimate grade in the examinations?

Answering these and similar questions might give one a better insight into what makes for
success and what makes for failure, and how failure might be turned into success so that
NAMCOL can perform even better than it does at the moment.

209

6.12 Costs
Obtaining reliable data with which to compare the costs of NAMCOL and the formal secondary
school system is problematic. The problems include:

The education budget distinguishes between operational costs and development costs.
The latter covers items that are traditionally treated as capital expenditure (on buildings
and furniture and equipment). It does not identify the value of past capital investments
but only the money being set aside in a particular year. One of the main cost advantages
of distance education is that many distance education institutions do not have spend
money on building classrooms, but instead make use of existing educational facilities as
study centres etc. Quite often they are allowed to do this at no cost or at a noncommercial cost, as is the case with NAMCOL. NAMCOL is not required to pay rental,
although it does make a contribution towards the running costs of the facilities it uses.
This results in considerable economies of scope. Failure to take into account the capital
cost savings that arise in distance education systems can seriously underestimate the
relative cost efficiency of such systems. Marope's report, for example, only takes account
of the operating costs and thus ignores the very significant capital costs of building and
maintaining secondary schools 370 . The current cost of building a secondary school with
an annual capacity of 980 students is estimated to be NA $50 million, with another NA
$2.5 million for equipment and furnishing 371 . Building a single block of three classrooms
catering for 105 students would cost NA $325,000, with another NA $160,000 per
classroom for furniture and equipment 372 . The annualised capital cost is of the order of
NA $555 per pupil. If NAMCOL's students were absorbed into the formal system,
considerable additional capital costs would be incurred.
Another issue is that the line budget for secondary education (Main Division 05, Line
300) does not cover the full costs of secondary expenditure. The most significant
omission is the cost of student hostels (which overall account for 9 per cent of the
education budget 373 ). Hostels are provided to meet the needs of both primary and
secondary students who are unable to live at home during term time. There is no
accounting data on the proportion of hostel costs attributable to secondary education, so
an estimate has to be made. Some estimates put the proportion of hostel costs attributable
to secondary education as being as high as 90 per cent, though for the purposes of this
analysis a more conservative figure of 80 per cent is assumed. In addition, some of the
expenditure incurred in other main divisions of the Ministry support secondary education.
This is particularly true in the areas of strategic direction, management, planning, and
research and evaluation. None of these overhead costs are apportioned formally to the
actual activity of supporting secondary education (although for the purposes of
determining unit costs in the formal system, the formula used to fund NAMCOL assumes
that these costs are apportioned across primary and secondary education pro-rata to the
number of students in each sector).

370

Mmantsetsa Toka Marope, Namibia Human Capital and Knowledge Development for Economic Growth
with Equity, Africa Region Human Development Working paper Series No. 84, Human Development
Sector, Africa Region, The World Bank, 2005, 6.30, p. 84.
371
Office of the President, National Planning Commission, Millenium Challenge Account: Namibia,
Windhoek, Office of the President, 2007, p. 72.
372
Ibid., p. 74.
373
Ministry of Education, Expenditure Issues Paper, 2005 (first draft). Electronic copy obtained from Mr T
Kakonda, Planning Division, MOE, Windhoek, Section 3.
210

The cost of running examinations is carried by the Directorate of National Examinations

and Assessment although here, since students in the formal system and at NAMCOL
take the same examination, the cost per subject sat will be the same for both. However,
NAMCOL students take fewer subjects, so the cost per NAMCOL student would be less
than that for formal system students.
A number of other ministries provide services to the Ministry of Education and its
various programmes. In the absence of any cross-charging mechanisms, none of the costs
of these benefits is reflected in the secondary education budget. Estimates suggest that
these costs, if reflected in the MOE's budget, would add another 20 per cent to the overall
cost of the MOE 374 . In contrast, NAMCOL as an autonomous para-statal institution, has
to meet the full costs of its administration.

Table 6.22 below shows the expenditure per learner in the formal system, based on the
Appropriation Accounts for the financial year in question.
Table 6.22: Expenditure on secondary education, 2001/02 to 2005/06

Financial
Year
2001/2002
2002/2003
2003/2004
2004/2005
2005/2006

Secondary Education: Formal System

Appropriation
Accounts: # learners in Expenditure
Expenditure formal system per learner
476,393,321
130,577
3,648.37
467,595,808
137,099
3,410.64
476,578,027
141,752
3,362.06
506,993,323
144,289
3,513.74
549,947,161
148,104
3,713.25

These figures suffer from the drawbacks identified above. A further difficulty is that neither the
budget nor the expenditure figures in the Appropriation Accounts allow one to separate out the
budget for or costs of junior and senior secondary education.
There are also difficulties in dealing with NAMCOL's costs. NAMCOL, as indicated earlier,
offers a number of professional programmes, as well as running its bookshops and participating in
a research programme. These activities attract both costs and income. In the absence of any direct
government subsidies for the professional programmes, NAMCOL in effect cross-subsidises
these programmes from its Alternative Secondary Education Programme. Most cost studies of
NAMCOL have attributed all of NAMCOL's costs to the secondary programme and have not
separated out the costs of these other programmes. In addition, those costs that cannot easily be
attributed to programmes and thus constitute NAMCOL's business sustaining costs cannot all be
apportioned as secondary programme overheads.
6.12.1 Activity-based costing
NAMCOL has sought over the last year or so to develop an activity-based costing approach that
will enable it to cost its activities more accurately 375 and considerable progress had been made by
374

Ed Du Vivier, Financing NAMCOL into the Future: A Study of the College's Efficiency, Costeffectiveness, Fee Structure and Funding Formula, 27 March 2007, 1.1.1, p. 15, based on the additional
costs built into the cost of formal secondary education in the NAMCOL funding formula.
375
Greville Rumble, A Report of a Short-term Advisory Mission to conduct a Study on the Costs and
Funding of the Namibian College of Open Learning (NAMCOL), Cambridge, International Research
211

mid-2007. This has enabled the College to identify, for example, the committed and flexible costs
of developing, producing and delivering NAMCOL's various academic programmes, as well as
the services offered by the Bookshop. In this analysis, "Other" costs are in effect businesssustaining costs not related directly to the programmes and activities carried out by NAMCOL.
Applied to the 2007-2008 budget of NA $47,987,071, the activity costing exercise gives the
following results (Table 6.23):
Table 6.23: NAMCOL 2007-2008 Budget by programmes/activities

Expenditure
Income
Balance

JSC
15,871,722
3,785,199
12,086,523

NSSCO
15,991,479
5,204,481
10,786,998

CED
3,246,990
362,000
2,884,990

CYP
CLGS
2,367,691 326,389
325,000 765,000
2,042,691 -438,611

Bookshop
Other
1,075,905 3,717,980
781,400 500,000
294,505 3,217,980

Source: NAMCOL Finance Division, June 2007.

Summing the net costs of the Certificate in Education for Development (CED), the
Commonwealth Diploma in Youth in Development (CYP) and the Certificate in Local
Government Studies (CLGS) professional programmes, bookshop and "other" (i.e. management)
costs gives a total of NA $8,001,555 that is carried (that is, cross-subsidised or in the case of the
management costs absorbed) by NAMCOL's Alternative Secondary Education Programme
(ASEP). However, making the ASEP programme carry the costs of non-profitable programmes
distorts the true cost of the ASEP programme. It is therefore arguable that the only "overhead"
costs that should be charged to ASEP are a proportion of the net business sustaining costs of NA
$3,217,980. For the purposes of the analysis carried out here, it could be assumed that some 80
per cent of these costs should be charged against ASEP (i.e. 80 per cent of NA $3,217,980).
Many of the reports providing information on costs are based on budgetary figures rather than
actual expenditure. Since expenditure does not always equate with budgets, this is problematic.
This would be more of a problem at the primary level where the Ministry of Education's
Appropriation Accounts for primary education show a consistent and significant annual
overspend. At the secondary level, there has generally been, at least in recent years, a relatively
small underspend. However, the final budget figure in any year which is the base against which
the Appropriation Accounts measure expenditure have generally been augmented by midfinancial year virements, so that in general terms, end-of-year expenditure exceeds start-of-year
budgetary provision. Exactly which figures are taken as the financial data for cost calculations
can make a significant difference.
6.12.2 Measuring student loads
Equally, calculations of student loads in the formal system will differ if student numbers are
based on the Fifteenth Day School Statistics, collected in the first month of each academic year,
or on the annual education census data collected in August. The latter arguably gives a truer
reflection of student load (the Fifteenth Day statistics generally overstate enrolments by about 2.5
per cent, though the figures may be 13 per cent above or below those reported in the Education

Foundation for Open Learning, June 2006; Ed Du Vivier, Activity Based Costing Analysis for NAMCOL,
mimeo, 2007; Ed Du Vivier, Financing NAMCOL into the Future: A Study of the College's Efficiency,
Cost-effectiveness, Fee Structure and Funding Formula, 27 March 2007.
212

Statistics 376 ). Unless raw data is provided in the cost calculations or an explicit statement of
methodology is made, it can be unclear which figures form the basis for particular calculations of
unit cost.
Most cost studies attempt to provide a cost per full-time equivalent (FTE) student. Here too there
is considerable scope for methodological divergence. Approaches that focus on class-hours as a
determination of a full-time equivalent load (the basis of much planning in traditional education)
will disadvantage distance education providers because, in distance education, students spend a
lot of their time studying independently. To get around this problem, analysts working on the
comparative costs of distance and traditional education systems tend to focus on student credit or
course loadings; that is, the number of credits or courses (or in NAMCOL's terms, subjects) that a
student takes each year. While credit loadings may work satisfactorily where the basis of counting
credits is the same (and it often is not), course loads can be misleading because courses may not
involve the same amount of work. This is particularly the case where courses are packaged as
modules of different length.
There may also be differences in the number of courses students are allowed to take. Within the
Namibian secondary school system, a full-time load is generally equated with taking nine subjects
per year at the junior secondary level and six at the senior secondary level. In theory, this should
provide a reasonable approach to the determination of a full-time student. However, even here
there is a problem. In the formal senior secondary school system in Namibia, students spend two
years studying each subject, whereas in NAMCOL students study the full two-year curriculum
(years 11 and 12) in one year. As a result, one year of study of a subject in the formal system is
equivalent to just half-a-year in NAMCOL's system. The same is not true, however, of
NAMCOL's junior secondary school provision where NAMCOL offers just the final year of the
curriculum (year 10) to be studied across the full academic year.
The result is that at the JSC level, one subject enrolment at year 10 in NAMCOL is equivalent to
one subject enrolment at year 10 in the formal system, while at the NSSCO level, one subject
enrolment in a year is equivalent to two subject-year enrolments in the formal system. This is
because the NAMCOL student studies two year's worth of curriculum in a single year, whereas
the formal student studies the NSSCO curriculum in any subject over two years. The real
difference between the two systems is the number of subjects per year studied by a student.
6.12.3 Cost calculation challenges
A further problem when making comparisons is that a student in the formal system who studies,
say six subjects in a year "costs" one year's worth of indirect common costs plus apportioned
business sustaining costs, together with six times the annualised committed course costs plus six
times the flexible costs per course. A NAMCOL student who takes two courses a year over three
years will cost six times the annualised committed course costs plus six times the flexible costs
per course, together with three year's worth of indirect common costs plus apportioned business
sustaining costs. Because of the NSSCO-level "two academic-years in one calendar-year"
structure, this will affect JSC students more than NSSCO students. At present, NAMCOL has not
analysed activity costs down to the course level, so it is impossible to know what effect a slower
rate of throughput has on NAMCOL costs.

376

Ed Du Vivier, Financing NAMCOL into the Future: A Study of the College's Efficiency, Costeffectiveness, Fee Structure and Funding Formula, 27 March 2007, 1.1.1, p. 16.
213

6.12.4 Government funding

The expectation when NAMCOL was set up was that it would continue to rely on significant
levels of government subsidy. The College is funded on a formula basis, which was first agreed in
1997 377 . Under the Act establishing NAMCOL, the original formula and any changes to it must
be mutually agreed between the Minister of (Basic) Education, the Minister of Finance, and the
College. Funding is based on the principle that the provision of secondary education via
NAMCOL should not be more expensive than providing secondary education via formal
education. Basically the formula moves through a series of steps to derive the level of subsidy
that the Government will give NAMCOL. These steps are as follows:

Step 1: Identify Ministerial Overheads by adding the cost of the following "Main
Divisions" in the Ministry of Education together (02 Administration, 03 Programme
Implementation and Monitoring of Educational Standards, 09 Planning and Research and
Development).
Step 2: Apportion the ministerial overheads between formal primary and secondary
education, pro-rata to the number of students in each of these levels.
Step 3: Identify the intra-ministerial recurrent costs of secondary education by adding
together (a) the total operational expenditure of Main Division 05 Secondary Education,
(b) 10 per cent of the annual sum set aside for capital expenditure on secondary education
projects, (c) the full cost of running school examinations through the Directorate of
Examinations and Assessment, and (d) the cost of school books, and add to this the
ministerial overheads apportioned to secondary education under Step 2 above.
Step 4: Multiply the total intra-ministerial costs identified in Step 3 by 1.20 to reflect
the additional contributions to secondary education from other ministries. The resulting
sum is defined as the full recurrent cost of providing formal secondary education.
Step 5: Apportion the full recurrent cost of providing secondary education between junior
(Grades 8 to 10) and senior (Grades 11 and 12) secondary education pro-rata to the
number of students enrolled in each level as determined by the Fifteenth Day statistics.
Step 6: At this point, the formula introduces the number of subject enrolments per student
an average of 8.81 at junior secondary level and 5.88 subjects per student at senior
level. The number of students is multiplied by the average number of subject enrolments
to give the number of subject enrolees at each level. From this, a unit cost per subject
enrolee at the junior and senior secondary level is derived (see Table 6.24).

377

Annex to Memorandum from Mr Justin Ellis, the then Under Secretary (Adult Education, Libraries and
Culture) in the Ministry of Basic Education and Culture, Department of Adult Education, Libraries and
Culture, to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, dated 17 October 1997.
214

Table 6.24: Cost per subject enrolee, formal secondary school system, per 2007-2008
budget

Secondary education
Junior
Senior

# learners
156,261
125,088
31,173

Average
subjects/
enrolee
n/a
8.81
5.88

2007-2008
secondary
# subject
education
enrolees budget (NA $)
1,285,323 835,390,494
1,102,025 668,735,808
183,297 166,654,686

Cost per
subject
enrolee
(NA $)
649.95
606.82
909.20

Source: NAMCOL funding formula 2007-2008.

The unit cost per junior and senior secondary school subject enrolment in the formal
system is then multiplied by a ratio of 0.65 (65 per cent) to give a Government subsidy to
NAMCOL of NA $394.44 per junior secondary subject enrolee, and NA $590.98 per
senior secondary subject enrolee. These figures are then multiplied up by the number of
enrolees at each level, added together, and inflated at an agreed rate to provide the total
Government subsidy to NAMCOL.

Note in respect of this formula that:

Since the formula is worked out on the basis of the budget, all the costs in Steps 1-3 are
based on budget and not actual expenditure.
In Main Division 5 (Secondary Education), no distinction is made between the costs of
junior and senior education. There may indeed be a difference but this is unknown.
The 20 per cent overheads charge levied in Step 4 is a guesstimate and has no foundation
in fact.
The total budgeted cost of secondary education for 2007-2008 is NA $835,390,494. In
accordance with Step 5, this is divided pro-rata between junior and senior secondary
education. The Fifteenth Day statistics used are 125,088 enrolled in junior secondary
grades and 31,173 in senior secondary grades. As Table 6.25 shows, because of the nature
of the data and the way in which overheads are apportioned, the cost per secondary
school student, and junior secondary and senior secondary school student, is the same.
Table 6.25: Average cost per student, formal secondary education system, per 20072008 budget

Secondary education
Junior
Senior

# learners
156,261
125,088
31,173

2007-2008
budget (NA Cost/student
$)
(NA $)
835,390,494
5,346
668,735,808
5,346
166,654,686
5,346

It is only when student numbers are translated into subject enrolments at a ratio of 8.81
subjects per junior secondary student and 5.88 subjects per senior secondary student, and
the total secondary school budget is apportioned across the junior and senior secondary
school sectors pro-rata to the number of subject enrolments, that the unit cost between
junior and senior levels differs (see Table 6.24 above). However, the rationale for using
215

subject enrolments is odd since the average load of 8.81 and 5.88 subjects per student is
the average subject load for full-time students in secondary education at the junior and
senior level respectively. This compares with the theoretical maximum subject load of
nine subjects at the JSC level, and six subjects at the IGCSE/NSSCO level. The only
thing that makes subjects "cost" more at senior secondary level is that students take fewer
subject at this level. If one were, as Marope's report implicitly recommended 378 , to
determine costs per full-time equivalent student, then one might reasonably take these
loads as equivalent to a full-time equivalent load, and hence work on an operational cost
per full-time equivalent student in the formal system of NA $5,346. If one wished to use
the theoretical maximum course load as the basis of calculating the cost per subject, then
the cost per subject would change (see Table 6.26). Also, of course, the calculation is
based on the assumption that the cost per student at the junior and senior secondary level
is the same.
It is perhaps worth mentioning that the subjects to student ratio has not been adjusted to
reflect actual movements in this ratio over the years.
Table 6.26: Unit cost per subject enrolee, formal secondary education system,
based on 2007-2008 budget

FTE based on:

Cost per student

Actual subject load

Theoretical maximum
subject load

Subject load per student Cost per FTE student (NA $)

Junior
Senior
Junior
Senior
secondary
secondary
secondary
secondary
5,346.12
5,346.12
Cost per subject (NA $)
8.81
5.88
9.00

6.00

606.82

909.20

594.01

891.02

The final point to make about NAMCOL's funding formula is that the formula generates
only part of NAMCOL's total income. In 2007-2008 the formula will generate a
Government subsidy of NA $29,663,991 towards operational costs and NA $1 million
towards capital costs. Other income will amount to NA $17,323,080. Non-Government
income amounts to 36.1 per cent of total income 379 .

Table 6.27 below, which is based on the data in Table 6.23, shows the activity-based 2007-2008
budget for the JSC and NSSCO, as well as the total identifiable budget for NAMCOL's
Alternative Secondary Education programme. In this scenario, the "overheads" (that is,
management costs and the balance of current profit and loss on the NAMCOL's other
programmes) are absorbed across the programmes pro-rata to the number of students enrolled in
the JSC and NSSCO. Unit costs per subject enrolee and student are then calculated. In calculating
the subject load per NAMCOL student, it is important to note that a student taking an
IGCSE/NSSCO subject at the senior secondary level is in fact doing two years academic study in
one calendar year. Hence the actual load of these students is double the ratio of subjects to student
378

Mmantsetsa Toka Marope, Namibia Human Capital and Knowledge Development for Economic Growth
with Equity, Africa Region Human Development Working paper Series No. 84, Human Development
Sector, Africa Region, The World Bank, 2005, 6.27, p. 83.
379
NAMCOL, 2007-2008 Budget.
216

heads (i.e. in 2007, NSSCO students were studying an average of 1.87 subjects, which represents
3.74 subject-years; JSC students were studying on average 2.19 subjects).
Table 6.27: NAMCOL unit costs per subject enrolee and per student, 2007-2008 budget
estimate, assuming all non-ASEP net costs are charged against the ASEP programme
(Scenario 1)

JSC
15,871,722
3,791,846
19,663,568
3,785,199
15,878,369

Identified Expenditure
Overheads apportioned
Total costs carried
Identified Income
Net cost

All
NSSCO secondary
15,991,479 31,863,201
4,209,709 8,001,555
20,201,188 39,864,756
5,204,481 8,989,680
14,996,707 30,875,076

# subject enrolees
Subject weighting
Weighted subjects

28,849
1
28,849

27,327
2
54,654

83,503

Cost/subject enrolee
Overheads
Gross Cost/weighted
subject enrolee
Income/weighted subject enrolee
Net cost/weighted subject enrolee

550.17
131.44

292.59
77.02

381.58
95.82

681.60
131.21
550.40

369.62
95.23
274.39

477.41
107.66
369.75

# students

13,176

14,628

27,804

1,204.59
287.78
1,492.38
287.28
1,205.10

1,093.21
287.78
1,380.99
355.79
1,025.21

1,145.99
287.78
1,433.78
323.32
1,110.45

Cost/student
Overheads per student
Gross cost/student
Income/student
Net cost/student

However, the position changes if only 80 per cent of the "other" overhead costs are charged to the
ASEP. This results in lower and arguably more realistic unit costs in the ASEP programme (Table
6.28).

217

Table 6.28: NAMCOL unit costs per subject enrolee and per student, 2007-2008 budget
estimate, assuming only "other" business-sustaining net costs are charged against the ASEP
programme (Scenario 2)

JSC
15,871,722
1,524,964
17,396,686
3,785,199
13,611,487

Identified Expenditure
Overheads apportioned
Total costs carried
Identified Income
Net cost

All
NSSCO secondary
15,991,479 31,863,201
1,693,016 3,217,980
17,684,495 35,081,181
5,204,481 8,989,680
12,480,014 26,091,501

# subject enrolees
Subject weighting
Weighted subjects
Cost/subject weighted enrolee
Overheads per weighted
Gross Cost/weighted
subject enrolee
Income/weighted subject enrol.
Net cost/weighted subject enrolee

28849
1
28,849
550.17
52.86

27,327
2
54,654
292.59
30.98

83,503
381.58
38.54

603.03
131.21
471.82

323.57
95.23
228.35

420.12
107.66
312.46

# students

13176

14628

27804

1,204.59
115.74
1,320.33
287.28
1,033.05

1,093.21
115.74
1,208.95
355.79
853.16

1,145.99
115.74
1,261.73
323.32
938.41

Cost/student
Overheads
Gross cost/student
Income/student
Net cost/student

In her report, Dr. Marope pressed for an analysis of NAMCOL's costs per Full-Time Equivalent
(FTE) student. Godana and Ogawa, in their background paper 380 to Marope's study, argued, "As
FTE is central for cost-effectiveness analysis and for the allocation of resources to NAMCOL, the
absence of an agreed principle for calculating FTE is highly unsatisfactory. It is imperative that
the determination of FTE and principle of funding based on subsidy per FTE is undertaken as a
matter of urgency". This statement is highly dubious. Within Namibia, it does not really matter
what measure is used to allocate resources to NAMCOL, and to compare the efficiency of
NAMCOL with the formal system, provided that the approach works. In Namibia, both purposes
are served by the unit cost per subject measure.
Naturally, those researchers who see the FTE measure as a valid basis for making international
comparisons of the cost per student will tend to favour the cost per FTE measure, but as we argue
elsewhere, differences in local prices make such comparisons meaningless. Much better is to
establish the relative costs of different approaches within the same country in monetary terms,

380

Tekaligne Godana and Keichi Ogawa, The cost and financing of education and training, Report 07/05/03
of the Human Capital and Knowledge Development for Economic Growth with Equity study, EWPO78682-ESW, 4.2.10.
218

using whatever measure is appropriate, and then make international comparisons using a
currency-fluctuations neutral measure such as the Efficiency Ratio proposed by us.
It is now possible tentatively to compare the costs of NAMCOL with the formal secondary
education system (Table 6.29) and to determine an Efficiency Ratio for NAMCOL.
Table 6.29: Unit costs per subject-enrolee and per student, formal secondary school system
and NAMCOL, based on 2007-2008 budget

Cost per student

Cost per subject
Actual load
Theoretical maximum

---------Formal secondary school system-------------------------------NAMCOL--------------------Subject load

---------Cost (NA $)---------Subject load
--------Cost (NA $)---------JSC NSSCO
JSC NSSCO
All
JSC NSSCO
JSC NSSCO
All
5,346.12 5,346.12 5,346.12
1,320.33 1,208.95 1,261.73
8.81
9.00

5.88
6.00

606.82
594.01

909.20
891.02

n/a

2.19

3.74*

603.03

323.57

* Equivalent subject load

By dividing the unit cost in the NAMCOL by the unit cost in the formal system, one can work out
the Efficiency Ratio, where a value greater than 1.0 indicates that NAMCOL is less efficient than
the formal system, and a value less than 1.0 indicates that NAMCOL is more efficient than the
formal system. As Table 6.29 shows:

The cost per JSC student head at NAMCOL is NA $1,320.30, compared with 5346.12 in
the formal system. The Efficiency Ratio is thus 0.247.
The Efficiency Ratio per student at the NSSCO level is 0.226.
The Efficiency Ratio per student overall is 0.236.

As the table shows, the cost per student head at NAMCOL is much lower than the cost per
student in the formal system with NAMCOL costs being roughly one quarter (23.6 per cent) of
the cost per student head in the formal system.
As far as subject enrolments go:

The cost per JSC subject-enrolment at NAMCOL is NA $603.03, compared with 606.82
in the formal system. The Efficiency Ratio is therefore 0.994.
The Efficiency Ratio per NSSCO subject enrolment is 0.356.

As the table shows, the efficiency per student is not carried over to the cost per subject at the JSC
level, where the costs are very nearly the same. However, because NAMCOL's students do the
full two-year Grade 11 and Grade 12 curriculum in a single year at the NSSCO level, the
Efficiency Ratio at this level is 0.356 that is, NAMCOL costs just over one-third the cost of the
formal system at this level.
One final question remains: can these results be scaled up to calculate the NAMCOL's unit cost
per FTE student, as Dr. Marope would like? The answer is, unfortunately "no", at least at present,
because it is not just a question of multiplying up the cost of taking say 2.19 JSC subjects to work
out with a cost for taking six or nine subjects. As explained, there is a distinction between course
219

n/a

costs, indirect common costs and apportioned business sustaining costs. Because NAMCOL
students progress more slowly (i.e. take fewer courses per year), a full-time student equivalent
load in NAMCOL would arguably carry two or three years' worth of indirect common and
business sustaining costs as well as the "direct" subject costs. The present state of activity costing
in NAMCOL does not allow one to do this calculation.
6.13

Dr. Maropes 2005 assessment of NAMCOL

In 2005, Dr. Mmantsetsa Toka Marope produced a report Namibia Human Capital and
Knowledge Development for Economic Growth with Equity, which was published as Africa
Region Human Development Working Paper Series No. 84 by the Human Development Sector,
Africa Region of the World Bank. Although the World Banks standard disclaimer is made that
the findings, interpretations and conclusions of the report are those of the author, Dr. Marope, and
that the Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data and information in the document and
accepts no responsibility for any consequences of their use, the mere fact that the report has been
published by the Bank is likely to give the report a degree of status that, at least in respect of its
comments on NAMCOL, it does not deserve. This is particularly worrying given that, in section
6.32 of her report, Dr. Marope concludes:
6.32 Considering that the performance on national examinations is lower for
NAMCOLs students, that teaching time per subject is much less, that instructional
materials are more expensive, and that the unit cost is not much lower than for schoolbased secondary education, the Ministry [of Education] may want to reconsider the future
focus and orientation of NAMCOL. Improving the quality and coverage of regular
secondary education may be a more cost-effective option than NAMCOL 381
Dr. Marope argues that with improved quality leading to better performance in secondary school
examinations and hence less demand for avenues to resit the examinations, NAMCOL could be
re-oriented to focus on lifelong learning opportunities for adult learners. In these circumstances:
NAMCOL can then serve as an important vehicle for adult and continuing education,
rather than a costly prolongation of secondary schooling. 382
Given these comments, it is important to examine carefully the claims made by Dr. Marope,
especially as NAMCOL continues to provide avenues to education betterment that the formal
system does not as yet provide. This is especially true at the senior secondary level where the
formal system lacks the capacity to allow more than about 45 per cent of people to continue with
their education. Indeed, the generally negative approach that Dr. Marope takes to NAMCOL
seems strangely at odds with some of the statements in the educational background paper to her
published report which, for example, states among other things:
The data thus indicate that NAMCOL represents a significant alternative route for
gaining junior secondary certificates. 383

381

Mmantsetsa Toka Marope, Namibia Human Capital and Knowledge Development for Economic Growth
with Equity, Africa Region Human Development Working paper Series No. 84, Human Development
Sector, Africa Region, The World Bank, 2005, 6.32, p. 84.
382
Ibid. 6.32, p. 84.
383
Mmantsetsa Marope, Keiichi Ogawa, Albert Tuijnman, Charmaine Villet, Adapting the General
Education System to Better Support Namibias Transition to a Knowledge-based Economy, Report No.
220

6.13.1 Commentary on Dr. Maropes report

What follows is a detailed commentary on Dr. Marope's report as it pertains to NAMCOL. In
essence the comments indicate considerable misunderstanding and at times ignorance of
NAMCOL, leading to conclusions whose worth is dubious if not positively wrong.
Marope (2005)
3.8
NAMCOL delivers both
(p.
face-to-face and distance
21)
education programmes

Judgment
FALSE

Commentary
NAMCOL offered a face-to-face
alternative afternoon/evening school,
but from 1999 in four regions, and
since 2003 in all regions, all students
have studied at a distance using
NAMCOLs study materials either (a)
as Contact students, in combination
with weekly tutorials (during the
1999-2002 pilot phase, 4 hours per
week, and since 2003, 2 hours per
week) or (b) as Non-contact students
with no weekly tutorials, but with an
opportunity to attend one-week
vacation workshops twice a year.
The Working Paper on which the
Education Sector Survey of Maropes
report is based 384 was produced in the
period May to July 2003 (see
properties of electronic version) so
NAMCOLs new open learning
system had been in place for some
several months, and in planning since
the previous year. It is noteworthy
that NAMCOL says that not one
member of Maropes team visited
NAMCOL at any time during the
conduct of the World Bank studies.

05/05/03 of the Human Capital and Knowledge Development for Economic Growth with Equity study,
EW-PO78682-ESW, paragraph 4.3.46.
384
Mmantsetsa Marope, Keiichi Ogawa, Albert Tuijnman, Charmaine Villet, Adapting the General
Education System to Better Support Namibias Transition to a Knowledge-based Economy, Report No.
05/05/03 of the Human Capital and Knowledge Development for Economic Growth with Equity study,
EW-PO78682-ESW.
221

3.8
(p.
21)

NAMCOL provides a
second chance to youth
who could not attain
high passing grades in
the formal system. It
also provides for youth
and adults who missed a
chance to enrol in
school.

TRUE

In practice, most NAMCOL students

have attended a regular secondary
school and are trying to improve their
grades having failed to get an A to C
grade in the formal system.

3.16
(p.
24)

NAMCOL enrolment
increased from 5,600 to
32,400 in 2002

FALSE (though not

a significant issue)

NAMCOL was established in April

1998. Programmes prior to that date
were the responsibility of the relevant
Ministry. (This is acknowledged in
the background paper on the
education system. 385 )

3.17
(p.
24)

Most of NAMCOLs
learners (87 per cent) are
aged between 17 and 30
with a strong
representation of 20-24
year olds. Over two
thirds are women.
References to South
Korea as a comparator
nation to Namibia

TRUE

Comment

But there is no mention of the role the

Korean Air Correspondence High
School played in secondary education
in Korea one very similar to the role
NAMCOL is playing.

Comparison of full-time
IGCSE candidates
graded A-C and A-G,
and JSC candidates
graded A-C and A-G
(2002 examinations),
with part-time
candidates

SLOPPY

The reference in 3.51 to

NAMCOLs full-time and part-time
candidates is wrong: NAMCOL
itself had (and has) only part-time
students. The explanatory note in
NAMCOLs Statistical Digest 2002,
which is the source of Maropes table,
makes this clear (pp. 4, 23). What is
meant are the full-time candidates in
the formal system.

3.20
(p,
25)

3.51
(p.
38)

No mention is made of the curriculum

differences, i.e. NAMCOL candidates
385

Mmantsetsa Marope, Keiichi Ogawa, Albert Tuijnman, Charmaine Villet, Adapting the General
Education System to Better Support Namibias Transition to a Knowledge-based Economy, Report No.
05/05/03 of the Human Capital and Knowledge Development for Economic Growth with Equity study,
EW-PO78682-ESW), para. 4.2.16.
222

do not take the same range of courses

as full-time students and not all the
subject examinations are comparable
(NAMCOL language courses are
different).

FIGURES
CORRECT, but

No mention is made of the fact that

not all the part-time students listed by
the DNEA are actually NAMCOL
students

6.27
(p.
83)

Estimating the unit cost

at NAMCOL is
complicated

TRUE, but

not necessarily for the reasons

cited by Marope. The greatest
impediment has been the traditional
approach to budgeting, rather than an
activity-based focus. It is
extraordinary that Marope totally
ignored the funding formula, which
after all provides one way of
comparing unit costs.

6.27
(p.
83)

An accurate calculation
of full-time equivalents
(FTEs) is very difficult
because of the mix of
face-to-face and distance
modes of delivery

WRONG

From 1999 in four regions, and from

2003 in all regions, none of
NAMCOLs students were studying
face-to-face. Data on the numbers
studying by mode was available and
could have been used to calculate an
FTE for each group.

6.27
(p.
83)

As FTE is important for

cost-effectiveness
analysis, and for the
allocation of resources to
NAMCOL, the absence
of an agreed principle
for calculating FTE is
highly unsatisfactory.
This must be fixed as a
matter of urgency.

DEBATABLE

Other measures apart from FTEs can

be used to analyse cost-effectiveness:
for example, student-courses and
student hours.

UNTRUE

Whether it satisfactory or not, there is

an agreed method for establishing an
FTE number of NAMCOL students
built into the NAMCOL funding
formula agreed between the Ministry
and the NAMCOL Board. This
agreement is based on the number of
being be divided by 8.81, and the
number of IGCSE subject enrolments
being divided by 5.88. The divisors
used are based on empirical evidence
regarding the mean number of
subjects taken by learners in the
formal system.

223

6.28
and
Table
6.13
(p.
83)

Marope adopts the

same principle as the
calculation of FTE in
higher education: a fulltime Grade 10 takes an
average of nine subjects,
a full-time Grade 12
student takes six subjects
in the school year.
The FTE numbers for
JSCE and HIGSE (sic.)
...

... candidates are

obtained by dividing the
subject entries for the
year by 9 and by 6,
respectively.

It is unclear whether
Marope, in calculating
the cost per learner in
the formal system (see
Table 6.13), used (a) the
budget for, as opposed to
actual expenditure used,
on the secondary system;
and it is unclear what
adjustments were made
to the raw figures to get
nearer the full costs of
secondary education

AND ...

More significantly, the use of the FTE

measure does not solve the problem of
making international comparisons in
situations where foreign exchange
values fluctuate and local price
structures are very different.

UNTRUE

The 9/6 subject load is the theoretical

load. In practice students in the formal
system take slightly fewer subjects, on
average.

Relatively few senior secondary

students take the HIGCSE
examination in Namibia, and none at
NAMCOL do (or did). The reference
should be to the IGCSE.

SLOPPY

WRONG AT IGCSE
LEVEL

LACK OF
CLARITY AS TO
METHODOLOGY
REGARDING
FULL-TIME
COSTS

It is questionable whether 9/6 are the

correct subject loadings to use. Also
Marope does not understand that each
course enrolment at the IGCSE level
at NAMCOL studies the full Grade 11
and Grade 12 curriculum in a single
year. Formal students taking an
IGCSE subject study one curriculum
year times two years.
At the primary level, expenditure has
exceeded the budget in recent years,
whereas at the secondary level there
has tended to be an underspend. Using
budgeted figures would over-estimate
the cost per student in the formal
system, at least since 2000/2001.
Using published secondary education
costs (Min Division 05 figures) will
underestimate the costs of secondary
education. It is not clear what
adjustments have been made.
The Fifteenth Day statistics are
reckoned to overstate enrolments in
secondary schools by about 2.5 per

224

cent on average though the

distortion in particular years can be
much greater than this. This would
tend to under-report unit costs in the
formal system 386 .

and (b) the Fifteenth Day

statistics collected on the
fifteenth day of the
school year, or the more
accurate figures
collected in August for
the EMIS statistics.

In Table 6.13, the total student

numbers for 1998 is 20,018 (9504
JSC + 10439 IGCSE + 75 CED), not
20,167 as given.
ARITHMETIC
ERROR

OMISSION

Maropes calculations omit the

candidates who sat the public
examinations in May/June. She thus
underestimates the number of national
IGCSE candidates in every year. The
Oct/Nov exams accounted for 82 per
cent of sittings in 1998, 79 per cent in
1999, 87 per cent in 2000 and 90 per
cent in 2001, respectively.
The cost per learner in secondary
schools figures provided in Table 6.13
(p. 83) cannot be reconciled with
costs derived by Du Vivier using
MOE budgetary data. Du Vivier
estimates that Marope's figures
underestimate unit costs 387 .

SOURCE OF
FIGURES
UNCLEAR
6.29
(p.
83)

given that about a

third of JSCE and about
two-thirds of HIGCS
students are in distance
learning, the FTE could
be adjusted.
NAMCOL argues that
the provision of
education through
distance teaching mode
is not necessarily
cheaper.

No HIGCSE (nb acronym) students

are studying at a distance.

WRONG

NAMCOL
STATEMENT
TRUE, BUT IT ALL
DEPENDS

386

Distance teaching is not necessarily

cheaper than face-to-face teaching,
though it may be. Reasons why it may
not be cheaper, and factors that will
tend to help it become more efficient,
are complex and explored in Chapter
2 of this work.

Ed Du Vivier, Financing NAMCOL into the Future: A Study of the Colleges Efficiency, CostEffectiveness, Fee Structure and Funding Formula, 27 March 2007, Section 1.1.
387
Ibid., Section 1.1.1.
225

However there is no
precise information on
the relative costs of the
two modes of delivery,
... and therefore, the FTE
estimate could not be
refined.
6.30
(p.
84)

Comparison of the cost

per FTE at NAMCOL
with the per learner
operational cost in fulltime secondary
education, suggests that
NAMCOL is more
costly than regular
schooling.

TRUE AT THE
TIME (2002, 2003)
BUT

HIGHLY
MISLEADING

388

It is arguable that this misunderstands

the nature of the distinctions between
NAMCOL's teaching systems in 2002
and 2003 and arguable that with all
NAMCOL's students being part-time,
the difference between the modes in
FTE terms would be minimal.
The exclusion of capital costs is
highly misleading. One of the cost
advantages of distance education is
that classrooms and per school
administrative facilities are not
required. Where classrooms are used
for face-to-face tuition, most systems
use existing facilities in out of school
hours, thus maximising their efficient
use. The Millennium Challenge
Account: Namibia document
produced by the National Planning
Commission in 2007 388 estimates that
the cost of providing a new school
block with three classrooms would be
NA $325,000, together with NA
$480,000 (sic.!) to furnish and equip
three classrooms. If the building costs
were annualised over 30 years and the
furniture and equipment over 10, the
annualised cost would be NA
$58,833. Given a capacity of 105
pupils per block, the annual cost
would be NA $555 per pupil.
Although we have some doubts about
this figure, a capital and maintenance
cost of NA $400 per pupil seems not
unreasonable. Note that NAMCOL
does pay the schools it uses an
amount for maintenance and running
costs. This cost will be included in
NAMCOLs budget contribution.

Office of the President, National Planning Commission, Millennium Challenge Account: Namibia,
Windhoek, Office of the President, 2007, pp. 73-75.
226

Marope took no account of the cost of

hostel accommodation, which affects
secondary education costs in
particular.

Other costs

As an autonomous para-statal body,

NAMCOL incurs certain costs not
incurred by the MOE but carried by
other ministries, as well as having to
buy some services in the open market
at a market price higher than that paid
within the government service. The
cost of the formal system is thus
subject to a number of hidden
subsidies. Marope makes no
allowance for these 389 .
6.30
(p.
84)

In 2001, 13.6 per cent of TRUE, but

the scripts for NAMCOL
candidates were
incomplete compared
with 1.2 per cent for fulltime candidates

Note that not all the examinations are

comparable: It is thought that part of
the poor performance by NAMCOL
students on language courses (both
English as a second language and
Namibian languages as a native
speaker) arises from the fact that at
the JSC level, these courses are
examined as literature rather than oral
courses.

6.30
(p.
84)

The percentage of
graded subjects (i.e. A to
G) was lower at
NAMCOL (79.4 per
cent) than for full-time
schooling (89.2 per cent)

TRUE, but

Maropes focus on A to G hides the

fact that with regard to progressing to
tertiary education or into a
government job, the only grades that
count are A to C and the formal
system is not very good here either
(though it is admittedly better than
NAMCOL). However, NAMCOL is
teaching a group of students from
which the best and the brightest have
already been creamed off when they
passed their formal (full-time)
examinations 390 .

389

Ed Du Vivier, Financing NAMCOL into the Future: A Study of the Colleges Efficiency, CostEffectiveness, Fee Structure and Funding Formula, 27 March 2007, Section 1.1.
390
See also Ed Du Vivier, Financing NAMCOL into the Future: A Study of the Colleges Efficiency, CostEffectiveness, Fee Structure and Funding Formula, 27 March 2007, Section 1.3, who argues that it is
entirely spurious for Marope and her colleagues to criticise the College for the poor performance of its
learners in public examinations relative to those in the formal education system as this is not comparing
like with like.
227

6.30
(p.
84)

As almost all NAMCOL

candidates would
already have gone
through full-time
secondary schooling,
part of their performance
can be attributed to their
learning prior to joining
NAMCOL. Recorded
pass rates may therefore
be an overestimate of
NAMCOLs output
efficiency

UNPROVEN AND
NOT
GENERALISABLE

AND

6.31
(p.
84)

The amount of teaching

time per subject received
by NAMCOL students is
much less that that
received by full-time
students in the formal
secondary schools.

DEMONSTRATES
IGNORANCE OF
DISTANCE
EDUCATION
MODALITIES

391

The one fairly accurate estimation of

the proportion of NAMCOL students
who were resit candidates as against
first-time secondary students relates to
1998 when 63.2 per cent of JSC
subject enrolments with NAMCOL
were resit entries, and 36.1 per cent of
IGCSE subject enrolments were resit
candidates. So over one-third of JSC
and nearly two-thirds of IGCSE
candidates were not resit entries (see
NAMCOL, Statistical Digest, 1998, p.
5) 391 .
even if one accepts that part of the
value of NAMCOLs students on
entry derives from their studies in
formal system, another way of putting
it would be to say that since the
formal system has not allowed JSCE
candidates aged 16 or under who fail
to gain the requisite number of passes
(6) at A to C grade, and a pass in
English, and since it also will not
allow IGCSE candidates who fail to
get the requisite number of passes (6)
at A* to C grade, to resit their
examinations, what NAMCOL does is
to pick up the students the formal
system has failed and try, through
additional investment in those
students, to make sure that the
investment in formal secondary
education is not wasted.
The whole point of distance
education, apart from opening up
possibilities for individuals unable to
attend a class or attend classes in
school hours, is that it changes the
production function of education by
substituting capital (in the form of
materials) for labour in form of
teacher time in the classroom. The
cost structure of distance education is
therefore radically different from
face-to-face teaching in classrooms.

Ed Du Vivier, Financing NAMCOL into the Future: A Study of the Colleges Efficiency, CostEffectiveness, Fee Structure and Funding Formula, 27 March 2007, Section 1.3.1
228

As a direct result, much of the

students learning time is spent
reading and studying texts and other
materials. This study time has equal
value to listening to a teacher expound
content in a classroom and is arguably
a more efficient way of transferring
information than lectures and
classroom expositions. Distance
education that incorporates some faceto-face teaching also includes time for
dialogue to take place.
The real comparison is between
distance students total study time
(reading/listening to materials, doing
assignments, preparing for,
participating and following up on
face-to-face sessions), and the study
time of traditional students.
6.31
(p.
84)

Instructional materials
are also a bit more
costly, as they are meant
to be used in lieu of
face-to-face teaching.

NO EVIDENCE
GIVEN FOR THIS
STATEMENT

Distance education substitutes capital

(in the form of materials) for labour in
the form of teacher time in the
classroom. Moreover, materials are
generally used for several years so
their development costs are
annualised over the number of years
they are used. It is only the costs of
running off copies of the texts that are
truly recurrent costs. In almost all
distance education systems, texts
prove to be a cheaper way of
educating students than face-to-face
teaching, unless the number of
learners is very small.
Also, where face-to-face teaching is
offered, the tutors delivering it are
usually paid at casual rates and have
none of the employment benefits of
core members of staff.
So for any system with a high number
of learners such as NAMCOL has
text is likely to be cheaper than
teaching in the formal system. This
will be true of the teaching system as
a whole provided expensive media are

229

not used and even where some faceto-face support is offered.

6.32
(p.
84)

"Considering that the

performance on national
examinations is lower
for NAMCOLs
students,
that teaching time per
subject is much less,

that instructional
materials are more
expensive,

STATEMENT A
NON SEQUITUR
TRUE

TOTAL LACK OF
UNDERSTANDING
OF NATURE OF
DISTANCE
EDUCATION

DEBATEABLE

In any case, the statement is a non

sequitur. There is no causal
relationship between materials being
used in lieu of face-to-face teaching,
and their cost.
As this paper makes clear, this is true.

Much of the "teaching" in distance

education is done through
instructional materials. Face-to-face
teaching in distance education thus
assumes a different role being
supportive of and supplementing the
teaching done through the materials.
The comment demonstrates ignorance
of the nature of distance education.
(See above, comments on 6.31.)
Whether or not this is true will depend
on the cost of the materials,
annualised over the number of years
they are used, with the committed cost
element of the materials spread across
the number of students taking the
subjects, and on the other hand, the
cost of teachers. (See above,
comments on 6.31.)
As noted, this is untrue in respect of
per student costs, and only partly true
in the case of unit costs per subject
enrolment.

6.32
(p.
84)

and that the unit cost is

not much lower than for
school-based secondary
education, ..."

AT BEST ONLY
PARTIALLY TRUE

Marope suggests that

NAMCOL devote itself
to lifelong learning and
adult and continuing
education.

given that a minute proportion

AN
EXTRAORDINARY (under 0.05 per cent) of NAMCOLs
students are aged 16 or under (the
STATEMENT
statutory school leaving age) and over
60 per cent at least are older than 20
years of age.

230

OR alternatively it
suggests the need for
NAMCOL to move
out of the secondary
education market
into other markets

6.14

There is a case for NAMCOL to

withdraw from junior secondary
education when universal primary
education has been achieved in
Namibia, provided there is no
emergent demand from adults for JSC
courses. The same could eventually be
true of senior secondary education.
NAMCOL is already diversifying in
professional studies and is likely to
develop further new markets in the
future. It may eventually withdraw
from secondary education altogether.

Some Conclusions

In contrast to many open schools, and in spite of its formal remit, NAMCOL does not actually
provide mass education to children and young adults frustrated by the inability of the secondary
school system accommodate them although, given the fact that the NER in the formal senior
secondary school system is relatively low, this is a role that it could play at Grades 11 and 12.
What NAMCOL does do is to provide individuals who have failed to get the necessarily grades A
to C in the formal system with a chance to retake subjects and thus try to improve their
performance so that they can progress academically and/or gain the necessary qualifications for a
job and particularly a government job. Whether this role would continue if the formal system
opened itself up to more and older repeaters at Grades 10 and 12 is an open question, but given
the age of the majority of NAMCOL students, the likelihood is that at the both junior and senior
secondary level, it would still have a role unless and until the formal system manages to increase
the proportion of students who pass with an A to C grade.
That relatively few of NAMCOL's students actually make the grade is disappointing and a cause
for concern. Of course, NAMCOL does increase the number of people with the coveted
qualifications at grades A to C by some ten per cent. It does so notwithstanding the fact that the
vast majority of the students who enrol with it have already failed, or been failed by, the formal
system. Yet if only it could improve the performance of those who gain a grade D to G pass, and
get them into the A to C band, it could do so much better. As the Effectiveness Ratio shows, the
formal system is not that effective, and NAMCOL performs less well than the formal system. If it
did, then more of its secondary graduates would do better than is now the case. Even so, its
noticeable that whereas only one in ten of NAMCOL's students have a job, Fentiman's Tracer
study found that over one in two of the ex-students had been or were employed. That is positive
success of a kind. And, for some of those who succeed, tertiary education and well-paid jobs
beckon. At the level of the individual, these are successes to be celebrated.
The success of NAMCOL's pedagogic system rests like all distance education systems on
three key factors: the quality of its course materials, the quality of its student support sub-system
and the quality of its logistics. The quality of its course materials is not in doubt: the materials,
subject by subject, are good to excellent and recognised as such, given the extent to which they
are used by schools in the formal system and bought by formal system students. Logistically too
the College performs well: the turnaround time on assignments (the elapsed time between a

231

student handing an assignment in for marking, and getting the marked and commented on script
back) is on a par with the best of correspondence systems. This is important as research shows
that poor turnaround time is correlated with high drop-out rates. NAMCOL's management
systems and its student support systems are well-designed and function well. Students are
registered efficiently; the materials get out to them on time; assignments are handled
expeditiously.
If there is a question mark, it hangs over the effectiveness of the student support system. What
measures might be taken to improve the effectiveness of the support systems so that a higher
proportion of students achieve their aim of getting an A to C grade in the national examinations?
NAMCOL is a lean organisation. It has a small core staff, relative to the number of students it
supports. It makes use of peripheral staff who are employed on contracts for service and who are
paid for the work they do neither more nor less. Economically it is very efficient, in terms of its
unit costs per student, in comparison with the formal system. In terms of its unit costs per subject
enrolment, its "two academic years crammed into one calendar year" approach at the NSSCO
level makes it very efficient compared with the formal system, while the unit costs per subject at
the JSC Grade 10 level are on par with those in the formal system.
Overall then, and putting aside the disappointing performance of its students in the JSC and
NSSCO/IGCSE examinations, the College is an impressive distance/open learning system. The
focus for its development plan seems clear: it must work to improve student results in the public
examinations.

232

7 OVERALL CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY ADVICE

7.1

Why bother with Open Schooling at the secondary level?

This study is predicated on the belief that Open Schooling may offer a potential solution to the
looming crisis in the provision of places at secondary education level. Indeed, given the cost of
setting up conventional schools, Open Schooling may be the only way of meeting what the
Commonwealth of Learning anticipates will be a tidal wave of youngsters demanding access to
secondary education. But is there actually a crisis in supply, such that demand will be frustrated?
We believe that there is and that a tidal wave of demand will indeed emerge for two reasons:

As a result of the success countries have in achieving Universal Primary Education by or

at least shortly after 2015, and
As the natural outcome of growth in educational systems as world population rises from
roughly 6.6 billion 392 to an estimated 9.4 billion by 2050. 393

The cost structure of the formal education system is such that many countries will find it
impossible financially to follow Universal Primary Education with Universal Secondary
Education and Universal Higher Secondary Education. Also, secondary schools need trained and
well-educated teachers ideally teachers who have studied the subjects they will be teaching at
the tertiary level. All too often there are better paid opportunities for employment outside the
education service, especially in certain crucial subjects such as mathematics, the sciences and
computing. In any case, countries that are modernising their economies and attempting to
engineer knowledge-based economies need the products of their higher education system to
engage with the development of their new knowledge-based economies. So while schools will
still need to attract a proportion of graduates from across the curriculum, there are very real
reasons why the way schools operate should be changed so that they can operate with fewer
ideally better paid subject-expert graduate teachers.
7.1.1

The implications of not meeting demand

Of course, it would be possible to ignore all this, leaving huge reservoirs of frustrated demand,
but this would be, in our view, a risky strategy because:

7.2

All the evidence points to the fact that individuals need to have completed at least higher
secondary education if they are to participate meaningfully in economic activity, and
A reservoir or frustrated demand will have serious political implications in those
countries that fail to educate their young people.

Defining "Open Schooling" and "open schools"

Throughout this study, we have discussed open schools within the context of the broad definition
first laid out in Section 2.1. COL's definition of Open Schooling focuses on what one might call
392

US Census Bureau, World POPClock Projections, accessed 7 October 2007:

http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/popclockworld.html
393
US Census Bureau, Total Midyear Population of the World: 1950-2050,
http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/worldpop.html, accessed 7 October 2007.
233

the technical means by which Open Schooling is delivered; that is, "the physical separation of the
school-level learner from the teacher, and the use of unconventional teaching methodologies, and
information and communications technologies (ICTs) to bridge the separation and provide the
education and training" 394 . For COL, "the most common scenario is that the learners study
specially designed open learning materials on their own - at home, in their workplace, wherever it
is convenient for them - and then they meet together with a facilitator on a regular basis" 395 .
The openness of the system refers to the lack of restrictions as to who may study, what they study
and how much they study, as much as to the fact that by its very nature technology-based learning
tends to get round the time- and place-based restrictions of the scheduled classroom experience to
open up access to those who cannot attend school at a fixed time and place. It is this openness that
makes distance-taught courses so attractive to those whose life and work patterns make it difficult
or impossible to attend courses taught face-to-face.
COL's definition of Open Schooling is in our view wholly adequate as a technical description of
the way in which an open school goes about the business of teaching and developing an
environment within which learning can take place. There is, though, another way of looking at
Open Schooling, and that is to try to define the role of an open school in relation to conventional
schools.
7.2.1

A broader definition of Open Schooling

It is our view that three significant factors differentiate between conventional systems and nonconventional systems. These are:

394
395

Mode: This refers to the methods or means used to teach and within which learning takes
place. What distinguishes distance education from conventional approaches to education
is the separation of the learner physically for much or most of the time from the person
providing the content that is to be taught, and the use of some form of media (text, audio,
video or computing) carried by some form of technology (print, teletext, radio, CD,
television, DVD, CD-ROM or Internet) to bridge that gap. We wish to make clear that we
do not rule out having some face-to-face teaching and interaction in distance education,
just as we do not rule out some resource-based study and independent learning from faceto-face teaching. The difference is often one of degree. The key differentiating factor is
perhaps that distance learners do not need to attend scheduled classes in a school. They
can study when they want and where they want often at home, sometimes in the
workplace.
Markets: In general, conventional schools are not open to people who are aged 20 and
over. In contrast, distance education is often geared to the need of adults who both value
the flexibility that it enables, and who are more likely to have the necessary motivation
and perseverance for resource-based, independent learning. This does not mean that
distance education cannot be used to teach children and youths: it can, especially if it
relies on parents (in home schooling) and monitors/animateurs in remote classrooms.
Curriculum: All too often the formal system is equated with an academic curriculum
that is linked to expectations of progression to higher education. Such academic curricula
are often wholly unsuitable for a proportion of the children and youths in the formal
education system. These curricula also fail to provide what businesses often demand of

Commonwealth of Learning: http://www.col.org/colweb/site/pid/3905, accessed 19 April 2007

Ibid.
234

the school system a steady stream of young adults who can enter their businesses and
be trained on the job, through sandwich courses involving some form of release for
education and training purposes, and through participation in distance education
programmes (which have the advantage of shifting the time cost of education from the
employer's time to the student's "recreational" time). Efforts to provide technical and
vocational education within schools have, however, often led to a two-tier system in
which the academic stream (and academic schools) are given a higher status than the
technical-vocational stream (and technical and vocational schools), while many
businesses especially small and medium sized enterprises find it difficult to invest in
training programmes and/or worry that if they do so, they are merely spending money on
young employers who will then be "poached" by other employers.
COL's definition focuses reasonably enough on the first of these mode, methods or means.
What the definition does is to make clear that open schools "look" different from conventional
schools. But having a school that breaks through the boundaries of the campus, classroom and
timetable opens up further possibilities that this school will be used to teach different kinds of
people and different kinds of courses.
Taking these factors into account, we can begin to devise a typology of open schools that take
account of the way such schools fit in with the formal conventional school system. At the school
level, the conventional norm (which is seen as part of the formal education system) is a
classroom-delivered education following national or sub-national (e.g. state) public examination
board approved curricula for the achievement of standard qualifications by children and youths
aged roughly between 5 to 7 and 18 years of age.
In contrast, an open school could, if it chose, teach a different clientele for example, adults who
have no or few basic qualifications. It could also teach different kinds of courses courses whose
subject matter and content is not geared to the demands of the ladder of primary, secondary and
tertiary ladder of the formal system, but to things that adults need or will find useful or interesting
to know and learn about.
7.2.2

An alternative or a complement to formal education

Where Open Schooling is aimed at adults who missed out on their schooling, the argument is
sometimes made that adults need to study a different curriculum one more suited to their needs
than that aimed at those of school age. Such considerations may lead to the development of an
alternative curriculum. Such forms of Open Schooling can be seen as an alternative to the
conventional formal system, and as such are classified as part of the non-formal education
system.
Of course it may be that the demand for Open Schooling is not so much geared to the provision of
an alternative curriculum for an alternative market, but rather to provide a supply of places
teaching traditional subjects to children and young adults who cannot get into a conventional
school. There are many countries where there simply are not enough places in conventional
schools to meet the level of frustrated demand that exists for education. In these circumstances,
what is provided is not so much an alternative to the formal primary and secondary experience
but a complement to the formal one that uses the mode of distance education to do this.

235

Two alternative approaches can therefore be envisaged:

7.3

A complementary Open Schooling system offering the same curriculum for children
and youths who have never been in a position to attend the formal, classroom-based
school system or who, having attended the formal education system, have had to drop-out
because they have had to start working or because their grades have been too poor for
them to progress through the grades and various examination hurdles.
An alternative Open Schooling system offering a different, more adult-relevant
curriculum for adults who never had a chance to have or complete their formal education
at school level (and perhaps some out-of-school youth, for whom an alternative
curriculum generally more vocationally-oriented is seen as more appropriate).
Using technology in the classroom

For some, there may still be a question mark over the extent to which technology can be used to
teach and learn from. Our own view is that this is no longer an issue particularly now that
people understand that it is not a question of using exclusively either technology or face-to-face
teaching, but of blending technology and face-to-face support to provide an environment in which
individuals can successfully learn, while at the same time reducing unit costs and increasing
market coverage.
Nevertheless, it is worth reiterating the point that for many years, the evidence shows that
technology has been used successfully to improve the quality of what happens in the traditional
classroom and to enrich the school experience, by providing resource-based learning that can be
used by untrained teachers and by trained teachers whose subject expertise lies in another
discipline to that being taught.
Starting in 1923, for example, the British Broadcasting Company provided a school educational
radio service, first in Kent and then nationally. The number of schools listening to the service rose
steadily from 220 in 1924 to 9,953 in 1939 396 . The purpose of the service, which was to enrich
the curriculum, was rather different to the use of radio in the Radio Matematicas project in
Nicaragua where starting in 1975, the radio was the teaching input and the class teachers
supervised post-broadcast exercises undertaken by the children. It was also different from the use
of television in the large-scale Educational Television projects of the 1960s and 1970s in El
Salvador, American Samoa, Niger and the Ivory Coast, where the argument was that "large scale
television projects could bring about dramatic improvements in education" 397 .
If the evidence for the use of instructional television is mixed not least because of its relative
expense the evidence in favour of radio is very positive. The Mauritius College of the Air
project showed that teachers in secondary schools could support students following
correspondence and radio courses 398 . In the Radio Matematicas project in Nicaragua, radio
replaced the teacher as the source of instruction.

396

Michael Young, Hilary Perraton, Janet Jenkins and Tony Dodds, Distance Teaching for the Third
World: The Lion and the Clockwork Mouse, London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980, p. 17.
397
Ibid, p. 19.
398
Ibid, p. 47.
236

These early results are supported by more recent studies. All the evidence over the last 30 or so
years shows that Interactive Radio Instruction approaches are both effective and efficient 399 .
Equally, we believe that there is a growing body of evidence that points to the value of using
computers in schools as tools to do what cannot otherwise be done without a great deal of
labour, as means of accessing information, as means of communicating with other people, and as
a preparation for the world of work and the home in the 21st century. To fail to provide children
and young adults with the ICT skills that they will need would be a gross dereliction of our duty
as educators.
From our perspective, the use of media (and hence of the technologies that carry it) both to enrich
the curriculum and to improve the quality of education within existing schools is important
because it shows that technology can be used within schools:

to enrich the curriculum,

to support partially-trained subject teachers, and
to provide subject teaching in schools that lack trained subject teachers.

In our view, there is sufficient experience and knowledge available to know that technology can
be used to good effect to support schools.
7.4

Can technology be used to solve the schooling crisis at the secondary level?

The next question is therefore: can technology be used to solve the looming crisis in secondary
education provision? There are two approaches to this question. One is to look to technology to
provide a different kind of school altogether one liberated to a large degree from the campus,
the classroom and the timetable. The other is to transform our notion of what a school is so that
we can have more schools covering more pupils at less cost.
We have no doubt that it is possible to use technology to teach adults who are motivated and
prepared to learn independently on their own in the home or elsewhere. But even adults may
require help to get them started and acquire the skills of independent learning, and to motivate
them to continue when the going gets tough. If this is true of adults it is also true of youths and
children. However, the experience of the Australian Schools of the Air and of the Calvert School
in the USA suggest that even quite young children can successfully be taught from resourcebased learning packages with their parents help and with the help of a remote teacher.. And from
this essentially individual-child, home-based learning scenario, it is just a shift in emphasis to set
up local centres where such students can go to study as a group with the help of local animateurs,
resource-based learning and distant support from qualified teachers.
Given this, and given the evidence of successful applications, we have no hesitation is saying that
technological approaches can be used to establish schools where no schools currently exist. The
Mexican Telesecundaria project showed that technology could be used along with trained

399

Interactive Education Systems, Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI),

http://ies.edc.org/ourwork/topic.php?id=15, accessed 6 October 2007; The World Bank, Development
Research Group, Improving Educational Quality through Interactive Radio Instruction: A Toolkit for
Policymakers and Planners, March 2005, Human Development Sector, Africa Region, The World Bank,
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/EXTAFRREGTOPEDUCA
TION/EXTAFRREGTOPDISEDU/0,,contentMDK:20618845~menuPK:1568672~pagePK:34004173~piP
K:34003707~theSitePK:732264,00.html, accessed 6 October 2007.
237

monitors to set up secondary schools in communities where such schools had never existed
before.
The Republic of Korea set up the Korea Air-Correspondent High Schools in 1974 to provide
education to an estimated 1.4 million high school age youths who were unable to attend
secondary school. Other open schools exist in Bangladesh, Pakistan and China (where the open
schools are part of the open universities) and in Indonesia 400 . These schools set up remote
classrooms that students could attend to watch and listen to lessons, and where they could be
helped to learn from the resources made available.
There are problems, however. Writing in 2000, Hilary Perraton noted that all too often open
schools have tended "to attract the less-able students and have achieved poorer results than
conventional schools", with the result that their "pass rates have generally been lower, sometimes
much lower" and they have "lacked esteem", been "unloved not only by parents and children,
anxious for a proper school, but by ministries of education", and "been starved of funds". Yet for
Perraton, "the other side of this tarnished coin shows that we have developed models that can
achieve success for at least a modest proportion of their students, and that may be of continuing
significance where funding does not enable secondary education to expand in pace with demand".
Perraton goes on to note that resource-based learning is a sign of innovation and that technology
(in whatever form) "can bring resources into the classroom, make learning more fun, raise
quality" 401 .
These judgments based on a review of the evidence such as it is at the end of the last century
may point the way to a possible solution to the emerging crisis in secondary educational
provision, but before we rush to conclusions, we need to consider the evidence that we have
accumulated from the experiences we have analysed in India and Namibia.
7.5

Our results

7.5.1

Population and economy

The two open schools chosen for detailed consideration in this study are very different in size,
and they operate in environments that are also very different. The estimated mid-year population
in 2007 in India was 1,1 billion and in Namibia 2,1 million 402 . In other words, Namibia had a
population equivalent to just 0.0018 per cent of India's population. In 2007, an estimated 37.7 per
cent of Namibia's population was aged under 15 compared with 31.8 per cent of India's. Those
aged 15 to 64 constituted 58.6 per cent of Namibia's population and 63.1 per cent of India's. The
2007 estimated population growth rate in Namibia, at 0.478 per cent, is well below India's at
1.606 per cent. Although the fertility rate in Namibia is higher than in India (2.94 children born
for each woman against 2.81 in India), life expectancy in Namibia at 43.1 years is well below
India's 68.6 years 403 .

400

Hilary Perraton, Open and Distance Learning in the Developing World, London, Routledge, 2000, pp.
38-41.
401
Ibid, pp. 55-56.
402
US Census Bureau, International Data Base for India and Namibia, accessed through
http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/summaries.html on 7 October 2007.
403
Ibid.
238

Beyond startling differences in geographical size and size of population lie a host of other
differences in history, culture, social structure, wealth distribution, growth rates and economic
activity. In Namibia, a relatively high per capita Gross National Income and Gross National
Product per head masks inequalities in income that are among the highest in the world (Section
5.1), while in India there are almost two economic systems the urbanised and industrialised
system of India, and the rural, village-based system of the Bharat. India has a highly diverse
economy that encompasses both traditional village farming and modern agriculture, and both
handicrafts and modern industrial processes. While about three-fifths of the labour force works in
agriculture, recent years have seen significant growth in manufacturing industry. India is also
capitalising on its large number of English-speaking educated people to become a major exporter
of software services and software workers.
In contrast, the present economy of Namibia is heavily dependent on the extraction and
processing of minerals for export, yet the mining sector employs only about three per cent of the
labour force. About half the population depends upon subsistence agriculture where drought is a
real problem.
7.5.2

Comparative national educational data

The open schools in India and Namibia operate in countries where education is highly valued.
Data provided by UNICEF in the 2007 edition of its annual publication The State of the World's
Children shows how the two countries contrast (Table 7.1):
Table 7.1: Comparative educational statistics for India and Namibia
Measure
Adult Literacy Rate
(Source: UNESCO Institute
of Statistics)
- Male (%)
- Female (%)
Gross Primary School
Enrolment Ratio (Source:
UNESCO Institute of
Statistics)

India

Namibia

73
48

87
83

Definition
%age of persons over 15 who can
read and write

The number of children enrolled in a

primary level grade, regardless of
age, divided by the population of that
age group that officially corresponds
to that level

- Boys
- Girls
Net Primary School
Enrolment Ratio (Source:
UNESCO Institute of
Statistics)

111
105

- Boys
- Girls
Net Primary School
Attendance (SourceL
National Household
Surveys)
- Boys
- Girls

90
85

105
106
The number of children enrolled in
primary school who belong to the
age group that officially corresponds
to primary schooling, divided by the
total population of the same age
group
76
81
Percentage of children in the age
group that officially corresponds to
primary schooling who attend
primary school or higher

80
73

78
78

239

Gross Secondary School

Enrolment Rate (Source:
UNESCO Institute of
Statistics)

The number of children enrolled in a

secondary level grade, regardless of
age, divided by the population of that
age group that officially corresponds
to that level

- Male
- Female
Net Secondary School
Enrolment Rate (Source:
UNESCO Institute of
Statistics)

58
47

- Male
- Female
Net Secondary School
Attendance (SourceL
National Household
Surveys)
- Male
- Female

---

59
66
The number of children enrolled in
secondary school who belong to the
age group that officially corresponds
to secondary schooling, divided by
the total population of the same age
group
39
50
Percentage of children in the age
group that officially corresponds to
secondary schooling who attend
secondary school or higher

45
36

29
40

Source: UNICEF, The State of the World's Children 2007: Table 5 Education 404
These figures differ somewhat from those by provided by national bodies (see Tables 3.3, 5.13),
but all sources agree that while progress towards universal primary education is good, a drastic
expansion of secondary school opportunities is required if Indias and Namibias education
systems are going to generate the requisite number of secondary level graduates able both to enter
the labour market with requisite levels of knowledge, skills and attitudes, and to feed the higher
education system with sufficient secondary school graduates in order to meet the countries needs
for graduates within their labour forces.
It is the scale of the challenges facing the countries that is different: India had 212 million
primary school pupils and 89.6 million secondary school learners in 2002; Namibia had 409,000
primary school pupils and 156,000 secondary school learners in 2006 (Tables 3.5, 5.5). In India,
just 39 per cent of the age group 14 to 18 years is in secondary school; in Namibia the Net
Enrolment Rate at secondary level was 49.5 per cent in 2005 (Table 5.13).
If the achievement of Universal Primary Education in the foreseeable future is assured in both
countries, it is only Namibia that may achieve Universal Higher Secondary Education without
resorting to a massive expansion of distance-taught secondary education. Indeed, one of the
justifications for the proposed transformation of NAMCOL into a distance teaching university
with an expanded role in basic and sub-degree-level professional and vocational education and
training, and basic information campaigns (on HIV/AIDS, for example) is precisely the likelihood
that its traditional markets at junior and senior secondary level will dry up 405 . In India, on the
contrary, all the evidence points to a continuing long-term role for NIOS.

404

Source: UNICEF, The State of the World's Children 2007: Table 5 Education
http://www.unicef.org/girlseducation/files/SOWC06_Table5.pdf, accessed 7 October 2007.
405
Professor Rumble: Interview with Mr H Murangi, Director of NAMCOL, 23 October 2007
240

7.5.3

Origins of open schools in India and Namibia

Indias experimental Open School Project was established in 1979. This project was to be
fundamentally different to the existing state correspondence schools in that it was designed to
offer a parallel, non-formal, alternative system to formal schooling that would give a second
chance to those aged 14 or over who had been unable to pursue their studies in the formal
system 406 . Starting with an initial enrolment of 1,671 learners in 1981, by the end of the 1980s the
Open School had moved beyond its initial focus on bridge (equivalent to elementary level
schooling), secondary and life-enhancing courses, to cover the senior secondary level. It had also
grown in size by 1989 its enrolment exceeded 40,000 learners.
The success of the Open School Project persuaded the Union Government to establish the
National Open School in 1989 to take on the task of reaching those who had dropped out of
school or never been to school and who wished to study but were for a variety of reasons not
studying in regular schools. The following year, the Government vested the NOS with the power
to develop schemes of study and to register, examine and certify learners. Over the years, the role
of the National Open School has developed to move beyond the provision of bridging courses, an
alternative secondary/higher secondary curriculum and life-enhancing courses, to include from
1997-1998 the provision of vocational education. By then State Open Schools had been set up in
a number of states. All of these schools have similar pro-poor mandates to that of NOS and hence
differ fundamentally from the earlier generation of State correspondence schools.
In 2002, NOS was re-mandated to act as the national apex body for open schooling, and redesignated the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) in recognition of its increased
powers. NIOS is thus a very different kind of school to the norm in a number of respects:

It is huge far bigger than any traditional school ever could be.
Structurally it is more of a federation of Accredited Institutes that act as its schools, rather
than a school in itself. The AIs are coordinated through NIOS's Regional Centres which
themselves depend upon the Headquarters where the curriculum are devised, the
materials developed, and the system defined and organised.
Unlike most schools, NIOS is both a teaching and an examining and accrediting body.
Finally, as an apex body, NIOS plays a major part as a quasi-governmental agency in
planning and coordinating a significant part of the Indian schools system.

Originally set up with the mission of universalising education, enhancing social equity and
justice, and creating a learning society, the NIOS has sought to reach out to a market that includes
school drop-outs and marginalised groups such as rural youth, girls and women, members of the
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, those with handicaps, and ex-servicemen. The years
have seen a steady increase in the number of students enrolled in NIOS Accredited Institutes,
rising from some 40,000 in 1990-1991 to 290,000 in 2006-2007. Over the years, NIOS
cumulative enrolment has now surpassed 1.5 million learners 407 .
Throughout NOS/NIOS's existence, various educational action plans, five-year plans and the
National Policy on Education have stressed the key role that ODL can play in the educational
406

Ibid. p. 43.
NIOS, National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS): Precise Information,
http://www.nios.ac.in/glance.pdf, accessed 26 October 2007.
407

241

system in India to the extent that the provision of open schools can be said to be deeply
integrated into educational planning as a whole. As a direct result, NOS/NIOS has enjoyed the
continuing support of the Union and state governments with the recognition that NIOS has a key
role to play in successive five-year plans and educational action plans. At the same time,
government grants have steadily declined from one-third of NIOS income in 1990 to just over 2
per cent in 1995. The remainder of NIOS income comes from student fees and examination fees.
The Namibian College of Open Learning (NAMCOL) was formally established in 1997 as a
distance education college with the Ministry of Education. NAMCOL, which had the status of a
department within the Ministry, took on responsibility for the existing distance education
programmes within the country, including an apartheid-era teacher training programme leading to
the award of the National Education Certificate (a programme that by 1994 was being run down).
NAMCOL also took on responsibility for the operations of the Namibian Extension Unit, which
from its establishment in 1981 until Independence had been meeting the needs of Namibian
refugees in Zambia and Angola, and since Independence been providing courses within Namibia
itself. It is this latter link back to the pre-Independence period that still resonates strongly with
politicians and civil servants in Namibia, and secures for NAMCOL continuing support from
government.
We cannot stress strongly enough the importance of stable and continuing political support for the
successful initiation and sustainability of open school projects. As Dodd and Rumble 408 showed
in their study of successful and unsuccessful open university planning processes, political support
and excellent (and by implication politically well-connected) institutional leaders are an absolute
pre-requisite to progress in the setting up and long-term viability of what used to be regarded (but
should no longer be seen as) non-traditional educational projects.
7.5.4

NAMCOL as a Complementary system to the Formal system

Distance education systems are often set up to address issues of equity either those affecting
current groups (for example, access to education by girls, or by members of particular social or
ethnic or economic groups) or those affecting people in the past (typically, adults who lacked the
opportunity to participate in education when they were of the relevant age).
In Namibia, the gender balance at the primary level is roughly 50:50. Girls predominate at junior
secondary (53-54 per cent) and slightly at senior secondary (51 per cent) level (Table 5.9).
NAMCOL is not, therefore, addressing gender imbalances in secondary school. Indeed, 65 per
cent of NAMCOL's students are female (Table 6.9) and if there is concern, it is that males are not
taking up the opportunities offered by NAMCOL to improve their qualifications. Secondly,
NAMCOL is not reaching areas of Namibia that are not covered by the formal system.
NAMCOL's tutorial centres are based in existing schools, and the proportion of NAMCOL
student-courses by region roughly follows the distribution of the formal system's school
population (Table 7.2).

408

John Dodd and Greville Rumble (1984) Planning new distance teaching universities, Higher Education,
13 (1), 231-54.
242

Table 7.2: Distribution of formal system school population and NAMCOL student courses
by NAMCOL region, 2005.
Secondary Education
Formal System
Students
Regional %age
NAMCOL
Student-courses
Regional %age

Total

Central

NorthEastern

Northern

Southern

150,815
100.0

17,989
11.9

22,172
14.7

74,928
49.7

35,726
23.7

54,421
100.0

6963
12.8

6,755
12.4

25,547
46.9

15,156
27.9

Although 70 per cent of NAMCOLs 2006 students were aged over 20 (Table 6.10), compared
with just 2.8 per cent of the formal school population, the vast majority of NAMCOL's students
are aged 18 to 24 (25 per cent are aged 18 to 19, and 49 per cent are 20 to 24). This is fully
consistent with what most students have told NAMCOL that they enrol in with the College in
order to improve their grades in particular subjects, with a view to getting their school
certificates. More than nine out of ten of its students at the JSC level and four out of five at the
IGCSE/NSSCO level are seeking not to study for the first time at these levels but to improve their
grades and hence their job prospects 409 .
NAMCOL's role in the Namibian education system is to act as a safety net that "picks up" and
helps a population roughly equivalent to 18.1 per cent of the conventional school population.
NAMCOL picks up these repeaters because the formal system does not allow students to repeat
their examinations. Under current rules, students are allowed to repeat just one of Grades 8 and 9
at the junior secondary level, but not unless they are under 17 years of age Grade 10 (Section
5.3). Senior secondary school examination candidates are allowed to resit their examinations in
order to upgrade their results, but the formal system does not help them do this. If they wish to do
it, then they must prepare themselves for the resit examinations through private study or through
non-formal system structures such as NAMCOL.
NAMCOL is thus essentially complementary to the formal system offering the same curriculum
in preparation for the same examinations to students who, in the main, have already studied in the
formal system and who are now trying to improve their grades or rectify past failure in particular
subjects.
7.5.5

NIOS as an alternative to formal schooling

In contrast, NIOS, in conjunction with the various State Open Schools, can be described as
offering an alternative system to formal schooling. The vast majority of NIOSs 290,983 (junior)
secondary and senior secondary school students (Table 4.5) are out-of-formal-school learners and
school drop-outs, working adults, housewives, learners from disadvantaged sectors of society and
409

This could conceivably underestimate the proportion of students studying to improve their grades. Dr.
Alicia Fentiman found that nineteen out of twenty (95%) of the students she questioned in her Tracer Study
said that they had enrolled in order to improve their "points" (grades) - Alicia Fentiman, Tracer Study of
former NAMCOL learners: Research Report, Cambridge, IRFOL, Centre for Educational Research and
Development, Von Hgel Institute, St Edmunds College, February 2007, Section 3.6. Consistent with this
she found that the students took an average 2.5 subjects each.
243

learners living in remote areas of India. Of these, two out of three (68.7 per cent) are male and
one out of three (31.3 per cent) are female.
The Indian education system as a whole is characterised by a gender imbalance, with a higher
proportion of boys than girls enrolled in the system, but a recent study by Sushmita Mitra
suggests that far from opening up more opportunities to girls and women, NIOS has since about
1994 being enrolling a smaller proportion of women than the formal secondary system 410 . Mitra
suggests that changes in the formal system including the introduction of free education up to
secondary level with most States now providing secondary education free to female learners, the
recruitment of female teachers and the availability of adequate toilet facilities for girls in schools
may all have played a role in the rise in female enrolments as a proportion of all enrolments in the
formal system. Mitra's study also shows quite considerable variation between the proportions of
male and female students enrolled in NIOS, depending on the state within which Accredited
Institution are located.
However, an interesting phenomenon to note is that in the present decade, female enrolments in
the NIOS vocational courses has remained at par with those of the male students. It may be
indicative of an emerging trend that female students see a greater sense and purpose in
education that promises economic independence and better life, pointing to a social change in
progress and so to NIOS as a change agent.
Available data also shows that NIOS is offering a real alternative to school-aged children. As
Table 4.7 shows, over 7 out of 10 (74 per cent) of NIOS's secondary school students are aged 15
to 20, and nearly nine out of ten (88.7 per cent) are aged 15 to 25. NIOS is reaching out to those
who are using it as an alternative route to secondary education. In other words, NIOS is not acting
as a second chance route for adults who were for a variety of reasons unable at an earlier stage in
their life to study at secondary level. One reason for this is, we suggest, because in India distance
education is so accepted as an alternative route to educational qualifications that it is actually the
first choice route for many who wish to study at the same time as they work or are confined to the
home.
7.5.6

Are the open schools doing enough?

Our research suggests that in Namibia, NAMCOL acts as a safety net for about one in five of the
school population in Namibia, giving them the chance to repeat courses that the formal system
denies them. Relatively few of NAMCOL's students are studying for the first time at this level.
At the junior secondary level, we can say with some confidence that the falling number of
primary school graduates who enter NAMCOL's junior secondary school programme as their first
choice almost certainly reflects the fact that most (roughly four out of five) primary school
leavers manage to find places in conventional secondary schools in Namibia.
At the senior secondary level, however, we find it surprising that there are relatively few
individuals starting their senior secondary level education at NAMCOL. After all, the real dropout in secondary education comes between Grades 10 and 11 (see Table 5.11), hence one would
expect demand for NAMCOL to rise at senior secondary level to absorb those who cannot gain
entry to this level at a conventional school. With just one in three Namibians advancing to
410

Sushmita Mitra, Gender and Open Schooling in India. Paper prepared for the Fourth Pan
Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning, 2006, dated 25 October 2006,
http://pcf4.dec.uwi.edu/viewabstract.php?id=111, accessed 26 October 2007.
244

secondary school, and fewer than half (47 per cent) of those who complete junior secondary
school each year finding a place at a senior secondary school (Section 5.3), one might expect the
Government to promote NAMCOL as an alternative pathway to the IGCSE/NSSCO
examinations not least to capitalise on NAMCOL's potential ability to provide senior secondary
school places at a cheaper per capita cost than in the conventional school system. After all, among
the most serious challenges facing Namibia is the lack of senior secondary education places and
the urgent need to improve the quantity, quality and relevance of the output from the senior
secondary level in order to address the shortages of skilled labour and enable Namibia to covert
itself into a knowledge-based economy (Section 5.3).
But this has not happened. NAMCOL remains a rather significant but essentially second- tier line
of defence against student failure within the school system. To the extent that the formal system
has let students down when they fail the public examinations, NAMCOL exists to give them a
second chance and to make good the deficiencies of the formal system.
Even so, one also has to ask, when the economic payback (in salary terms) that accrues from the
possession of a secondary qualification in Namibia (see Tables 5.20 and 5.21) and the incentive
to gain such qualifications must be very high, why do relatively few junior secondary school
graduates who cannot get a place in a senior secondary school enter NAMCOL? Are they
unaware of the opportunity open to them? Is NAMCOL too expensive for them? Or do they just
not rate NAMCOL highly enough to bother? Unfortunately, we do not know. More research is
needed in this area.
How then does what NAMCOL is doing measure up to the vision embodied in the NAMCOL Act
(Act No. 1 of 1997), which specified NAMCOLs purpose as being
to contribute towards the social and economic development of Namibia by upgrading
the educational level of adults and out-of-school youths through programmes of open
learning; by devising, developing and offering programmes to address the diverse needs
of such adults and out-of-schools youths; and by providing opportunities for adults and
out-of-school youths to upgrade their professional and vocational skills, as well as their
level of general education 411
In our view, NAMCOL is helping to upgrade the educational level of adults and out-of-school
youths, but both the curriculum it is offering (even taking into account the professional
programmes that are not a focus of our study), and the target it is reaching is relatively restricted.
The vast majority of its student body studies courses developed as part of the standard
academically-oriented Namibian secondary school curriculum in order to improve the grades they
got when they were studying within the formal secondary school system.
Furthermore, as Namibia builds more traditional secondary schools, its likely that NAMCOL's
traditional market will begin to dry up, first at the junior and ultimately at the senior secondary
schools level, which is why we endorse NAMCOL's search for new markets in which to deploy
its expertise and its facilities.
In a sense, NIOS is a mirror-image of NAMCOL. The scale of the demand for secondary
education places in India means that NIOS and the various State Open Schools will continue to
have a major role in the medium- to long-term future. The addition of vocational educational
411

Ibid. Section 4 (a).

245

opportunities alongside more academic school subjects must reflect an appropriate response to the
needs of some learners, while the continuing emphasis on academic subjects is clearly important
in generating potential entrants for the university sector. It is this role, coupled with a
commitment to the fundamental values of increasing access and equity that underpin so much
distance education provision, that characterises the role that NIOS has occupied since it was
originally set up as the National Open School and that has made it such a key institution in the
attainment of successive educational plans since the 1980s.
7.5.7

Relative Effectiveness Ratio

In Section 2.3, we introduced the concept of a Relative Effectiveness Ratio as a measure of the
effectiveness of two or more institutions. If a traditional education system graduates 85 students
out of every 100 (Effectiveness Ratio of 85 per cent), and a distance system graduates 40 students
out of 100 (40 per cent Effectiveness Ratio), then a measure of the comparative effectiveness of
the distance system relative to the traditional one is obtained by dividing the Effectiveness Ratio
of the distance system by that of the traditional system (40 85) to give a Relative Effectiveness
Ratio of 47 per cent. If the distance system has an Effectiveness Ratio of 90 per cent, then the
Comparative Effectiveness ratio is 90 85, giving a comparative effectiveness ratio of 1.06.
An Effectiveness Ratio of 1.0 indicates that the two systems are comparable in relative
effectiveness. A ratio under 1.0 means that the distance system is less effective; a ratio of more
than 1.0 means that it is more effective than the traditional system.
Although the NAMCOL part-time system never equals or surpasses the full-time system in
effectiveness, in a number of subjects, it approaches the full-time system with respect to the
proportion of students gaining grades A to G in the JSC examinations, or A* to G in the IGCSE
examination. However, when it comes to comparing the effectiveness achievement of grades A to
C (JSC) and A* to C (IGCSE), part-time candidates do not perform as well as the full-time ones.
The Effectiveness Ratio at this level ranges from 0.31 to 0.64 at JSC level, and 0.23 to 0.51 at
IGCSE level, depending on the subject. The challenge facing part-time providers including
NAMCOL is to improve the performance of students who are currently gaining grades D to G.
These somewhat disappointing results need to be put in context. NAMCOL is attracting mainly
students who have already studied in the formal system and have done badly in at least some of
their examinations the subjects that they are trying to resit through NAMCOL. What badly
means in this context will vary from individual to individual, but at the JSC level, NAMCOL is
enabling students who have achieved a pass at grades D, E, F or G, or a fail in a particular subject
to retake that subject. At the IGCSE/NSSCO level, NAMCOL is providing students with an
opportunity to improve their points score across five or, depending on what they want to do, six
subjects.
For some students, the improvement in grades needed will be marginal but for others the hurdle
will be that much greater. If the majority of NAMCOL's students attempting a resit are from the
less able pool of students in the formal system, as seems likely (after all, they have failed once),
then it is not surprising that they do not do as well as their more gifted peers, and hence that
NAMCOL's examination results are not as good.
Our study of NIOS makes clear how important it is, in judging the relative performance of open
schools, to choose the right measure of success. The real measure of comparison is not how many
NIOS learners sitting an examination pass in five subject (the number of subject passes required

246

for certification), but what the comparative pass rate is in each subject. If we judge NIOS against
the "five passes in a single sitting" criterion, we effectively do the institution a disservice, because
we are ignoring the fact that NIOS students can sit a subject whenever they feel ready take it and
that the only restriction on them is that they should pass in five subjects over a five-year period.
Over the years (January 1991 through to April 2007), on average just 31.4 per cent of those who
have sat as many of the twice-yearly secondary examinations as they could until the year
concerned (actual range 17.4 to 57.5 per cent) and on average just 26.9 per cent of those who
have sat as many of the twice-yearly senior secondary examinations as they could until the year
concerned (range 18.2 to 43.6 per cent), have succeeded in accumulating passes in the requisite
five subjects in the year concerned (Table 4.16).
When we look at individual subject passes, the students' performance is much better with some
subjects at secondary level attracting pass rates of over 90 per cent of those sitting the
examination at the secondary level, and over 70 per cent at the senior secondary level (Tables
4.17 and 4.18). Table 4.19 shows subject-pass rates of between 44.5 and 63.7 per cent at the
secondary level, and 51.5 and 65.9 per cent at the senior secondary level in the 2005 and 2006
examinations. The overall results for 2005 were a pass rate of 56.68 per cent at the secondary
level and 57.77 per cent at the senior secondary level.
Table 7.3 shows the relative effectiveness of NIOS in comparison with the other boards of
education in India using the 2004-2005 results for the other boards. The Relative Effectiveness
Ratio is computed by dividing the pass rate gained in the distance system by the pass rate gained
by students in traditional examinations. An Effectiveness Ratio higher than 1.0 indicates that
students at NIOS are performing better than students at the comparator Board, other things being
equal, while an Effectiveness Ratio of less than 1.0 indicates that NIOS students are not doing as
well as those in the comparator boards, other things being equal. The qualifying phrase, "other
things being equal" is important because, of course, the difficulty of the syllabuses and
examinations and the standard of marking may vary from Examination Board to Examination
Board.

247

Table 7.3: Comparative Effectiveness Ratio for NIOS against various comparator Boards of
Education, 2004-2005 results

Board(s) of Education
State Boards of Education (traditional)
Andhra Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chhattitisgarh
Goa
Gujerat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu & Kashmir
Jhakhand
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Orissa
Punjab
Rajasthan
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttaranchal
West Bengal
Madrasah Board of Education
West Bengal
Central Board of Secondary Education
Boards of Education: Correspondence
and Distance Learning
Madhya Pradesh State Open School
NIOS

2004-2005 secondary level

subject pass rate
%age
Effectiveness
pass rate ratio
72.41
0.783
55.54
1.021
70.07
0.809
48.10
1.178
54.90
1.032
56.49
1.003
61.81
0.917

2004-2005 senior secondary

level subject pass rate
%age pass Effectiveness
rate
ratio
53.18
1.086
58.48
0.988
72.58
0.796
67.47
0.856
72.33
0.799

50.27
71.36
63.90

1.128
0.793
0.887

32.60
58.72
43.41

1.739
0.965
1.306

45.77
76.89
55.34

1.238
0.778
1.024

54.19
68.66
34.07
83.82
60.39
75.93
71.27
62.60
35.71
73.88
46.90
78.29
71.11

1.066
0.841
1.696
0.689
0.957
0.761
0.811
0.923
1.618
0.782
1.232
0.738
0.812

50.38
77.80
77.80
69.71
49.15
70.52

1.125
0.729
0.729
0.813
1.153
0.804

72.24
76.83
68.85
90.64
73.75
61.48

0.800
0.752
0.838
0.637
0.783
0.940

66.37
77.52

0.854
0.731

81.00

0.713

38.29
56.68

1.480
1.000

21.23
57.77

2.721
1.000

This table suggests that by and large, NIOS students perform well in comparison with the
students taking other Boards' secondary education examinations but not as well at the higher
secondary level. However, NIOS students do much better than students at the State Open School
for which we have results.
7.5.8

How has studying in an open school helped students?

Does studying with NAMCOL help students to go on to higher education or further study,
gain employment and gain promotion? In Section 6.9, we reported on Dr. Alicia Fentiman's
research which showed just over 16 per cent of the 1999-2001 NAMCOL students that she

248

managed to trace had gone on to gain some kind of tertiary qualification and that 39 per cent
were engaged in some form of further education at the time of her study. Also, whereas just
one per cent of NAMCOL's current students have a paid job, 56 per cent of these students
were employed. While some of these students were employed reasonably soon after they left
NAMCOL, others took a while to find employment, and some had clearly gained employment
only to lose it later. Some of the employment gained was low paid. Unfortunately it is difficult
to interpret all Fentiman's figures, but one can infer that for some students, NAMCOL is a
transforming experience of lasting benefit to them.
Equally, we lack information on the proportion of NIOS students who are working while
learning. While we also lack anything beyond the anecdotal when it comes to looking at the
impact that NIOS has had on the lives of those who have studied with it, but we can infer that
some students have benefited significantly from their NIOS studies.
Its important to recognize that the success of the Open Schooling system can be measured not
only on the basis of its throughput rates, but also on the extent of the socio-economic and
developmental purpose it serves.

7.5.9

Relative Efficiency Ratio

In Section 2.4, we introduced the concept of a Relative Efficiency Ratio. While one can compare
the unit costs of two or more institutions in the same jurisdiction, using a common currency base
adjusted where necessary for price changes, comparisons across jurisdictions are fraught with
problems both because costs (of labour, technology, etc) vary considerably from one jurisdiction
to another. Also, fluctuations in exchange rates within a year can make nonsense of comparisons
drawn up in a common currency typically the US dollar. To get around this problem, we chose
to compare the unit costs of distance and conventional systems in a jurisdiction and use the
resulting Efficiency Ratio as a means of making comparisons across jurisdictions and across time.
The Efficiency Ratio is derived by dividing the average unit cost in the distance mode by the
average unit cost in the traditional mode. A ratio of 1.0 would mean that the distance system is as
efficient as the comparator system, less than 1.0 means that the distance system is more efficient
than the comparator, and greater than 1.0 means that the distance system is less efficient than the
comparator.
Table 2.2 showed that in terms of the unit cost per enrolled pupil, distance open schools can
be, but are not necessarily, more cost-efficient than conventional schools, while Table 2.3
shows that the Efficiency Ratio in open schools tends not to be as favourable given the higher
drop-out rates in distance learning.
In Section 6.12, we discuss the costs of NAMCOL and indicate the difficulties that arise when
trying to compare NAMCOL's costs with costs in the formal secondary education system.
Within the limits of the data we had available, and using 2007/08 budget data, we calculated
unit costs in the formal system and in NAMCOL. We calculated the cost assuming
NAMCOL's secondary school programme (the ASEP Programme) has to cover the costs of
NAMCOL's other activities and their associated overhead costs, and on the more reasonable
basis that the ASEP is responsible only for its own costs and associated overheads. We also
calculated the unit costs before (gross) and after (net) taking account of fee income. On this
basis, we were then able to calculate an Efficiency Ratio.

249

Table 7.4: Budgeted 2007/08 unit cost calculations, Namibian formal secondary
education system and NAMCOL, and Efficiency Ratio
Secondary Education Costs
Junior
Senior

All

5,346.12

5346.12

5346.12

See
Table
6.26

606.82

909.20

6.26

1,492.38
681..60

1,380.99
369.62

1,433.78
477.41

6.27
6.27

1,205.10
550.40

1,025.21
274.39

1,110.4
369.62

6.27
6.27

1,320.33
603.03

1,208.95
323.57

1,261.73
420.12

6.28
6.28

1,033.05
471.82

853.16
228.35

938.41
312.46

6.28
6.28

0.279
0.225
0.243
0.193

0.258
0.192
0.226
0.160

0.268
0.208
0.236
0.176

1.123
0.907
0.994
0.778

0.406
0.302
0.356
0.251

Basis of calculation
Unit cost per student, Formal Secondary School
System: No differentiation between levels possible
Unit cost per subject enrolee, Formal Secondary
School System, assuming an average 8.81 subjects
per head at JSC level and 5.88 subjects per head at
NSSCO level
Gross (i.e. before taking account of fee income)
Unit cost per student, NAMCOL, assuming all
NAMCOL costs are carried by NAMCOL's ASEP
system including net losses on its non-ASEP
programmes:
Cost per student
Cost per subject enrolee
Net (i.e. after taking account of fee income) Unit
cost per student, NAMCOL, assuming all
NAMCOL costs are carried by NAMCOL's ASEP
system including net losses on its non-ASEP
programmes:
Cost per student
Cost per subject enrolee
Gross (i.e. before taking account of fee income)
Unit cost per student, NAMCOL, assuming nonASEP costs are not charged against NAMCOL's
ASEP system:
Cost per student
Cost per subject enrolee
Net (i.e. after taking account of fee income) Unit
cost per student, NAMCOL, assuming non-ASEP
costs are not charged against NAMCOL's ASEP
system:
Cost per student
Cost per subject enrolee
Efficiency Ratios student unit costs:
All costs, gross
All costs, net
ASEP costs only, gross
ASEP costs only, net
Efficiency Ratios subject enrolment unit costs:
All costs, gross
All costs, net
ASEP costs only, gross
ASEP costs only, net

In our view, it would be invidious, in a straight cost comparison exercise, either to load
NAMCOL's ASEP secondary education programme with the costs of other NAMCOL
programmes or to calculate the relative efficiency of NAMCOL after taking into account fee

250

income from students. Hence, the fairest approach is to look at the Efficiency Ratio for gross
ASEP costs. On this basis, the Efficiency Ratio shows that on a unit cost per student basis,
NAMCOL costs somewhere between a fifth and a quarter of the cost of conventional secondary
education in Namibia. However, NAMCOL students are taking far fewer courses per head than
are students in the formal system, and as a result on a unit cost per subject basis it looks as if
NAMCOL is roughly as cost-efficient as traditional secondary schooling at the junior secondary
level, but much cheaper at the senior secondary level (costing about one third of conventional
costs). However, these figures need to be treated with caution, because the data did not allow us
to differentiate between the costs of the junior and senior formal secondary school systems.
The costs of NIOS have risen steeply year on year. Given the growth in its student numbers, this
is not surprising. However, the increasing costs of the institution triggered the first cost study of
NIOS. The results of this exercise (see Table 4.23) showed that the average cost per student in the
Open School was less than that in the Kendriya Vidyalaya and the government schools in Delhi,
but higher than those in the Delhi Correspondence School (Patrachar Vidyalaya). These results
were unsurprising given that it was likely that even with as few as 10,000 to 11,000 students, the
Delhi Correspondence School would be achieving some economies of scale, yet the quality of its
provision was likely to be more of higher quality and hence more costly than those of the earlier
generation of correspondence schools.
A second cost study was undertaken in 1997, again comparing the costs of NOS with various
other systems. This time NOS was found to be the most efficient open school available. However,
this study provides only the results, not the details of the calculations, so that it is impossible to
judge whether the methodology used was satisfactory or not.
A third internally generated cost study of NOS was undertaken in 2006. In this study, the fiveyear budgeted expenditure for NIOS was compared with the five-year budgeted expenditure of
two other systems. Once again, the study showed how cost-efficient the NIOS system is (see
Table 4.26), but its weakness is that it is comparing very different kinds of institutions.
Given the age of the first two studies, and the various conceptual problems there are with them,
we attempted yet another cost study of NIOS (Section 4.5.4). One of the significant differences in
our approach was the abandonment of the traditional Full Time Equivalent student as a measure
of load in favour of the more realistic student-course or student-subject load. For both NAMCOL
and in NIOS, this is a better measure of load and hence of cost given that the number of
subjects taken per year by NAMCOL and NIOS students is very different to the number of
subjects sat by traditional face-to-face students in Namibia and India.
In both NAMCOL and NIOS, we also faced problems in that we had to separate out the costs of
the non-secondary education programmes, and this involved some arbitrary judgments in the
absence of any embedded Activity Based Costing system although here NAMCOL has
advanced further than NIOS. As cost comparators, we used the costs per student course in
Kendriya Vidyalayas (schools for the children of Central Government employees) between
2002/03 and 2005/06, while recognising the "special nature" of this system, and the 2006/07 per
student course costs of the Emmanuel Mission Secondary School in Bhilwara, Rajasthan.
Computing the Relative Cost Efficiency Ratio from the data in Table 4.33 suggests that in
relation to both these comparators, NIOS is extremely cost-efficient (Table 7.5). In this table, the
Relative Cost Efficiency Ratio is the unit cost per student-course at NIOS divided by the unit cost
per student course at the comparator institution.

251

Table 7.5: Relative cost efficiency of NIOS using INR cost per student course data when
compared with Kendriya Vidyalayas, 2002/03 to 2005/06, and with the Emmanuel Mission
Secondary School in Bhilwara, Rajasthan, 2006/07
Institution
2002-03
1,410.77
15,479.30
--

NIOS
KVs
EMSS
Relative Cost
Efficiency Ratio

0.091

Cost per student per course (INR)

2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
1,188.66
1,169.63
1,150.55
15,731.72
15,217.08
14,816.54
---0.076

0.077

0.078

2006-07
1,212.71
-11,343.36
0.107

Simple measures such as unit costs and a Relative Efficiency Ratio hide underlying complexity of
any comparison between one system and another (Section 2.4). Table 7.6 lists factors that impact
costs and cost data.
Table 7.6: Major factors affecting costs in Open Schooling
Factor
Total student numbers

Affects
Unit Costs

Flexible Costs
Courses presented

Capital costs

Course lives

Capital costs

Media and technology choice

Committed costs
and flexible costs

Face-to-face support

Flexible costs

252

Why
Committed costs of capital including course
development and costs incurred in sustaining the
business will be spread across students, hence unit
costs will be higher if student numbers are low,
lower if student numbers are high.
Total student-related flexible costs will rise in line
with student costs.
The more courses that are presented, the more
courses need to be developed, resulting in a rise in
the capital cost of the curriculum.
The longer courses are presented before they are
withdrawn/remade, the greater the number of years
over which the capital costs of their development
can be annualised, and hence the lower the sum
that needs to be spread across the student body as a
whole, or across the students taking the particular
course.
Each medium/technology has its own cost
structure, hence media and technology choice will
affect total costs, total committed costs and
flexible costs in different ways.
The amount of face-to-face support that needs to
be provided in total will be driven by decisions
about the number of hours to be given each
student-course member, and the size of groups.
The total number of hours required will rise as
student numbers and hence group numbers rise. In
large-scale systems relatively modest increases in
student numbers can generate very considerable
increases in cost.

Course design parameters

Committed costs
and flexible costs

Course module size

Working practices
and hence capital
costs

Cost recovery through cost

sharing

Committed and
flexible costs

Labour employment policies

Capital costs and

flexible costs

Labour substitution policies

Flexible costs

Design parameters including decisions to create all

materials internally, to buy-in materials (and
whole courses) or to merely create study guides to
existing textbooks that students have to buy
themselves, will impact on costs in different ways.
Large modules (requiring say more than 50-100
hours study) will, depending on design decisions,
need teams to develop the materials and hence
incur higher transactional costs as team members
interact. Small modules can often be developed by
one or two people, reducing transaction costs.
Decisions to get students to pay for goods (e.g.
texts) and services used at cost, cost +. and less
than cost, will affect the extent to which variables
in course design impact on the institution or the
student
Using contracts for service for course developers
and course tutors will reduce the level of
committed cost put into hiring staff on contracts of
service, and hence in general reduce the capital
costs of developing courses and ensure that the
flexible costs of teaching are no more and no less
than that needed to deliver the courses.
Using cheaper labour for example, graduate
students to tutor students and mark assignments,
as opposed to more qualified staff, will reduce the
flexible costs of teaching.

7.5.10. How do the two open schools, we have examined in this study, measure up against these
criteria for a low cost model?
The first thing is that NAMCOLs ASEP programme has sufficient students to achieve economies
of scale as reflected in the value of its Efficiency Ratio. It provides access to a range of courses at
the junior and senior secondary level though by no means as great a number of options as are
available to students in the formal system. The College cannot control the length of life of its
junior and senior secondary level courses since it has to respond to changes in the curriculum
introduced by the National Examinations, Assessment and Certification Board. Like other open
schools, it is vulnerable to the threat that a major curriculum reform will require it to scrap the
whole of its junior or senior secondary school course profile and develop new replacement
courses.
NAMCOL has relied upon two technologies that are known to be cost-efficient print and radio.
Although the cost of developing printed materials varies widely, NAMCOL has chosen to employ
its authors on contracts for service with the result that it avoids the long-term costs of employing
a staff of qualified teacher-writers. The same strategy has kept down editing costs.
Radio is very cost-efficient at audience sizes of over 1,000, but NAMCOLs use of radio is very
restricted at present. If it wished to encourage greater use of audio materials in its courses, then its
best avenue would probably be to explore the use of CDs assuming that its students have access
to players. It has avoided the use of television, which is in any case much more expensive than
radio.

253

NAMCOL has been working with UNESCO on a project supporting the use of the ICTs in
schools-based distance education 412 , but the introduction of ICTs is challenging because, as
Orivel makes clear, in developing countries the per pupil per hour costs of eLearning solutions
are often higher than the per pupil per hour costs of face-to-face teaching. This is because teacher
labour costs are pegged to local economic conditions, while the costs of ICTs are driven by global
economic conditions: "For the first time in the history of education systems, the price of
educational input is determined not in accordance with the local purchasing power, but by world
standards which apply in a similar way to rich and poor countries." 413
It makes economic sense and educational sense to use ICTs in countries where labour costs per
pupil-hour are higher than ICT costs per pupil-hour. It makes educational sense but not economic
sense to use ICTs in countries where the labour cost per pupil-hour is lower than ICT costs per
pupil-hour.
NAMCOL has restricted the amount of face-to-face teaching its students receive. Arguments in
favour of doubling the amount of face-to-face teaching per week per subject from two to four
hours would be significant, as Table 6.21 indicates.
In designing its courses, NAMCOL has chosen to buy-in existing materials where this makes
sense, rather than develop its own materials. It has been able to capitalise on the module size
(measured in terms of the numbers of hours that students will on average use the materials for
study purposes) to keep the number of people involved in developing its courses down. The point
here is that any course taught through any medium requires a certain amount of time to prepare
the materials. How long it takes to prepare a "chunk" of materials that will occupy a student for
one hour varies according to the medium. Estimates by Sparkes are shown in Table 7.7 414 . While
such estimates need to be treated with care, it stands to reason that a course module requiring say
200 hours of student study from text is likely to need a bigger team of academics to prepare it
than a course module only requiring 50 such hours and that unless one is prepared to allow the
development process to become overlong, big modules will need to employ teams of people, all
of which adds to transaction costs.

412

See "NAMCOL closer to web based distance education", http://portal.unesco.org/es/ev.phpURL_ID=25167&URL_DO=DO_PRINTPAGE&URL_SECTION=201.html, accessed 7 October 2007.
413
Franois Orivel, "Finance, costs and economics", in Chris Yates and Jo Bradley, Basic Education at a
Distance, London, RoutledgeFalmer, 2000, p. 138.
414
Sparkes, J. (1984) "Pedagogic difference between media", in Bates, A. W. (ed.) (1984) The role of
technology in distance education, London, Croom Helm, p. 219.
254

Table 7.7: Academic work to produce one hour of student learning

(from Sparkes, 1982: 219)
Media
Lecturing
Small group teaching
Teaching by telephone
Videotape lectures (for Tutored Video
Instruction)
Audiovision
Teaching text
Broadcast television
Computer-aided learning
Interactive video

Hours of academic
effort
2 - 10
1 - 10
2 - 10
3 - 10
10 - 20
50 - 100*
100*
200*
300*

* Requires additional support staff as well

NAMCOL is a lean organisation, with a small core staff of just 48 (2006 figure) supporting
28,090 secondary school level students and a further 290 students in its professional programmes.
The vast majority of its staff (1,228 in 2006) are on contracts for service. It makes use of
peripheral staff who are employed on contracts for service and who are paid for the work they do
neither more nor less. Economically, NAMCOL is very efficient in terms of its unit costs per
student, in comparison with the formal system. In terms of the its unit costs per subject enrolment,
its "two academic years crammed into one calendar year" approach at the NSSCO level makes it
very efficient compared with the formal system, while the unit costs per subject at the JSC Grade
10 level are on a par with those in the formal system.
Finally, there is the question of cost sharing. NAMCOL's income from government is based on a
formula that provides the College a student per capita income fixed at 65 per cent of the cost to
government of supporting conventional students. It is free to raise income in the form of fees, but
obviously with most of its secondary level students unemployed, it cannot charge high fees and
continue to fulfil its social mission.
NIOS is also a lean organisation. It does not have the cost of operating schools, because it works
through Accredited Institutions and Accredited Vocational Institutions. Looking at the
comparative costs per student (Table 4.26), we find that a student at a Navodaya Vidyalaya costs
nearly 18 times that at NIOS and a student at Kendriya Vidyalaya costs more than 6 times that at
NIOS. Further research finds that the cost per secondary student per course at Kendriya
Vidyalayas and Emmanuel Mission Secondary School (located in a small town in Rajasthan, not
one of the richer states) is more than 12 and 9 times respectively that of NIOS (Table 4.33). The
research also finds that conventional schooling has become more than 3 times costlier than the
ODL system over the past two decades. Over time, the conventional system is increasingly more
costly than the ODL system. The finding should be of interest to both educators and educational
planners.
NIOS is organised so that secondary and senior secondary students register for five years at one
go. They pay according to the number of subjects they take and are given all the course materials
at the time of registration. They are supported at study centres for the first academic year. This

255

way, the first phase of expenditure incurred by NOIS pertains to the first year of their registration.
AIs are paid a flat rate per student for providing academic support.
Once study materials are developed (whether print-based or media programmes), they remain in
use for about five years. On average, NIOS spend les per student per subject than it charges in
several of its fee categories. The overall conclusion is that at the secondary level of education in
India, ODL operations such as NIOS are significantly less expensive than the conventional
schooling systems.
7.5.11 Why should we have confidence in the open schools?
The success of any open schools pedagogic system rests on three key factors: the quality of its
course materials, the quality of its student support sub-system and the quality of its logistics. The
quality of NAMCOLs course materials is not in doubt: the materials, subject by subject, are good
to excellent. They are recognised as such, given the extent to which they are used by schools in
the formal system and bought by formal system students. Logistically too the College performs
well: the turnaround time on assignments is on a par with the best of correspondence systems,
which is important because poor turnaround time is correlated with high drop-out rates.
NAMCOL's management systems and its student support systems are well-designed and function
well. If there is a question mark, it hangs over the effectiveness of the student support system and
how it could be improved in order to ensure that a higher proportion of students achieve their aim
of getting an A to C grade in the national examinations. One approach would be to simply
increase the amount of face-to-face support per subject per week. This may well be an appropriate
response, but arguably NAMCOL also needs to build a much more individually targeted support
system that identifies those students who are struggling and targets help at them.
NIOS operates at three levels its New Delhi Headquarters, its 11 Indian and three foreign-based
Regional Centres, and its Accredited Institutes which function as study centres. The central
curriculum development processes are designed in conjunction with other agencies to identify
curriculum needs, and there is a process by which courses and subjects are approved prior to the
development of the materials by subject experts. During the materials development phase, there
are a number of review points prior to final editing and production. Administrative and academic
support is provided to the learners through the Accredited Institutes, which are selected against
strict criteria. The activities that take place at these Institutes, including teaching and assignment
marking, is monitored by academic facilitators attached to the Regional Centres. On the other
hand, there are some doubts as to whether the monitoring processes at the AI level are adequate.
And there is no current means of planning and reviewing a system-wide process of evaluation and
quality assurance.
7.6

Policy advice

Open schools have not been without their problems, including low status, underfunding and poor
results. But against this rather bleak scenario, there is strong evidence that open schools can
capitalise on the ability to deliver secondary education to remote pupils, and indeed to support the
establishment of secondary school "outlets" in communities that have never before had such
opportunities. There is evidence that, organised in the right way and with an attention to cost
reduction, open schools can be set up to reap the benefits of the economies of scale that distance
education holds out as a possibility.

256

We offer the following recommendations to government leaders, policymakers, open school

administrators, educators and community members who wish to maximize the potential of open
schooling.
7.6.1

Sustainability

Secure government support through policy: Stable and continuing political support is
essential for the successful initiation and sustainability of open schools. It is critical that
Open Schools are established within legal parameters. This will not only ensure
government support, but it also provides a framework for the operations of the Open
School within the National Development and Education Sector Plans. It is also vitally
important that open schools gain secure, ongoing government funding. This should
ideally be arranged through an agreed upon funding formula.

Define the role of the open school : Open schools can be either a complement or an
alternative to the conventional school system. Both roles are valid and useful the critical
factor is to clearly establish what role an open school will play. Two alternative
approaches can therefore be envisaged:

A complementary Open Schooling system offering the same curriculum for

children and youths who have never been in a position to attend the formal,
classroom-based school system or who, having attended the formal education
system, have had to drop-out because they have had to start working or because
their grades have been too poor for them to progress through the grades and
various examination hurdles.
An alternative Open Schooling system offering a different, more adult-relevant
curriculum for adults who never had a chance to have or complete their formal
education at school level (and perhaps some out-of-school youth, for whom an
alternative curriculum generally more vocationally-oriented is seen as more
appropriate).

Establish an effective management structure: A lean management structure which is

well designed and provide good governance at a low cost with a well trained staff cadre
will contribute to the sustainability and success of an open school.

Support staff development: The majority of staff in Open Schools are not qualified in
open and distance learning. In order to provide high quality service through materials
development and tutoring, staff needs to be properly trained. It is critical that budgetary
provision is made for staff development activities on an annual basis. Even if they are
qualified, with the expansion and wider use of ODL as a delivery mechanism, and fast
moving technologies, there is a continuous need for capacity building so that open school
staff stay abreast of the latest developments in open and distance learning. The most
successful open schools provide ongoing training to staff, creating environments of
continuous improvement.

Ensure Cost-efficiency through proper Financial Management

There is evidence that, organised in the right way and with an attention to cost reduction,
open schools can be set up to reap the benefits of economies of scale which distance

257

education holds out as a promise. This study confirms that open schools are more costeffective than formal schools.
It is also important to note the experience of India, where the conventional mode of
schooling has become more than three times costlier than the ODL system over the past
two decades. As the costs rise universally with the passage of time, the conventional
system of schooling turns to be more and more costly than the ODL system
7.6.2

Quality assurance: A strong commitment to quality is helping open schools move

beyond the poor reputation for quality surrounding earlier distance education efforts. It is
generally accepted that the quality of distance education programmes rests on five
foundations:

the quality of institutional leadership and its ability to articulate a vision that will
ensure survival.
sound financial management, Open schools cannot be properly managed if there
is not an appreciation of the difference between the economies of distance and
conventional education. To plan for sustainable open schools management
should explore options of how to reduce the burden of high fixed costs and how
economies of scale can be reaped. There is evidence that this is an area where
staff development is essential. The Commonwealth of Learning has realised the
need for capacity building in financial planning and budgeting for open schools
and has developed various resources.
the quality of the programmes, courses and learning materials both in respect of
their academic content and relevance, and the quality of the pedagogy
underpinning their design. Course materials take on great importance in distance
learning, usually serving as the primary means of learning. It is highly beneficial
to have established procedures for developing course materials.
the quality of the student support services including the quality of the advice
given to students, the quality of teaching, and the quality of the assessment
process (both formative and summative).
the quality of the logistical system underpinning the student support system and
the materials distribution system (for example, timely despatch of materials to
students so that they have them to hand when they need them, timely feedback
on student queries, rapid turnaround between receipt of an assignment and the
return of the corrected assignment

It is therefore important that Open Schools embrace a culture of quality through the development
of a Quality Assurance Policy, which will ensure accountability, transparency and good
governance.
7.6.3

Access and equity

Potential for a flexible curriculum: Open schools must take advantage of one of their
primary strengths by remaining flexible and by so doing investing in a curriculum which
is geared to address the development needs of the country. The open school has the
potential to offer a diverse curricula and even to support the conventional system with
subjects which cannot be offered due to teacher shortages or low enrolments.

258

Research Learner profiles Open schools can reach marginalised groups and provide
affordable education. It is important to know the different learner profiles in order to
address the specific needs of learners e.g., girls, out-of-school youth or HIV/AIDS
orphans. A limitation to this study was that institutions did not always know what
happened to learners before or after they joined the institution. Research into learner
profiles and tracer studies need to be undertaken to plan more needs driven curricula with
a focus on the National and Development agenda of the country. This will make
provision for improved articulation into higher education and the employment market.

Use of ICTS: There is sufficient available experience and knowledge to know

technology has an important role to play in open schools: ICTs can successfully be used
by open schools to enhance their reach, strengthen their operational systems and enhance
pedagogic practise. Issues which should be considered include the availability of
infrastructure and national capacity, affordability, most appropriate media and students
access to technology. However, it makes economic sense and educational sense to use
ICTs in countries where labour costs per pupil-hour are higher than ICT costs per pupilhour. It makes educational sense but not economic sense to use ICTs in countries where
the labour cost per pupil-hour is lower than ICT costs per pupil-hour. We have no
hesitation in saying that technological approaches can be used to establish schools where
no schools currently exist.

Increase access to ODL materials: There is evidence that course materials of open
schools can replace the traditional textbook in schools. In a time of scarce resources it is
advisable, when available, to offer conventional schools access to learning materials
from open schools. This will reduce the cost to governments and allow education funds
to be directed elsewhere. It will create an avenue to open schools to generate additional
income, while it is an opportunity for distance education and conventional teachers to
collaborate in materials development .

Given the crisis in secondary education admissions, the evidence is strong enough and positive
enough, both from the two open schools that we have analysed in this report, and from other
studies referred to in Chapter 2, to argue strongly for the need to invest more in understanding
what it is that makes for success in Open Schooling, and to suggest that in appropriate
environments, new schools are founded to face the challenges of frustrated demand that so many
countries face. We believe for economic reasons that this will be of key importance as the world
faces the challenges of the next three or four decades of environmental change, population
growth, and resource and energy supply. We need a population that is equipped to rise to the
challenges that they will face. Indeed, we go so far as to suggest that it will be difficult if not
impossible to meet the demand and need for secondary education on the scale envisaged without
resorting to Open Schooling approaches.

259

260

APPENDIX 1: PROFESSOR KOUL'S PROGRAMME

Date
1 April 2007
2 April 2007
3 April 2007

Time
22.00
14.20
09.00-10.30

11.00-11.30
14.30-16.00
4 April 2007

09.00-12.00
17.30-19.00

5 April 2007
7 April 2007
10 -20 April
2007
25 April 2007

15.50
07.30
--09.00-17.30

Activity
Depart Gurgaon, Haryana
Arrive Vancouver via Frankfurt
At COL--Welcome and introductory session: Sir John
Daniel, President and CEO, Commonwealth of
Learning; Dr Asha Kanwar, Vice President COL; Mrs
Frances Ferreira, Education Specialist, Basic Education
and Open Schooling; Professor B N Koul, Professor G
Rumble
Conference Call with NIOS (Shri M C Pant and Shri R
K Arya)
Mrs F Ferreira, Professor Koul, Professor Rumble:
Agreement of Terms of Reference and Structure of
Report
Finalisation of Contracts
Dinner: Sir John Daniel and Dr Asha Kanwar,
Professors Koul and Rumble
Depart Vancouver
Arrive Gurgaon, Haryana via Frankfurt
Research and outlining the data profile required for
drafting chapters on NIOS/India
Travel: Gurgaon, Haryana to NIOS, New Delhi and
back.
1st Project Meeting at NIOS Headquarters: Prof. Koul
presented the Project Objectives, the related Work Plan
and the details regarding the data required for the
Project to the Project Team put together by NIOS. The
discussion that followed, among other things, led to
fixing responsibilities for individual members (mainly
for the collection of the data required for the Project).
Prof. Kouls tasks were also outlined and explained.
Members of the Project Team: Shri M C Pant,
Chairman, NIOS; Dr. J D Sharma, Senior Executive
Officer, NIOS; Prof. Puran Chand, Senior Executive
Officer, NIOS; Prof. Harmesh Lal, Consultant, NIOS;
Shri S K Anand, Deputy Director, Accounts, NIOS;
Shri R K Arya, Assistant Director, Media, NIOS; Dr. R
S P Singh, Assistant Director, Vocational Education,
NIOS; Dr Oum Prakash Sharma, Assistant Director,
Academic, NIOS; and Shri S K Prasad, System Analyst
& Programmer, NIOS.

26 April-15 May
2007

---

1st Progress Report e-mailed to COL.

Prof. B N Koul hospitalized for surgeryan
unscheduled event.

261

17 May 2007

11.30-18.00

18 May-10 June
2007

---

11 June 2007

---

12-24 June 2007

25 June 2007

--11.30-17.30

26 June-8 July
2007
9 July 2007

-----

10 July 2007

12.30-17.30

11 July-6 Aug.
2007
7 August 2007

---

8-26 Aug. 2007

27 August 2007

-----

28-30 Aug. 2007

31 August 2007

-----

2-5 Sept. 2007

---

11.30-17.30

Travel: Gurgaon, Haryana to NIOS, New Delhi and

back.
2nd Project Meeting: Meeting with Mrs Frances
Ferreira, Education Specialist, Basic Education and
Open Schooling, COL (on a visit to NIOS) and the
Project Team (NIOS): Prof. Koul presented a brief
report on the progress (very little) made that far.
Collection of data through the good offices of NIOS
and the efforts of the Project Team. Work on the
documents received from NIOS and preparation of four
sections (draft) on NIOS/India.
2nd Progress Report and the draft of the first set
comprising four sections on NIOS/India e-mailed to
COL, NIOS and Prof. Rumble.
Research and writing continued.
3rd Project Meeting: Feedback on the first four sections
received and discussed; additional data and documents
collected from and advice for further requirements
given to the members of the Project Team.
Research and writing continued.
3rd Progress Report and the draft of the second set
comprising five sections on NIOS/India e-mailed to
COL, NIOS and Prof. Rumble.
Travel: Gurgaon, Haryana to NIOS, New Delhi and
back.
Meeting with Shri S K Anand, Deputy Director,
Accounts, NIOS, for various clarifications needed to
analyse the details of NIOS Accounts as they appear in
official documents.
Research and writing continued.
4th Project Meeting: Feedback on draft of the second set
of five sections on NIOS/India received and discussed;
more data and documents collected from and advice for
additional requirements given to the members of the
Project Team.
Research and writing continued.
4th Progress Report and the draft of the third set
comprising three sections on NIOS/India e-mailed to
COL, NIOS and Prof. Rumble.
Research and writing continued.
5th Progress Report and the draft of the fourth set
comprising eight sections on NIOS/India e-mailed to
COL, NIOS and Prof. Rumble.
Visit to Emmanuel Mission Secondary School,
Bhilwara, Rajasthan. Meeting with the Advisor, Shri
Padam Nath Khar and collection of data.
262

7-18 Sept. 2007

20 Sept. 2007

--09.00-20.00

24 Sept. 2007

10.30

25 Sept. 2007

19.30
10.00-17.00

19.30-21.30

26 Sept. 2007

08.00-10.00

27 Sept. 20072
28 Sept. 2007
30 Sept. 4 Oct.
2007
5-11 Oct. 2007

12.00
11.30
---

12-18 Oct. 2007

---

19-26 Oct. 2007

---

---

30 Oct. 2007

Research and writing continued.

Travel: Gurgaon, Haryana to NIOS, New Delhi and
back.
5th Project Meeting: Feedback on the drafts of the third
set (three sections) and the fourth set (eight sections)
on NIOS/India received and discussed; more data and
documents collected from the members of the Project
Team.
Depart Gurgaon, Haryana
Arrive London
Meeting at Thistle Victoria Hotel: All the drafts
prepared by Profs. Rumble and Koul discussed and
commented on for modifications. Also, a revised work
schedule agreed to complete the remaining tasks.
Dinner: Mrs Frances Ferreira, Education Specialist,
Basic Education and Open Schooling, COL; Professor
G Rumble and Professor B N Koul.
Breakfast Meeting: Mrs Frances Ferreira, Education
Specialist, Basic Education and Open Schooling, COL;
Professors G Rumble and Koul.
Depart Thistle Victoria Hotel/London
Arrive Gurgaon, Haryana
Work on the new data received from the Project Team
on Sept. 20.
Preparations for and depart for treatment in Pittsburgh,
USA [Non-Project activity]
Modifications in, additions to and reshaping of the
earlier draft 12 sections (the last 8 sections were left
out); newly shaped Chapters 3 and 4, comprising 5
sections each, prepared and mailed to Prof. Rumble on
Oct. 18, 2007.
Remaining gaps (Abbreviations, Acknowledgements
and Appendices) filled, final revision completed and the
handover version of Chapters 3 and 4 e-mailed to Prof.
Rumble and the 6th Progress Report sent to Mrs Frances
Ferreira, COL.
Consultants final version of the Report sent to COL.

APPENDIX 2: PROFESSOR RUMBLE'S PROGRAMME

Date
Friday 30 March
2007
Tuesday 3 April
2007

Time
12.30
19.00
09.00-10.30

Activity
Depart London Heathrow
Arrive Vancouver via Calgary
Welcome and introductory session, Sir John Daniel,
President and CEO, Commonwealth of Learning; Dr

263

11.30-12.00
14.30-16.00
Wednesday 4
April 2007

09.00-12.00
17.30-19.00

Asha Kanwar, Vice President COL; Mrs Frances

Ferreira, Education Specialist, Basic Education and
Open Schooling; Professor B N Koul, Professor G
Rumble
Conference Call with NAMCOL (Mr Harold Murangi,
Mr Jan Nitsche, and Mr Beans Ngatjizeko)
Mrs F Ferreira, Professor Koul, Professor Rumble:
Agreement of Terms of Reference and structure of
report
Finalisation of contracts

Saturday 7 April
2007
Sunday 8 April
2007
12 April 26
April
Monday 14 May
2007
Tuesday 15 May
2007

16.30

Dinner: Sir John Daniel, Dr Asha Kanwar, Professors

Koul and Rumble
Depart Vancouver

12.30

Arrive London via Edmonton

Research and write draft of Chapter 2

21.30

Depart London

12.30

Wednesday 16
May 2007

09.00-10.00

Arrive Windhoek, Namibia via Johannesburg. Met by

Mr Jan Nitschke, Manager, Research and Evaluation,
NAMCOL
Mr Jerry Beukes, Deputy Director Programme and
Materials Development, NAMCOL; Mr Ephraim
Dawids, Acting Deputy Director, Management and
Support Services, NAMCOL; Mr Jan Nitschke,
Manager, Research and Evaluation, NAMCOL; Ms
Sylvia Makari, Senior Accountant, Finance and
Administration, NAMCOL; Ms Francina Keendjele,
Regional Manager, Central Region, NAMCOL
Mr Beans Uazembua Ngatjizeko, Director, Department
of Adult Education, Ministry of Education
Mr Justin Ellis, Under-Secretary, Ministry of Education
Mr Jerry Beukes, Deputy Director Programme and
Materials Development, NAMCOL
Public Holiday: Research Day

11.00-11.30
11.30-12.30
15.00-16.00
Thursday 17
May 2007
Friday 18 May
2007

10.00-10.45
11.15-11.45
12.30-12.45
12.45-13.30

Saturday 19

Mr Bertus Gous, Senior Education Officer, Secondary

Education, Programme and Quality Assurance, Ministry
of Education
Mr Alfred Ilukena, Under Secretary, Formal Education,
Ministry of Education
Mr D Koch, Senior Systems Analyst, Examinations
Section, Directorate of National Examinations and
Assessment
Mr Theophilus Kakonda, Economist, Planning,
Ministry of Education
Research
264

May 2007
Sunday 20 May
2007
Monday 21 May
Tuesday 22 May
2007
Wednesday 23
May 2007

Research
09.00-09.30
10.00-11.15

Mr Heroldt Murangi, Director, NAMCOL

Mr Heroldt Murangi, Director, NAMCOL

08.15-09.00

Mr Johan P van Wyk, Deputy Director, Division of

Information Technology, Ministry of Education
Mrs Sandra van Zyl, Chief Higher Education Officer,
ETSIP, Ministry of Education
Mr Bertus Gous, Senior Education Officer, Secondary
Education, Programme and Quality Assurance, Ministry
of Education
Research

09.15-10.15
10.30-10.45
Thursday 24
May 2007
Friday 25 May
2007
Saturday 26
May 2007
Sunday 27 May
2007
Monday 28 May
2007

Public Holiday: Research

Research
Research/writing up
14.15-14.30

Mr Justin Ellis, Under-Secretary, Ministry of Education

14.30-1500

Dr Heide Tavakovi, Financial Planner, Corporate

Planning, MOE
Mrs Alida Boethe, Hostels Directorate, MOE
Dr Heide Tavakovi, Financial Planner, Corporate
Planning, MOE
Mr Beyleveld, MOE
Mr Beans Uazembua Ngatjizeko, Director, Department
of Adult Education, Ministry of Education
Seminar on costing for NAMCOL Materials
Development Division and Finance Division staff
Mr D Koch, Senior Systems Analyst, Examinations
Section, Directorate of National Examinations and
Assessment
Mr Ephraim Dawids, Manager of Learner Support,
NAMCOL
Mrs. Rholene Bok, Marketing and Information Officer,
NAMCOL
Mrs Petrina Kamati, Senior Manager, Finance and
Administration, NAMCOL
Mr Heroldt Murangi, Director, NAMCOL
Rogger Ihemba, Research and Evaluation Unit.

15.00-1530
15.30-15.45
15.45-16.00
16.00-16.30
Tuesday 29 May
2007

11.00-13.00
14.00-14.30

Wednesday 30
May 2007

09.00-09.30
09.30-09.45
10.00-11.00

Thursday 31
May 2007
Friday 1 June
2007

11.00-12.20
11.00-11.15
09.00-13.00

NAMCOL Closed for Graduation Day: Attendance at

Graduation Ceremony. Discussions at the ceremony
with Mr Justin Ellis, Under-Secretary, Ministry of
Education, and Mr Beans Uazembua Ngatjizeko,

265

15.00-19.00
Saturday, 2 June
2007
Sunday 3 June
2007
Monday 4 June
2007

Director, Department of Adult Education, Ministry of

Education
Writing up
Writing up
Writing up

13.00-13.15

15.00-15.15

Mrs Frances Ferreira, Education Specialist, Basic

Education and Open Schooling, COL
Mrs Petrina Kamati, Senior Manager, Finance and
Administration, NAMCOL
Mr Heroldt Murangi, Director, NAMCOL

15.00
06.30

Depart Windhoek, Namibia

Arrive London via Johannesburg

14.30-15.00
Tuesday 5 June
2007
Wednesday 6
June 2007
17 30 June
2007
30 June

Complete draft of report chapters

Monday 17
September 2007

19.30-21.00

Tuesday 18
September 2007

10.00-16.30

Wednesday 19
September 2007
22 September
4 October 2007
5 October 30
October 2007

20.00-22.00
10.30

Draft Chapters 1, 2, 5 and 6 to COL: subject to

NAMCOL comments.
London: Dinner with Mrs Frances Ferreira, Education
Specialist, Basic Education and Open Schooling,
Commonwealth of Learning
Meeting with Mrs Frances Ferreira, Education
Specialist, Basic Education and Open Schooling,
Commonwealth of Learning, and professor B. N. Koul:
Review of draft report and agreement on work
remaining
Dinner with Professor B. N. Koul
Depart London
Produce final versions of Chapters 1, 2, 5 and 6 and
despatch to COL and Prof. Koul
Write Chapter 7 and despatch to COL
Work on final chapters integrating work of Profs Koul
and Rumble

266