IUS Final Evaluation UNZA

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The Evaluation Commission

The external evaluation commission or the partnership programme with the

University o Zambia was composed o two individuals with extensive experi-

ence with regard to higher education matters. Mr Paul G. de Nooijer, team leader,

is senior education consultant with SPAN Consultants rom the Netherlands.

He has long-term experience in undertaking evaluation research, in particular

in the eld o higher education and inter-institutional cooperation programmes,

including programmes that have similarities with the VLIR-UOS IUC Programme.

Mr. Bornwell Siakanomba is managing consultant with SIBO Development

Consultants, Lusaka, Zambia.

Background and disclaimer

The VLIR-UOS Programme or Institutional University Cooperation (IUC), which

started in 1997, is an inter-university cooperation programme o the Flemish universi-

ties1. Based on a system o programme unding provided by the Belgian Government,

the Programme is directed at a limited number o careully selected partner universities

in the South. Each partnership, covering a maximum period o ten years, consists o a

coherent set o interventions geared toward the development o the teaching, research,

and service unctions o the partner university, as well as its institutional management.

Every three to ve years, the cooperation with a partner is evaluated. All ongoing

cooperation programmes are evaluated by an external, independent evaluation com-

mission. The country visits o these commissions, usually composed o an international

and a local expert, are preceded by an extensive sel-assessment process. All evaluation

commissions have produced an evaluation report that, in principle, is meant to be sel-

contained, i.e. containing the essential actual inormation, as well as conclusions and

recommendations.

This report represents the views o the members o the commission that evaluated

the IUC Programme with the University o Zambia (UNZA); it does not necessarily

refect the opinions o VLIR-UOS. The evaluation commission bears sole responsibility

or the report in terms o its content, as well as its structure.


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Acronyms and abbreviations

AP Annual Programme

B.Sc. Bachlor o Science

CAMAS Computers or Administration, Management and Academic Services

CBU Copperbelt University

COMESA Common Market or Eastern and Southern Arica

DDE Directorate o Distance Education

ELISA Enzyme-linked immuno-sorbant assay

EU European Union

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GIS Geographical Inormation System

HE Higher Education

HIV Human Immunodeciency Virus

HR Human Resources

ICT Inormation and Communications Technology

INESOR Institute or Economic and Social Research

ISP Internet Service Provider

IT Inormation Technology

IUC Institutional University Co-operation (programme)

JICA Japan International Co-operation Agency

M.Sc Master o Science

MU Mulungushi University

NAC National Aids Council

NGO Non Governmental Organisation

Nufc Netherlands organisation or international cooperation in higher education

OECD Organisation or Economic Cooperation and Development

PABX Private Automatic Branch Exchange

PC Personal Computer

PCM Project Cycle Management

Ph.D. Doctor o Philosophy

SADC Southern Arican Development Community

SDF Staf Development Fellow

ToR Terms o Reerence

UK United Kingdom

UNICEF United Nations Childrens Fund

UNISA University o South Arica

UNZA University o Zambia

USAID United States Agency or International Development

VLIR Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad (Flemish Inter-university Council)

ZAMNET Zambian Internet Service Provider


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Final Evaluation o the UNZA-IUC partnership

Foreword 3

THe eVALUATIoN eXerCISe 5

Terms o Reerence or the evaluation 5

Evaluation approach and methodology 6

Evaluation criteria and indicators 7

Evaluation limitations 7

ZAMBIAN SoCIo-eCoNoMIC ANd HIGHer edUCATIoN CoNTeXT 9

Social - Political characteristics o the Economy 9

Macro - Economic Framework 9

Policy and Structure o Education System 10

Higher education in Zambia 12

IUC ProGrAMMe AT UNZA - GeNerAL 15

THe UNZANeT CoMPUTer CeNTre & LIBrArY ProJeCT 19Introduction 19

Realisations: Computer Centre 20

Realisations Library 23

Assessment 24

dISTANCe edUCATIoN ProJeCT 27

Introduction 27

Realisations 27

Assessment 31

CoMPUTer STUdIeS ProJeCT 35

Introduction 35

Realisations 36

Assessment 39

Food SCIeNCe ANd TeCHNoLoGY ProJeCT 41

Introduction 41

Realisations 41

Assessment 45

VeTerINArY MedICINe ProJeCT 49

Introduction 49

Realisations 50

Assessment 51

GeoLoGY GeoLoGY ANd SoIL SCIeNCeS 55

Introduction 55

Realisations 56

Assessment 59

INTer-dISCIPLINArY reSeArCH 63

Introduction 63

Realisations 64Assessment 65

ProGrAMMe MANAGeMeNT 67

General 67

Management General 67

Programme unding and inancial management 69

oVerALL ProGrAMMe ASSeSSMeNT 73

Relative strengths 73

Relative weaknesses 74

General Recommendations 74

APPeNdICeS 77

Appendix I: Contents 78

Appendix II : Flemish Interuniversity Council 100

Appendix III : Reerences 103

Appendix IV : Overview o persons met 105

Appendix V : Overview o approved and implemented research projects (by programme year) - Multidisciplinary

Research project 105

Appendix VI : Publications resulting rom the VLIR-IUC Programme 108

Table of contents


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Eective nal programme evaluation should yield valuable inormation that can be

used by programme stakeholders and unding agencies about whether the programme

has indeed realised what it set out to do in the beginning and about lessons learned that

could be useul or the uture.

For such an evaluation to be successul, active participation o all key stakeholders is a

sine qua non. In the case o the partnership with the University o Zambia (UNZA),

the evaluation process was thereore designed to be iterative and participatory, involving

three dist inct opportunities or input rom and involvement by the partners: during the

sel assessment, during the visit o the evaluation commission rom 21 to 29 February

2008 and during the review o the drat nal report o the evaluation commission in the

course o early months o 2008.

As indicated in the Terms o Reerence (see Appendix 1 to this report), the ocus o the

nal evaluation was as ollows:

the global state o implementation o the programme, reali sation o objectives

the qual ity, eciency, ecacy, impact, development relevance and sustainability

o the programme and programme management

the position o the IUC programme within the international cooperation

activities o UNZA and the added value o the IUC Programme ... in compari-

son to other ongoing donor cooperation programmes

the ollow up plan o the programme as elaborated in the sel assessment

report

The evaluation covered the entire IUC Programme, which consisted o two phases, i.e.

rom 1997 to 2001 and rom 2002 to 2007.

Based on these Terms o Reerence, the structure o the report is as ollows:

Chapter 1 briefy describes the evaluation process, sources o inormation and

indicators used during the process as well as the limitations o the evaluation

conducted

Chapter 2 provides some background on the context o the partnership, includ-

ing some data on Zambias socio-economic status and developments, the coun-

trys overall and higher education system as well as some general inormation on

UNZA

Chapter 3 provides a brie on the overall VLIR-UOS IUC Programme with

UNZA, including elementary data on the projects that were undertaken in the

two phases o the Programme.

The chapters 4 to 10 subsequently provide detailed inormation on each o the

projects that was nanced. The presentation ollows the sequencing o projects

CONTENTS


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in the Programme document or the 2nd phase, starts with the Computer

Centre/Library (ormer UNZANET) project in chapter 4 and concludes in chap-

ter 10 with a description o the Interdisciplinary Research project. Each chapter

contains detai ls on objectives and anticipated results and describes what has been

achieved or key elements o the project concerned. Each chapter is concludedwith a brie assessment in which attention is paid to relevance, eectiveness,

eciency, impact and sustainability issues.

Chapter 11 concerns issues o programme unding and nancial management

Chapter 12 nally provides a summary assessment o the VLIR-UOS IUC

Programme with the University o Zambia as a whole.

The appendices to the report include the ollowing:

Appendix 1 Mission Terms o Reerence

Appendix 2 Inormation on VLIR-UOS and the IUC Programme

Appendix 3 Documentation used

Appendix 4 List o interviewees

Appendix 5 Overview o research projects unded and implemented under the

Interdisciplinary Research project

Appendix 6 Overview o publications resulting rom the Programme

The evaluation commission would like to express its appreciation to all o the indi-

viduals we met in the course o the evaluation. The inormation, the dialogue, and the

ideas shared with these individuals were instrumental in shaping our thinking. Last but

not least, we want to thank everyone or their hospitality during visits to Brussels and

Lusaka.


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This chapter provides some inormation on the scope o the evaluation, the way in

which the evaluation was conducted and evaluation criteria and indicators used as well

as the limitations o the evaluation exercise.

Tms rnc th valuatin

Terms o Reerence (ToR) or the nal evaluation o the partnership with UNZA

were issued in June 2007 and are provided in Appendix 1 to this report. According to

these ToR (page 9), issued or the three nal evaluations simultaneously, the nal evalu-

ation was meant to generate conclusions that wil l allow:

the identication o strengths and weaknesses o each specic IUC collabo-

ration with the three institutions in particular, and o the IUC programme in

general;

VLIR-UOS to identiy departments and/or research groups that have received

substantial support rom the IUC programme in Phase II and thus can present

proposals or the IUC Research Initiative Projects

the ormulation o recommendations to al l stakeholders in terms o the ollow up

plan that has been elaborated by the Northern and Southern project leaders

to identiy and comment upon possible venues or the uture o the involved

projects in view o establishing sustainability

According to ToR (page 9-10), the scope o the evaluation was to be as ollows:

the present implementation o the programme, ocusing on the global state

o implementation o the programme, realisation o objectives o the various

projects, as well as programme management in both Flanders and the Southern

institution

the nature o the programme, evaluating the quality, eciency, ecacy, impact,

development relevance and sustainability o the programme in the light o the

overall goal o the IUC Programme and the cooperation between all parties

involved

the position o the IUC programme within the international cooperation activities

o the partner university, which is about the added value o the IUC Programme ...

in comparison to other ongoing donor cooperation programmes

the ollow up plan o the programme as elaborated in the sel assessment

report

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evaluatin appach an mthlgy

GeneralGeneralThe methodology used or this nal evaluation o the UNZA IUC Programme is

based on the VLIR-UOS methodology or evaluation. Use has been made o:The selassessment orms that were prepared by UNZA - IUC Programme par-

ticipants (October-November 2007)

Other documentation, including annual planning and progress reports and pro-

gramme documents

Meetings with VLIR-UOS (Brussels)

Meetings with UNZA aculty who had been involved in the UNZA-IUC

Programme

Meetings with current and ormer project leaders, i.e. representatives o the

Flemish universities participating in the UNZA-IUC Programme as well as

On-site campus visits.

A short debrieng session was held on 29 February 2008, which was attended by

representatives rom UNZA, the Flemish universities as well as VLIR-UOS.

Sel assessment ormsSel assessment ormsThe orms were prepared, sometimes in consultation between Flemish and Zambian

partners, though not always, around October November 2007, i.e. several months

ater the Programme has come to an end.

Document reviewDocument reviewIn preparation or the evaluation, the commission reviewed all available documenta-

tion (both paper documents and electronic documents). Inormation on Zambias higher

education sector as a whole was reviewed as well. In addition, nancial data were

reviewed. An overview o reerences used is provided in Appendix 3 to this report.

InterviewsInterviewsAt the University o Zambia, meetings were held with:

The current and immediate ormer Vice Chancellor

The current and ormer National Coordinator

Current and ormer project leaders rom UNZA and the Flemish universities

The Programme Manager

Former (Ph.D. and M.Sc.) trainees and one student o Computer Studies

Flemish project coordinators and a member o the ICOS at Gent University

In Brussels, the team leader held meetings with sta o VLIR-UOS. Appendix 4

provides inormation on the people with whom interviews were held.

In the interviews a preprepared checklist o questions was utilised as well as open-

ended questions, based on programme documents and internal assessment orms.


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7

evaluatin citia an inicats

In assessing the programme and its constituent projects, the ollowing main criteria

were used:

Development relevance - i.e., as per the OECD Glossary: (the) extent to which

the objectives o a development intervention are consistent with beneciaries re-

quirements, country needs, global priorities and partners and donors policies2

Eectiveness which, according to the OECD 3, reers to (the) extent to which

the development interventions objectives were achieved, or are expected to be

achieved, taking into account their relative importance.

Eciency i.e. the relationship between the objectives and the means used to

reach the objectives or, as per OECD, (a) measure o how economically resourc-

es/inputs (unds, expertise, t ime, etc.) are converted to results4.

Impact which, according to OECD reers to (positive) and negative, pri-

mary and secondary longterm eects produced by a development intervention,

directly or indirect ly, intended or unintended5

Sustainability - or (the) continuation o benets rom a development inter-

vention ater major development assistance has been completed6 (nancial and

institutional sustainability)

Quality was not treated as a separate criterion.

Indicators used include the ollowing:

Relevance extent to which the programme and the projects addressed real

needs and issues outside the academic community; relationship with relevant

development policies

Eectiveness ormulation o objectives and results; outputs realised, and the

quality thereo, and related activities

Eciency unding o the collaboration activities; use made o the unding;

costs and benets o inputs; programme and project (nancial) management

Sustainability - co-unding by the partner university; availability o resources

or continuation o operations and maintenance o physical inrastructure; ca-

pacity to attract new unds through consultancy and research; sta retention;

commitment o Flemish universities to continue the collaboration; continuation

perspectives o ongoing research projects; presence o quality ollow-up plans

Impact (potential) impact at the level o the private sector arming communi-

ties; involvement in providing policy advice, university wide impact, i.e. outside

the departments and centres in which the programme operated; possible new

teaching styles; the extent to which academics, involved in the IUC programme,

are cal led upon by the government or policy advice, etc.

evaluatin limitatins

An evaluation mission o 6 working days to assess a 10-year programme almost 1

year ater it has come to an end is bound to be aected by lack o time to ully grasp the

evolution o the programme and its constituent projects. Moreover, the act that the

evaluation took place almost one year ater the programme has come to an end, made it

dicult at times to determine whether certain accomplishments could be attributed to

2 Glossary o Key Terms in Evaluation and Results Based Management, 2002, page 32.

3 Glossary o Key Terms in Evaluation and Results Based Management, 2002, page 20.4 Glossary o Key Terms in Evaluation and Results Based Management, 2002, page 21.




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the programme or whether these were due to subsequent interventions.

This situation was urther compounded by the ollowing actors:

The quality o the internal assessment orms proved to be variable; oten they

did not give a clear overview what was done and what was accomplished overthe Programmes lietime. Quality o reporting was aected by an unnecessary

com-plex and not always consistent reporting ormat and the act that additional

orms were embedded in the orms but oten remained unused.

The lack o inormation in the assessment orms required a more substantial

use o other programme documentation, especially the annual progress reports.

In certain instances, especially when report sections were merely copied rom

preceding reports, these reports were not very inormative in terms o providing

clear data on activities carr ied out and results achieved.

Consistent and reliable data on programme unding were dicult to obtain and

although an eort was made, the nal picture on programme unding remains

somewhat blurred.

For several days, the mission coincided with the nal meeting o the Zambian

and Flemish Steering Committees. This limited the time that people could

devote to the evaluation.

While the evaluation commission was also expected to review the ollow up plan o

the programme as elaborated in the sel assessment report, perusal o the available docu-

mentation indicated that there was no such plan, although some o the les contained a

preliminary SWOT analysis. Hence, the evaluation commission is not in a position to

express an opinion.


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Scial - Plitical chaactistics th ecnmy

Zambia became an independent nation in 1964 with a multi-party democracy up to

1972 when it changed to a one-party system o governance. This lasted up to 1991 when

the country reverted to a multi-party system o democratic governance.

The country has an area o 752,614 km 2 and an estimated total population o 10

mil lion (2000 Census). 40% o the population lives in urban areas, making Zambia

one o the most urbanized countries in Sub-Saharan Arica. The population in un-

evenly skewed with children in the age range o 0-14 making up 45% o the population;

women account or 50.7% o the tota l population. The under-ve mortality rate in 2000

was estimated at 202 per 1,000 live births while recent data show that approximately

60% o the children in Zambia are malnourished. Also, the HIV/AIDS pandemic has

dealt a severe blow on the population. According to the National Aids Council Report,

it is estimated that 20% o the population between 15 and 49 is inected, 35% o these are

in urban areas (NAC Strategic Plan, 2002-2005). Lie expectancy by 2000 was estimated

to have dropped to below 40 years compared with 54 years at the end o the 1980s.

Since the mid 1990s, poverty levels continued to increase or the most part. The o-

cial gures indicate a rise rom 69.2% in 1996 to 72.9% in 1998 with only a modest drop

to 67% by 2004. It is estimated that over 80% o Zambians currently live below the pov-

erty line o US$1 a day. The statistics rom the Living Conditions Monitoring Survey o

2006 urther highlight that although overall poverty levels dropped to 64% in 2006, rura l

poverty increased rom 78% to 80% while urban poverty dropped rom 53% to 34%.

Mac - ecnmic Famk

Zambian economy should be evaluated against the backdrop o economic perorm-

ance rom the 1990s. The Zambia Demographic Health Survey (1990 1999) indicates

that the economy grew at 1%, which is the lowest among the SADC countries and

also below the sub-Saharan Arica growth rate o 1.4%. However real GDP grew at

the rate o 2.2% in 1999, 3.6% in 2000, and 4.9% in 2001, but declined to 3.0% in 2002

(Reduction Strategy Paper, 2002-2004). Between 2000 and 2004 the Zambian economy

registered positive real growth at an average o 4.6%. The growth in real GDP in 2007

continued to be positive at a preliminary estimate o 6.2% against the targeted 7%. In

contrast to the fuctuating growth pattern that characterized the 1990s, the economic

growth has so ar been sustained. The only set back is that it is partially being negated

by the population growth rate, which currently stands at 2.7% hence achieving only a

marginal growth in per capita income.

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7 Support to the Education Sector in Zambia, Phase II, 2005-07, Volume 1, page 15.

An important eature o this growth is that the country has started to see some struc-

tural change as the economy begins to register growth in sectors other than mining.

In particular, recent Government policies have ostered diversied growth in sectors

such as agriculture, tourism and manuacturing which have recorded growth between

2002 and 2004 (2005: Economic Report 2004). In addition, during this period, theGovernment has continued to pursue stringent stabilization policy measures such as

reduction in Government borrowing. These measures have resulted in stability in the

macro environment. As at the end o December 2007 the annual infation gure had

drastical ly dropped to a single digit gure o 8.9%. Similarly, the Kwacha has remained

stable over the past ew years largely to the depreciation o the US Dollar, thereby aid-

ing economic growth.

Overall the perormance o the Zambian economy has picked up momentum ater

2001. Prospects or growth in the coming years look modest as the economy is projected

to continue to grow. The public expenditure on education in general and higher educa-

tion in the context o UNZA should be examined against this background.

Plicy an Stuctu eucatin Systm

Zambias ormal education system currently consists o academic learning at the pri-

mary, secondary and tertiary levels. The primary level comprises lower and upper basic

schools, high schools and tertiary education, which includes teacher training colleges

and universities. This system is currently in transition, being moved rom a 7-5-4 struc-

ture (7 years o primary, 5 o secondary and 4 years o university education) to a 9-3-4

structure (9 years o basic, 3 years o high school and 4 years o university education up

to rst degree).

According to the Ministr y o Education, the total number o educational institutions

di-rectly under its auspices is 5,131 including 4,662 Basic Schools, 353 High Schools,

14 Teacher Training Colleges and 2 public Universities7. Recently, the Mulungushi

University was established in Kabwe, Central Province. There are also a number o

private educational institutions, though some o them could be operating without ull

compliance to the Ministrys regulatory directives. In addition, there are almost 1,900

Community Schools (which provide primary education) and about 500 Interactive

Radio Initiative Centres that provide alternative basic education.

The policy on higher education in Zambia is guided by the national policy on edu-

cation as spelt out in the policy document entitled Educating Our Future (1996). This

document reers inter alia to the importance o increasing access to education and lie

skills training, education management capacity building, policy coordination and the

rationalisation o resource mobilisation and utilisation. The general principles o the

current Government policy on education have their origins in an ever-deteriorating

macroeconomic situation which Zambia experienced since the early 1980s. The decline

in the economy aected all sectors including education. To restore this situation the

government had to resort to severe economic adjustment programmes. The early ad-

justment programmes ailed to shield social sector expenditures and resulted in a sharp

decline in unding or education and health. The scal pressure to curtail nancial

commitments was urther compounded by the rapid population growth at the time.


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8 Examples are: the National Resources Development College, National Institution or Public Administration (NIPA) and

Agricultural Colleges.9 Report o the Mid-Term Evaluation o the IUC programme at the University o Zambia UNZA, 28 August

6 September 2001, page 12.

High ucatin in Zambia

Higher education presently includes three public universities, i.e. UNZA in Lusaka,

the Copperbelt University (CBU) in Kitwe and the Mulungushi University (MU) in

Kabwe and 14 teacher training colleges under the authority o the Ministry o Education.CBU has our schools, i.e. Business Studies, Environmental Studies, Forestry & Wood

Sciences and Technology and MU nine. There are approximately 150 other colleges

providing post-secondary education and training8. Eorts are underway to convert

some colleges into university colleges. The Government urthermore allowed private

universities to open; one example is the Zambian Open University that was established

in 2004 to allow or expansion o HE enrolment in view o increased demand among

high school graduates.

UNZA, established in 1966, is the biggest university in the country. UNZA has

nine schools, i.e. Agricultural Sciences, Education, Engineering, Humanities & Social

Sciences, Law, Medicine, Mines, Natural Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine and oers

diploma and rst degree as well as postgraduate programmes. The University derives

a major share o its income rom an annual government grant (some 2/3 rd o total in-

come) based on a ormula that involves sta-student ratios, student ees, and income-

generating undertakings. The Universitys rst Strategic Plan, Putting Quality First,

was drawn up or the period 1994-1998, with the aim o reviewing the Universitys

mission, reocusing its objectives, and setting new targets within the overall govern-

ment policy on higher education. According to UNZA in this Strategic Plan, higher

education should:

Provide learning by oering opportunities or advanced education to all suitably

qualied persons without discrimination.

Improve the quality o l ie o the people through relevant research in the identi-

ed areas o need.

Explore a wide variety o higher education provisions or those willing and able

to benet, but unable to participate in regular ul l time programmes.

Advance national development through the applications o learning and

research in the proessions, industry, agriculture, commerce and public lie.

Contribute to the socio-economic growth o the nation through the dissemi-

nation o relevant research ndings and consultancy services.

Foster a network o relationships with tertiary institutions in Zambia and

elsewhere.

Help promote the development o programmes o excellence in national

institutions.

Continue to press or adequate unding rom government while striving to

increase its income rom other sources9.

UNZA embarked on a second ve-year strategic plan entitled Relevance, Excellence

and Accountability or the period 2002-2006. According to this strategic plan, (the)

experiences over the last decade have put great pressures on the operations o the Uni-

versity. Emanating rom these pressures are several internal constraints, which have

maniested themselves in such actors as: decline in the teaching and learning envi-

ronment; reduced research activities; reductions in support to sta development pro-

grammes; and lack o capital development. Some o the consequences o the external ly

generated constraints have been sta exodus rom the University or better job opportu-


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nities both within and outside the country; dilapidation in inrastructure; deterioration

in the student welare; reduction in the procurement o library books and periodicals

and other education materials; signicant reductions in the admission numbers o stu-

dents; and the general decline in the morale o sta10. In addition, the austerity meas-

ures associated with the economic structural adjustment programme or the countryhave created peculiar hardships or the University, and lecturers continue to resign in

search o greener pastures elsewhere11. Unortunately, this is happening at a time when

the country needs high-level manpower to spearhead the eorts in economic recovery,

growth and social development. Measures under the st rategic plan include sta develop-

ment and expansion o student and sta accommodation. The University intends also to

embark on commercial ventures through some o the potential money-earning units to

increase interna l revenue generation. A UNZA building development project was pre-

pared in 2005, i.e. the Building development and management through public-private

partnership at UNZA Great East Road Campus, a conceptual paper o January 2005.

UNZA receives considerable donor unding; the mission was not in a position to

collect the necessary details but understands that this includes inter alia the Netherlands

unded project Triple S project, working amongst others on UNZAs ICT inrastruc-

ture and the project Strengthening HIV-related interventions in Zambia: co-operation

in research and institution capacity bui lding unded by Norway.

10 Strategic Plan 2002-2006, page 4.11 UNZAs Annual Work Programme document o December 2003 states (page 4), as beore, two o the main problems

acing UNZA remain on one hand the insuciency o the allocated budget rom public unding, which barely covers

salaries, and on the other hand the institutions accumulated debt to its retired sta and towards service providers orwater, electricity and telephone. The maintenance o the university inrastructure has suered severely rom this situa-

tion, and the supply o consumables necessary or education, research and other academic activities is somewhat unreli-able. Though UNZA has seen (an) increase in the enrolment o privately- or sel-sponsored students has been adding

a moderate source o complementary income to UNZA, and other sources o income generation are being explored

through contracted public service, consultancy work and joint ventures. UNZA, however, still remains substantiallydependent upon donor-unded projects.


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Pjct UNZA dpatmnt Flmish Univsity ovall bjctiv Spcifc bjctiv/pups

UNZANET UNZA Computer

Centre

University o Antwerp To improve the quality o

education and research

throughout the university

To make new inormation and

communication technologies

more widely available and acces-

sible to academic sta, studentsand proessional sta in all

schools o the university and to

establish decentralised manage-

ment and administrative systems

Distance Education Department o

Distance Education(DDE)

Vrije Universiteit Brussel To improve the quality, socio-

economic relevance, scopeand accessibility o distance

education oered by UNZA

To build and strengthen the

capacity o the Directorate oDistance Education to deliver its

courses and support services to

distance learners through the

application o inormation andcommunication technologies.

Computer studies School o NaturalSciences

K.U. Leuven To improve the perormanceo the Zambian economy in

both the public and private

sectors through the eec-

tive application o computertechnology

To establish a ully operationalDepartment o Computer Stud-

ies within the School o Natu-

ral Sciences, which will oer

programmes o study at BSc,Postgraduate Diploma and MSc

levels, as well as research and

consultancy services to indus-

trial and administrative agencies

Food Science andTechnology

Food Science andTechnology Depart-ment

University o Gent To provide qualied humanresources or the Zambianood industry and related

institutions

To establish a Department oFood Science and Technologywithin the School o Agricultural

Sciences oering a our-year

training programme

Veterinary Medicine School o Veterinary

Medicine

University o Gent To contribute to increased

livestock productivity and

public health in Zambia.

To improve the practical skills

o vets qualiying rom UNZA by

means o practical and clinicaltraining at the eld station, and

to increase knowledge o helmin-

thology in Zambia

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12 This component also included unding or common services to the programme under the heading o programme

support (such as costs related to the resident expatriate sta, orwarding and clearing costs o project equipment,insurance and security, etc.).

1

The mid-term evaluation o the Programme in 2001 had raised some issues with

respect to the 2nd phase o the programme. The evaluation called, among others, or a

more institutional approach and a move towards local managerial ownership. In this

regard also the idea to address the needs o the UNZA library was introduced. In

the process o taking up these issues in the 2nd phase o the programme, various mis-

sions were undertaken in 2003, including a visit o the incoming rector o UNZA to

Belgium. In view o constraints aced, and order to allow or an approval o the Annual

Programme (AP) or 2003, a DGDC act-nding mission with participation o VLIR-

UOS was undertaken in August 2003. Areas or immediate action were agreed upon,

and the AP 2003 was approved while the ormulation process o both the partner pro-

gramme as a whole and AP 2004 was nalised. The 2nd phase o the programme com-

prises the ollowing projects:


Geology School o Mines University o Gent To improve the perormance

o the mining and environ-

mental sectors through theprovision o better educated

Earth Science graduates,

so that they will make anenhanced contribution to theZambian economy

To improve the quality o educa-

tional, research and consultancy

services oered by the Schoolo Mines

InterdisciplinaryResearch12

Directorate oResearch and Grad-

uate Studies (DRGS)

University o Gent Enhancement o researchcapacity at UNZA

To encourage young researchersat UNZA to carry out applied

interdisciplinary research using

the equipment provided by the

IUC programme

Pjct UNZA dpatmnt Flmish Univsity ovall bjctiv Spcifc bjctiv

Computer Centre and

Library

Computer Centre;

Library

University o Antwerp The quality o education,

research and management at

UNZA has improved

The library becomes aNational Resource Centre

Ecient ICT services are provid-

ed in the University community

The library acquires equipment

or access as well as securityand purchases books to meet

the demand

Distance Education DDE Vrije Universiteit Brussel To improve the quality, socio-

economic relevance, scope

and accessibility o distance

education by UNZA

Build and strengthen the capaci-

ty o the directorate to deliver its

courses and support the services

to distance learners through theapplication o ICT

Establishment o a

programme in com-puter studies

School o Natural

Sciences

K.U. Leuven Deciency o computer

experts on the labour marketis reduced

The Department o Computer

Studies us ully operational

Establishment o aB.Sc. (M.Sc.) pro-

gramme in Food

Science and

Technology

Food Science andTechnology Depart-

ment

Ghent University Develop basic and appliedresearch relevant to the

development o the ood in-

dustry in Zambia, thus creat-

ing ood security

Contribute to ood security byenhancing agro-processing and

preservation methods in col-

laboration with local and interna-

tional stakeholders

Consolidation o ac-

tivities in School oVeterinary Medicine

School o Veterinary

Medicine

Ghent University Productivity o livestock in

Zambia has increased andpublic health is improved

Research capacity o veterinary

school concerning relevantveterinary issues in Zambia is

enhanced and appropriate inor-

mation on important veterinary

issues in Zambia is available toextension services


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17


Geology and Soil

Science

School o Mines and

School o Agricul-

tural Sciences,

Ghent University Contribution o small scale

mining and agriculture

industries to rural povertyalleviation and sustainable

economic development o

rural areas

Provision o sustainable quality

human resources, technical and

analytical services to small scalemining and agriculture people

Interdisciplinary

Research

Directorate o

Research and Gradu-

ate Studies (DRGS)

Ghent University To strengthen the scientic

renown o UNZA both in the

international academic com-munity and in the Zambian

public and private sector

To successully complete inter-

disciplinary research projects

and to disseminate the resultsin international journals, coner-

ences and workshops


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1


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1


13 AP 2000, page 74.14 According to the Phase II Partner Programme document, the specic objective reads as Ecient ICT services areprovided to the University community (academic and administrative sta and students (page 28).

15 According to the mid-term evaluation report: It is understood that the proposal to include the central managementand administration o the university in this component was abandoned. It is thereore unclear whether or not it has been

eective in decentralising these unctions.

16 On page 51 o the Phase II Programme document, overall objective and specic objective are ormulated somewhatdierently.

17 Phase II Programme document, page 45. Page 51 and 52 o this document do not include the last two intermediate

results.

Intuctin

The original UNZANET project was an extension to the campus wide bre optic

network that had been set up with support rom the Netherlands (i.e. the Computers

or Academics, Management and Administrative Support (CAMAS) project) and

CIDA and had been operational as o 1996. The UNZANET project was to support

the new Computer Centre, tasked to provide hardware and sotware support services to

the university community as well as consultancy services and training in IT, hardware,

sotware, networks, systems development and communication or internal and externa l

clients. The project was to contribute towards the urther development o an integrated

computer network o the University, which would, in turn, contribute towards an

eective improvement o the quality o education and research throughout the univer-

sity. It will also lead to a decentrali sed management and administrative system or the

institution..13. Specic objectives o the 1st phase o the UNZANET project were as

ollows14:

To develop an integrated internal computer network encompassing all aculties

o the university.

To establish a decentralised management and administration system or the

university15.

To improve the quality o education and research by making IT more widely

available to academic sta and students.

In order to allow more cooperation and interdisciplinary research among the dier-

ent UNZA departments, and because o the mission shared with the Computer Centre

o servicing the entire university community, it was agreed in 2001 to introduce a joint

Computer Centre and Library project in the 2nd phase. Overall objective o this new

project reads as (the) quality o Education, Research and Management at UNZA is im-

proved by making use o ICT and its specic objective as Ecient ICT services are

provided to the University Community which includes Academics, Administrative sta

and Students16. Intermediate results or the second phase are ormulated as ollows17:

(a) Through-put o the Network is increased; (b) Security on the Network has im-

proved; (c) Competent and qualied computer sta is available at the Computer Centre;

(d) Dissemination o Research results; (e) Formulation o sustainability mechanisms.

As ar as the library is concerned, the overall objective reads as (the) quality o in-

ormation service delivery to support teaching, research and public service is improved,

its specic objective as (ecient) library service responsive to specic needs o the

user community (teaching/research sta and students o the University) is provided.

Intermediate results enumerated or the library component are: (a) Up-to date inorma-

CONTENTS


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18 I.e. 280 computers (o which 100 or students and 180 distributed across the schools), 25 printers, 10 copiers and

10 scanners or teaching and research, radio links or the School o Medicine and the Institute or Economic and Social

Research (INESOR),19 Interesting observations are made in the mid-term evaluation report on this: UNZANET could, in theory, become a

commercial venture i the need arose, but this would detract rom the original philosophy or establishing it. It wouldorce it to charge the university or every hour used on university services, including teaching, at a cost the university

would not be able to aord.

20 Annual report 2003, page 7.21 Annual programme 2004, page 15.

22 According to the Kort verslag van de Vlaamse begeleidingscommissie UNZA, Gent o 24 September 2003,

the project would pay or the installation o the satelite dish ( 10,000) and subscription costs (24.000) or 2003.Project contributions to the subscription costs would decline to 18,000, 12,000 and 6,000 or subsequent years.2

tion resources needed or teaching, learning and research are provided; (b) Access to

electronic publications is achieved; (c) Security o Inormation resources is enhanced;

(d) Existing library management system is upgraded; (e) Sta capacity is built

ralisatins: Cmput Cnt

Computer inrast ructure & bandwidthComputer inrast ructure & bandwidthUp to 2001, improvement o inrastructure nanced under the project included the

provision o IT hardware18 and sotware and literature. In subsequent years, project pro-

visions included a new PABX, cabling o the engineering bui lding, School o Medicine

and INESOR, reurbishment o the library basement as a computer lab or students,

installation o security bars and alarm systems, the provision o air conditioners or

computer labs and a 4x4 vehicle. A mail server was urthermore procured in the course

o AP-2004 and two more servers were procured under AP 2006.

The mid-term evaluation o 2001 identied that UNZANET had a major problem

with the bandwidth, the unreliability o the services urnished by the Internet Service

Provider (ISP), i.e. ZAMNET, and with inter-campus connectivity. Moreover, at the

time, access to Internet was limited by the lack o computers in the University.

From AP-2002 onwards, project activities thereore ocused on dealing with the

bandwidth issue between ZAMNET, which is a private company ully owned by the

University19, and UNZA. ZAMNET could not cope with the increase in Internet trac

both inside and outside the University; though negotiations were held, UNZA, being

just one o ZAMNETs customers, was not given priority and the report on AP-2003

observed that while the University had good equipment to cater or large bandwidth

the ISP could not provide the required bandwidth and access and reliability problems

persisted.

In the course o AP-2002, radios to improve bandwidth were received and insta lled,

though with delays due to late delivery, the need to replace broken radios and the need

to undertake additional civil works. The Computer Centre nal ly opted or a solution

where the University has direct links with a satellite or its downward requirement and

goes through ZAMNET or its uplink connectivity20. It was also agreed that payment

or this set up would be on a cost sharing basis, with VLIR paying the ul l amount or

the rst year and UNZA progressively meeting the cost on sharing basis with 25%, 50%

and 75% o the amount being paid by UNZA21. In 2003, the project met the costs o

increased bandwidth by reallocating some unds rom the Library component, one rea-

son being that library sta was slow in articulating its requirements. However, imple-

mentation (i.e. purchase and installation o a satellite dish, VSAT) met with considerable

delays and was only realised in the 1st quarter o 200422.

In 2004, only minor improvements were realised: the download speed increased

rom 128kbps to 512kbps, while or the uplink remained the same at 128kbps. While

already in the course o AP-2004, it was recognised that bandwidth management tools

were needed to monitor and manage this bandwidth, only during AP-2005 did UNZA


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23 Annual report 2005, page 8:24 Annual programme 2005, page 925 Aim o this project is to improve the Management Inormation Systems o the University o Zambia. One o the com-

ponents o the project to improve the ICT inrastructure and includes replacement o all hubs and D-link switches at thecentre o the network would be replaced by the CISCO switches and router.

26 Annual report 2006, Page 10.

21

management (procure) a bandwidth management tool23 however this was not in-

stalled and according to the selassessment report, there is still no bandwidth monitor-

ing sotware in place. An additional problem was that many computers still had only

a 10mbits network card installed. To urther improve connectivity, it was decided to

replace the hubs across the campus wide network and D-link switches. However, therouter that was oreseen was not bought (or its delivery delayed) and while AP-2005 saw

replacement o some hubs by switches, the router at the centre remained the same, op-

erating at 10Mbits only, and network access speed problems persisted. Moreover, (ater)

the installation o the VSAT it was discovered that the type o servers the Computer

Centre had were o low capacity and could not handle the kind o internet trac that

was passing through the new VSAT whilst perorming other services such as WEB

services, PROXY, DNS, EMAIL DHCP etc.24. The situation was urther compounded

by problems with the DNS server.

Another issue concerned network saety and perormance; according to the progress

report on AP-2002, (sotware) to monitor network perormance was identied, and

bought in Belgium but not installed; the reasons or this are unknown. The situation

remained unchanged in 2003 and only in 2004 was network saety addressed through

installation o anti-SPAM and anti-virus sotware.

In the course o AP-2006, activities ocused on the replacement o the remaining

hubs with D-link switches and the replacement o the router. During the same pe-

riod UNZA initiated the Netherlands unded Triple S project 25 (unded rom the

Netherlands NPT programme). To avoid duplication o eorts , it was agreed that in-

stead o purchasing D-link switches the project would nance two servers that host the

administrative systems such as Students Records Systems and a DNS server, which had

been giving problems during student registration and Internet access26.

Despite the eorts made, the network continued to be slow, though security had

improved by the end o the projects lietime.

Since then, the situation seems to have improved urther as indicated in the inter-

nal assessment report: Down time: Currently System non-availability is approximately

10%; Response Time: Response time less than a second; Number o users: increase

rom approximately 900 to 1,800 users at present; Network through-put: increase rom

512 Kbps (downlink) 28 Kpbs uplink to current 7MB downlink 1MB uplink; Network

Security: Had approximately ve intrusions in the system, reduced to zero with the in-

stallation o a Fire Wall.Sta interviewed acknowledged that there had been improve-

ments in the computer services and Internet availabil ity but continued to express a lack

in condence in the system (an indicator being the continued use o yahoo and g-mail

accounts rather than University e-mail accounts).

Servicing o equipment is reported to have been an ongoing aair since 2002; in

AP-2003, a number o spares were urthermore bought to repair malunctioning equip-

ment in the basement as well as other areas within the University.


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27 Annual report 2004, page 8

22

Capacity building - Competent and qualiied ICT sta isCapacity building - Competent and qualiied ICT sta isavailable at the Computer Centreavailable at the Computer CentreSta training activities have included the ollowing:

During phase 1, three engineers attended network training in Antwerp and an-

other attended a workshop in South Arica. Training was also organised or theDirector o the Computer Centre in management and leadership.

During AP-2002, three sta were sponsored to attend to the CISCO programme

at the Department o Computer Studies while two sta attended a course on the

making and repair o Power Surge Protectors and UPSs

During AP-2003, three sta were sponsored to attend the CISCO programme

while two sta par ticipated in training on 2003 server and windows XP.

AP-2004 saw two sta trained in LINUX at Intoweb Training Centre in

South Arica (March 2005) and three sta trained in a LINUX tailored course

suitable or the UNZA network solutions that was oered by ZAMNET in

January 2005. In addition, the Zambian Project leader attended two workshops

on Open source and Internet security organised by INWENT or Inormation

Technology in Arican Business, a SADAC ICT network (Johannesburg (August

- September, 2004) and Mozambique (November 2004))

During AP-2005, one sta was sent on a M.Sc. programme while another sta

member went or a CISCO train ing locally. In 2006, since the Master student did

not perorm, and programme rules do not allow a student to repeat, a tailored

programme in networking was arranged instead.

According to the selassessment report, the Centre still does not have sta with

expertise in certain ICT elds, particularly networking. Moreover, according to inter-

viewees at the Computer Centre, some o the training received in Flanders may well

have been too theoretical and has been dicult to use in practice.

While a number o sta were trained in various ICT elds, insucient attention has

been paid to the issues o sta retention and motivation; two network engineers trained

already obtained more lucrative employment outside UNZA. This issue was already

highlighted in the mid-term evaluation report o 2001, which also stressed the impor-

tance o constant training to keep up with new developments in the ICT world and

recommended that (discussions) are held with the university administration with the

aim o creating enhanced conditions o employment or specialist IT sta to ensure that

adequate sta to run the Computer Centre can be recruited and retained. The remarks

made in 2001 remain valid to date.

ResearchResearchWhile the intention was to (carry) out research activities that will direct the

University in the direction o e-learning to attract more students, this will be in col-

laboration with both Computer studies and Distance education it is understood that

some research on e-learning was undertaken by the then Project leader o the project

and another sta member o the Computer Centre. However, the research ndings

were not presented during any o the two conerences on interdisciplinary research.


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28 Annual report 2002, page 12: Owing to budget shits or the Library Project (rom 90,000 EUR to 62,500 EUR

to 30,000 and nally ending at 21,000) it became virtually impossible or the Library to implement most o theactivities planned or the year 2002.

29 Annual report 2002, Page 12. Despite the electronic surveillance contract with Pre-Secure Security Ltd ( 2,000), apc and monitor were stolen in AP 2004.

30 2005 Annual report, page 11.

31 In 1995 the Library installed a good automated library management system called Dynix. Both the library sotwareand hardware were paid or by FINNIDA. With FINIDAs support UNZA Library was also able to solicit and achieve

complete retrospective record conversion o its entire manual card catalogue. Although the Library was able to pay or,

and install, all the modules o the Dynix system (Cataloguing, Circulation, Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC),Serials management, Short Loan Collection etc.), UNZA Library has not beneted rom sotware upgrades due to our

non-renewal o sotware maintenance licence. This will be achieved in AP2003.

32 Annual report 2004, page 12.

2

ralisatins Libay

Procurement o booksProcurement o booksBook purchases under AP-2002 were cancelled due to budget reductions with

more money going to the Computer Centre than originally planned28

. In 2003-2004,books were purchased or a limited amount ( 5,000). In 2005, books were purchased

rom Mallory International Limited (GBP 6,266.65) and Universal Education and

Inormation Services (GBP 6,324.27). In 2006, though it was oreseen to purchase

books rom Mallory International Limited, due to problems, the books were never

purchased.

Access to electronic publicationsAccess to electronic publicationsOver the lietime o the project, the ollowing investments were made in ICT: 4 Dell

Dimension 8250 PCs, 5 ASUS PCs and 1 laptop; subscription to CD-ROM databases

(AP-2002); devise Server, 19 PCs, 1 network copier/printer, 1 oce printer, 19 com-

puter tables and chairs as well as other items (Norton anti-virus sotware or single user,

3 (24-port) and 5 (8-port) network switches) (AP-2004); LCD projector, heavy duty col-

our printer and photocopier (AP-2005); additional server and a power generator (ZMK

67,773,000.00) (AP-2006).

SecuritySecurityProcurement o an electronic book detection system was not undertaken in AP-2002

due to insucient unds but an emergency lighting system was bought and installed,

Security related activities in AP-2003 included maintenance o the surveillance system

and construction o security grille ence around the CD-ROM area and o a burglar

proo deck (February 2004). According to the 2002 Annual report, (the) main activi-

ties in the Library Project .. have been the improvement o security provided by a lo-

cal security rm A major impact o this activity has resulted in zero break-ins29.

Contracting o the security company (Rapid Security Intervention System) continued

up to 31 March 2006 when the university started paying or the service30.

Upgrading Library Management systemUpgrading Library Management systemFunding was provided or an upgrade o the Dynix Sotware31 and or a Dynix one-

year maintenance renewal in AP-2004 since the system support maintenance had been

put on maintenance hold. This had put the Library in an awkward situation whereby

the numerous system errors being experienced cannot be attended to32.

Library sta trainingLibrary sta trainingThe Dynix related training that was oreseen or AP-2002 did not take place due

to some uncertainty regarding the uture o Dynix. Again, in 2003, this training was

not done because o the possibility o migrating to a windows based library system as


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34 The sel-assessment o the library in this respect repors: the twining o the Library and the Computer Centre under

one project was not healthy or the Library. The Computer Centre had undue advantage as the ormer Computer CentreDirector occupied a prominent role in the VLIR Project and infuenced decisions to benet his unit. Frequently some o

the unds allocated to the Library were reallocated to the Computer Centre to meet the needs o the latter which wereelt to be o the highest priority by the Vice Chancellor. This resulted into the Library ailing to meet some o the objec-

tives in the Project (2008 Sel-Assessment project 1.2 Library).

24

recently advised by the Dynix sotware vendors33. In AP-2005 it was planned to send a

sta member or training to the UK; however the library was advised to send two sta

or training at Universal Knowledge System (UKS) in South Arica. Training o one

Ph.D. was originally oreseen; the Ph.D. scholarship was, however, cancelled during

AP-2003, although some expenditure (travel o candidate to Belgium) had already beenincurred. The sta member concerned managed, nevertheless, to complete his Ph.D.,

though without programme support, except or nancing o t ravel and subsistence cost

or his thesis deence in Belgium.

Assssmnt

RelevanceRelevanceThere is no doubt that in todays world, in order to be able to eectively and e-

ciently provide teaching, learning, research and services, and to communicate with

the outside (academic) world, a university requires adequate, reliable and sae access to

Internet as the inormation highway. Similarly, a proper unctioning o the University

library is a prerequisite or the academic community to undertake its tasks o teaching,

research and community services. The project is hence extremely relevant.

EectivenessEectivenessAt the time o project closure (March 2007), the network was still unreliable and

unable to cope with increased Internet trac. The situation has improved considerably

since then, not in the least, because o supplementary intervention o another donor (the

Netherlands), which built on what was real ised under the project. Though sta tra ining

was undertaken, it has been less than originally oreseen. Sta development alls still

short in some key areas, particularly network management and urther sta develop-

ment will be needed to be able to keep the Centre operational. No research was under-

taken as originally envisaged. Due to repeated cuts in the budget or the library compo-

nent , the project has real ised its original objectives only to a limited extent.

EiciencyEiciencyEciency o project implementation was aected by slow decision-making on the

side o University management on how the ICT system should be designed, coupled

with uncertainties on the most appropriate (and aordable) technical approach to be

ollowed and the technical choices to be made. According to the current director o the

Computer Centre, eciency was also aected by the act that neither the Flemish nor

the UNZA project leaders had a background in networking. The delivery o computers

through the Close the Gap initiative met with considerable delays; moreover, UNZA

was said to be unlucky as regards the quality o the computers provided. Instability

in the Librarians oce also aected project implementation o the Project, with local

leadership changing six times during the projects lietime. Several exchange visits were

made by the Zambian and Flemish project leaders; an ICT steering committee was set

up at one point in time which was supposed to be an Advisory Unit on ICT matters at

UNZA. However, the reports available shed no urther l ight on this topic.


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35 Only 71 positions out o 140 established positions are lled.

2

ImpactImpactIt is only recently that the network unction at UNZA has improved and appreci-

ated. However, the actual impact o ast and reliable access to Internet on the quality

o the Universitys teaching and research provision remains to be seen. Facilities at the

library have improved though the building itsel is urgently requiring rehabilitation;however, access to electronic databases was only improved ater the computer network

started to unction properly.

SustainabilitySustainabilityThe Computer Centre is currently seriously understaed and receives minimal

nancial support (other than salaries) rom central administration. The existing sta is

currently 25 technical personnel, o whom 3 hold an M.Sc, 6 a B.Sc,, and 16 the equiva-

lent o a diploma. Despite the available provision or 9 sta or network services and 14

or systems development, there are only 6 network engineers, including the Director o

the Centre. With greener pastures outside the University, this implies a considerable

risk. To enhance sustainability, more sta ought to have been trained than has been the

case.

The nancial situation o the Computer Centre is compounded by the low student

ees charged and the act that income earning activities (e.g. training on LAN manage-

ment, UNIX, Word Processing) are not yet sucient developed to generate enough

prot which can serve to recruit and retain enough qualied IT sta and to replace the

available equipment. At the same time, and this is contrary to the past, it is understood

that UNZA management now realises the importance o ICT and has increasingly em-

braced ICT as a major aspect o training and research at the institution and has taken

over the nancing o the increased bandwidth.

Despite these more positive signs, the mission endorses the recommendation made

in the mid-term evaluation report o 2001 that (a) business unit is set up to record all the

income and expenditure related to commercial IT services provided by the Computer

Centre, to develop new services and to maximise the income rom these .... It is hoped

that the orthcoming ICT policy, which is in its nal drat, together with a new pro-

posal to restructure the Computer Centre, coupled with the proposed sta retention

strategy, which is currently with UNZA management or decision making, wil l be able

to address the above concerns.

Issues observed with respect to sustainability o the library are: (a) the lack o senior

library sta35 and (b) the state o the library building, acing considerable leakage during

the rainy season which may well threaten both the equipment installed and the librarys

collection o books, journals and magazines. The Mission learnt urthermore that

the library receives only ZMK 15 Million (the equivalent o 2,700) per month rom

Central Administration or its operations.


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Intuctin

For the 1st phase o the Programme, the project aimed to improve the quality, socio-

economic relevance, scope and accessibility o distance education oered by UNZA.

The immediate objective mentioned in the interim-evaluation mission report reads

as (to) build and strengthen the capacity o the Directorate o Distance Education to

deliver its courses and support services to distance learners through the application o

inormation and communication technologies. Intended outputs or this phase were

(a) Improved inrastructure and systems or distance education; (b) Enhanced quality o

distance education and (c) Increased number o courses and distance students. For the

2nd phase, the overall objective was (to) improve the quality, socio-economic relevance,

scope and accessibility o distance education oered by UNZA. The specic objective

reads as (to) build and strengthen the capacity o the Directorate o Distance Education

(DDE) to deliver high quality courses and support services to distance learners through

the application o inormation and communication technologies. The envisaged inter-

mediate results or this phase were the ollowing:

Availability o trained and motivated sta or programme implementation

A wider range o quality programmes and courses oered by distance learning

Increased access to University programmes o study

Improved quality o course materials

Administrative/Management system automated and improved

Improved student support system

Inrastructure enhanced

Operation o DDE sustainable at the end o the project

ralisatins

Capacity Bui lding /sta developmentCapacity Bui lding /sta developmentDuring the 1st phase o the programme, the ollowing training activities were

undertaken:

one sta member ollowed an M.Sc. in Educational Research in Belgium

one sta registered on a Ph.D. programme at UNZA with joint supervision rom

the Belgian project leader

two sta enrolled on postgraduate diploma courses in Distance Education at

UNISA in South Arica

Furthermore, 15 sta members were trained in computer skills and Instruc-

tional Design to produce course materia ls on computers, and computer training

o UNZA Regional Ocers.

CONTENTS


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AP-2003 and AP-2004 saw some upsurge in training activities, including:

workshops or lecturers in ICT, instructional design, student monitoring, and

tutoring planned or 2002 but postponed to August 2003 due to unoreseen

changes in the University o Zambia academic calendar as a result o closures

Training o DDE sta in the use o ICT or distance education management

Training o Resident Tutors and their Secretaries in computer usage, general

principles o distance education, student support and use o the new system

Training o lecturers in basic computer skills

Training o one DDE sta in advanced computer usage and simple basic pro-

gramme and hardware maintenance.

Furthermore, in the course o AP-2003, one sta member completed the post gradu-

ate diploma in distance education with UNISA while another continued into 2004

but could not complete the training because UNISA discontinued the programme.

Training undertaken in the last two years o the project included:

One sta member participated in training in the Production o Audio Visual

learning materia l at K.U. Leuven

Two sta were trained in Basic Computer Repair and Maintenance (March

2005)

a sensitisation workshop was held on the use o ICT in education or principal

ocers o UNZA (March 2006)

A ToT workshop on the use o ICT in education was held in March 2006

Sta training in Inormation and Communications Technology (March 2007)

A 2-day training workshop or resident tutors (March 2007) on PC and Internet

basics.

The Ph.D. candidate went through several supervisors and Ph.D. proposals, under-

took a mission to Brussels in 2004 and 2005 and submitted his thesis during AP-2006.

He was subsequently appointed as Director DDE and, more recently, as head o UNZAs

library. A second Ph.D. training that was originally oreseen was not implemented;

though training was considered important, it proved dicult to nd the right people

or this level o education.

A wider range o qualit y programmes and courses oeredA wider range o qualit y programmes and courses oeredby distance learningby distance learningDuring the lietime o the project, the number o distance education programmes

oered increased rom three to six, i.e. B.A. o Arts (B.A), B.A. o Arts with Education

(B.A. Ed.); B.A. o primary education; B.A. o special education, and B.A. o Arts with

Library and Inormation Studies. These remain, however, incomplete programmes as

3rd and 4th year courses (which were discontinued already in the early 1980s), which

would have allowed or a ul ly parallel distance higher education programme, were not

developed as originally intended. Some course materials were re-written in ormats that

were more appropriate or distance learning.

The mission is not a position to judge the quality o the content o the learning

materials and the quality o their delivery, which are the responsibility o academic sta

outside DDE but are clearly undamental to the eectiveness o any distance education

programme.


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36 Mansa (4); Kitwe (4); Livingstone (4); Chipata (3); Mongu (3); Kabwe (3); Solwezi (3); and Kasama (3). 10 comput-ers were allocated to Choma Secondary School.

Increased access to University programmes o studyIncreased access to University programmes o studyThe available data (see the table below) indicate that distance student enrolment

increased rom 386 in 1996/1997 to 1,606 by 2006/2007 and 1,743 in 2007/2008.

Ya enlmnt Ya enlmnt1996/1997 386 2002/2003 888

1997/1998 314 2003/2004 841

1998/1999 371 2004/2005 1,165

1999/2000 444 2005/2006 1,612

2000/2001 635 2006/2007 1,606

2001/2002 586 2007/2008 1,743

The project acilitated this increase by improvement o the student management sys-

tems; however, it seems to have done little in actual ly promoting this increase. Distance

education students account or some 14-15% o total enrolment at UNZA; close to 50%

o the distance education students are women.

To ease access the payment plan system was modied to allow students to pay their

ees in ve instalments instead o three, which had proven dicult or many sel-spon-

sored students.

Enhancement o inrastructureEnhancement o inrastructureMain activities during the 1st phase o the project were:

the provision o hardware and sotware or the production o course materials

and the administration o distance students

improvements to DDE central and remote premises; this included the reparti-

tioning o DDE oces, the provision o urniture, lighting and security systems

and air conditioner or the computer room and o documentation and books.

the provision o IT equipment or DDE central and remote premises.

To enhance the available inrastructure, the 2nd phase included purchases o inter alia

ICT equipment (laptop or Ph.D. candidate, fat screen PCs (AP-2005), memory sticks,

etc.), reproduction acilities or provincial centres (such as computers, printers, scanners,

etc), an electric stapler, video camera and accessories, LCD projector and consumables

or heavy duty photocopier (drum units). During AP-2006, a Close the Gap (CTG)

initiative proposal, initiated by DDE together with the Nkrumah Teachers Training

College, was approved by VLIR-UOS and 200 computers were provided. 25 PCs were

reserved or DDEs Computer room, and the Registry and Course Materials sections

and 27 were allocated to provincial centres36. Project unding was urthermore provided

or the maintenance o three heavy-duty photocopiers rom AP-2004 onwards. The

project urthermore paid or the maintenance o computers and printers in both DDE

and Provincial Centres.

While some books were acquired in 2001, books and journals were not bought in

2002 and 2003, instead unds were used or buying stationary or the production o

course materials. Books and journa ls on distance education were ordered in Belgium

in the course o AP-2004.


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37 2006 Annual report, page 14.

38 I.e. Kitwe, Livingstone, Choma, Chipata, Mongu, Mansa and Kasama.

39 During AP-2001, PCs were installed or the Assistant Registrar o DDE, as well as 7 provincial centres and; theprovincial centres were also connected to Internet

40 I.e. Kitwe, Livingstone, Choma, Chipata, Mongu, Mansa, Kasama, Kabwe and Solwezi. During AP-2003, two new

computers installed at Kabwe and Solwezi centres.41 The 2003 Annual Report observes in this respect: The internet connectivity or all the provincial centres, which we

had hoped would be achieved, was not done due to operational problems on the part o service providers. Incidentally,the same problem aects the intra-network services at the university (Annual report 2003, page 17).


43 2004 report, page 15

Improved course qualit yImproved course qualit yImplementation o the project saw a gradual increase o the materials developed and

typed on computer and stored electronically, rom 50% o the courses in AP-2002, to

60% in AP-2003, 80% in AP-2004 and 95% at present, a painstaking process because o

the high rate o sta turnover. The write-up continued unti l the end o the project asnew courses were being introduced. Support or the development o course materials

was provided throughout the projects lietime, amongst others through the provision

o computers or lecturers in DDEs course materia ls section. According to the Annual

report on 2006, (an) e-learning environment (DOKEOS) was installed on the DDE

Server and can be accessed... (to) register and create courses, enrol students etc. There

is, however, need to organize a ToT workshop on how to use the learning environ-

ment. This could not be done during the reporting period37. All in al l, improved course

quality is to be seen in terms o lay-out and use o house style and the availability o

materials on computer.

Improved student support systemImproved student support systemThe intention was to connect eight (later nine) provincial centres to the UNZAcomputer network and that provincial sta and students would use these acilities to

communicate with DDE.

According to the report on AP-2001, seven provincial centres38 with computers had

Internet connection39, with some doing better than others in terms o connectivity. By

the end o AP-2003 all nine provincial centres40 with computers had Internet connec-

tivity. However, the communication system did not work - both at the centres and at

UNZA41. As o AP-2002, the project thereore agreed to pay telephone and internet

bills to a llow provincial centres that were previously disconnected to be reconnected in

the course o AP-2004. Payment o telephone and Internet bill s continued into AP-2005

as well as AP-2006. However, in 2005, since the centres, because o poor telephone

connectivity (dial-up), made very l ittle use o these services despite incurring monthly

xed charges it was decided that ZAMNET temporarily disconnects the centres42.

As part o the eorts to enhance the student support system, the intention was to

appoint student support ocers who would be working under DDE in the provincial

centres. These would be working in parallel with the tutors or provincial resident

lecturers that are working in these centres - but come under the aegis o UNZAs adult

education department.

Up to AP-2003, the (conditions) or Student Support Service Ocers were not

worked out because o the general university restructuring exercise and recruitment

and training o the ocers did not take place as planned. The project had to wait till

AP-2004 to learn that UNZA management did not support the recruitment o these

ocers as it was considered a duplication. It was pointed out that the already established

Resident Lecturers oces in all the provinces could perorm distance education activi-

ties and that Resident Lecturers would be given new job descriptions to incorporate the

distance education component as part o their normal duties43.


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44 Annual Report 2006, page 14.45 Annual report 2001, page 9. Similar observations are made in the Annual report 2004: However, to ascertain the

overall perormance o the programme, there will be need or more systematic assessment, evaluation and monitoring

(page 17).

Admin istrative/Management system automated andAdmin istrative/Management system automated andimprovedimprovedA computerised management inormation system containing student records, details

o courses, etc. was established during the 1st phase o the project. Intention was that,

with this system in place, DDE would be able to cope with increased numbers o stu-dents and courses. In AP-2001, a prototype was tested, the student record management

expanded and rened and a new version o student records developed. The development

process continued into AP-2002 when some training was held or DDE sta in record

management.

AP-2003 saw the continuation o ll ing the system with data on students, lecturers,

courses, etc.; this exercise continued also into AP-2004 and AP-2005. According to the

2006 Annual report, (the) Student Management System is running .. There is a need

to upgrade the system to allow importing rom the Student Registration System (SRS).

Furthermore, there is need or DOKEOS and the SRS to operate in an integrated man-

ner44. At the same time, the internal assessment report observes that a (template) o the

prototype (was) developed but not util ised as a separate system. DDE continued to rely

on the UNZA system, which has some aspects o the prototype. The Mission under-

stands that there is an issue o lack o compatibility between the DDE system and the

general student administration system.

Assssmnt

RelevanceRelevanceDistance education - which is oten second chance education with a large number o

students being teachers going or a higher degree - allows the Zambian higher education

system to expand enrolment, however without overburdening the rather limited higher

education institutions. However, til l now, it only covers, and only or some disciplines,

the rst two years o higher education, ollowing which students have to continue their

higher education as regular students at UNZA in Lusaka.

EectivenessEectivenessThe main purpose o the 1st phase was to build and strengthen the capacity o DDE

to deliver its courses and support services to distance learners through the application

o inormation and communication technologies. Also in the 2nd phase, the main em-

phasis was on the provision o distance education inrastructure and management tools,

as well as sta development, mainly at technical level through training in the use o

ICT. According to the interviewees, 25 out o the 100 teaching sta involved in distance

education have started to use a dierent approach to distance education. The Ph.D.

holder, who graduated in the eld o distance education in Zambia, is at the same time

no longer working in DDE.

To a certain extent, the eorts made have provided the requisite environment or

the increase in the number o students pursuing their degree programmes through dis-

tance education. There is also some evidence o improved management as a result o

the development o new procedures and skill s, and the introduction o a computerised

management inormation system and sta capacity to manage a larger number o dis-

tance education students by making use o this system. There nevertheless remains need

or more systematic assessment, evaluation and monitoring45.


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46 Annual report 2006, page 1647 Annual report 2006, page 15-16.

2

Other remaining key issues are the ollowing:

the quality o the contents o the distance education provision - which was not

really tackled though the quality o course materials (in print) has improved in

terms o layout ollowing the introduction o a house style

the act that UNZA has no institutional policy on distance education dening

roles, responsibilities, priorities and accountabilities with regard to the govern-

ance structure, management, teaching, leaner support and stang.

EiciencyEiciencyRelatively requent missions were undertaken by the Flemish project leader

(2003-2007), who played a key role in getting the ICT operational with return visits un-

dertaken by the Zambian project leader in 2004 and 2005. The presence o the Flemish

expert was essentia l to get things done.

The mid-term evaluation mission urthermore reported on a Senate Distance

Learning subcommittee that provides policy advice to the universitys management;

however, project progress reports do not shed light on the role and unct ioning o this

committee. Management o the distance education provision was aected by the act

that sta o the provincial centres come under the Universitys department o adult edu-

cation - and not DDE. This remains an issue to be addressed in uture as the division o

responsibility between DDE and adult education can lead to conusion and delays.

ImpactImpactDierent categories o sta have received training in computer skills, in manage-

ment o distance education programmes, were motivated to use modern IT equipment,

and were trained in basic computer repair and maintenance. This is expected to en-

hance DDEs capability to continue to implement its distance education programmes.

Still, there is .. more to be done beore ICT could be ully utilised and hence obtain

maximum benets rom the use o the same46. At the same time, the improved commu-

nication inrastructure has created a basis or better and aster communication between

distance education students and their tutors. The ull benets o this wil l only be known

in the years to come.

DDE is involved in a mathematics and science teacher training programme, nanced

by the Arican Development Bank, together with the Arican Virtual University; how-

ever, this programme is expected to take o only later in 2008.

SustainabilitySustainabilityOver the years, there has been considerable optimism as regards the sustainability o

the distance education system. For example, the mid-term evaluation report observed:

DDE is increasingly becoming sustainable and income rom distance education serv-

ices allows or the nancing o a ll the operational costs, except salaries It is expected

that DDE wil l be able to raise more revenue because o increases in the student enrol-

ment gures and the prospect o selling surplus study materials to ull-time, students

and other interested parties. Similar optimistic observations are made in the progress

reports on AP-2001 and 2002. Again in 2006, it was stated that the current culture o

continuing education in the country, coupled with limited institutions that provide

Documents

IUS Final Evaluation UNZA