China: country information in Latchem et al. 1999

Open universities

China's Radio and Television Universities (RTVUS) constitute the world's largest distance teaching university system. This vast nation-wide network was established in 1979 to increase participation, pursue 'the four modernizations' and serve the needs of the 'lost generation' of the Cultural Revolution. The hub of the network is the Central Radio and Television University in Beijing which provides the curriculum design, course development and academic and administrative support for 44 provincial RTVUs which in turn feed into 823 city branch schools, 1,713 county work stations. 13.176 television-based classrooms and 53,000 centers for viewing recorded material (ICEM, 1998). This centralized 'remote classroom' model with its scheduled tele-lectures is being gradually replaced by more devolved management and delivery systems and greater use of self-study methods (Sun, 1997). In 1997, 710.829 students were enrolled in RTVU degree programs and a further 605,719 in sub-degree programs. Between 1979 and 1996 2.95 million students registered with, and 2.13 million students or about 14% of the nation's graduates graduated through, the RTVUs (Sun & Li. 1997; Ding, 1998). Some of the RTVUs have enrollments of 90,000, which almost qualifies them as mega-universities in their own right. Nevertheless. set against the enormous population, need for development and desire for a greater role in the global economy, China still has a long way to go in achieving mass higher education.

Dual mode universities

A growing number of conventional Asian universities provide programs in the on- and off-campus modes, or more commonly, some mix of the two. In China, the Tsinghua, Nanjing and Zhejiang Universities deliver distance education programs via satellite and there is a longstanding tradition of conventional universities providing correspondence courses.

Self study

In 1983. in response to the demands of the socialist market economy, the Chinese Ministry of Education also established the Self-taught Higher Education Examinations (STHEE) system. Here entry, is open to everyone prepared to pay the fees, regardless of educational background, gender, age, or ethnicity. A national office in Beijing sets the policies, compiles the textbooks, provides the examination syllabuses and manages the network of provincial STHEE offices. The students have to manage their own learning, taking guidance from the examination syllabuses and textbooks and whatever community or institutional resources may be available to them Twice-Nearly examinations are held nation-wide in temporary test rooms and successful students gain credit towards sub-degree qualifications or degrees. By the end of 1996, STHEE could claim 20 million enrollees, 6.1 million examinees and over 1.5 million graduates. 76.000 of whom had passed the degree level examinations and 8.000 of whom had completed their theses or practical studies and been awarded bachelor degrees (STHEE, 1997).

Borderless education

Overseas universities currently offer over 300 distance courses in Hong Kong (Cunningham op cit.) and UK, Australian, American and other distance teaching universities are keen to expand their operations in Asia. Asia's distance teaching universities are also internationalizing their operations. Indira Gandhi National Open University delivers courses into the Middle East and Seychelles, the Macao-based Asia International Open University markets its programs in Hong Kong and China, Malaysia's Universiti Telekom has enrolled students from Europe, Africa and Asia and other Malaysian and Singaporean universities are positioning themselves to be international providers.

Internet

Internet provision is currently restricted to the already privileged regions, institutions and students. The 1998 Chinese Internet Information Center (CIEC) survey recorded 1. 175 million networked users out of a population of 1.2 billion. The majority of these were male and in Beijing, Shanghai and the more economically developed provinces. There was virtually no Internet provision in the remoter provinces or minority nationality regions. Some universities have set up Web Classrooms on the Internet but only 4% of the 9,415 domain names under 'cn' (China). are currently categorized as educational institutions (China Computerworld, 1998). The CIEC was established in 1997 with authorization from China Telecom to monitor and develop new technologies and set standards for distance learning, administration methods, technologies, market demand and pricing. China's first virtual institution, the Multimedia Information Education College of Hunan University, was established in 1997 and the CIEC has entered into agreements with at least 10 other universities to enroll an initial 3.000 students on Internet-based undergraduate and postgraduate courses in 1998. The CIEC has also entered into an agreement with Western Governors University for collaborative distance learning initiatives (Western Governors University, 1998).

Outcomes

There have been notable achievements in access and equity. Some 70% of Sukhotai Thammathirat Open University), students reside outside the Bangkok metropolitan area (Teswanitch, 1994) and the China RTVUs have significantly increased higher education participation in the remote and minority nationality regions (Sun & Li. 1997- Ding, 1998). The average undergraduate pass rate is about 80% and the on-time graduation rate about 70% (Sung, 1997; Ding, 1998). RTVU graduates have improved their capabilities and career prospects, are well regarded by employers and in some cases, proceed to postgraduate study (Huang & Zhao, 1990; Ding. 1998).

References

China Computerworld (1998). Chinese Internet Information Center 1998 statistics report on China's development of the Internet. China Computerworld, 20 July. Internet/Intranet GI.

Huang, Y. & Zhao. Y. (Eds.). Report on the first trace study of graduates from China's RTVUS. China RTVU Education (9). 13-48 and (10), 42-48.

ICEM (I 998). The '98 communique of basic statistics of China RTVUs Education. China RTVU Education (3). Beijing: Central Radio and TV University Information Center of Educational Management.

STHEE (1997). Introduction to Self-taught Higher Education Examinations program in China. Bejing: The Office of National Steering Committee of Self-taught Higher Education Examinations.

Sun, L. Y. (1997). A pilot program of enrolling 'free entrance students' in China's RTVUs and its quality-assurance. Proceedings of the 11th Asian Association of Open Universities Conference, Quality Assurance in Distance & Open Learning: Volume 1, November 11-14, Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia, 245-250.

Sun, L. Y. & Li, G. B. (Eds.) (1997). 1996 Education statistics yearbook of Radio and Television Universities in China. Beijing: China Central Television University Publishing House.

Open universities

India's Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) was established in New Delhi in 1987. It is mandated to serve students from all cultural, ethnic and socio-cultural backgrounds across this vast developing country of 26 states, 1652 languages and 190 religions. It has a network of 268 study centers, 80 work centers and 17 regional centers. In 1997, it had an enrollment of 393,388. an annual intake of 95,000. and a total enrollment surpassing 3.9 million. IGNOU also serves as the apex body for India's 7 state open universities and 52 correspondence course institutes, a role it performs through a Distance Education Council.

Asia's other open universities have smaller enrollments. India has 7 state open universities: in chronological order of establishment, the Dr B. R. Ambedkar Open University, Hyderabad (1982), Kota Open Universitv (1987), Nalanda Open University (1987), Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (1989), M. P. Bhoj University (1992), Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University, Ahmedabad, (1994), and Karnataka State Open University (1996).

Dual mode

In India, 52 conventional universities have correspondence course institutes which are gradually being upgraded into fully-fledged distance education centers. These institutes and the 8 open universities account for more than 5 of the 61 million students enrolled in higher education in India.

Outcomes

Such low persistence rates are attributable to a variety of factors: greater variability in entry ability, the demands of off-campus study, the costs of study to the students and/or poor teaching and logistics. On the first point, it is important to note that many Asian students, whether or not they, have the capacity for self-directed learning, have to opt for distance learning as a matter of necessity and not, as in western countries. as a matter of choice. On the second point, many institutions are required to be wholly or largelv self-funding and as a result, the students, many from low income groups, not only have to pay fees but in some cases, contribute a higher proportion of the teaching costs than their more privileged counterparts in conventional universities. Some institutions, for example, India's correspondence course institutes are poorly resourced and managed and provide faculty with little training or motivation for the work. As a consequence, their students frequently complain of delays in delivery and assignments returned without comment (Polu, 1997; Ramanujam,1997).

Audiences reached

The Indian open universities are still struggling to fulfill their intended positive interventionist roles in regard to patriarchal ideologies and cultural marginalization. Indira Gandhi National Open University and the Dr B. R. Ambedkar Open University enrollments are still predominately urban, male and middle class (Pandey, 1995; Polu, 1997). These institutions cannot be held wholly accountable for this. The disparities caused by language, religion, caste, creed, gender stereotyping and other socio-cultural factors particular to India are barriers to access and equity to be addressed through multilateral action, not simply open and distance education.

Culture

Self-directed learning predates the establishment of the open and dual-mode universities in Asia. In the early years of the century, Rabindra Nath Tagore, one of India's Nobel Laureates, conceived a system of home-based study and examinations outside geographical boundaries of the universities (Mukherjee, 1997), and correspondence education has long been provided by many universities across the region. However, institutions such as the Indira Gandhi National Open University, Bangladesh Open University, Universitas Terbuka and Korea National Open University have largely drawn their inspiration from the west, particularly from the UK Open University.

Ramanujam (1997) suggests that many of the problems experienced in introducing open and distance learning into countries such as India result from blindly copying western models which are neither fully understood nor in accord with the traditional indigenous notions of education. The financial, organizational, curricular, pedagogical, logistical and performance improvement ramifications of open learning may fit with westernized education systems, as in Hong Kong, but the poor performance of some other universities suggests a weak grasp of the policies, procedures, expertise and resources required

Course development

Comprehensive study center provision is however, expensive and difficult to achieve. This is particularly so in the remoter regions of large developing countries such as India where few of the dual-mode universities have study centers and even the Indira Gandhi National Open University's 268 study centers, 80 work centers and 17 regional centers only work out at one study center per 4 million people. There can also be problems in recruiting and training local tutors/counselors for these centers. These are typically part-time staff and without adequate induction and training, they may lack the experience, knowledge and sensitivity to meet the students' needs (Gandhe, 1995; Reddy, 1995).

Faculty development

Faculty development entails far more than providing limited and episodic workshops and then leaving faculty to cope. It requires an integrated strategy of management support, training and retraining, peer interaction,. continuous performance improvement and compensation and rewards. Such a strategy has been developed by the Indira Gandhi National Open University. Soon after its inception IGNOU developed a human resource development plan addressing the short-term orientation. medium-term training, and long-term needs of administrators, academics, and support staff. The University subsequently established a Staff Training and Research Institute of Distance Education (STRIDE) -which now not only serves the institution but distance teaching universities throughout South Asia. To further motivate faculty, STRIDE has also developed postgraduate diploma and masters programs in distance education. In 1995 with partial funding from the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, the University and the Commonwealth of Learning launched a scheme whereby these programs could be studied. free of charge, by 100 distance educators in 14 developing countries through a mix of distance education and in-country tutorials. In 1998, about 50 students graduated through this scheme. Unfortunately, in some other Indian contexts, politicians. planners and senior managers have been carried away by success stories of open and distance learning overseas and have totally failed to comprehend the levels of professionalism and faculty, development required for such undertakings (Koul, 1998),

References

Polu, S. (1997). Distance education in higher education in India: Some concerns. In CD-ROM Conference Papers of The New Learning Environment: A Global Perspective, the 18th ICDE World Conference. Pennsylvania State University, USA, June 2-6.

Ramanujam, P. R. (I 997). Distance education in the 21th century: Implications for developing countries. In CD-ROM Conference Papers of The New Learning Environment: A Global Perspective, the 18th ICDE World Conference. Pennsylvania State University, USA, June 26.

Reddy, V. (1995). The practice of distance education in single mode and dual-mode institutions in India: Issues of convergence and integration. Proceedings of the Asian Association of Open Universities 9th Annual Conference Globalized and Cooperative Distance Learning, December 3-5, Taipei: Taiwan. 37-46.

Open universities

In chronological order of establishment, these are the Korea National Open University, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University in Thailand, Radio and Television Universities in China, Universitas Terbuka in Indonesia, Indira Gandhi National Open University in India. and University of Distance Education in the Union of Myanmar (formerly, Burma). Daniel (1996) characterizes these 'mega-universities'

Indonesia's Universitas Terbuka (UT), established in Jakarta in 1984 in hasty response to a rapidly growing demand for university places, was granted university status in 1992. UT was based on the British Columbia Open Learning Agency model and conceived not so much as an open university, but as a network, with the course writing, computerized record systems and 32 regional study centers contracted out to participating institutions and enquiry services to post offices (Zuhairi, 1994), UT has experienced considerable organizational, operational, budgetary, and pedagogical problems. However. by the first quarter of 1997, the number of UT students had reached 397,543 and the total number of graduates was 207,976 (ICDL, 1998).

Outcomes

Analyzing the high non-persistence rates at Universitas Terbuka, Belawati (1998) concluded that Indonesian students needed far more assistance and direction in their learning than their western counterparts and that the high levels of dropout and failure were largely attributable to the conscious decision by the university administration to minimize student support.

References

Belawati, T. (1998). Increasing student persistence in Indonesian post-secondary distance education. Distance Education. 19(l), 81-108.

Zuhairi, A. (1994). A comparative study of single-mode and dual-mode distance teaching universities in Indonesia. Australia and New Zealand. Ph.D. Thesis, University of New England, Australia.

Open universities

University of the Air, Japan has no entrance examination requirements and accepts students on a first-come-first-served basis

Japan's University of the Air daily transmits 18 hours of television and radio courses nationwide.

In Japan the 1997 University of the Air second semester enrollment was 66.730. of whom over 55% of were female (The University of the Air, 1997). The UAJ's highest achievers are 35-44 year-old female homemakers (Takahashi. 1997) and over 60% of the 10.495 1989-1997 Bachelor of Liberal Arts graduates were female. The UAJ also attracts a higher percentage of students of 60 years and over than any other open university in the world (Iwanaga. 1994). In a country where conventional university entrance is closed to adults, the University of the Air provides a unique educational opportunity for adult learners to improve their knowledge. qualifications and career prospects, re-orientate themselves intellectually, or simply enrich their lives (Takahashi & Iwanaga, 1998).

Culture

Sakamoto (1996) cites the 1995 Japan Federation of Employers' Association Report, University Education and Industry for the New Age, which concluded that the country' s graduates needed to have rich character and vision and be capable of original and creative thinking, identifying and resolving problems, adapting to globalization and providing leadership. Such expectations require assertive and autonomous learners and a curriculum and methods adapted to individual needs. However, as Sakamoto observes, in Asian societies, 'the word' - as for example in the Confucian Analects - has traditionally flowed from those whose authority came from their seniority, wisdom and knowledge to those whose role it was to accept, remember and act in accord with their teachings. The prime goal of Japanese education is to achieve an efficient and harmonious society. In Japanese classrooms, students are expected to be passive recipients of what is taught, not to stand out or challenge authority, especially the teacher. Sakamoto suggests that widespread acceptance of the teacher as 'guru' and the examination-directed curriculum run counter to the development of the attributes now sought in the students

Action research

Shukla (1995) observes that there is need for far more situational action research and analysis of experiences by administrators and academics alike to develop better understanding of the policies and procedures needed to attract, teach and graduate large numbers of dispersed and mixed-ability students. Much of the research expertise is currently vested in the major providers such as the University of the Air, working in cooperation with National Institute of Multimedia Education in Japan.

References

Iwanaga, M. (I 994). Elderly students learning through the University, of the Air system in
Japan. Educational Gerontology (2), 473482

Takahashi, K. & Iwanaga, M. (1998). The University of the Air as a vehicle of life-long and continuing education in Japan. In University for all: A decade of the University of the Air, Chiba City,: The University of the Air. Japan. 14-24.

The University of the Air 1997 (1997). The University of the Air, Chiba: Japan.

Dual mode universities

In Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia became dual mode in 1971 and the Institut Teknologi MARA. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Malaya, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia followed suit in the 1990s. All of these institutions offer undergraduate and postgraduate programs. The Seventh Malaysia Plan (1996-2000) identifies distance education as a key strategy for national development, and all universities are required to be distance education providers by 1999 in pursuit of the 'Vision 20207 goals of Malaysia becoming a developed nation and 40% of its population (currently 15%) being graduates. Distance education also features in the govemment's plans for the Kuala Lumpur 'Multimedia Super Corridor' and in 1998, two private universities, Universiti Telekom (Multimedia University and Universiti Tun Abdul Razak. Malaysia's first 'virtual university', began offering Web-based courses.

Broderless education

Indira Gandhi National Open University delivers courses into the Middle East and Seychelles. the Macao-based Asia International Open University markets its programs in Hong Kong and China, Malaysia's Universiti Telekom has enrolled students from Europe, Africa and Asia and other Malaysian and Singaporean universities are positioning themselves to be international providers.

Study centers

The majority of providers, like the Taiwan National Open University, the Radio and Television Universities, the University of the Air. the Korea National Open University and the Malaysian dual-mode universities, require their students to attend a certain number of scheduled lectures, tutorials or practical sessions. either on campus or at study centers.

Indira Gandhi National Open University, Korea National Open University and some Malaysian universities use videoconferencing for tele-lecturing to branch campuses and study centers but here again,. the problem lies in scheduling sessions to suit the learners.

Internet

Malaysia has similarly ambitious plans for multimedia and online learning (Abdullah, 1997). It has yet to be seen whether these far-sighted plans for new information and communications technology will be affected by the 'economic meltdown'.

In Malaysia, despite prime ministerial statements on the importance of democratizing education and government and private sector moves to promote 'smart schools' and computer-based distance learning, the Board of Engineers Malaysia, Legal Profession Qualifying Board, and Malaysian Medical Council members still maintain that qualifications gained through part-time distance education are not on a par with those obtained through full-time on-campus study. As a consequence, they either only partially recognize the qualifications of or impose additional requirements on, graduates of distance learning programs. Thus it is incumbent upon the universities to continue to work through these issues with the regulatory bodies and inform prospective students in regard to restricted or non recognition of their qualifications by such professional bodies (Moreira, 1998). Dual-mode universities offering the same courses and degrees on- and off-campus, may in this regard have an edge over the open universities with their distinctive curricula and degrees. Holding the same degrees as their on-campus counterparts, and not declaring their mode of study, graduates from the Malaysian dual-mode universities can still gain entry into government service and many professions. Universities such as Institut Teknologi MARA see it as their role to constantly remind the community of the government's promotion of distance and lifelong learning, profile successful adult learners, and demonstrate that education is not something confined to the classroom or the younger generation (Abdullah. 1998a).

Culture

Many, Malaysian students are not only teacher-dependent but have poorly developed reading skills, which presents a double challenge to instructional design (Loke, 1996; Abdullah, 1996). Institut Teknologi MARA finds that it needs to take careful account of student feedback in regard to concept maps, explanations, visuals, test questions. model answers, assignments and workloads in the self-instructional material. To further help the learners, ITM also provides introductory packages on study skills, compulsory orientation programs, monthly face-to-face meetings and on-demand telephone or face-to-face consultation (Abdullah, 1998b).

References

Abdullah, A. M. (I 997). Multimedia Super Corridor: Gateway to the future. Presentation at The UNCTAD Conference. Bangkok: May 2
http:/sealus.umn.edu/untpdc/conference/bangkok97/presentation/malaysia/sld001.htm

Abdullah. S. (1996). Kajiselidik Mengenai Tabiat Dan Minat Membaca Di Kalangan Siswa-Siswi di Institutusi Pengajian Tinggi di Malaysia (Survey of the Reading Habits and Reading Interests Among Students of the Institutions of Higher learning in Malaysia) (Report No. IR.PA-4-07-01-006). Selangor: Institut Teknologi MARA.

Abdullah, S. (1998a). Helping faculty to make the paradigm shift from on-campus teaching to distance education at the Institut Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. In C. Latchem & F. Lockwood. Staff development in open and flexible learning. London and New York: Routledge, 85-94.

Abdullah, S. (1998b). Introducing the philosophy and practices of distance education into a single-mode institution. Paper presented at the John Curtin International Institute Forum on Collaboration in Open Learning- 19-22 April, Perth: Australia.

Abdullah, S. and Roy, J. (1994). Designing the course to suit the clients: A Malaysian experience. Proceedings of the 16th ICDE World Conference, Windows on the Future. Wellington, NZ. 8-12 May.

Open universities

With the support of the Singapore government, the non-profit Singapore Institute of Management runs a postgraduate, undergraduate and sub-degree Open University, Degree Program in partnership with the UK Open University and British, American and Australian universities. Trial projects by the National Computer Board in pursuit of the national plan, IT2000 - A Vision of an Intelligent Island, include a Virtual Campus at Singapore Polytechnic and an Online Learning Environment at Temasek Polytechnic (Cunningham et at.,1997).

Borderless education

Malaysian and Singaporean universities are positioning themselves to be international providers.

Internet

In Singapore, which already has a computer in one in three homes and the highest rate of Internet connection in the region, the government plans to connect all homes by the new millennium and invest heavily in multimedia technology for initial and lifelong learning (http://www.ncb.gov.sg/ncb/it2OOO.asp).

Open universities

The Korea National Open University (KNOU) was established in 1972 as the Korea Air and Correspondence University College of Seoul National University and granted university status in 1993. It has a network of 12 regional and 27 local study centers. In 1996, there were 215,788 students enrolled in KNOU's undergraduate and sub-degree programs and the intake was 70.000, KNOU has recently experienced reducing enrollments due to conventional institutions increasing their admission quotas, a decrease in school leavers, and the University 's failure to ensure quality and diversity in provision (Kim & Hong, 1997).