Technikons in South Africa are similar to community colleges in the USA, and are geared for vocational and career training. There are currently 15 technikons in South Africa. Under the old apartheid education system, student populations at technikons were determined by race. For instance, Port Elizabeth Technikon was traditionally white, while ML Sultan Technikon in Durban was Indian, and Peninsula Technikon in Cape Town had colored students.

Border Technikon was established in 1988, to serve the black population of the former Ciskei tribal homeland. The original campus was founded in Zwelitsha, near King William’s Town. A new campus was built in 1991 closer to East London, in the Eastern Cape province, one of the poorest areas in South Africa, as shown in Figure 1. In 1994 when Nelson Mandela was elected President and the tribal homelands were reintegrated into South Africa, the Ciskei was severely lacking in infrastructure, including electricity, telephones and adequate schooling.

Until recently the Border Technikon (Figure 2), one of the historically disadvantaged institutions, received different funding from other technikons. The Technikon at present has 3042 students, mainly black, with approximately 220 faculty. Its mission is to provide the best vocational and career education to its students. This includes introducing new information technologies to be used in teaching and research. However the deficits of the past, including technology, education, human resources and funding, are still hurdles to be overcome.

2. PROBLEMS

2.1. Technology Problems

South Africa combines elements of an advanced industrial economy with vestiges of a developing country. It is the most technologically advanced country on the continent, this is however limited to the urban centers. A variety of technologies are available to South African institutions, but the operation and maintenance of this sophisticated equipment is a problem in rural areas. The rough terrain and poor roads of these rural areas makes installation of the equipment difficult.

Information technology suppliers in the Eastern Cape are usually slow to respond to requests for quotations and advice, because competition is limited. Therefore the Technikon tends to keep to the same local suppliers, which do not necessarily deliver the best service and could be quite costly. The locality of the Border Technikon in the Eastern Cape, makes service support and maintenance of equipment from other areas, like Johannesburg, very expensive.

The Border Technikon has a problem with maintaining constant electric power supply and experiences many power failures. To solve this problem the Technikon acquired a 30 kva UPS (uninterrupted power supply) and also a standby generator. This proved to be an efficient, but costly exercise in comparison with other technikons, e.g. Witwatersrand Technikon in Johannesburg may experience only one power failure in a year.

Border Technikon’s data cables were routed from East London through the Mdantsane prison. On the first cold day of 1996, the voltage at the Technikon started to fluctuate enormously. When the problem was traced, it was found that the prisoners at Mdantsane prison had all turned on the space heaters in their cells to ward off the cold. To solve this problem the prison had to be rewired.

Overhead trunk lines and open wire carrier systems in the former Ciskei are vulnerable to the climate and subject to vandalism and theft. They are also limited in capacity. Theft of copper telephone wire is common, as it can be resold for a relatively good price (see figure 3 for a news account). The frequent theft of the wire leads to breakdowns in communication at the Technikon. In February 1996 the Border Technikon only had six outgoing telephone lines available to all faculty and students. Adding to this, telephone wire was stolen 3 times in five weeks. To improve telecommunications, a contract with Vodacom provided staff with cellular telephones for a more permanent link with the "outside" world. But the problem of stolen wires still remains for data communications.
 

According to Mr Brian Giller, Information Technology (IT) Manager of Border Technikon, microwave and satellite links would be the only reliable methods of data communications to the main campus because they do not rely upon land based lines. These are being studied, but so far these options cannot be implemented because of the expense. The satellite option would cost approximately one-quarter of a million rand per year to maintain, with microwave about half of that. (Giller, 1996)

Telkom took over a combined debt of R63 million from the former Ciskei and Transkei areas, with no real infrastructure or systems to show for the money spent (Giller, 1996). A slow process of installing diginet lines in these two areas can be foreseen. The dearth of telephone infrastructure in rural areas is staggering to those of us who live with telephones: only one in every 10 Africans has ever made a phone call (Periman, 1996).

2.2. Educational Background Problems

Numerous problems include:

"Although there has been an increase in the number of black IT professionals - largely due to affirmative action policies - the recruitment of blacks in the industry has a long way to go. It is, however, a difficult situation - there is a serious lack of suitably qualified people in the country" (Badal, 1995). Therefore there are few role models for students to look up to. Also black people have not yet become, by and large, consumers in the industry by buying computer software and hardware to create a culture of computing.

2.4. Funding Problems

The funding of historically disadvantaged institutions in the former tribal homelands had no specific formula on which allocations were based. Each institution had to request funds annually from the homeland governments. This method lead to large imbalances in infrastructural support given to those institutions as opposed to the historically advantaged institutions. The historically disadvantaged institutions were regarded as teaching institutions and their funding for research was limited.
 
 

3. CHALLENGES

Even when new information technology is available, its introduction into the Technikon has been only marginally successful. Policy-making, appropriate training for staff and students, marketing and funding, and planning for branch campuses are all important challenges in the Technikon’s IT future.
 
 
 
 

3.1. Introduction of CD-ROMs and Internet

The first library technology which was introduced to Border Technikon was an automated library system in 1990. There are two OPAC terminals available to Resource Center users, and training on the OPAC is included in all library orientations. However, there is only limited use of the system by students and lecturers.

In 1996 Border Technikon received 3 CD-ROM workstations as part of a grant from the Sanlam Corporation. The stations are located in a public access area with a librarian nearby for assistance. However, there is also only limited use of this resource. With the Technikon’s past record of only limited usage of new information technologies, the successful introduction of the Internet is in question.

3.2. Policy-Making

Managing and policy-making with regards to the CD-ROM’s and Internet is a point of debate at the moment. Since there are only limited diginet lines, the more users on the system, the slower it will run, so management support a limited system with controlled access (Brunyee, 1996). However, it seems the majority of staff and students support wider access to these technologies. To mediate these issues, an electronic media task team has been established at the Technikon, composed of librarians, technicians, management and end-users.

3.3. Staff Training

The majority of staff at Border Technikon do not have a research background. Among the teaching faculty, only 11 hold master’s degrees and 1 holds a doctorate (see Table 1). Since the majority of lecturers didn’t use CD-ROMs and the Internet in their own studies, an in-depth program will have to be implemented to train staff how to do research. In this way they will become promoters of the library and IT services, but IT will never be in high usage until a research culture is created at the Technikon.

Much of this technology is new to the Resource Center staff as well. Many library qualifications in South Africa will need to be revised to keep updated with the latest technology and to become more technically oriented.

3.4. Marketing and Funding

Librarians at the Border Technikon will have to ensure that new and constantly changing trends are properly introduced, and added to the library service where appropriate. Key to this is marketing and funding. Up to now, new technologies have been added to the services without adequate marketing to the lecturers. Staff training, itself, is a good marketing tool, but librarians will also have to demonstrate to the staff how these new technologies will benefit the students and their future employment prospects. Strategic long-term planning with regards to funding will have to take place. Gone are several of the old foreign funding sources and the new South African government must redress many past imbalances with a weakening economy. Only strategic planning will allow Border Technikon to maximize its funding for the best possible resources for its curriculum.

3.5. Branch Libraries

40% of Border Technikon students are attending courses at branch campuses, although there is limited telecommunication infrastructure, no staff and no space for library facilities. These students are continuing to graduate from the Technikon, without some of them ever having consulted the library. It is therefore of the utmost importance that a library service of some kind be rendered to these staff and students as soon as possible.

4. PLANS FOR THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE

Faced with addressing the problems and challenges detailed above, the Border Technikon has already begun a program of introducing new information technologies into the system.

4.1. Technology Solutions

South Africa is the main user of Internet services in Africa and is ranked 16th in the world in terms of global use. Of the 10 million telecommunication lines in Africa, South Africa has 4 million (Periman, 1996). This means that the capacity for Border Technikon’s IT growth should be locally available as the entire country’s IT infrastructure thrives.

There are currently 385 computers for student usage at Border Technikon, the majority being 386’s and 486’s. Staff have access to 150 computers. There are 3 CD-ROM workstations available in the Resource Center. On 27 August 1996 the Internet link from East London to the Border Technikon main campus was established, and 4 public access workstations are available for use. We can therefore boast the biggest computer network in the Eastern Cape, outside of Port Elizabeth (Giller, 1996).

4.2. Human Resource Solutions

A concerted effort by the Technikon includes supporting the continuing education of its staff. Currently 42% of academic staff are enrolled in programs for additional qualifications with financial support from the Technikon (LAB, 1996). This is creating unprecedented demand for research tools.

To successfully introduce these tools, like new CD-ROMs and the Internet, an extensive training program is underway. The first workshops show staff how to use the e-mail to contact colleagues around the world, and how to subscribe to discussion groups on listserv and Usenet. The second workshops teach staff the fundamentals of surfing the World Wide Web. Special instruction is also given to selected staff and IT students on creating Web homepages and maintaining the Border Technikon website.

4.3. Funding Solutions

The new South African government has recently started to redress the funding imbalances in historically disadvantaged institutions (HDI’s) (Brunyee, 1996).

Since the end of the apartheid era, new sources of international funding have become available. South Africa is targeted by the U.S. Agency for International Development to receive educational support. Other western countries, such as Ireland and the Netherlands, have already made substantial contributions to technikons.

4.4. Policy Making Solutions

As mentioned earlier, a new electronic media task team has been established to coordinate the selection, purchase and implementation of CD-ROMs and other IT resources, as well as to set policies and conduct strategic planning.

4.5. The Future

The next steps to be taken, and the technologies implemented, will largely be determined by funding and administrative support. One of three scenarios is likely to occur:

• Worst Case Scenario:

First of all, new information technologies may be given low priority in the institutional transformation process as they compete with other programs for funding and attention. Change management studies have proven that new programs inevitably fail if they do not have the avid and constant support of top management ( Eccles, 1994 ). Without personal shepherding by a top administrator, technology implementation will probably not even take place. Even the new electronic media task force can only recommend policies. Only top management has the authority to select, purchase, install and market new research tools. Secondly, a grave error would be to continue with past practices and not discover why new technologies have only enjoyed limited success. Cultural issues, adequate training programs and marketing must be addressed or the Internet and other new research tools will languish, unused, in a back room of the Resource Center. Thirdly, no resources (funds, space, personnel) might be allocated for libraries at the branch campuses. In this case, low-cost, creative solutions will have to be implemented to provide students at those campuses with some library services. A possible model may be borrowed from the University of Alaska at Fairbanks (USA). There, as at Border Technikon, courses are offered to a geographically dispersed, mostly rural, low-tech indigenous student body who have few libraries in their communities, and limited library services offered at the branches. The librarians overcame these problems by installing a toll-free telephone number in the main library whereby students could phone in queries. Local schools and businesses also allowed the rural students to receive periodical articles from the main library on their fax machines. In this way the community became involved in education (West, 1992).

• Best Case Scenario:

New information technologies may be given top priority at the Technikon and enjoy the avid and constant support of top management. In this case, adequate funding would be made available to purchase a microwave data communications system, and to run the Internet from the 150 staff, and 385 student computers. The staff would become heavy users of research tools for their continuing education and their teaching. Internet and CD-ROM training would be integrated into all academic programs and all students would become information literate. Full service libraries would be built at all branch campuses.

• Modest Progress Scenario:

Border Technikon hopes to strive for a balance between the worst and best case scenarios where new information technologies may be given high, but not exclusive priority in the Technikon’s strategic planning. Sufficient funding to expand and maintain new technologies would be allocated and protected in the budget. A "champion" would be appointed to shepherd the program. This person would be given the authority to plan for, select, purchase, install and market new technologies, and the responsibility for making the program succeed. The program would address issues of culture, training and marketing, and would truly serve to support staff in their research, and prepare students for modern careers. Partial library services would be offered to the 40% of students studying at branch campuses, including perhaps literature searches and loans from the main campus collection.

5. CONCLUSION

New information technologies have, thus far, not been successfully introduced to Border Technikon. Unlike institutions in the West, historically disadvantaged institutions in South Africa must overcome a variety of unique deficits. However, Border Technikon has not let these barriers stop them from taking action. In order to support staff research efforts, and to prepare students for modern careers, the Technikon supports the introduction of new information technologies. Secure forms of data communications must be developed. CD-ROMs and the Internet have been acquired. An extensive and continuous program of staff and student training is being developed. An electronic media task team will be responsible for strategic planning and policy-making. It is hoped that these first moves will put Border Technikon on the track to successfully incorporating information technologies into its academic programs. It is further hoped that the Technikon’s strategic plans will continue to support the technology program already underway by providing adequate funding, leadership, physical and human resources. Otherwise, information technologies will simply sit in a back room, misspent and underutilized.
 
 

REFERENCES

Angelbeck, R. (1996, September). Some statistics about continuing education by Border Staff. Lab (Border Technikon). Vol. 5.

Badal, S. (1995, July). Latch on to infopower. Tribute.

Berger, G. (1996, August). Human development in the digital age. Intelligence.

Bruynee, L. (Acting Rector of Border Technikon) (1996, August 28). Personal interview.

Copper wire thieves sever phone links. (1996, August). Daily Dispatch.

Diefendorf, J. (1996, February). Information dissemination to the masses. SA Lan Times.

Eccles, T. (1994). Succeeding with Change: Implementing Action-driven Strategies.

Giller, B. (IT Services Manager of Border Technikon). (1996, Agust 28). Personal interview.

Millions of South Africans still illiterate. (1996, September 7). Daily Dispatch.

Periman, L. (1996, March). Africa ready for the highway. Finance Week.

Periman, L. (1996, March). Africa's gateway. Finance Week.

Periman, L. (1996, March). Hi-tech solutions for rural Africa. Finance Week.

Stewart, T.A. (1995, July). What information costs. Fortune.

Viljoen, C. (1991). Education and technology: Prospects and possibilities. Trends Trans-forming South Africa.