United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

The Khanya project was established in April 2001 by the Western Cape Education department to provide computer equipment to schools. The project, however, was not to promote computer skills as such, but for the technology to be used as a curriculum delivery vehicle. The province was faced with a severe shortage of qualified teaching staff, particularly in the field of Mathematics and Science in secondary schools; basic literacy and numeracy is also of concern in primary schools. This problem was particularly acute in schools serving the poorest of the poor communities.
Over the past years, and increasing number of educators have left the teaching profession for more lucrative positions in the private sector, particularly those skilled in mathematics, science and those with language skills. There has also been a steady exodus of teachers to other countries, where greater salaries were offered. This situation was exacerbated by the fact that decreasing numbes of school leavers are being qualified as teachers: teaching is no longer a career of first choice for most young people.
It is true that computer technology was available in some schools (mainly more affluent schools) but these computers were mainly used for computer literacy. The issue was now different: how could computers be used to support teaching – to supplement the existing teaching resources. To put it simply, how could computers be used to teach mathematics and science and languages (as well as all other subjects) to learners.

The Khanya project was initiated to explore this possibility and to develop a model for Information Technology and Communication (ICT) to be integrated with the teaching process.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
In no more than 500 words, summarize the achievement(s) implemented; how the impact was measured, quantitatively and qualitatively, and who benefited from it. Please note that the summary should be in narrative, not point form. The primary objective of Khanya is to provide ICT to schools to support curriculum delivery. This objective has indeed been achieved. Computers were installed in schools (over 32 000 to date), appropriate educational software was provided, teachers were trained (over 19 600) and the learners (currently over 660 000) are currently using the facilities in over 800 schools. Independent researchers (University of Cape Town) were appointed to do an external evaluation of the success of the project. Their finding was that ICT does indeed have a positive effect on learner achievements; the improvement in grades is highly correlated to the amount of time that an individual learner is engaging with the technology. The ability to read with comprehension is likewise influenced positively. There were also unanticipated benefits: a side effect of the project is that learners are equipped with computer skills. This prepares them for a variety of job opportunities after they leave work. Teachers were trained to use ICT as a productivity tool; they were also trained to use it a teaching tool. Many electronic resources are now available to them so that they can upgrade their own skills and knowledge base of their particular learning areas. One of the unanticipated benefits was the way in which communities became involved and the beneficial effect Khanya had on them. Not only are community members involved during initial consultation, the completed facilities are made available to them for adult education, and they participate in sustaining the facilities. The main beneficiaries of the Khanya project are learners of the poorest of the poor communities. Khanya has won numerous awards in recognition for its innovation, and contribution to community empowerment. A few examples are: • May 2004: Finalist in the prestigious Stockholm Challenge Award programme in the Education Sector (the only finalist from Africa in this sector) • August 2004: Winner of the Standard Bank CPSI Public Sector Innovation Awards, for innovation, in the Innovative Service Delivery Institutions category • July 2005: Programme Manager of Khanya, Kobus van Wyk, recognized as ICT Personality of the Year (Western Cape) • October 2005: Programme Manager of Khnaya, Kobus van Wyk, honored by receiving the national ICT Social Responsibility Award from the Computer Society of South Africa, Gartner Group, ITWeb and Gordon Institute • October 2005: The Premier of the Western Cape gives a Silver Award to the Khanya Project in recognition of service excellence • October 2006: Finalist in two categories of Africa Achievers Awards • November 2006: Winner of TT100 award in category “Leader in Empowerment” • November 2006: The Premier of the Western Cape gives a Silver Award to the Khanya Project in recognition of service excellence (for the second year in a row) • February 2007: Impumelelo Gold Award winner • November 2007: Winner of the CPSI Public Sector Innovation Awards, in the category “Innovative use of ICT in Effective Service Delivery”

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
In no more than 500 words, specify who contributed to the design and/or implementation of the initiative, including relevant civil servants, public institutions, organizations, citizens, NGOs, private sector, etc. The Western Cape Education Department initiated the Khanya project: the critical shortage of educator capacity was identified and a decision was taken to explore the extent to which ICT could alleviate the problem. This decision was endorsed by the Cabinet of the Western Cape Province. Mr Kobus van Wyk, an experienced ICT programme manager, was recruited to start the project. Under his leadership the project moved from pilot mode to full implementation mode. He insisted on a holistic approach, involving all other directorates of the Education Department, as well as other state departments. The view was taken that a project of this nature cannot run in isolation, and that the silo syndrome, so often present in government institutions, would be a mortal enemy of the project. Directorates such as Personnel, Procurement, Public Works, IT and others became critical partners of the project. Partnerships were also formed with local authorities (municipalities), who assisted with infrastructural matters. It was also realized that the Private Sector must be involved: to this end public-private partnerships were formed with hardware and software suppliers, service providers such as electricians and builders, IT trainers, and other product and service providers. The donor community was also involved to supplement state funding. The most important partnerships were those formed by local communities, who take ownership of local projects right from the outset. Khanya has facilitated the establishment of over 50 different SMMEs. In preparing the infrastructure for computer rooms, installation of technology and training of teachers, Khanya gives preference to outsourcing services to local entrepeneurs. Once the facility is established, technical support is also required: a number of individuals were assisted to form small business enterprises to render this service to schools. Even though the support of SMMEs is outside of the scope of the project, Khanya is proud of the fact that it plays a significant role in helping to stimulate this aspect of the economy.

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
The first principle of the project was that of “divide and conquer”. Looking at the project from a provincial perspective, one sees 1 500 schools, one million learners and 30 000 educators. While there must be an over-arching strategy to reach overall objectives, one has to understand that success has to be achieved in individual schools. For this reason, Khanya became a programme co-ordinating different projects, each project being an implementation at a specific school. Such an implementation would typically be a computer laboratory, consisting of 20 -40 networked computers, with a server and other peripherals, linked to the internet and with appropriate educational software. An individualized project plan is prepared for every school, detailing the infrastructure requirements, technology details, educator training needs, as well as the ways in which the peculiar situation of the school will be addressed. This, of course, is a labour intensive exercise and a lot of convincing had to be done to get the education authorities to agree that professional project managers be employed to take care of the task of project planning, as well as the implementation process. One of the main challenges of this project is the training of educators. Not only computer literacy training (a huge, but relatively easy task), but also ongoing training to assist teachers to come to grips with using ICT as a teaching tool, is required. To this end, Khanya recruited a team of “facilitators”, ex teachers with ICT skills, to assist teachers on an ongoing basis to master the art of using ICT in the class room for curriculum delivery. These facilitators would typically visit a school once a week to provide training and support. A small team, the Public-Private Partnership team, was established to assist in forming partnerships; the goal was to find the best possible partners and to formalize these partnerships. This team also has the responsibility to tap into the corporate social responsibility funds of donor organizations, and to align the efforts of NGOs and other organizations desirous to work in this field.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
Since schools were not built to house computer facilities, Khanya must first provide a suitable environment: a safe and secure room, adequate electricity supply, firm furnishings, etc. The next stage is to install technology and appropriate educational software. Then an important stage starts: teacher training. After receiving computer literacy training, teachers are helped over an extended period (up to two years) by a team of dedicated Khanya facilitators, to come to grips with the use of computers as educational tools. The project at any school is quite costly, and the poorest of the poor schools are targeted. However, to reduce cost and to increase buy-in from the local community, great efforts are made to involve them in the project from the outset. Teachers and community members are involved from the planning stage; they also contribute, often not in cash, but in sweat equity. In this way communities take ownership of the local project, which enhances security and protection of the equipment, as well as long-term sustainability. Private donors are also encouraged to co-operate with Khanya to accelerate the rate of progress. To date (November 2007), over 800 schools have been helped to obtain computer facilities, and a further 200 are in progress. In total, over 32 000 PCs were deployed, and more than 19 600 teachers are benefiting from the training programme. More than 660 000 learners are regularly benefiting from the technology deployed in their schools. The use of computers in schools is not new; what is new in Khanya is the fact that it is widely and effectively used for curriculum delivery. When teachers are not adequately trained to teach a subject, or when a teacher suffering from AIDS is not present in class for extended periods, technology is used to fill the gap. Independent studies/research has already confirmed the value of this intervention. Another innovation of Khanya is the way in which local communities are involved in a high tech project: local ownership is ensured in this way, but at the same time community members are empowered to use technology themselves. Khanya, even though working in a state department, has succeeded in breaking through unnecessary bureaucratic red tape in order to accelerate service delivery. The project is ongoing. It is anticipated that all schools in the province will have at least one computer facility by 2010. The target is to reach a ratio of one computer for every ten learners; it is envisaged that this target will only be reached by 2014. For further details of the project, please see the website: www.khanya.co.za.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
In a project of this nature, there are indeed many obstacles. The following are some of the challenges faced by Khanya: • Operating efficiently in a bureaucratic environment: Sound business processes are often stifled by bureaucracy; Khanya had to build very solid relationships with directorates within the department, as well as with partners on the outside. It is quite an art to stay within the confines of a legal framework (particularly treasury regulations), while avoiding superfluous red tape. • Funds: This is a resource intensive project; computer equipment is expensive and schools often do not have appropriate infrastructure. Getting all the partners aligned and stretching the available funding to the limit proves to be quite tricky at times. • Labour: This is a labour intensive project. State departments often do not understand that, in order to get a professional job done, one needs dedicated professional staff. It has been quite a challenge to convince officials and politicians that the project can only succeed if we are allowed to recruit skilled and qualified people to do the job; the fact that we were allowed to do this in the end proved to be one of the greatest success factors of the project. Most staff members were head-hunted; in any event, they were hand-picked to ensure optimal service delivery. • Poor quality of school leadership: Many schools are managed by inexperienced and incompetent principals; a general rule in the use of ICT is that, unless good processes are in place, any amount of ICT thrown at the problem will not resolve it. Therefore, schools are selected carefully, based on good leadership and sound management, for ICT implementation. Schools that do not conform to this requirement, is referred to education officials for training and rehabilitation.

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
Computer technology is expensive and require substantial financial resources. The following amounts of money (in South African Rand: 1 US$ is approximately 7 SA Rand) were made available to the project to date by the Provincial Government of the Western Cape: 2001/2002 Financial year: R 17 000 000 2002/2003 Financial year: R 29 000 000 2003/2004 Financial year: R 33 000 000 2004/2005 Financial year: R 35 000 000 2005/2006 Financial year: R 68 000 000 2006/2007 Financial year: R 77 000 000 2007/2008 Financial year: R 84 000 000 Total: R343 000 000 In addition to this, local communities have contributed in cash, or in the form of services which reduced project costs, in access of R30 million. Private and corporate donors contributed a further R55 million over the course of the project to date. As the project is proving to be a success, an increasing number of organisations are keen to partner with Khanya. The project is technology intensive, so approximately 45% of the total cost of a facility at a school would go towards procurement of IT equipment. This project is also labour intensive. At present a team of 98 people are working in different capacities: project managers to oversee the projects in the different schools, technical staff, trainers and facilitators. Approximately 24% of the total expenditure goes towards staff costs. Many NGOs, international bodies and local organisations are contributing in ways that cannot be quantified. For example, many of our schools are partnered with schools in the UK, where some of these schools would send technically competent staff to South Africa schools to share their expertise. Khanya believes in making use of any such opportunities to advance the objectives of the project.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
In no more than 500 words, describe how the initiative is being sustained (for example in terms of financial, social and economic, cultural, environmental, institutional and regulatory sustainability). Describe whether the initiative is being replicated or disseminated throughout the public service at the national and/or international levels and/or how it could be replicated. The fact that the project has survived for close to seven years, and has grown from strength to strength, certainly shows that it is sustainable. Furthermore, in individual schools, the facilities are still being used consistently and optimally (and in many cases technology is expanded into class rooms), which proves that individual school installations are sustainable. Different aspects of sustainability must be considered: • Financial sustainability: Schools are assisted to draw up an individualised sustainability plan that will help them to provide for running costs (eg increased electricity, internet connectivity, consumables, etc), as well as ongoing maintenance. • Technical sustainability: Schools need to sustain the technical aspects of the facility. Taking account of the fact that teachers are not technicians, at least two of them are trained to provide first line technical support, and the school is then helped to find a technical partner (often an SMME in the community) that could help them to remain technically afloat. • Operational sustainability: One wants to be sure that, in two or three years time, the facility will still be used for its intended purpose. For this reason Khanya invests heavily in training of educators: not just one-time computer literacy training, but ongoing facilitation until one is sure that a teacher is completely au fait in the use of technology as a teaching tool. The project is indeed replicable. On a micro level, it has been replicated over 800 times in individual schools. On a macro level, the methodology developed by Khanya, can be used by any South African province, or African country; only minor adaptations to accommodate local challenges need to be made. The fact that communities are involved, makes it culturally acceptable to people to whom ICT is foreign. The involvement of other state departments likewise embeds the project firmly in the province. Khanya has made many mistakes (to be expected if you sail in uncharted waters). But these mistakes were valuable in that they provided stepping stones for improvement. As a result of this, a methodology was developed that can be used for continued ICT implementation in the province; it is also available to other provinces and countries in Africa (at no cost). Using this methodology would ensure that others do not make the same mistakes, and it would help to fast-track their projects. During August 2007, a conference was hosted by Khanya in Cape Town: over seventy representatives of the other provinces in South Africa attended. The purpose of the project was to share the lessons learned by the Khanya team over the past six years. Khanya staff members regularly deliver papers al local and international conferences, sharing the Khanya experience with others. Khanya has formed strategic alliances with the provinces of the Eastern Cape and Limpopo, in order to assist them to start similar projects. Khanya is also consulted by other South African provinces, and Sub-Saharan countries on various aspects of ICT implementation in education.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
In no more than 500 words, describe the key elements that made your initiative a success. Many lessons were learned; some were from the failures of others, some from our own mistakes. Here are just a few of the many lessons learned: • The tail must not wag the dog: This is a project using technology, but the main focus of an education department is education. Using high tech may tempt one to give undue attention to technology aspects. We have learned that the business of the organisation, education, must always be the driving force of the project and technology must never be an end in itself: it must always support educational needs. • One size does not fit all: Even though there is merit in standardization (eg economies of scale) schools are all so different that one cannot impose a single model on all of them. There are primary and secondary schools, urban and rural, schools serving different communities from different cultures. All these factors, in addition to available resources, need to be used to adapt standard models to suit needs of individual schools. • The value of partnerships: A project of this magnitude can only succeed if good partners are selected to render an array of services. • The weakest links: A good methodology for installation of technology facilities was developed, but the weakest links in the chain are (i) under-qualified and unmotivated teachers and (ii) incompetent principals. These aspects must be addressed to ensure the success of the project; a great deal of effort and resources are poured into this essential aspect. The greatest lesson learned is that a project of this nature can, indeed, be successfully implemented in an African context (this, in spite of repeated failures of this type of project on the continent). The following successes of Khanya proves that a large-scale implementation of ICT in schools can be done: • Khanya is indeed improving the delivery of education services to learners and communities. Where traditional teaching is failing, owing to a lack of teacher resources, technology is harnessed in an innovative way to fill this gap. A secondary benefit of this is that a computer competent community is developed. • Independent research has shown dramatic improvement in literacy and numeracy rates of learners; this has a knock-on effect on improved learning. In secondary schools, the Mathematics results have likewise improved: an increased number of higher grade passes, and higher overall performance. The impact of Khanya on the quality of education is, indeed, significant. • Khanya’s impact on communities is likewise considerable. • The momentum of the project is increasing all the time, and the project is poised to become a model for the rest of the country to follow (two provinces are already replicating the project). • Khanya has proved that it can survive in the current economic climate, and that the project is indeed financially, technically and operationally sustainable.


Institution Name:		Khanya project
Institution Type:		Government Department
Contact Person:		Kobus van Wyk
Title:		Mr
Telephone/ Fax:		021 467 2224
Institution's / Project's Website:
E-mail:		kvanwyk@pgwc.gov.za
Address:
Postal Code:
City:		Cape Town
State/Province:		Western Cape
Country:		South Africa

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information