Seventh Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning (PCF7)

"Open Learning for Development: Towards Empowerment and Transformation"

Abuja, Nigeria from 2 - 6 December 2013, in partnership with the Federal Ministry

of Education and the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)

INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT:

Institutional Capacity to Manage and Drive Change: A Case Study of Mombasa

Technical Training Institute.

Authors: Bashir H. Mursal1 and Kyalo M. Josephine 2

chief.principal@kenyacoastpoly.ac.ke1 and josephine.kyalo@kenyacoastpoly.ac.ke2

Kenya Coast Polytechnic

Kenya

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ABSTRACT.

The objective of this study was to identify the changes that have taken place in Mombasa Technical

Training Institute since the introduction of Flexible and Blended learning( FaB); the changes include the

resources invested in institutional development, e.g. governance structures, infrastructure, quality systems

and staff development . It further identifies the effects of such changes to the teachers, learners and the

entire community in and outside the institution. The study recognizes instutional development as an

important strategy for managing and driving change. The study also recognizes change as a journey, not

a blue print hence the need to take one step at a time.Physical change must also be accompanied by

change in attitude and mind set of all concerned stakeholders.

Change in the way teaching and learning takes place, the way courses are structured, organisational

structure and in the number of students before and after the introduction of FaB. How educational media

and appropriate technology is being used to bring change and make the Institution more flexible and

responsive to the needs of the learner is explained in the study.

The study realises that Organizationalchange is a structured approach in management for ensuring

smooth and successful implementation of the desired outcomes.

Information gathered and the recommendations thereof are expected to go a long way in helping the

Institute develop complete and efficient intervention programs that will address the local and national

problems especially that of unemployment.

The recommendations of a survey carried out in the institution by Common Wealth of Learning (COL)

consultants have also been examined to identify the Institutional capacity to drive and manage change.

Key words; change, FaB, Change Management, staff & student capacities, teaching &learning

approaches.

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BACKGROUND

Mombasa Technical Training Institute.

Mombasa Technical Training Institute (MoTTI) is a public Tertiary Institution under the Ministry of Higher

Education, Science and Technology mandated to train Human Resource for diverse sectors of the

economy. It is located within the Central Business District of the port City of Mombasa.

The institute offers training at four progressive levels namely; Grade Test which is examined under

Directorate of Industrial Training, Craft Certificate, Diploma or Technician level and demand driven short

courses for specific clients. Majority of curricula offered are externally developed, quality controlled and

examined by authorized bodies while a small number are internally developed, assessed and certificated.

The trainees in the institute are drawn from secondary school leavers, employees on part-time from the

formal and informal sectors of the economy.The institute is managed by a Board of Governors (BoG),

consisting of 11 members appointed by the Minister.

The Institute has been upgraded to a National Polytechnic; Kenya Coast Polytechnic(KCP) and is now

operating under a new Technical Vocational Education and Training ( TVET) Act. It has a student

population of three thousand seven hundred and three, teaching staff of one hundred and 26 support staff

and is ISO 9001:2008 Certified for the last three years.

Introduction.

The idea of Flexible skills development was introduced in MoTTI in November 2009 out of discussions

between the principal and Alison representing COL here in Abuja. Later in June 2010, MoTTI hosted an

International workshop on Flexible Skills Development Initiative; a team of 8 lecturers from the Institute

were chosen to plan for the workshop. During the workshop the idea of Flexible skills Development was

elaborated on by the COL Facilitators.

In December 2010, the chief principal attended The 6th Pan Commonwealth Forum in India and came

back home with a lot of zeal to push FaB a step further.

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Methodology.

This study was conducted using a mixture of both primary and secondary data collection methods.

Primary data was collected using interviews, direct observation as well as taking photographs.Data was

collected on the following areas:-

• Organisational changes

• Changes in the number of ICT Equipment

• Internet band width changes

• Capacity building for teachers & students

• New courses introduced

• Changes in student enrollment.

Flexible and Blended(FaB) Defined.

‘FaB’ is an acronym that stands for ‘flexible and blended’ approaches to teaching and learning, a

combination of two terms which are increasingly used to refer to mixed environments for learning with

choices for learners including where, when, and how learning takes place. Blended learning approaches

are often designed using a full range of teaching and learning theories such as face to face classroom

tutorials and lecturers, use of learning Management Systems, discussion boards and many others.

DATA PRESENTATION.

Organisational Changes.

Attending PCF6( December, 2010) made the principal very excited about FaB. After coming back home

he could not even wait for the college to re-open in January. He summoned some members of staff (

current FaB Team) and had a lengthy discussion with them. He explained how he was encouraged by the

infinite class numbers at IGNOU University. His million Dollar Question was ‘can MoTTI ever offer courses

on line and be able to train many students across the country? The principal appointed a team of eleven

which was named ‘the FaB team’ where he is a member.A lecturer who had been sponsored by COL to

attend the CAPA/FSD conference at Mazeru also attended the meeting, she shared her experience and

also became part of the team. Finally all the members got energized and promised to persue the FaB

approaches.After chosing officials the team came up with strategies to move things forward. The first

activity was to draft a policy document which was produced with the guidance of the principal and

approved by the Board of Directors.

Later on , the principal wanted to take FaB a step further and decided to split FaB into a team and a Unit.

The mandate of the Unit was to spear head the development of FaB courses. The Unit was composed of

a Coordinator, Instructional Designer and an ICT expert and were allocated a office complete with a

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computer and internet. The team was to continue sentitizing other members of staff on FaB matters. The

team and the Unit works hand in hand and holds regular meetings. The Unit coordinator is also the

Institutional FSD Champion.

Two support staff ( ICT Technician & Webmaster) have been employed to support the team and enable

the HOD ICT to concentrate on the running of the ICT department. The Webmaster is a member of the

FaB team, he updates the institute’s website, manages the Multimedia Lab and assists in the uploading of

developed course material on the moodle.

The BOG is regularly updated on the FaB progress, they like the initiative and support it.

Changes in the Number of Computers.

Before the introduction of FaB the institute had invested in a few computers and already had an ICT

policy in place. One of the BoG members is an ICT expert and ensured that the institute acquired the best

computers in the market.

After FaB was introduced, there has been a delibrate move to increase the number of computers as

shown in the tables below. The principal has been encouraging the teachers to purchase personal laptops

and the FaB team members already have them. The principal has made this easier by signing a deal with

the Equity Bank where Lectures acquire loans to purchase laptops and pay in installments. So far 85% of

lecurers have laptops.

As a result there is no more use of the ‘yellow notes’ in class as lecturers from all departments are

Integrating ICT in teaching and learning (this is set as a rapid results initiative (RRI) every semester and

achievements reported in general staff meeting.The teachers have also encouraged the students to carry

laptops to college especially now that we have two strong spots of Wifi connection.

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ICT Equipment Distribution as at January 2010-2013

Department Computers Printers Projectors Scanners Video Cameras

YEAR 2010

2011

2012

2013

2010

2011

2012

2013

2010

2011

2012

2013

2010

2011

2012

2013

2010

2011

2012

2013

1IT Computer rooms 78 90 110 150 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2 IT Office 6 7 7 7 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 - - - - - - - -3 Web Master - - - 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

4Multimedia Lab - - - - - - - - - - - 1 - - - - - - - 2

5

Secretarial and Languages 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -

6 Staff Room 2 2 2 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -7 C. Principal 1 1 1 1 - - - - - - - - 1 - - - - - - -8 Accountant 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -

9Accounts clerk1 - - 1 1 - - 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -

10Accounts clerk2 - - 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

11 Auditor - - 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

12Deputy Principal 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -

13Principal’s P. A. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 - - - - - 1 1 1 - - - -

14Assist. Secretary 1 1 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

15Customer care 1 - - - - 1 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -

16 Registrar 1 2 2 2 - 1 1 1 - - - - 1 1 1 1 - - - -

17Dean of Students 1 1 1 1 - - 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -

18Examination Officer - - 1 1 - - 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -

19 Restaurant - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -20 Stores 1 2 2 2 - - 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -

21Attachment Office 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -

22

Business and Accounts 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 - - - 1 - - - - - - - -

23Electrical Engineering 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -

24Mechanical Engineering - - 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

25Applied Science 3 3 3 3 1 1 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -

26 Hospitality 2 12 12 12 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 - 1 1 1 - - - -

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A Histogram showing changes in thenumber of ICT Equipment (2010 – 2013).

Internet Band Width Changes.

Before FaB was introduced, Internet bandwidth was at 1.5 MPBS. The Institute had a Linux based firewall

maintained by MTN Business, a CISCO router and several DLink switches. Due to increase in demand

and the recommendations made by Kimolo, the internet bandwidth was increased to 2MBPS by 2011. By

January 2012 most of the teachers had acquired laptops and had already embraced the FaB initiative and

the bandwidth was further increased to 4mb. Both lecturers and students were using internet to searching

for information and a high number of lecturers had also enrolled for the COL FSD Man online course. The

0

100

200

300

2010 2011 2012 2013

No of Computers

No ofComputers

0

10

20

No of printers

No of printers

0

2

4

6

2010 2011 2012 2013

No of pojectors

No ofpojectors

0

1

2

3

2010 2011 2012 2013

No of Scanners

No ofScanners

27 FAB office - - - - - - - - - - 1 1 - - - - - 1 1 128 Library 6 10 10 10 1 1 1 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -

TOTAL 110 139 165 207 12 14 18 18 2 3 4 6 2 3 3 3 0 1 1 3

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management had again to increase the internet bandwidth to 6 MBPS by October 2012 and in June 2013

to 10MBPS.

Following an increase in the number of LAN users and commissioning of various systems such as

Learning Management System (LMS), e-library and Management Information System (MIS) there has

been a need to upgrade the LAN to make it more scalable and robust.

An overhaul of the LAN infrastructure has been done. Fiber optic cable has been installed and links all the

major buildings in the institute.

A Histogram showing Changes in Internet Bandwidth.

Refurbished Data Centre (Server Room).

Some of the recommendations made by COL consultants during site visits were:-

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

2010 2011 2012 2013

Internet Bandwidth

Internet Bandwidth

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1. Establish a dedicated ‘server room’. Locate all routers, switches, closets, servers and UPS in the

Server room. The server room should have air conditioning, and be regularly cleaned.

2. Acquire a rack mount server cabinet and, as finances permit, transfer existing servers to rack mount

units (with the possibility of virtualisation as recommended by the Kimono report). (George’s &Kimolo’s

Report)

A room that is facilitating the storage and management of servers and other computing equipment in a

controlled environment was constructed. The installation of racks and cabinets for future expansion is

complete. Air conditioners were fitted and high standards of cleanliness are maintained thus all

recommendations were implemented.

The server room.

E-Library System

The institute has a fully functional e-library with over 1500 e-books already uploaded and accessible

online to both lecturers and students with the following benefits :-

∑ Access to books and browsing the content on need basis

∑ Downloading of specific chapters from the available book titles in the E-library

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∑ Finding exactly what one is looking for with a robust searching mechanism

N-Computing Technology

An innovative technology which is helping the institution take advantage of the unused power in today's

desktop systems to support many workloads has been installed.

The institute has two (2) labs each with thirty (30) n-computing terminals installed.

Computer Lab using N-Computing network system

N -Computing Lab

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Staff ICT and FaB Capacity Building

Before the introduction of FaB, majority of the teachers suffered from technology phobia. It was only the

members of the ICT department and few brave who could use the computer.

The principal was always encouraging the staff to acquire ICT skills, one holiday he gave an offer for ICT

training. All interested lecturers were trained on computer packages for free. In the following semester’s

staff meeting it was announced that the secretaries were not going to type exams for anymore and each

lecturer was to set and type their exams. The principal would not allow technology dinosaurs in the

institute and all had to change and embrace technology before they are over taken by events and become

redundant.

Initially this was a great challenge for the lecturers. The early change adopters took the challenge

positively and improved their ICT skills and moved on well. The ‘dinosaurs’ resisted the change and opted

to use money to have their work typed at a nearby cyber café but this was not sustainable so they had to

change. The FaB team were tasked to keep on encouraging their colleagues to adapt the changes and

learn new ways of doing things. Afterwards all the staff embraced the change and typing exams by

lecturers themselves has become the in-thing.

COL has also played a major role in building capacity for the staff. This has been realized through;

National and international workshops-e.g

-FSDi workshop (Mombasa) 5 staff attended

-Instructional Design workshop (Mombasa) - 16 staff attended

-Policy maker’s workshop (Nairobi) - 2 members attended

-FSD workshop (Mazeru)-1 staff attended

-AV 1&2 workshop (Masai TTI) - 4staff attended

-INVEST Course Design Workshop (Thika& Nairobi)-3 staff attended

Site visits by consultants,

- ICT visit by Kimolo

-a workshop by Alison

-a clinic by George herd

-a workshop by Brian

Interaction through the CLN

-MoTTI space has total of51 members

Online course like the FSD-Man (23 staff have completed & got certificates)

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FlexTL.-11 members completed & have certificates.

The capacity build on the teachers has enabled them to adopt the FaB teaching pedagogy and also

embark on developing course material that are more flexible and suitable to the needs of the learners. The

new courses have led to an increase in the number of students enrolled. Currently the number of students

has increased by more than 50%.

Development of New Course.

The FaB team has developed material for the following courses;

1) Cake making & Decoration

2) Couture Fashion

3) Auto-care

4) HIV& Aids Management

5) Small & Micro Business Enterprises.

The course materials are being uploaded on the Moodle and will be launched by September 2013. The

courses are targeting people in the informal sector and will be taught using flexible and blended methods

Other new courses already developed are in the fields of Eye Health and Maritime courses. These are

formal courses and were launched in May 2013 in collaboration with employers and professional bodies.

COL Consultant working with the MOTTI FaB Team.

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Improvement in Teaching and Learning.

With the Introduction of FaB, lecturers are now using a variety of delivery modes and also engaging the

learners to participate more in their learning. During an interview with one of the students he said

‘teachers are no longer wearing ‘Surayakazi’ in class, they are friendlier and give the learner an

opportunity to express themselves. Initially learning used to be boring as lecturers used to control the

class through talk and chalk for two hours. These days the lecturer is a facilitator and not a dictator. ICT is

allocated as a lesson to all classes and each class has two hours for internet to do research. This has

improved student’s ICT knowledge and enabled them to learn more on their own individually and in

groups as peers. Every class has an email address whereby they communicate with the lectures. Mobile

phone is no longer illegal in class and learners are encouraged to use their phones more to search for

information except during examinations.

This has led to the learners being able to get more information and has contributed to better results at the

end of the final exams. The learners are very positive about the changes that are taking place in the

institute and have encouraged other people to join the institute. Short courses offered in the evening, over

the weekend and holidays have been introduced. These changes have brought about marked quality

improvement in learning leading to an increase in the number of students enrolled.

The New Multimedia Laboratory

Through a proposal written by the chief Principal a fully equipped multimedia lab is in place. Staffs are now using the facility to develop audio/video teaching material. This lab is proving to be an important asset for teachers and a time-table had to be set to accommodate for those who want to use.The multimedia lab has also led to the starting of the following new courses;

∑ Certificate in journalism and media∑ Diploma in Telecommunication ∑ Certificate in Telecommunication

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The Multi Media Lab

Conclusion

The institute is one of the eight TVET institutions year-marked by the government for commissioning as

national polytechnics. When it becomes a fully functional polytechnic, the institute will have the autonomy

to formulate its own curriculum, and also administer its own examinations independently from the national

examination body. This will make FaB progress well as some of the objectives of FaB cannot be realized

when the Institute is working under instructions from a different curriculum developer and examination

bodies.

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The institute is one of the institutions with the best ICT infrastructure among the FSD key TVET

institutions in Kenya.Alot of effort has been put to ensure that the institution has internet connectivity in all

the major buildings and with an automatic swicth over to wireless in place accessibility is round the clock.

Most of the teachers have acquired personal laptops. This alone is not enough to enable the institution to

realize the FaB goal, meaning all teachers are aware of the need for them to commit themselves to their

professional development in order to remain relevant. To achieve this, a major milestone has been

attained; the lecturers have developed the right attitude and are acquiring new skills and knowledge.

Kenya Coast polytechnic has made significant steps in the use of ICT in teaching and learning. A

considerable investment has been made in the acquisition of relevant computing resources for teaching

and learning. The principal in conjuction with COL has done a tremendous job in building capacity in both

the lecturers and the students.The FaB team and the entire staff have also worked hard to embrace FaB.

The paper also concludes that; inorder for the institute to continue in the ways of FaB and realize change,

there is need for all the stake holders in the TVET fraternity to be involved. A bottom up approach is

suitable in engaging country wide TVET institutions, policy makers, examination authorities and the

curriculum developers.

The TVET Act 2013 provides interventions on access, equity, relevance, quality, management,

governance and efficiency. The Act comes in handy when the key institutions have embraced the FaB

initiative giving them broader autonomy and flexibility. The directors and implementers of the TVET

Authority which the Act establishes will hopefully be drawn from the principals of the TVET Institutions and

this will provide a good opportunity of pushing the FaB agenda in TVET a step higher.

Future Plans.

The Institute plans to refurbish and rehabilitate Chandaria hall to a modern e-conference facility. The estimate is Kshs 55millon (Plan Drawings and BQs are ready as shown below). The principal has written a proposal to source for the funds.

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References

1. Baseline survey June 2010 by George Herd

2. John Nyerere (2010), Technical & vocational education and training (TVET ) sector

mapping in Kenya

3. Institution ICT Capability & Infrastructure Assessment Report July 2011 by Kimolo N.

4. Readiness progress since baseline survey (as of June 2011) Report by George Herd

5. The Technical and Vocation Education and Training Bill, 2012(2.07.2012)

6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexible_Learning

7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_management