COL's Education Specialist for Teacher Education, Dr Betty Ogange visited the Wits School of Education in Johannesburg to strengthen collaboration on OER. The session brought together academic staff and key stakeholders from the School.
The visit highlighted the objectives and focus of the NOTES project and discussed the gaps in a COL-supported study, especially inadequate teacher capacity as well as the lack of OER policy frameworks within institutions. This sparked important discussions on institutionalising openness within national education policies.
In the company of staff from the School, Dr Ogange visited the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and the South African Council for Educators (SACE), where a collective recognition emerged of the need to involve policymakers and ministry-level implementers early in the OER development and scale-up process.
Participants agreed that sustainable progress would require aligning institutional and classroom-level OER activities with national reform priorities and securing ministerial support. This alignment is essential to embedding OER practices into formal teacher training systems and advancing the NOTES project across the SADC region.
ENGAGEMENT HIGHLIGHTS
- Direct engagement with Wits School of Education
- High-level meetings with DHET and SACE
- Discussions on institutional OER policy gaps
- Focus on national policy alignment
KEY STAKEHOLDERS
- Wits School of Education academic staff
- Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET)
- South African Council for Educators (SACE)
- COL Education Specialist Dr Betty Ogange
STRATEGIC OUTCOMES
- Early policymaker involvement recognized as critical
- Alignment with national reform priorities emphasized
- Ministerial support identified as essential for sustainability
- Pathway for SADC regional advancement established
RESOURCES
- News Story
- Policy Engagement Framework
- Stakeholder Meeting Notes
- National Alignment Strategy
