Transforming education: the power of ICT policies - Commonwealth ...

− institutional development,
− capacity-building,
− research, and
− public awareness within the ICT Policy Framework.
It was proposed that a Project Management Offi ce be set up to assist the Steering Committee and its Working
Groups, which are organised around each component of the framework for implementation. To date, the Project
Management Offi ce has not yet been set up. More and more, the Working Groups are becoming the decision
making bodies of the Steering Committee, with each working group making recommendations for their areas of
expertise and the Steering Committee reviewing these recommendations for endorsement. Figure 4 illustrates the
governance structure explained above.
Figure 4: Governance Structure for ICT in Education in Namibia
Includes both
Ministries of
Education
86 | Transforming Education: The Power of ICT Policies
EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE
STEERING
COMMITTEE
COMMITTEE
WORKING
GROUPS
70 representatives from Ministry
of Education Directorates,
Government Ministries, NGOs,
International and
Local Private Sector
The ICT Policy for Education includes in its appendix, a detailed terms of reference for the Steering Committee
including a list of organizations and groups and their representatives who serve on the Steering Committee (Ilukena,
2006). Figure 5 confi rms that the policy implementation process has tried to be inclusive through the representation
of key stakeholders on the structures governing the process.
Instruments to Regulate Public-Private Partnerships
The ICT Policy for Education recommends the proactive use of partnerships to speed up implementation of the
policy, to develop the Namibian ICT economy, and to reduce the burden on taxpayers. TECH/Na! is one instrument
set up to support the regulation of public private partnerships. TECH/Na! outlines a “framework for engagement”
for all partners to infl uence the ways in which ICT are introduced and utilised for the education sector. TECH/Na!
is essentially a framework for the inclusion of both strategic and implementation partners. The ICT and Education
Steering Committee fulfi l an oversight function in this respect. One of the key dimensions in regulating partnerships
and multiple stakeholders is the management of educational change, the many “competing visions” and the messy
nature of the ICT in education sector in Namibia. Representatives of the Ministry of Education consider this to be an
“asset” because the framework for partnership engagement provides the unifying dynamic for the sector. (Ilukena,
2006)