Information Literacy and Digital Divide: The Case of the University of Botswana Students Studying Part-Time

Year 2016, , 56 - 70, 22.12.2016

Rose T. Kgosiemang

https://doi.org/10.22596/erj2016.0102.56.70

Abstract

In Botswana, the
costs and requirements to study full-time are very high. Not everyone can
afford to study full-time without forfeiting their current roles, for example,
in 1999 the Center for Continuing Education (CCE) in Botswana launched a
Diploma in Primary Education distance education programme, to upgrade academic
and professional qualifications of some 8000 primary certificate holders to
diploma level. However, those teachers could not
be released to attend courses in conventional institutions without compromising
primary school work progress (Nage-Sibande, 2005: 250). Sometimes work and
family life are core determinants to furthering education. Universities provide
opportunities for students to choose their mode of learning as well as setting their pace of study. The
University of Botswana (UB) like many other universities around the globe
offers students the option to study and carry out other life commitments at the
same time. This is in realization of the fact that learning part-time is a very
important alternative and an opportunity for people to continue learning while
they go on with their normal workloads and family or community responsibilities
(Nage-Sibande, 2005). This paper will focus on students pursuing Part-time
Diploma in Accounting and Business Studies programme (DABS) based at different
geographical locations in the country. It is intended to discuss the plight of these students with regards to
their lack of participation in the information literacy skills programme (ILS)
offered to full-time undergraduate students as well as the inadequate access to
both Information and Communication Technology and library resources. The paper
will also discuss how their lack of
access to ICT resources continues to widen the digital divide between those
having access and those without access. Based on the authors’ past
participation in the teaching of ILS to DABS students it will discuss the
pivotal role played by UB staff in the teaching of Information Literacy Skills
(ILS) to DABS students as well as the collaborations and partnerships between
librarians and other stakeholders such as the Extra Mural Unit of the Center
for Continuing Education (CCE); Communication and Study Skills Unit (CSSU) and
Computer Science which made it possible for Librarians to actively participate
in the teaching of ILS. Further, the paper will discuss the problems
experienced regarding issues of student support and access to and provision of
resources, which are essential to the successful provision of courses taken by
part-time students. Lastly, the paper will discuss efforts made by the CCE,
North branch library, in Francistown, which is the outreach arm of the
Department of Library Services at UB, in ensuring that library materials are
provided to satellite centers outside Francistown through Technical Colleges,
and the challenges experienced in the process.

Keywords

part-time learners, librarians & information literacy skills, ICT, digital divide

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