CONFERENCE ON
"EFFECTIVE USE OF ICT TO CREATE A NEW
ENVIRONMENT FOR LEARNING, TEACHING AND RESEARCH"
29 JULY
- 1 AUGUST, 2002
UN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE
ADDIS
ABABA, ETHIOPIA
PRESENTATION
By
Prof.K.Singh
Director
KUMASI VIRTUAL CENTRE FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
KUMASI, GHANA
ICT PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION AT KNUST
Prof.K.Singh
Director
Kumasi Virtual Center for Information
Technology(KVCIT)
(An AVU Learning Center )
This short paper
attempts to pose some important questions necessary for the effective use of
ICT and also answers these questions through reviewing the infrastructure
development initiative at KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana. The paper covers the brief
background information on KNUST and the network design for backbone
connectivity which includes interconnection among all departments to the
central site Pharmacy Block using copper access, fiber optic technology and Wireless Inc.
Radio access.
1.0
Background Information
The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kumasi was established by a Government
Ordinance on 6th October 1951. It opened officially on 22nd
January 1952, with 200 Teacher Training students. The University has within the
short period of fifty(50) years of its existence become an important centre for
the training of scientists and technologists not only for Ghana but also for
other African countries.
The main
University is situated on a campus of about seven square miles (18 square
kilometres) of undulating land and pleasant surroundings, about four miles (6
kilometres) away from the centre of Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional capital. The
campus presents a panorama of beautiful and modern buildings interspersed with
verdant lawns and tropical flora, which provide a cool and refreshing
atmosphere congenial to academic studies.
The University presently has three halls of residence for both men and
women, two halls for men only and one for women only. There are also two hostels
for postgraduate students and one hostel for medical students. Two new hostels
have also been constructed. The student halls of residence, the Administration
block, the Library and the University Great Hall occupy the central portion of
the grounds. In the area west of the halls of residence are located houses for
the academic and senior administrative staff, and on the eastern side are
located the Engineering, Environmental and Development Studies, Agriculture,
Pharmacy, Renewable Natural Resources, Social Science and Science blocks.
The University started awarding its degrees in June 1964. The academic
activities are presently performed by five faculties (Agriculture,
Environmental & Development Studies, Pharmacy, Science and Social
Sciences), two schools (Engineering and Medical Sciences), three institutes
(Land Management and Development, Mining & Mineral Engineering and
Renewable Natural Resources), and a College of Art. Apart from the main campus
at Kumasi, KNUST has another campus, Western University College, located at
Tarkwa in the centre of the mining activities of the country. In addition there
is an Institute of Technical Education (ITE), a Technology Consultancy Centre
(TCC), a Centre of Cultural Studies, a Bureau of Integrated Rural Development
(BIRD) and a Kumasi Virtual centre
for information Technology(KVCIT).
The University also has a number of municipal facilities. These include
a hospital, basic schools (i.e. nursery, primary and junior secondary school),
a swimming pool, a maintenance and estate organisation, a photocopy unit, a
printing press, a bookshop, senior staff club, sports stadium, commercial and
banking facilities, post office and places of worship.
The majority of members of the academic staff are highly qualified
Ghanaians. Since the implementation of the government higher educational reform
programme in 1992 the rate of growth in student population has outstripped that
of academic staff. The student population increased from 4374 in 1992/93
academic year to 11,714 in the 2001/2002 academic year.
The University Council as a governing body constitutes the apex of a
hierarchical structure of a system of committees for University management. The
Principal Officers of the University are the Chancellor, the Chairman of the University
Council and the Vice-Chancellor. The Vice-Chancellor is the academic and
administrative head of the University.
With
the competition for national resources intensifying, the pressure to
efficiently utilise such resources has correspondingly increased. Therefore,
institutions need to clearly demonstrate their value added. In order to
maximise the value of the services that KNUST provides to Ghana and Africa, it
is imperative that it examines its aspirations, activities and accomplishments
to align them with the national and international needs of the millennium. For
the planning period(2001 Đ 2010), the aspirations of the University are
embodied in the Vision statement and the scope of its activities is delineated
in the Mission statement. The Objectives detail what it intends to do toward
accomplishing that mission.
The vision of KNUST is to be globally recognised as the premier Centre
of Excellence in Africa for the teaching, research and entrepreneurship
training in science and technology for development, producing high calibre
graduates with knowledge and expertise to support the industrial and
socio-economic development of Ghana and Africa.
The mission of KNUST is to provide an environment for the teaching,
research and entrepreneurship training in science and technology for
development that will turn the wheels of industry and the economy for the
industrial and socio-economic development of Ghana and Africa. KNUST will also
provide service to the community, be open to all the people of Ghana and
positioned to attract scholars, industrialists and entrepreneurs from Africa
and other international communities.
To meet the National Objectives, KNUSTŐs Objectives for the plan
period (2001 Đ 2010) are to:
1.
train high level personnel in science and
technology to support the industrial and socio-economic development of Ghana in
particular and Africa in general in a sustainable and environmentally friendly
manner;
2.
train highly qualified personnel for the
development of the Polytechnics and other tertiary institutions;
3.
increase student enrolment and promote female
participation in all programmes;
4.
improve the quality of teaching and research to
enhance the learning process;
5.
initiate new research and programmes to address
the problems of industry and rural communities in response to national needs;
6.
encourage collaborative research with industry
and the private sector, and develop and strengthen collaborative links with
other institutions of higher learning and research;
7.
provide entrepreneurship training to all
students;
8.
make computer literacy an essential part of the
training at the University and promote the use of information technology to
increase productivity and efficiency;
9.
expand postgraduate training to promote
teaching, research and entrepreneurship;
10.
encourage multidisciplinary research programmes;
11.
attract, develop, motivate and retain high
calibre staff;
12.
develop and maintain the infrastructure and
natural resources of the University;
13.
develop the management skills of the University
management and improve the cost-effectiveness, accountability and transparency
in the management of the University;
14.
promote a greater sense of community in the
University; and
15.
promote opportunities for income generation to
help reduce dependence on Government subvention.
Further, at the
national and sub-regional levels, the University also aims at:
1.5
Enrolment
Statistics and Projections
Ghana has a population of over 18million and there are not many tertiary
institutions in the country which can accommodate large number of secondary
school graduates to various programmes of studies. Also, there is a reasonably
large number of SSS/A' Level graduates that can not get admission to
the Universities in Ghana due to limited facilities and capacities of these
institutions. For example, during 1999/2000 Academic year, KNUST received 9,200
applications: 6,900 were qualified for admission but only 2,783 were admitted .
1.5.1
Student Enrolment from 1992/93 - 2001/2002.
Years
|
92/93 |
93/94 |
94/95 |
96/97 |
97/98 |
98/99 |
99/00 |
00/01 |
01/02 |
|
Male |
3606 |
3639 |
4245 |
5038 |
6115 |
6843 |
7489 |
8141 |
8889 |
|
Female |
768 |
812 |
977 |
1200 |
1496 |
1730 |
2012 |
2192 |
2825 |
|
Total |
4374 |
4451 |
5222 |
6238 |
7611 |
8573 |
9501 |
10,333 |
11,714 |
KNUST is also proud that most of her degree programmes are not available in the other Universities whether national or private. It is therefore very necessary to expand the infrastructure which will make it possible for more students to be admitted. The present student population 11,714 is made up of about 79% males and 21% females.This number is expected to rise by 10% annually in accordance with Government policy to 13,190 in 2002/2003 Academic year.
1.6
STAFFING: The University as
at March 2002 has staff total of 2,919. But the required staff number is 4,227.
1.7
COMPUTER CENTRE AT KNUST : In
1962, the School of Engineering established the first ever computer Centre in
the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. The
Centre was meant to help to develop numerical analysis method and their
applications to engineering problems.
The School of Engineering acquired an Electronic Computer(IBM
1620) which was said to be the first in West Africa together with an automatic
desk calculator. The engineering students were made to undergo short courses in
Computer operations in the long vacation periods before proceeding to do their
practical industrial training.
Later on, the computer was moved from School of Engineering to the Department
of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, when the University realised the need to
run degree and diploma programmes in Computer Science.
2.0 KEY ISSUES ON ICT PLANNING
- Low computer Literacy
- Unavailability of personal computers(PCs)
- Low ratio of networked
computers
- Problematic communication
backbone and high local telecom tariff rates
- Low bandwidth capabilities
of internet service providers
Between 1999 and 2002, the
following major steps have been taken by the present administration for the ICT
infrastructure development and towards the effective use of ICT at KNUST:
(a)Setting up of University
Information Technology Committee(UITC) under the
Chairmanship of the Vice
Chancellor to coordinate and oversee every aspect of ICT
(Appendix 1)
(b) Wide Area Network(WAN)
design for Fiber Optic Backbone Connectivity
(Appendix 2)
(c) Establishment of a Centre
for information technology, KVCIT
(Appendix 3)
(d) Establishment of central
computer labs under HP digital village concept (Appendix 4)
i.
Main Library
ii.
KVCIT
iii.
Faculty of science
iv.
Pharmacy
v.
Out-reach Đ Secondary
School
(e) Acquiring PCs from local
resources
(g) Opting for two-way
broadband internet access and skipping unreliable local service
providers.
3.0 TECHNICAL OVERVIEW OF WIDE AREA
NETWORKING(WAN) AT KNUST: NETWORK BACKBONE
3.1 Fibre Optic Topology:
The fibre optic cabling is dividing the KNUST campus into four(4) zones
(Appendix 2).
Zone 1: Administration, College of Art, Administration block 2, Library(Main Library,KVCIT)
Zone 2: Agriculture, CCB, Agric Eng., IRNR, FEDS
Zone 3: SMS, Chemistry, Biological Sciences.
3.2 HP 9304 Routing Switch at Pharmacy Block
The HP 9304 Routing Switch, installed at the
Pharmacy Block would serve as the central
concentration point for all the remote sites. All remote sites connect to it
directly using an independent fiber pair. The throughput between each remote
site and the 9304 Router Switch is 200Mbps at full duplex. The throughput
between two sites would also be 200Mbps. This would provide a high performance
as well as provide huge scalability(The 9304 is a Modular device and can take
additional two 24 port fiber modules). In its existing configuration itself,
the 9304 can accommodate at least 8 additional sites. Another option is to
install Alcatel Asynchonous Transfer Mode(ATM) switch as suggested by Ghana
Telecom(GT FASTnet).
3.3 Network
Configuration - VLANs
Each remote site would be a
separate Network(subnet). All traffic to/fro from a site would be routed from
the central 9304 Routing switch. This would result in clearly defined and secure networks. The 2524
manageable switches at the remote sites support Virtual LANs(VLANs) which would further secure and control the broadcast
domain for the site.
3.4 Cisco
3640 Router At Pharmacy Block
This contains a dual E1
controller, one of which would be connected to a NetModem broad band router combined with a satellite modem,
network router, and network management software into one box. The NetModem
is desined to facilitate dynamic bandwidth allocation and is
highly suitable in terms of both Inbound and Outbound data rates. The second E1
controller would not be used immediately and would serve as a standby for
future upgrade. The Cisco 3640 would run the Cisco IOS 12.0 which is the latest
in Cisco range. It also has a bank of analog modems which would provide dial-in
access to dial-up commuters who wish to access the KNUST network resources in a
secure manner.
3.5 Cisco PIX
Firewall At Pharmacy Block
The Cisco PIX firewall is capable of supporting multiple
Networks. An extra Fast Ethernet interface will be added which can be linked to
a Demilitarized LAN host the KNUST WEB and E-mail servers. The PIX firewall
would be placed between the 9304M switch and the 3640 Router for maximum
protection and security.
Network costs consists of equipment, installation and recurrent monthly
charges. The cost is based on :
(1)
Fibre Optic Cable and laying cost, the cost of the fibre link.
(2)
Cost of switches, Cisco
Routers and Catalyst, 3Com Hub.
(3)
Backup link cost include Wireless Inc. Radio access, copper backup link.
(4)
Monthly recurrent charges
(5)
Maintenance and support services.
An approximate cost for the WAN is US$168,039.00 made of the following:
Cisco 3640 router, PIX Firewall &UPS US$44,850.00
Fibre Optic Cable & Connectors US$58,500.00
Installation & Commissioning US$14,000.00
In addition to this, a number of 2524 manageable switches at the remote sites to
support Virtual LANs(VLANs) and
other material and technical support to create VLANs in various
Departments/units will be required.
As the University has been able to establish a number of central computer pools under Hp Digital village concept and is also in the process of acquiring more PCs from different sources including local resources, growth of backbone to network each and every computer and expansion of bandwidth are key factors to meet the enormous demands of ICT at KNUST.
KNUST is also preparing to obtain high-speed two-way
broadband internet access to connect more than 1,000 computers directly to the
MAE Đeast internet backbone in Washington D.C. through a direct satellite link
by the end of September, 2002. An approximate cost of dedicated bandwidth provided by local distributors in Ghana
per month is US$500/64Kbps upstream and 64Kbps downstream(for higher
bandwidths like 256Kbps Up and 1Mbps down)(Appendix 5).
In addition to this, an
annual local regulation fee of US$2,000.00 will be required to pay to National
Communication Authority.
4.0 Future Planning /requirements
á
There is a need to
develop a culture of work and organizational structure which
takes advantage of the
properties of the virtual or electronic work space, and students and staff need
to be prepared for the proper use of the new technologies.
á
To work out a checklist
that would be required to implement ICT effectively within
University
system i.e
- Policy
-
Technical
-
Human resource
-
Training requirement
á
To promote intelligent
use of ICT in teaching and learning.
á
To make use of ICT to
transform lectures from class room
teaching(face to face)
into web based presentation.
á
To make proper use of
ICT to manage , access, disseminate research information.
á
To form a technical team
to oversee, supervise and manage WAN and LAN.
á
To acquire course
delivering tools( WebCT, Blackboard, Ucompass etc.) and to
make arrangements for course delivery
services to host the on-line courses for
distant learners.
APPENDIX 1
UNIVERSITY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
COMMITTEE(UITC)
An advisory /Policy making IT
Committee with the following objectives:
- To initiate, promote and coordinate Information and
Communications
Technollogies(ICT) facilities at KNUST.
- To promote the innovative applications and uses of
information and
Communications
Technologies in learning, teaching and research.
- To advice the University on all IT related issues.
Prof.K.A.Andam Dean, School of
Engineering Member
Prof.K.Singh Director, KVCIT Member
Prof.Aboagye Menyeh Dean, Faculty
of Science Member
Mr.Victor E.Anim Director,
Works & Physical DevŐt
Member
Mrs.Helena Asamoah
Hassan
Librarian, University Library Member
Mr.Abraham Brew-Sam Student
representative Member
Dr.Imoro Braimah
University Planning Unit Member/Sec.
***