Information Communications Technology In the University of
Ghana
MUMUNI DAKUBU, ICT DIRECTOR UNIVERSITY OF GHANA
1. Mission
Statement
The development objective
of the University of GhanaÕs Information Communication Technology Strategy is
to ensure we design and operate a reliable, cost effective data communication
systems and related services in support of all campus instruction, research,
library, administration (MIS), distance education and student service programmes
2. Objectives
Information
and communications technology (ICT) involves the use of diverse set of
technological tools and
resources, to create, disseminate, store, and manage information and to
communicate. The computers, software, networks, satellite links and related
systems that allow us to access, create, analyze, exchange/communicate and use
data, information and knowledge, all together form what we describe as ICT.
In the past we
have used one or the other of these tools and therefore not been able to
harness the full potential of ICT to strengthen conventional education and
distance education. This is the time therefore to use ICT more cohesively in
Higher Education.
We are
therefore focusing on the expansion and modernization of the UniversityÕs ICT
Infrastructure so that it will serve as the nerve center for the optimum
performance of all sectors of the University. More specifically, the use of ICT
in the following are being emphasized:
3.
Historical Account of the development of ICT in the University:-
The University
of Ghana started its journey into ICT in 1994/95, when with the help of AAAS it
started its e-mail services using the FIDONET System. In May 1996, The USAID
commissioned Dr. George Sadowsky of NYU, to visit the University of Ghana to
assess the Internet needs and capabilities and other related issues like the
telecommunications infrastructure at the University of Ghana and present a
report. (The Sadowsky Report) Following the Sadowsky Report, the University of
Ghana, wrote to UASID and requested a package of support to help it have full
Internet connectivity.The USAID following the long tradition, that the
University of Ghana (UG) has been an important partner in USAIDÕs development
activities in both Ghana and elsewhere in West Africa, agreed to further
strengthen this partnership in the area of Information Technology. It therefore
willingly agreed to give financial assistance to help University of Ghana
acquire full Internet connectivity. The USAID offered to provide University of
Ghana:-
This wonderful
connectivity then, was limited to a small section of the University through
only dial-up via the national Telecom System and a small Cyber CafŽ on campus
because the University then did not have a viable network linking the various
Faculties and Schools. The University covers a large area (see map) and it was
not easy for the University to finance a network construction through its own
resources at the time.
In 1998/99 the
Danish Government through DANIDA gave the University a generous grant totaling
about $450,000.00 which enabled it to establish a fibre optic backbone and
connect the University library by fibre to the backbone. Soon, more Faculties
developed LANs and linked these to the backbone. By early 2001, when it become
clear that our Internet connectivity at 64kbps could not adequately support the
Campus Area Network that had emerged, we were again helped by DANIDA to upgrade
our system from the 64kps radio connection to a VSAT connection at 128/512kbps
4. WHAT IS IN PLACE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA NOW
4.1 A
University communication network which is an Intranet is now in place,
constructed through an initial DANIDA funding. It has four major nodes situated
at the following places:
(These
three nodes and linked by fibre to constitute the backbone for the UniversityÕs
network.)
4.2 Currently
the following local area networks are linked to the backbone:-
At node N1,
At node N2
(With
this connection, access is now readily available to the LANs in the following
units using switches:-Computer science department, ISSER, RIPS, UNU,
Mathematics department and Statistics department.)
At node N3,
the connections are to the following:
.
At node N4 which is housed
at Central Administration of the University, the LAN there is connected to the
backbone by a Radio. This gives access to the network to the following offices
of the Administration:
4.3 All other units within
the University that do not have direct online connections have the capability
of dialing into the network through some 14 modems that are currently
connected at
the node N2. All such dialing facilities are through the UniversityÕs PBX
units through
which there are currently about 800 extensions. There is also provision at
node N2 for
dialing into the network through the PSTN system.
5. Usage of
the Network as envisioned:
5.1 Teaching
and Learning :- Not much
has been done in this area. On a scale of usage of 1 to 10, I rate the usage as
4. Faculty have used this to prepare material for teaching and to exchange
material with faculty in other Universities. Faculty have not been able to use
this to set up interactive usage involving students because student access has
been limited and also faculty are not adequately prepared to produce courses
that can be taught online. The University is aware of this and is making
attempts to set up a Learning Resource Centre (LRC) which will equip faculty
with the know how of preparing for such courses materials. A good progress has
been made in this direction.
5.2 Distance
Learning:- We have used
the AVU Structure to bring about some use of ICT
for distance
learning but not on the scale that has much influence on the University
curriculum. We
are preparing ourselves and building our networks to allow us to use
material from
other Universities in the Western World through online courses. An example
is the new
initiative, called MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW), which reflects MIT's
institutional
commitment to disseminate knowledge across the globe. We will have to
develop some
online courses ourselves when we have finished structuring our LRC We
think distance
education holds the key to many of problems in education and we are
looking it at
closely. Indeed the Ghana Government has set up a committee to work on
the setting up
of distance education in the country making use of the idea of open Colleges
and Community
Colleges. The future of distance learning is great and any tertiary
education that
ignores it does so at its peril. The choice is not, to or not to, but rather
what form.
5.3 Research:- On scale of 1 to 10 on usage, I rate
this at 5. The usage has been in
collaborative
research, exchange and review of documents before publication, submission
of papers for
publications registration for conferences etc. etc. There is the need to
develop
International links where faculty can log on to more powerful computers
elsewhere and
use them. This may have to wait for good and reliable bandwidth
connections
and is mainly applicable to the Physical Scientists (Physicists and
mathematicians
and some Chemists.) The Biochemists are been encouraged to make use
the vast
amount information/data available on gnome sequencing. Gradually some of the
intellectual
isolation of the mid 1980s is disappearing.
5.4 Library
Services:- This is one
area where there has been a great usage but still a lot more
needs to done.
I will score the library usage 7 on a scale of 1 to 10.
The University
Libraries in Ghana have been the main focus of IT development on most of
our campuses.
The University libraries initiated email services which later gained momentum
in
the
development ICT activities culminating with the Internet. For example, the
Balme library,
University of
Ghana has been and continues to be the pivot of the Ghana Inter-Library Lending
and Document
Delivery network (GILLDNET).
5
GILLDNET is a
consortium of university libraries providing Inter-Library and Document
Delivery
services to
the university communities by the use of Internet. Currently, the network with
the
University of
Ghana as the Hub, consists of the following links to this Hub:-
! VHF link to
the University College of Education Winneba,
! HF
connection to Tamale,
! Fibre Optics
connection to University of Science & Technology and University of
Cape Coast.
There are now
a considerable number of journals available online for the academic community
under the
GILLDNET project. Some of the online subscriptions are:-
!
Blackwell-Synergy Access,
! EBSCO
publications,
! IDEAL
library,
! INGENTA
(Social Science and Humanities)
! SILVER
Platter (Pascal, Francis and Silver Linker.
In addition to
this, there are also a number of full-text articles and journals available.
Library
automation has started in all the Tertiary Institutions Libraries with the
exception of UDS
and the
Polytechnics Libraries. The libraries are currently using Integrated Technical
Software
(ITS)
cataloguing software from The Library Corporation for their retrospective
conversion. ITS
for Windows is
a critically acclaimed, user friendly, cataloguing workstation software that
combines: cut
and paste, MARC format and authority verification, and powerful edit and print
features and
more.
ITS for
Windows is format integration ready and conforms to current MARC standards. ITS
employs open
systems architecture, so it can be the front end to any integrated library
system
(ILS) that
supports standard protocols, or can feed batch updates via standard media or
local
network
connection.
The annual
subscription fee is $1500 for server and $500 per additional workstation. The
subscription
breakdown for each university is as follows:-
¥ Balme
Library, University of Ghana - 5
¥ UST Library,
Kumasi - 3
¥ UCEW
Library, Winneba - 3
¥ UCC Library,
Cape Coast - 3
¥ UDS Library,
Tamale - nil
¥ Polytechnics
(10 of them) - nil
There are
other modules for Web-Based Online Cataloguing, Inter-Library Loan, Online Public
Access and
Circulation. The issues to be considered are system integration, Union
catalogue,
licensing
fees, training, technical support, online theses and integration of library
records to
central
administration databases.
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The libraries
have also setup computer laboratories for Internet and Online access to the
databases
mentioned
above. These laboratories are opened to the university community. The Balme
library
for example
has two laboratories; one for postgraduate students and faculty and the other
for
undergraduate
students. The library is about 75% networked. The UST library also has a
computer
laboratory equipped with about 50 computers; about 20 computers are connected
to the
Internet. The
University of Cape Coast library has a small laboratory with about 10 computers
that are used
for Internet and Online database services. University College of Education
library is
providing
online services on a few computers to both students and staff through the use
of the
dedicated VHF
connection to Balme Library. The UDS also has an HF connection and the
Polytechnics
have none.
The library is
the nerve centre of any Academic institution and therefore we are paying
special
attention to
it while at the same time bearing in mind the costs and ease of accessibility.
5.5 Management
Information Systems (MIS):-
On a scale of 1 to 10 I rate the usage of this
as 6.
The use ICT
for Administration and management falls broadly under the ambit of Management
Information
Systems (MIS). We use ICT here as a tool to enhance the work of the
Administrators
in efficiency,
speed, and accuracy in the handling of data (information ) on human resources
management.
The areas in which ICT can be used or applied include:
¥ personnel
¥ student
administration
¥ financial
systems
¥
communications
¥ office
automation
¥ information
base for keeping the campus community informed.
The
Universities of Ghana are currently using an Integrated Tertiary Software,
(ITS) which is a
management
information software developed by a company in South Africa for their MIS.
However the
Universities in Ghana have not been able to harness the full potential of this
software for
their MIS.
5.6 Linking
to all the Universities in Ghana, to make it possible to share common
resources:-
The linking has been done. It is very weak. I score it 2 on the scale of 1 to
10
The link is
suppose to evolve into a Virtual Private Network for the Universities but it
has
been plagued
with many problems and has not worked efficiently. The Volta River
Authority
(VRA) has always owned a corporate telecommunications network as part of its
power system.
As the power system grew, the communications network expanded. The
construction
of the Takoradi Thermal Power Plant (TTPP) in 1995 resulted in increased
demand for
more communications facilities. The technology of choice to upgrade the VRA
telecommunications
network was what they call the Ò Optical Ground Wire (OPGW). The
OPGW is a
composite cable construction in which the fibre unit containing the optical
fibres is
integrated or embedded into the earthwire. The installation of the OPGW meant
that the VRA
had capacity far in excess of what it could use. This is clearly a good
spin-off.
7
The excess
capacity was therefore commercialized and the result is the VoltaCom.
This
commercialization has led to the installation and commissioning of over 600 Km
of OPGW
spanning the
following locations:
Prestea-Tarkwa-Takoradi/Aboadze-Cape
Coast-Winneba -Accra-Tema-Akuse-Akosombo-
Tafo/Koforidua-Nkwakaw-Konongo-Kumasi.
The Map in figure 1.1 shows
the precise locations
with the green
link. It was expected that the link from Prestea to Kumasi via Obuasi will be
ready
by December
2001, this has not happened
Connections to
cities are achieved using Point-to-Point Radios with 15 km reach
8
FIGURE 1.1 (VOLTACOM)
VOLTACOM WAN
SOLUTIONS FOR CORPORATE BODIES
IN GHANA
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6. Outstanding
issue to be tackled and are being tackled:- There are basically five
outstanding
issues that we are presently engaged in tackling. They are as follows:-
! Bandwidth
and ISP fees
! Management
issues like human resource development to support network
! Content
development
! Student
access
!
Sustainability (How do we maintain pay for the growing network?)
! Viability of
the Research and Education Network (REN) that we have formed.
On July 17
2002, I organized a one-day workshop for Deans, Directors, Heads of Departments
and all the
other University executives to discuss these issues, hopefully we will get
answers to
them all very
soon.
There is no
going back. No University without a viable ICT programme can survive this
Globalization
era