Content area
Abstract
This approach to resource optimization is directed towards the particular needs and resources of rural communities. It is a procedure for optimizing both the provision of facilities and the use of resources to meet the requirement for acceptable and appropriate primary schools within budget and time constraints.
Historical and analytical survey research methods were used to provide data for the development of a planning system comprising three computerized systems models.
The facilities required for education were derived from a study of educational needs in rural areas. The facilities the schools should contain and the categories and kinds of schools required were determined and incorporated as options in a facility selection model. Criteria for optimizing the application of these options were derived from the study of educational needs.
From a study of the use of resources abroad and the resource potential in Southern Africa a broader range of resources for school building procurement was formulated. A systems model of procurement options was then constructed with appropriate evaluation criteria. The model provides a means by which an optimal combination of resources can be selected for a particular community or region.
A third model, the facility and resource optimization model, receives interpreted input from the facilities model and the procurement model. Its function is to optimize the data from these two models in terms of the number of pupil places required, the available budget and the period within which the facilities are to be provided.
The three models together form a planning and budgeting system. They may be used together or separately for different planning functions.
This suggested approach to resource optimization for educational organizations in Southern Africa is a systematic means of optimizing the provision of facilities and the use of resources in such a way as to integrate the requirements of the parties and disciplines involved. The approach also encourages consideration of a broad range of facility and procurement options and provides for practical evaluation of planning concepts in terms of quantity, time and cost.