Organizational and Managerial Factors Affecting the Secondary Level Distance Education in Ethiopia
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Date
2002-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The main objective of this study was to investigate organizational and
managerial factors affecting the secondary level of distance education in
Ethiopia. To conduct this study, a descriptive survey was employed.
Questionnaire survey, interview, document analysis and organizational
observation were used to collect the necessary data. The subjects of this study
were chosen using systematic and availability sampling procedures. The
research study involved three categories of sample population: Distance
students, distance education staff members and tutors. Data analysis was made
by using statistical tools such as percentage, chi-square and t-test to identify
whether there were differences or agreement in the views of the respondents
regarding the various variables.
The study findings indicated that there is disparity between the needs of the
distance education students and the provision of educational services. Some of
these include: delays in informing examination results, delays in distribution of
course materials, low turn-around time of assignments, and shortage of trained
staff members. Besides, inadequate facilities such as computer network have
been big problems for secondary level distance education. According to this
study, the major reasons for the delays of services were limited institutional
capacity, over-centralization of distance education activities and inefficient
postal service. Moreover, tutors and Distance Education Panel staff members
are not equipped with the necessary skills that would enable them to carryout
their duties effectively.
As the study reveals the largest group of distance students (64%) were not
beneficiaries of tutorial programs mainly due to long distance of the tutorial
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centres from the students' locality and the absence of tutorial programs in some
regions (Somali, Afar, DireDawa, Benshangul-Gumuz and Gambela).
Moreover, the educational radio programs were underutilized and most of them
were not helpful because they were not based on the new syllabus. Though
efforts have been made in the provision of the three instructional media; namely,
print, face-to-face and radio, they could not be used effectively to support the
distance learners.
The results obtained also indicated that distance students on the average spend
10 years to complete the secondary level (9-12 grades) though the expected time
of completion is 2 years. Distance students identified inefficiency of postal
service, delay in sending examinations, course materials and assignments as the
major reasons for the low rate of progress.
The results obtained indicated that all the problems cited in the findings are
closely related to capacity, organizational and managerial problems. Finally,
based on the findings and conclusions, recommendations were made to address
the problems under study
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Keywords
Ethiopia Distance Education