STAKEHOLDERS PERCEPTIONS AND CONCERNS ON OPEN AND DISTANCE EDUCATION IN THE HIGHER INSTITUTIONS: The Case of Eastern Ethiopia

This study attempt to examine the perception of stakeholders (Tutors & coordinators) in open and distance education with particular reference to the eastern region of Harargie.30 tutors and 10 program coordinators were consulted and considered as subjects of the study. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were employed in the data treatment and analysis. Data were collected from the selected sample employing a questionnaire and an interview( which include open ended items) The results indicate that the nature of the tutorial services provided by tutors does not follow the fundamental principles of distance education. The tutorial programs were devoted largely to teachers’ verbal explanation of descriptive facts which is the typical feature of conventional face-to-face instruction. The late arrival of course modules to the students; the distribution of modules very close to the actual dates of the tutorial sessions; tutors’ reliance on the conventional face-to-face mode of instruction; large class size and the heavy workloads imposed upon tutors in some tutorial centers were some of the major constraints that caused the program to be implemented in an unsatisfactory way. Keywods: Distance learning (DL); open learning (OL); perception; open & distance learning (ODL).