Ukpo, Eugenia Onwu (2006)

The research reported in this article was aimed at examining the forms of support services provided by the National Teachers' institute, and how they meet the needs of students enrolled on the Nigeria Certificate in Education Programme. Student support was evaluated across the Institute by interviewing course tutors, field centre coordinators and central management staff, and by distributing questionnaires to students. Documents analysis was also carried out that provided insights into policy issues guiding the provision / implementation of support services. Although the major forms of support provided were found to be relevant to students, findings highlight the need to improve the current level of students' approval by strategies that will improve the supply of course materials, enhance students networking and exploit the use of multimedia. Conclusions were reached to suggest that supporting distance learners means demonstrating commitment in terms of resources and effective tuition by putting the learner rather than the institution at the centre of learning in order to improve the quality of learning.