International Journal of Recent Innovations in Academic E-ISSN: 2635-3040; P-ISSN: 2659-1561

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Research Article

An Examination of the Trends in Retention and Performance of

Students in the Traditional and Distance Learning Programme in the
Last Five Years at Eastern Polytechnic, Sierra Leone
*aNathan Mbalu Jaba, bTony Patrick George, cSia Mary Kamara and dSusan Yei Mani

a-cDepartment of Teacher Education, School of Education, Njala University, Sierra Leone

dDepartment of Sustainable Development, University of Makeni (UNIMAK), Sierra Leone
*Corresponding Author Email: [email protected]

Received: December 22, 2023 Accepted: January 12, 2024 Published: January 19, 2024

Abstract
The article is set out to examine the trends in retention and performance of students in the traditional and
distance learning programme in the last five years at eastern polytechnic, Sierra Leone. The objectives of the
study were to: examine the demographic characteristic of respondents; to examine the enrollment of TC
students at the eastern polytechnic 2012 to 2016; to assess the performance of students within their three
years of graduation. A survey design with a cross sectional approach was employed and it entailed the
collection of qualitative and quantitative data from various respondents. A total of 367 teachers responded
to the questionnaires and Focus Group Discussion Guides (FGD). Interviews were held with Sierra Leone
Teachers Union members (SLTU), Community Teachers Association (CTA) representatives, and the two
Ministries of Education officials: the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) and the
Ministry of Technical and Higher Education (MTHE). The findings of the study indicated that in all the years
under review, more students in the traditional model failed than students in the distance education model,
and more teachers in the distance education models had more division two passes than teachers in the
traditional model of teaching. It is recommended that the ministry of technical and higher education should
provide support in the form of grant in aid to committed and dedicated students that top their class at each
level.
Keywords: Trends, Education, Performance, Students in Traditional and Distance Learning, Sierra Leone.

Introduction
The distance education model has grown dramatically over the past two decades. Some studies have focused
on the curriculum (Feasley, 2003) while others have focused on the instructor/learner relationship (Gokool-
Ramdoo, 2008). Other researchers have focused on comparing instructional methods, for example, Maki and
Maki (2002) summarize several studies that compare traditional instruction to web-based instruction. The
findings in these studies have shown mixed results with some studies favoring traditional lecture courses,
some favoring web-based courses, and some showing no significant difference in student performance in
either type of course. Russell and Wiggins (2000) conducted a comparative review of the literature exploring
355 studies from as far back as 1928 on technology for distance education. What these studies showed,
according to Russell and Wiggins (2000), was that when course materials and teaching methodology were
held constant, there were no significant differences between student outcomes in distance courses as
compared to traditional face-to-face courses.

Distance education is institution-based formal education, where the learning group is separated, and where
interactive telecommunications systems are used to connect learners, resources, and instructors (Schlosser
and Simonson, 2009). This definition has gained wide acceptance in Encyclopedia Britannica 2009 Book of
the Year. Distance education was by definition carried out through institutions; it was not self-study or a
nonacademic learning environment. The institutions might or might not offer traditional classroom-based
instruction as well, but they were eligible for accreditation by the same agencies as those employing
traditional methods. Geographic separation was inherent in distance learning, and time might separate
students and teachers. Accessibility and convenience were important advantages of this mode of education.

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 International Journal of Recent Innovations in Academic Research
Well-designed programmes could also bridge intellectual, cultural, and social differences between students.
Interactive telecommunications connected the learning group with each other and with the teacher. Most
often, electronic communications, such as e-mail, were used, but traditional forms of communication, such as
the postal system, might also play a role. Whatever the medium, interaction was essential to distance
education, as it was to any education. The connections of learners, teachers, and instructional resources
became less dependent on physical proximity as communications systems became more sophisticated and
widely available; consequently, the internet, cell phones, and e-mail had contributed to the rapid growth in
distance education. Finally, distance education, like any education, established a learning group, sometimes
called a learning community, which was composed of students, a teacher, and instructional resources i.e., the
books, sound, video, and graphic displays that allowed the student to access the content of instruction
(Simonson, 2009).

Distance learning can help reduce the high illiteracy rate in Third World Africa particularly Sierra Leone. As
the world is becoming technologically inclined, global trends in education are fast becoming more
demanding. The world is going technological in its bid to enhance economic development. By most indices,
Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world, and this is reflected in the current condition of the
national education system. Even the higher education sector in Sierra Leone, once the leader in West Africa,
its educational development is very much in decline. Traditional and distance learning co-exist in higher
education in order to meet the demand for teacher training. However, as a contribution to reversing the
trend of fall in standards, the government of Sierra Leone, through the ministry of education, has put a
national policy on recognizing distance education in Sierra Leone and has begun to implement it. In Sierra
Leone, a growth in distance education programmes can be seen because of the time and space restriction of
face to-face learning system. It is also economically advantageous and preferable by working students.
Student attitudes, perception, and the corresponding attitudes of the course instructor’s expertise with the
technology and their ability to overcome interactive problems have been found to be important factors that
can influence distance education experience (Kutluk and Gulmez, 2012). In Sierra Leone, the opportunities to
participate in higher education have been considerably increased beyond the traditional classroom setting to
include distance learning. Advancements in computer technology and public access to the internet have
provided a venue that supports distance learning. Many mainstream institutions of higher learning have
adopted distance education as the next logical step in educational delivery systems. The educational
pedagogy of the future has been projected to increasingly include classroom courses that are web enhanced
or delivered totally online. No longer is the conventional lecture format the only accepted method of delivery
instructional materials. Innovations in educational technology, coupled with the desire to serve increasing
numbers of students and meet their diverse needs, have challenged many institutions to rethink and expand
their delivery systems.

The roots of learning in Sierra Leone were grounded in its functionality and relevance to the needs of society
both informally and formally. The ultimate goal was to produce an individual who was honest, respectful,
skilled, cooperative, and who could conform to the social order of the day. Most of the learning was done
informally through participation in ceremonies and rituals, initiation and demonstration. For instance, boys
and girls were involved in practical agriculture, fishing, mining, cooking, caring and so on. Secret societies
served as institutions for higher learning and the main societies were the Poro or Wonde for boys, and the
Bondo or Sande for girls further commented that it was the Christian Missionary Society (CMS) brought
formal education to Sierra Leone and as a result, this organization during colonialism founded the Sierra
Leone Grammar School in 1845; the main reason was to provide a sound religious and general education for
boys. In those days, provision was also made for industrial education, and in addition, a separate recessional
level of primary school teachers. In that light, both the Sierra Leone Grammar School and Fourah Bay College
were the first institutions of their kind in the Sub-Saharan Africa that attracted students from all over West
Africa. In 1849, the female counterpart institution to the Sierra Leone Grammar School was opened and
named Annie Walsh Memorial School. Later the CMS opened the Methodist Boy’s High School and the
Methodist Girl’s High School in 1874 and 1880 respectively. From further literature research, it is evident
that the education and other services provided during the colonial era were grossly inadequate and were
heavily concentrated in the capital city Freetown, and in the provincial headquarters towns.

Many Pan Africanists or the nationalists commented that: colonialism left behind a large illiteracy problem
and an education system that was not suited to the needs of the people. It was accused as an education
system that was designed to teach the Sierra Leonean to be British instead of remaining Sierra Leonean.
When one reflects on Sierra Leone after independence, it becomes clear that educational facilities were
greatly expanded, as primary and secondary education became more readily available to all sections of the

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country. The primary school curriculum was also reformed to make it more relevant to the needs of the
Sierra Leone society. One big achievement was the setting up of the Institute of Education in 1968, to
coordinate the activities of the Teacher Training Colleges and organize in-service training courses for
teachers. This was Sierra Leone’s first step to distance learning.

In Sierra Leone, there has been an expansive growth in distance education programmes as it covers almost
all the major administrative divisions of the country. It is also economically advantageous and preferable by
working students. There continues to be debates about the relevance of both teaching models. The
traditional classroom environment continues to play an important role in learning (Baepler et al., 2014).
According to Olsen (2015) the traditional classroom is replacing direct instruction with videos and
encouraging students to focus on important learning activities with their teachers inside the classroom. It is
argued that there is misinformation about the traditional classroom and this misinformation can be clarified
by defining the traditional classroom as personalized education where students take responsibility of their
own learning. In addition, the traditional classroom allows the teacher to be a facilitator and also increase
interaction and personalized contact time between teachers and students. The traditional classroom is also
explained as creating problem-based learning inside the class and replacing direct instruction with videos in
order to provide instructional content to be accessed whenever and wherever it is required by students
(Bergmann and Sams, 2012; Hamdan et al., 2013). Basal (2015) stated that instruction can be delivered by
recording and narrating screencasts of work on computers, creating videos of teachers while teaching or
gathering video lessons from trusted internet sites.

Methodology
The study adopted descriptive research design and survey design with cross–sectional approach. Cross
sectional approach entailed the collection of qualitative and quantitative data from the various respondents
at the same time. Descriptive research design is a plan, a roadmap and blueprint strategy of investigation
conceived so as to obtain answers to research objectives; it is the heart of any study (Kothari, 2004).
Descriptive design was used because it looks at the phenomena, events and issues the way they are
(Mugenda and Mugenda, 2003). We also examine the problem at hand thoroughly to define it, clarify it and
obtain pertinent information that can be of use to people in the education sector. Furthermore, the design is
good in generalization of the results and it is easy to administer and record answers. The population for this
study consists of male and female traditional and distance education students in teachers certificate
programme at the eastern polytechnic which according to the data from the eastern polytechnic institutions
comprised a population of 1,428 and 2,250 distance education students. The sample size for this study was
selected based on recommendation of Mugenda and Mugenda (2003). According to Mugenda and Mugenda
(2003), sample size for descriptive studies should be between 10 percent-20 percent of the population. Based
on this recommendation therefore, 10% of the population of 3,678 was selected giving 367 students as sample
for the study. This was considered sufficient for this study.

Results
The study sought out demography data of the respondents including, gender, age, household size, number of
children, marital status, length of service, salary grade, job status, type of school and teaching subjects. The
participants responded to most of these items appropriately. The following are demography data obtained.
Figure 1 illustrated data on percentage distribution according to sex of respondent.

120 Traditional education vs. Distance education (%)

100 100
100
80
63.6
57
60
42.9
36.4
40
20
0
Female Male Total
Traditional education Distance education

Figure 1. Percentage distribution according to sex of respondent (Source: Field data, 2020).

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 International Journal of Recent Innovations in Academic Research
Figure 1 shows the sex of the respondents in the study. Out of a sample of 367 teachers 61(42.9%) are
female teachers in the traditional education, 82(36.4%) are female teachers in the distance education. 81
(57%) are male teachers in the traditional education, whilst 143 (63.6%) are male in the distance education.
These results show that generally, there are more male teachers than female teachers in traditional
education in the district, and there are more male teachers than female teachers in the distance education.

Table 1. Rank of traditional and distance education teachers.

Variables Traditional Distance
Present job status Frequency % Frequency %
Assistant teacher 50 35.2 60 26.7
Teacher 22 15.4 90 40
Senior teacher 24 16.9 57 25.3
Deputy head teacher 19 13.3 8 3.6
Head teacher 24 16.9 10 4.4
Others 3 2.1 0 0.0
Total 142 100.0 225 100.0
(Source: Field data, 2020).

Table 1 shows the ranks of the respondents in their various schools. The data revealed that 35.2% of the
traditional education respondents were assistant teachers. About 15.4% of the respondents were teachers,
and 16.9% were senior teachers respectively. Also 13.3% were deputy head teachers and 16.9% were head
teachers; whilst 2.1% had other status. The table further shows that 26.7% of the distance education
respondents were assistant teacher, 40% were teachers, 25.3% were senior teacher, 3.6% were deputy head
teacher, 4.4% were head teacher; whilst 0.0% had other status. The information depicted here was not
surprising as large numbers of respondents are of teacher rank as they were degree holders.

Table 2. Enrollment of TC students at the eastern polytechnic 2012 to 2016.

Enrollment Traditional students Distance education students
Male Female Total Percentage Male Female Total Percentage
TC1-2012 229 200 429 30.0 258 234 492 19.7
TC1-2013 240 100 340 23.8 271 200 471 18.9
TC1-2014 157 100 257 18.0 379 200 579 23.2
TC1-2015 121 80 201 14.1 198 183 381 15.4
TC1-2016 120 81 201 14.1 379 190 569 22.9
Total 867 561 1,428 100.0 1,485 1,007 2,492 100.0
Source: Eastern Technical University (2020)

Table 2 shows the enrollment of students in both models from 2012 to 2016. In 2012, the enrolment for TC 1
to TC 3 students in the traditional model were 429 of which 229 were male and 200 were female and in the
distance model, the enrolment in 2012 were 492 for TC 1 to TC 3. Out of this total, 258 were male and 234
were female.

In 2013, the enrollment for TC 1 to TC 3 in the traditional model were 340 out of which, 240 were male and
100 were female where as in the distance model, for TC 1 to TC 3 there were 471 students of which 271
were male and 200 were female.

Similarly, in 2014 there were 257 TC 1 to TC 3 students in the traditional model, 157 were male and 100
were female and in the distance model, TC 1 to TC 3, the enrolment of students were 579 out of which, 379
were male and 200 were female.

In 2015, the enrollments of students for TC 1 to TC 3 in the traditional model were 201. 121 were male and
80 were female respectively. Whilst in the distance model, the enrollments for TC 1 to TC 3 were 381
students. 198 were male and 183 were female.

Furthermore, in 2016, the enrolment for TC 1 to TC 3 in the traditional model were 201 out of which 120
were male and 81 were female, where as in the distance model for TC 1 to TC 3 the enrollment were 569 out
of which 379 were male and 190 were female respectively. On a whole, majority of the student enrolment
from 2012 to 2016 were male.

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Table 3. Performance of students within their three years of graduation.
Performance Traditional
2012-2015 2013-2016 2014-2017 2015-2018 2016-2019
Freq. % Freq. % Freq. % Freq. % Freq. %
Division one 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Division two 13 7.9 9 3.8 10 5.1 4 2.1 7 5.6
Division three 55 35.5 103 43.6 109 55.3 105 57.4 82 65.1
Reference 15 9.1 29 12.2 31 15.7 22 12 25 19.8
Failure 45 27.4 33 14 3 1.5 34 18.6 3 2.4
Withheld 13 7.9 45 19.1 36 18.3 18 9.8 4 3.2
Absent 23 14.3 17 7.2 8 4.1 0 0 5 4
Total 164 100.0 236 100.0 197 100.0 183 100.0 126 100.0
Distance
Performance 2012-2015 2013-2016 2014-2017 2015-2018 2016-2019
Freq. % Freq. % Freq. % Freq. % Freq. %
Division one 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Division two 0 0 29 6.5 20 6.2 28 9 35 14.2
Division three 23 79.3 248 56.1 172 53.4 164 52.9 310 57.6
Reference 6 20.7 83 18.8 51 15.8 62 0.2 119 16
Failure 0 0 40 9.1 12 3.7 16 5.2 48 4.5
Withheld 0 0 18 4.1 2 0.6 6 1.9 18 3.2
Absent 0 0 24 5.4 65 20.2 34 11 38 4.7
Total 29 100.0 442 100.0 332 100.0 310 100.0 568 100.0
Source: Eastern Technical University (2020)

In this part of the survey instrument, the table rates the performance of students in public examination from
2015 to 2019 in line with the NCTVA standards using grading systems from division one, division two,
division three, reference, failure, withheld and absent respectively.

In 2015 in both models, there was no division one. In the traditional model there were 13 division twos with
7.9%, 55 division three`s with a percentage of 35.5%, 15 references with a percentage of 9.1%, 45 failures
with a percentage of 27.4%, 13 withheld 7.9% and 23 absent 14.3% respectively. In the distance model,
there was no division two and there were 23 division three`s with 79.3%, 6 references with 20.7%, there
were no failure, withheld and absentees.

In 2016, there was no division one in both models; whereas in the traditional there were 9 division two with
3.8%, 103 division three with a percentage of 43.6%, 29 references with 12.2%, 33 failures with 14%, 45
withheld with 19.1%, 17 absentees with 7.2%. In the distance model there were 29 division two which is
6.5%, 248 division three with 56% and 83 references with a percentage of 18.8%, 40 failures with 9.1%, 18
withheld with a percentage of 4.1%, 24 absentees with a percentage of 5.4%.

In 2017, there was no division one in both models. In the traditional model there were 10 division two with a
percentage of 5.1%, 109 division three with a percentage of 55.3%, 31 references with a percentage of
15.7%, 3 failures with a percentage of 1.5%, 36 withheld with 18.3%, 8 absentees with a percentage of 4.1%
respectively. Similarly, in the distance model, there were 20 division two with a percentage of 6.2%, 172
division three with a percentage of 53.4%, 51 references with 15.8%, 12 failure with 3.7%, 2 withheld with a
percentage of 0.6%, 65 absentees with a percentage of 20.2%.

In 2018, there was no division one in both models. However, the traditional model had the following: 4
division one`s, with 2.1%, 105 division three with a percentage of 57.4%, 22 references with 12%, 34 failures
with 18.6%, 18 withheld with 9.8% and there were no absentees. Similarly, in the distance model, there was
28 division two with a percentage of 9%, 164 division three with 52.9%, 62 references with 0.2%, 16 failures
with 5.2%, 6 withheld with 1.9% and 34 absentees with 11%.

In 2019, both models had no division one. In the traditional model, there were 7 division two with 5.7%, 82
division three with 65.1%, 25 references with 19.8%, 3 failures with 2.4%, 4 withheld with 3.2%, and 5
absentees with 4% respectively. Similarly, in the distance model, there were 35 division two with 14.2%,
310 division three with 57.6%, 119 references with 16%, 48 failures with 4.5%, 18 withheld with 3.2%, and

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 International Journal of Recent Innovations in Academic Research
38 absentees with 4.7% respectively. On the whole, there was better performance in the distance model than
the traditional model which has been in existence for a very long time.

Table 4. Relationship between demographic characteristics and performance of teachers in both teaching
delivery.
Unstandardized Standardized Collinearity
coefficients coefficients statistics
Model B SE Beta T Sig. Tolerance VIF
(Constant) .676 .160 4.216 .000
Sex -.140 .085 -.133 -1.646 .101 .620 1.612
Age .015 .003 .342 5.245 .000 .955 1.047
Marital status -.015 .053 -.022 -.279 .780 .651 1.535
No. of children .010 .025 .029 .409 .683 .781 1.280
responsible for
Highest academic .001 .003 .018 .276 .783 .945 1.058
qualification
No. of years in -.010 .058 -.020 -.169 .866 .300 3.329
teaching
No. of years taught .017 .059 .033 .293 .770 .317 3.157
since qualification
Dependent variable: Performance of students in both traditional and distance education models at
public examination.
Source: Computed from field data 2020

Results in Table 4 shows that amongst the demographic characteristics postulated to determine the
relationship between demographic characteristics and performance of teachers in distance education and
traditional education, age proved to be a major significant factor though weak relationship, but positive
significant relationship. This shows that, since majority the learners were young and active, there is every
tendency that they would perform better than their old counterparts in the teaching profession trained in
both distance and traditional education. In considering the probability value for each variable, the coefficient
table is used; in this table the results indicate that age (P<=0.05) is the only significant variable in the model.
It can therefore be concluded that there is a significant relationship between demographic characteristics
and performance of teachers in their teaching functions in distance education with more emphasis on age as
the only variable for the significant relationship. Other variables that show positive correlation but not
significant include: Number of children responsible for, highest academic qualification and number of years
teaching qualification.

Discussion
The research objectives sought to find out the demographic characteristics of traditional and distance
education teachers. The study take in to consideration the following variables; sex, household size, age,
marital status, educational qualification, length of service, type of school, salary grade, job status, and
teaching subject. School authorities interviewed reveal that teachers in traditional and distance education
differ significantly in relation to sex, age, qualification, salary, type of school and subject taught.

It was also noted that there were more female teachers in the traditional education than male and there
were more male teachers in distance education in the district. Hence, this can be attributed to the fact that
most men are in the working class so they chose to enroll in the distance education to protect their teaching
job. In addition, the research findings in the literature presented indicated that gender was significantly
correlated to student academic achievement in the distance-learning environment (Cheung and Kan, 2002).
These findings are consistent with the current findings. A reason for this is that male teachers in the distance
education in Kenema need academic achievement. Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) officials interviewed
stated, majority of the male teachers want to be teaching and upgrading their academic qualification through
the distance education.

One school authority argued, untrained and unqualified teachers’ salaries are lower they therefore enrolled
in distance and traditional education to realize increased in salary after their graduation. Another school
authority angrily revealed, some teachers in the traditional and distance education in Sierra Leone have
taught for more than two years without salary. This implied that, on the overall teachers in the traditional
and distance education were not satisfied with their monthly salary and other conditions of service. The
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information depicted here was not surprising as large numbers of respondents were teacher’s status only
even though most have taught for more three years without reassessment of salary; some have graduated
but still waiting pin code from the Teaching Service Commission (TSC).

In addition, Lai, et al., (2011) observed that female-teachers taught better than male-teachers and female-
teachers' instructional strategies were more creative and well-designed than male student-teachers in Hong
Kong. School authorities interviewed reveal that female-teachers in the distance education taught better
than male-teachers in the traditional education and female-teachers' instructional strategies were more
creative and well-designed than male student-teachers in Kenema district.

Moreover, focus group discussion with community teachers association revealed that there was no
relationship between age and teachers performance in distance learning. In addition, the research findings in
the literature presented indicated that there was no relationship between age and student performance in
distance learning courses. They postulated that this could be due to the fact that most of the students in their
study were working adults and more mature than the traditional college student (Cheung and Kan, 2002).

The research objective sought to examine the trends in retention and performance of students in the
traditional and distance learning programmes in the last five years. The results of this study indicated that in
2015 large number of distance teachers (76%) rated their performance as fail in education. The research
findings revealed that there was good performance in distance education than the traditional education.
Focus group discussions with the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) representatives revealed the
following: there were high retention and performance rate in the distance education than the traditional
education; another stated that the level of commitment to course work is higher among the distance
education teachers than the traditional education teachers. Another spoke about strong pupil teachers
relationship among distance education teachers than traditional education teachers, others emphasized level
of discipline among distance education teachers than the traditional education teachers.

School authorities interviewed reveal that there is peaceful co-existence and teamwork among distance
education teachers than traditional education teachers and they suggested that this should continue. It was
disturbing to note that school authorities interviewed revealed a mixed feeling on the level of discipline
among traditional education teachers. They argued that high level of discipline would positively contribute
to good work environment. They were of the opinion that distance education teachers are working in a team
and noted that teamwork with colleagues will positively contribute to quality learning.

The results of this study support Bernard et al., (2004) findings that students teachers in distance education
had slightly higher overall achievement than those in the traditional education, and that the retention rate
was lower among the traditional students teachers than the distance education teachers. Another meta-
analysis of more than 500 manuscripts was performed by Allen et al., (2004). These researchers showed
similar results to that found by Bernard et al., (2004), in that students in distance education courses
performed slightly better than those in on-campus courses. However, in contrast to the Bernard et al., (2004)
findings, Allen et al., (2004) concluded that there was no difference in student performance. This study
indicated that there was poor interaction among distance education teachers when they are in their training
as compared to the traditional education teachers.

The results are consistent with interviewed with CTA representative who stated that strategies should be
put in place to improve on the quality of interaction among the distance education teachers especially in
their training. Additionally, the present findings are in line with Gallagher et al., (2005), they also studied
retention rates. Retention was measured at six months after completion of a gerontology course and was
determined by a 20 multiple-choice review test. The researchers determined that knowledge retention rates
were higher for dental hygiene students in the web-based course than those in traditional course. The
results are consistent with interviewed of school authorities who stated that the knowledge retention rate is
high among the distance education teachers than the traditional education teachers.

Conclusions
Based on the findings of the study, it can be concluded that an examination of the trends in retention and
performance of students in the traditional and distance learning programme in the last five years at eastern
polytechnic, Sierra Leone, is a worthy initiative as it enhances quality of education despite the many
challenges. This research has presented information that brings out a clear picture on performance of the
two models of teaching in Kenema district, eastern region of Sierra Leone. The study relied on the traditional

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and distance education teachers themselves giving their comparative assessment of the two models.
Stakeholders’ views on the traditional and distance models of teaching delivery have also been used to give a
comprehensive picture of the two models, qualitative and quantitative analyses helped to portray the
performance of teachers in the traditional and distance model of teaching delivery in schools in the eastern
region. School data revealed that there has been a significant increase in the number of trained and qualified
teachers in the traditional and distance education in the district, but more in the distance education than in
the traditional model of teaching. However, the old problem of recruitment and reassessment continue to de-
motivate teachers. As a result, both sets of teachers face the same kind of challenges in the teaching
profession.

Unfortunately, in a country where the majority of its citizenry are poor, traditional and distance education
teachers continue to work under very difficult circumstances. There is a wide divergence between policy
promulgation and its implementation. The research reveals unfulfilled promises and incomplete strategies
by the government that could have better the lives of traditional and distance teachers, recruitment is a
major debilitating factor that affects the performance of teachers in the traditional and distance education.

Recommendations
An examination of the trends in retention and performance of students in the traditional and distance
learning programme in the last five years at eastern polytechnic, Sierra Leone appears to be complex, it is
evident that the research undertaken can be of outstanding help not only to traditional and distance
educational planners and policy makers but also to all stakeholders engaged in teacher’s education. With the
findings from the research, stakeholders can profit from the resulting better knowledge of issues entailed in
the comparative assessment of the traditional and distance model of teaching delivery and steps can then be
defined for the improvement of the two models.

The research inferred that there is a significant relationship between demographic characteristics and
performance of distance education teachers. Result indicated the inequality in sex of teachers in distance
education and traditional education teachers there are more female teachers than male teachers in
traditional education in the district, and there more male teachers than female in the distance education.
There were significant disparities in the teaching profession between male and female teachers in the
district. The government has to be more proactive to solve this problem. Incentives should be given to
female teachers to increase their enrollment in the traditional education. A conscious effort must be made to
recruit more female teachers if they are to serve as role models to emulate in the traditional education. The
government has to institute positive discriminatory policies to get more trained and qualified female
teachers in in the traditional education.

The finding of the research revealed that majority of the distance education teachers in the district have not
been re-assessed and were grossly under paid. The Sierra Leone government and the teaching service
commission have to engage in fruitful discussions with the ministry of finance to make the teaching
profession lucrative and enviable; this will encourage more teachers to embrace the profession and not to
think of moving to greener pasture.

The result revealed that there were better performances in education among the distance education teachers
than the traditional education, which is an indication that students are committed in the distance education
than the traditional programmes. Furthermore, large number of distance education teachers had more
division twos than teachers in the traditional education model. The ministry of technical and higher
education should provide support in the form of grant in aid to committed and dedicated students that top
their class at each level.

The result revealed that enrollment and retention rate in the traditional and distance education was high.
However, more teachers are being enrolled through the distance education model than in the traditional
model of teaching. The ministry of technical and higher education should ensure that classes are not
overcrowded and that there should be a conducive friendly learning environment. More scholarships should
be provided for those in the distance education model.

The ministry of basic and secondary education should make sure that programmes are instituted to monitor
the performance of teachers. Special efforts have to be made to ensure that quality guidance counseling
services involving vocational, academic and personal counseling are available in the schools. Also, teachers
should be monitored to ensure prompt marking of test, assignment and proper classroom managements.

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Declarations
Acknowledgments: The authors wish to thank Mr. Tamba Cecil, the laboratory technician, School of
Agriculture, Njala University for providing the equipment to collect and analyze the data.
Author Contributions: The authors confirm their contribution to the paper as follows: NMJ: Study concept
and design; TPG: Proofreading of the work; SMK and SYM: Data collection and work writing.
Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper.
Consent to Publish: The authors agree to publish the paper in International Journal of Recent Innovations
in Academic Research.
Data Availability Statement: Data are contained within the article.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Research Content: The research content of the manuscript is original and has not been published
elsewhere.

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Citation: Nathan Mbalu Jaba, Tony Patrick George, Sia Mary Kamara and Susan Yei Mani. 2024. An
Examination of the Trends in Retention and Performance of Students in the Traditional and Distance
Learning Programme in the Last Five Years at Eastern Polytechnic, Sierra Leone. International Journal of
Recent Innovations in Academic Research, 8(1): 34-43.
Copyright: ©2024 Nathan Mbalu Jaba, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are
credited.

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