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University education plays a crucial role in national development. The government´s long-term policy is to provide a framework for sustainable, competitive and autonomous national university system. Such a policy objective will take account of the comparative strengths of private and public institutions with the aim of reducing wastage. One of the ways of achieving this is through establishment of distance learning by institutions of higher learning. Such a program would be particularly beneficial for the many people who are not financially, physically or geographically able to obtain traditional education. As the government strives to increase access to higher education, more and more distance education institutions are being established with various types of programmes being offered to cater for the increasing demand and needs of the growing population in the country. With a growing number of distance education learners, the provision of learners´ support system is now widely and increasingly recognized as an essential component of any open and distance learning system.

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Mr. Wilfred Ngesu Mutua is a long serving tutor. He holds a Bachelor of Education (Arts) Degree and a Masters of Business Administration Degree in Human Resource Management from Kenyatta University, Kenya. He is a fellow of Institute of Human Resource Management, Kenya.

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