he contribution of resources to successful educational programme implementation is abundantly clear. What is less clear is why educational programmes have not been successful inspite of huge government financial commitment. Perhaps, the reasons are the implementers' inability to channel the scarce financial resources available to areas of need even if the situation is such that the fund provided are not enough to match the need of the programme. There is growing evidence that outputs of educational programmes at all levels are affected by a variety of social, psychological, and environmental factors. However, the environmental factor seems to be the visible factor where the general populace attention is drawn in educational programme delivery. Often,parents and guardians complain of insufficient number of teachers and inadequacy of available infrastructure to match the increase in enrolment associated with government policies on free and compulsory education globally. Invariably, the quality and quantity of inputs into a programme contribute significantly to bridge the gap that led to the initiation of such programmes, therefore determine the success of such educational programme initiative. If the inputs are inadequate, poor, or unavailable, the implementation process will be as defective as the output. However, if inputs are available, relevant, and reasonably adequate, there is probability that the output will be of high standard.

Describing educational system, Chang (2008, p.3) notes. Like any other system, educational has inputs, processes, outputs, and outcomes.

? These inputs go through a to the education system include resources such as teachers, instructional materials, equipment, building, etc. process ? Educational (throughput) whereby they are mixed (input mix), combined and/or moved along to achieve results. outputs ? Another kind of results, which can be called are tangible results produced by processes in the system, such as enrolments, graduates, and learning achievements. outcome Chang's description of the educational system calls for implementers of policies to give sufficient consideration to the quality of provisions (inputs) made for educational programmes at all sub-sectors since they impact on how well the anticipated outputs are effectively produced.

, is the benefits for the students, their families, and/or the society as well.

The quality of teachers that teacher-training institutions can produce for a nation's education system is largely dependent on the adequacy and quality of resources provided for the training institutions. Based on this fact, the theoretical framework for this study is anchored on the input-output production theory in education propounded by Coombs 1968. The theory simply states that in any educational training programme, the quality of outputs from the process depends on the quantity and quality of the resources provided. If resources are inadequately provided quality output cannot be attained.

By stating the functions of NTI, as enshrined in the Decree establishing it, the policy has established the framework for its programmes implementation. The process of implementation involves assembling the elements required to produce a particular programme outcome (Bardach in Kaufman, 1973).Though dynamic, implementation process is like a machine where a number of elements are brought together to perform a particular function. The roles of these are complementary and like a chain, the absence of any of them results in discontinuity. The elements here are the inputs which are needed in the educational system and when provided go through a process to achieve results.

Tracing the reasons for unsuccessful implementation of three works/studies in United States Of America (USA), Makgwana (2003) makes the following observations. First was the Derthick New Towns In-Town Programme of 1967, a brainchild of President Lyndon B. Johnson. Its main objective was to build new houses for the poor in order to create model communities on the surplus federal land in metropolitan areas. This programme that would have been successful, given the gravity of the problem of poverty and the associated problem of homelessness, the origin of the programme (the President's Office) and the fact that as presidential programme money was not going to be a problem. In addition to the fact that the programme was welcome and supported by various individuals, agencies, local interest groups, councillors and the public in general, but turned out to be very unsuccessful. After studying the programme in seven cities, the reasons for the unsuccessful outcome were found to be -highly personal, hastily unannounced, and improvised sole documentary foundation.

The second was the Murphy : Title I of ESEA.

The Act was designed to stimulate innovation, to strengthen the states, to link research with the schools, and to make the problems of the poor the nation's number one priority. It was the first step towards a new face for American education. New blood was brought in but the 'old guard' made the day-to-day decisions. The U.S. Office of Education (USOE) did not have enough people to monitor the programme. Because of limited staff situation, states were not getting any assistance form USOE. Assessing the reason of the programme failure, Murphy found the following contributing causes: the reformers were not implementers, inadequate staff; disinclination to monitor; a law and tradition favouring local control; and absence of pressure from the poor. The primary cause, however, is political. The third was Kaufman : Administrative Feedback. The objective of the study was an assumption that leaders or organizations are informed about the activities of their subordinates. At the same time, there is doubt about the very assumption. Kaufman and fellow researchers embarked on the study of 'administrative feedback'. They defined this as all the processes by which the bureau leaders were apprised of subordinate behaviour down to the lowest organizational level. The study revealed that there were five major sources of feedback: reporting, personal inspection, the web of personal contacts, investigations, and centralised services. While the last, meaning taking over activities that would have to be performed in the field.

Expressing further factors contributing to unsuccessful programme implementation concerning Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme of 1999, Idehen and Izevbigie (2000) in Ado, Akinbobola and Inyang (2010), stated that the implementation stage of any educational programme contends with practical obstacles, which make it impossible for the actualization of intended goals and objectives. The problems such as shortages of teachers, absence of suitable textbooks, and absence of necessary equipment, insufficient funds, poor organizational abilities, effective management, and supervision may adversely affect the successful implementation of the programme. The programme is still finding its ground in the country as most states are still battling with teachers' salaries and infrastructural problems.

The findings of these studies indicate that they were unsuccessful because of how the programmes originated poor coordination of available human and material resources for implementing them. For instance, while the Derthink project was hastily announced and highly personalized, the Murphy project was characterised by inadequate staff with biased political undertone, and the Kaufman administrative feedback found that there was need for reporting, inspection, and investigation of programme for its successful implementation. The inclusion of the findings of factors responsible for the unsuccessful implementation of these programmes is to link these to the reason for carrying out this investigation on some aspects of inputs into NTI in order to determine their contributions or otherwise of it successful implementation although on a limited scale-human and material resources.

Drawing from the strength of NTI, this is based on the facts that it was not hastily announced although circumstances surrounding its establishment almost made it so. It is a well thought out programme with the Federal Government of Nigeria backed policy formulated by Decree. This institution that operates through established bodies assigned with specific responsibilities cannot afford to be labelled unsuccessful. Suffice it to state here that NTI has remained focused since its inception in 1978 in spite of coming on board of different political administrations in Nigeria. Again, the fact that study centres are located in the different states of the federation enables it to draw its Managers, Facilitators, Course tutors and students from the local communities who have the potentials to make constructive criticisms of the programmes input and output. The well-established bodies with creation of zonal headquarters through which the institution operate as discussed later in this paper, decentralize their activities. The decentralization does not only encourage accountability in relation to shared responsibility, but also promote and engender the spirit for the provision of administrative feedback as these bodies and zones are constantly on personal inspection, reporting on the way forward for the programme. Researchers are evermore ready to carry out investigation into different aspects of the programme as evidenced in this paper. All these efforts are geared towards ensuring the institutions' successful programmes implementation in order to actualise the objectives for which it was established. This will also enable areas of weakness to be identified and appropriate intervention initiative recommended sustaining the programmes continuity.

(NTI) Kaduna and the Universal Basic Education (Ube) Asodike (2008) notes that efforts made to provide basic education in the country between 1955 and 1976 did not go the way they were planned because of improper planning, lack of fund and poor implementation. School enrolment doubled more than the projected figure. Staffing, infrastructure and facilities in the educational system were affected. Although, they were bold steps, they were unsuccessful apparently because of difficulty of planning such large-scale scheme within a short space of time. However, Obanya (2000) opines that though the 1976 UPE failed to achieve all its intended goals, to some extent, it produced some good results. Today some educated Nigerians would not have gone to school if there had not been UPE programme in their time. To Nigerians this success was infinitesimal or barely noticeable. What went wrong began to unfold-poor programme implementation because of inadequate inputs to match the needs and demands of the programme. The NTI was therefore established to tackle the need of teacher provision in the educational system, having learnt lessons from the shortcomings of UPE.

The scenario that followed the declaration and the subsequent implementation of Universal Primary Education (UPE) in 1976 cannot be devoid from the history of the establishment of NTI, Kaduna in 1978. One of the numerous problems that manifested with the introduction of UPE in Nigeria in 1976 was the acute shortage of teachers to handle the escalated number of pupils that enrolled into the programme. In order to tackle this problem, Decree No 7 established the NTI on 10th April 1978 and empowered it to: a) Upgrade under-qualified and untrained teachers b) Provide refresher and other upgrading courses for teacher c) Organise workshops, seminars and conferences which assist in the improvement of teacher d) Conduct examinations e) Carry out research in conjunction with other bodies on any matter relevant to educational development in the country f) Formulate policies and initiate programmes at all levels of education designed to improve, by way of research, the quality and the content of education in Nigeria g) Assess from time to time the training programmes offered by the institutions controlled by or associated with the institution, with a view to ascertaining the professional competence of those institutions h) Offer such assistance, either alone or in cooperation with educational bodies as may be requested by the institutions controlled by or associated with the institute i) Foster and enhance international co-operation in the education of teachers j) Perform such other functions as necessary or expedient for the full discharge of all the functions of the Council under the Act.

In 1999, the UBE was introduced to expand the scope of basic education in the country. This innovation coupled with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) attainment in the country has further increased the demand for more qualified teachers in the nation's educational sector. The NTI, Kaduna is saddled with the responsibility of training teachers and organizing seminars and workshops, and capacity building programmes to meet the educational demands and challenges of the 21st century.

The situation that led to the Federal Government of Nigeria introduction of UPE in 1976 and the UBE in 1999 could not be far from that of South Africa when she introduced Adult Education as reported by the National Education Policy Investigation (NEPI) research group on adult education cited by Makgwana (2003, p. 6)

Distance education is described as the provision of education by mode other than the conventional face-to-face method but whose goals are similar to, and just as noble and practical as those of on-campus full time, face-to-face education. The duties of these bodies are as provided in Federal Military Government, Supplement to Official Gazette (1978) Part A. The combination of intellectual efforts with physical abilities in the planning, implementation, course materials presentation, facilitation period/contact hour, course delivery systems, hierarchy of authority, method of assessment and learners support services as provided by the institution have gone a long way to establish the relevance of NTI in the education sector of Nigeria economy. This situation confirms the fact that without shared responsibility among instructors, institutions and students, distance education systems will function poorly and breakdown (Major & Levenburg, 1999). The NTI NCE DLS is housed in the School of Advanced Studies.

This study is on resource provision for NTI NCE DLS programme. Specifically, it addressed human (managers, course tutors) and material (delivery mode) resources. The programme attracts great number of students in the Institution. The quality and quantity of managers, course tutors with the mode of delivery are important elements for effective implementation of the programme. The objectives of this study are therefore to ascertain the quality and quantity of managers and course tutors, and the availability, adequacy and relevance of the print media that the institution is using as it mode of instructional delivery. An earlier study (Asodike & Jegede, 2010) identified the print media (modules) as the major delivery mode used by the NTI. This study also explored students' perception of their availability, adequacy and relevance.

The following research questions guided the study 1. What are the quantity and quality of human resources available for NTI, NCE DLS programme in the study centres in South-South geo-political zone, Nigeria? 2. What is the average course tutor/student ratio per subject in NTI, NCE DLS programme in study centres in South-South zone? 3. What is the availability, adequacy and relevance of material resources (print media [modules]) used in these study centres?

The descriptive survey was adopted to solicit information from the sampled respondents in order to make general statements reflecting the opinions of the entire population. The population of the study was six study centres in the South-South geo-political zone, Nigeria. Using a stratified random sampling technique, 730 (20%) of the NCE Cycle IV from each of the study centres formed the sample size. The population and the derived sample size are as shown on table 2. The instrument for data gathering was a checklist titled 'Human Resources Quality and Quantity and the Availability, Adequacy and Relevance of Print Media for NCE DLS programme in NTI Study Centre'. It sought information from the respondents on the availability and adequacy of the print media. Respondent's responses to items on the checklist provided information for research question three. In addition to physical Sources : NTI Zonal Office, Delta (15 May, 2011).

Table 2 shows that the total population of students is (3652) out of which 730 representing 20% were chosen as the sample size. Delta State had the highest number of students (1111), followed by Rivers State (843), with Cross Rivers having the least (325).

The results are presented under tables 3-6 following.

Research Question 1 : What is the quantity of human resources are available for NTI NCE programme in the study centre in South-South geo-political zone, Nigeria? Table 5 shows that the mean scores of the respondents (730) on availability, adequacy and relevance on all the items were above the criterion mean of 2.5. This indicates that they were not only available, adequate but were also relevant to the programme.

The major knowledge producing interacting elements in any educational institution are the teachers, the students, and the instructional resources. If any of these tripartite interacting elements suffers setback in either quantity or quality, the cycle of interaction would naturally suffer. Its impact would manifest in the quality of the institutions' products. In this study the manager, the facilitators and students were considered human resources available for the implementation of NTI, NCE DLS programme. They formed the major variables in In view of these vital coordinating functions, the centre manager serves as one of the indispensable resources persons for the implementation of the programme.

The main job of the course tutors/facilitators is to guide their students on how to use the course materials. They act as academic guide and mentors to their students. Regular meetings and individual interviews are held with the students. These interactions allow individual students' problems to be tackled. The task of the facilitators requires that they should be those who can effectively convey the content of the course materials to the students, properly manage the face-toface contact period and understand how to fashion out the curriculum to fit the challenges of the programme. The FGN, NPE (2004) makes this clear when it states that no educational system can rise above the quality of its teachers. Among all educational resources, it is only the loving and inspiring teacher and his students that go through the pain of failure and joy of success together. There is need for the course tutors like teachers in the educational systems to be professionally trained.

Using the Doctorial Degree as quality index for teachers of tertiary institutions in the country, the quality of the facilitators of the programme is not at par with what exists in the conventional tertiary institutions in the country. Aware of this shortcoming a five-year staff development programme was developed in 2001 by the institute. This was to ensure that staffs possess the requisite knowledge and skills for performing their jobs. They require training in order to be thoroughly familiar with the instructional design and delivery process under distance learning. Ansari (2002, p 223) emphasizes that "... teachers need training in instructional message design, strategies for delivery instructions, diverse methods of presentation, selecting various mixes of student-teacher activities and interactions, and assessing the level of learning by students". The other functionaries who facilitate the programme implementation also benefit from the training programme. Two types of training were organized. One enabled staff to acquire additional postgraduate qualifications (e.g., PGDE, M.Ed. and Ph.D.), and the other took the form of workshops and seminars aiming at disseminating new knowledge and skills for improving on-the-job performance.

It must, however, be stressed that it takes time and money to acquire qualification. If this did not lead to higher expected future earnings, there will be no incentive to invest the time and money and other alternatives forgone. Institutions that wish to hire highly qualified teachers will have to pay sufficiently higher salaries to compensate for that investment. The rationale behind the emphasis on salaries as means of attracting qualified teachers is obvious. For teachers to cope with the evolutionary trend especially as it exists in DLS, they must continuously update their knowledge capacity. This requires a strong income level to sustain their efforts as the makers of education and great contributors to education programme implementation.

The calibre of students admitted into a programme contributes to the academic achievement of the product of the programme. The NTI, NCE DLS Students' Handout (2010, pp. 8-9) stipulates the entry requirement for the programme. These requirements should be strictly adhered to. However, Umar (n.d.) highlighting the major findings that give an indication of the relative quality of the products of the programme notes that they were effective in their classroom teaching and their performances were good. They were found to perform well in relation to abilities, skills, and knowledge in the following aspects of classroom teaching: lesson preparation, communicating in English and mother tongue, motivating and sustaining learners' interest, and record keeping. Based on their antecedents, the students need to understand that they need to manage their time well in order to give adequate attention to their studies.

The ratio of course tutor to student plays a vital role during the face-to-face (contact) session, which takes place at the study centres on weekend, and during the long vacation periods. These periods provide opportunities for student/student, course tutor/ student, and instructional media/learner interaction. A high course tutor/students ratio will not allow for effective interaction in terms of lesson delivery and other student the course tutor/student ratio is not high (1:40 on the average) the students can be easily organized, controlled and supervised. There will be complete absence of rigidity as occasioned by large unmanageable classes (Obasi & Asodike, 2006).

The existing infrastructure in the public secondary schools serving as study centres are used during the contact period. The students are faced with the problems of poor learning environment, lack of libraries, as they exist in these public schools. The fact that most of the classrooms in these schools are not built to accommodate the large number of students in some core subjects as revealed on table 4 compounds the issue of lack of classroom. It is pathetic to state that infrastructural facilities that shape educational institutions are grossly unavailable. The available ones lack regular maintenance, are inadequate and not suitable to the needs of these adult learners.

e) The Print Media (Modules/Course Materials) Print is the most accessible and dominant mode of delivery in distance education. Due to its flexibility and accessibility, most Distance education still use it as the main delivery mode (Padmo, 2008). In NTI, NCE DLS programme, a year's workload in a subject is broken into modules. A module means a major topic in a subject split into units, while unit means a study item that can be equated to a lecture topic. These are the major content of the print media (course book) used for the programme. These print materials are structured in such a way that there are at intervals, assignments which students are required to submit to their course facilitators to be marked. The facilitators mark such assignment and sometimes suggest better ways of addressing some teaching and learning issues.

Subject's specialists working as a team prepare the course materials. Each subject of study has a curriculum team that is responsible for planning the content of the subject, its pedagogy, and the proper learning sequence of the topic. The curriculum team for each subject is also responsible for developing and writing the course materials in that subject based on the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) minimum standards. The members of the curriculum team for each subject are drawn from the Universities, Colleges of Education, Polytechnics, and other educational establishments working in conjunction with the NTI Staff in each subject area. The Institute makes use of its computer centre for typesetting the materials for mass production by its well-equipped printing press. This process, though quite complicated, is likely a major contributor to the availability, relevance, and superior quality of the course materials. Although the print materials are the delivery mode, attempts to use other forms of communication materials such as audio/video cassette and CD for supplementary purpose in the programme recorded only limited success caused by financial restrictions to procure equipment, overall expertise to operate equipment and third party involvement in the case of DLS.

Nigeria has experienced shortage of teachers at different levels and at different points in time in the educational system. This genre of education has contributed immensely to teacher supply especially at the primary sub-sector of the educational system. In a significant paradigm shift, since the launching of NTI, NCE DLS programme in 1990, its flexibility and accessibility have made possible the basic teaching requirement (NCE) for teaching at a low cost in the country.