Challenges of Open and Distance Learning in Departing Education for Learners of Science Group: A Study on Bangladesh Open University

This study’s goal was to pinpoint the difficulties that SSC and HSC science education at Bangladesh Open University (BOU) faces. Therefore, 12 Regional Centers (RCs) of this university were used to conduct this study. For the purpose of conducting this study, 240 respondents who had been purposefully chosen were questioned using a semi-structured questionnaire. The respondents were learners in the science group of the SSC and HSC programs. Additionally, a checklist was used to conduct 12 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and 12 Key Informant Interviews (KII). The study discovered that there were numerous difficulties in the science education of the SSC and HSC programs through ODL at BOU, including learners’ lack of interest and seriousness in science education, forced admission, difficult science group and subject matter, tutors’ inefficiency, difficult and sparse tutorial sessions, a lack of activities that focused on practical application, a lack of proper guidance in study centers, a lack of logistical support for lab facilities, and the absence of both learners and tutors in tutorial sessions. In order to remove the obstacles of science through ODL in Bangladesh, this study would be helpful to policy makers, educators, and academicians.