BY IYERE IVIE (MRS.) AND IKPOTOKIN S.O (B.Sc.)

KEYWORDS: Education, poor academic performance, productivity, child wellbeing

Education is a basic human right as well as a positive vehicle for continuous economic growth and rapid human development (Okumu et al., 2008). There is a defining value placed on education because it contributes to the national development through the provision of an appropriate human resource that helps to stimulate productivity and thus eliminating the potentiality of persistent hunger, poverty, disease and ignorance. Education refers to the process which takes place at learning centres where one is freely or hired, delivering knowledge and the other as well freely or forcefully receives and processes it. Hornby (2006) defines “Education as the process of teaching or training and learning in a school or college to improve knowledge and development skills’’. On the other hand, Mlozi et al. (2013) defines education for sustainable development has come to be seen as a process of learning how to make decisions that consider the long-term future of the economy, ecology and equity of all communities.

Some students perform poorly in their academic and extracurricular activities on daily basis and it has become a severe problem bothering the teachers, school heads and parents and even the community. Poor academic performance according to Aremu and Sokan (2003) is a performance that is adjudged by the examined and some other significance that portrays as falling below an expected standard. Also, Asikhia (2010) described poor academic performance as any performance that falls below a desired standard. Similarly, Okoye (1982) defines poor academic performance of the individual or candidate in a learning situation as one in which a candidate fails to attain a set standard of performance in a given evaluation exercise such as a test, an examination or series of continuous assessments.

A candidate who scores below the standard is regarded as showing poor academic performance in school. Some people blame students and others blame the government while, others blame the teachers on this matter. Aremu (2000) stresses that academic failure is not only frustrating to the students and the parents, its effect are equally grave on the society in terms of dearth of manpower in all spheres of the economy and politics. Education of secondary school level is supposed to be the base and the foundation towards higher knowledge in tertiary institutions. It is an investment and an instrument that can be used to achieve a more rapid economic, social, political, technological, scientific and cultural development in the country.

There are many reasons for students to perform poorly at school of which are lack of motivation, household problems or peer issues, poor exercise or work habits or skills, unstable emotional and behavioural attitudes, learning difficulties which may be as a result of learning disabilities, attention problems, mental and psychological retardation as well as depression, anxiety and extended nervousness. Children with sleep problems such as obstructive sleep disorder (OBSD) or inadequate sleep have problems of inattention and woolgathering, as well as daytime sleepiness.

Children who perform poorly at school may be under a lot of stress and will develop different selfless and thoughtless-childish ways to cope with the generated stress. Some may externalize (show or exhibit) their feelings leading to such pupil or student acting out, thus becoming the class-clown. Other children will internalize (suppress or hide and accumulate) their feelings, leading to headaches which usually start as mild and later becomes severe and almost out of control. At other times pupils and students usually complain of stomach aches which psychologically affect the physiologic functions of the human body.

It is important to find out the reasons for children’s poor performance especially when they are constantly failing at their examinations in the school. The class teacher has to call the attention of the school head, the guidance counsellors and the school dispenser to help in finding out these children’s problems. The school authority has to intimate their parents about the children and their classroom challenges, and if their problems are medical problems, professionals in the medical field should be consulted.

Poor academic performance is most commonly determined by combining demographic, socioeconomic and environmental factors such parents’ educational level, occupational status and income level (Jeynes, 2002). It is believed that low socio- economic status negatively affects academic achievement of students in secondary schools (Hansen and Mastekaasa, 2003). Walters and Soyibo had long ago (1998) elaborated that student performance is very much dependent on socio economic back ground, “High school students’ level of performance is with statistically significant differences, linked to their gender, grade level, school location, school type, student type and socio-economic background (SEB).” Considering physical geographical location of most secondary schools in respective areas of the nation especially those in the excerpt localities of the nation, physical infrastructures are poor and limited, and therefore their communities might be affected by low socio-economic which influence academic performance.

Education is one of the most important means of empowering the society with the knowledge and skills necessary to involve fully in the development process. It is recommended that in order to bring development to the family, community, society and country at large, the parents should be sensitized to invest in education. This is the most effective way to stimulate productivity and eliminate ignorance poverty, hunger, and diseases in the society.

The government should enhance public awareness and consensus on the socio-economic advantages of education through advocacy in the study area and national wide. The local depths of the Nigerian community should organize and campaign for public awareness in education through meetings, conferences, publications, media especially radio which are almost available in many family even in rural areas. This may reduce the truancy in which truants involve themselves in agricultural activities, casual labour and involvement in criminal groups of some students in order to enhance competition in academic works.

REFERENCES

Aremu, A. O. and Sokan, B. O. (2003). A Multi-Causal Evaluation of Academic Performance of Nigerian Learners: Issues and Implications for National Development. Department of Guidance of Counseling, University of Ibadan, Ibadan. 89pp.

Asikhia O. A. (2010). Students and teachers’ perception of the causes of poor academic performance in Ogun state secondary schools: Implications for counselling for national development. In European Journal of Social Sciences 13(2): 229 – 242.

Hansen, N. M. and Mastekaasa, A. (2006). Social origins and academic performance at university Oxford University press. [http://esr.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/ abstract/22/3/277] site visited on 23/7/2012.

Hornby, A. S. (2006). Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary (7theds). Edited by Sally Wehmeier, Colin Mclntosh, Joanna Turnbull and Michael Ashby, Oxford University Press, Oxford. 1715pp.

Jeyness, W. H. (2002). Examining the effect of parental absence on the academic achievement of adolescents: the challenge of controlling for family income, Journal of Family and Economic Issues 23(2): 56 – 65.

Mlozi, M. R. S., Kaguo, F. E. and Nyamba, S. Y. (2013). Factors influencing students’ academic performance in community and government built secondary schools in Tanzania: A case of Mbeya Municipality. International Journal of Science and Technology 2 (2): 174 – 186.Okoye, N. N. (1982). Why students fail examinations: Psychology for everyday living; A Nigeria Journal of Applied Psychology 11 (2): 1 – 5.

Walters, Y. B. and Soyibo, K. (2001). “An analysis of high school students’ performance on five integrated science process skills”. Research in Science and Technical Education 19 (2): 133 – 145.