AN ASSESSMENT OF INSTITUTIONAL FACTOR AND ITS INFLUENCE ON STUDENTS PERFORMANCE IN LAGOS STATE SECONDARY

AN ASSESSMENT OF INSTITUTIONAL FACTOR AND ITS INFLUENCE ON STUDENTS PERFORMANCE IN LAGOS STATE SECONDARY

1. 1. Background Of Study

There has been a pattern of outstanding failure in public examinations, particularly in basic disciplines such as English and mathematics. Most external examinations in Nigeria today produce sub-optimal results. According to information obtained from Nigerian examination boards (such as WAEC and JAMB), a considerable percentage of people who took part in public examinations failed at every level.

According to Uwadiae (in Dike 2007), between 2001 and 2005, students' performance in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) deteriorated, with mass failure in the two basic disciplines that constitute the foundation for high academic achievement in postsecondary institutions. This, without a doubt, causes alarm among stakeholders. For pupils' failures in English Language and Mathematics, Dike found the government and parents accountable.

The performance of students in the May/June 2008 examination conducted by the Council was viewed as worrying by the Financial Standard (2008) in an editorial titled "Mass failure in WAEC Examination." Only 188,442 candidates received credit in English Language, Mathematics, and three other courses, accounting for 13.7 percent of the 1,369,142 who took the exams.Due to candidate mistakes during registration, a total of 232,755 results have yet to be released. 74,956 of the pending results were being investigated for various examination irregularities. According to WAEC examination statistics, the May/June 2008 WASSCE result was the lowest in the previous seven years. According to the Council's examination records, between 2001 and 2005, the average failure rate in English Language and Mathematics was around 38% of the total number of applicants who sat for the exam. The fact that over 80% of students did not receive credit in English Language and Mathematics in the May/June 2008 WASSCE is disheartening. The number of applicants who received credit in English Language, Mathematics, and three other courses in the May/June 2008 WASSCE fell by about 6% from the previous year's record. Only 19.8% of students received the requisite five credits in the essential disciplines, including English Language and Mathematics, in the November/December 2007 exams. This pattern implies that numerous wastes exist at various levels of the country's educational system. These squanderings are caused by pupils' poor academic performance, which is a result of low achievement.

A variety of other elements have been highlighted, including examination boards, the government, parents, teachers, and students. Students' poor performance in WASSCE was attributed by Uwadiae (2000) to a lack of adequate preparation, a shortage of qualified teachers, insufficient teaching materials, a poor school environment and infrastructural facilities, inability to understand questions requiring high-level thinking, and shallow answers to questions due to a poor command of the English language.

Through the provision of required infrastructure, facilities, and trained staff, the government was expected to provide an enabling atmosphere for effective teaching and learning. Poor performance was also connected to a lack of well equipped laboratories and libraries, as well as school population booms.

Furthermore, studies conducted by Onwioduokit (1996) and Olarewaju (1997) revealed that insufficient manpower, lack of concentration during lessons, lack of commitment and motivation to work, lack of equipment, poor student attitudes, poor understanding of concepts, inability to study well, neglect of assignments, and a pleasure seeking attitude all contribute to low academic achievement.

Bulus (2001), in a similar vein, stated that the problem of widespread failure in public examinations is a serious worry in the new millennium. Ukeji (1999) also believes that the degradation in public examinations in Nigeria is particularly serious, debilitating, degenerating, degrading, and dehumanizing.

Low academic accomplishment in schools is caused by a variety of reasons, according to Ojerinde (1998), including the school environment, home background, economic, political, and intellectual capability, social status, and entry qualification. Furthermore, the academic records of students in several colleges of education are not encouraging. Low academic accomplishment would impede any country's development ambitions, no matter how well-intentioned they were. Poor academic achievement and a high failure rate are, without a doubt, harmful to any society's progress.

The tendency for poor academic performance is not restricted to secondary schools; it is equally prevalent among tertiary students. This has been a major source of concern for educational planners, administrators, educational stakeholders, and students themselves. According to the Vice-Chancellor, a total of 39 students from the Niger state-owned University, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida University, Lapai, have been dismissed from the university due to poor academic performance, while two others have been expelled due to test malpractices. The students were also dismissed for failing to achieve the minimal academic criteria after two academic sessions on probation, according to Vice-Chancellor Muhammed Chado.

Many factors that may account for students' academic achievement have been identified in previous studies in related studies. However, most of this research, particularly in Nigeria, has ignored institutional considerations in regard to educational institutions. This could be attributable to a piecemeal approach to academic success research in the country's institutes of education. If the country is to fulfill the educational goal of producing qualitative graduates to power Nigerian economic and political development programs, this knowledge gap cannot be allowed to remain unexplored. The quality of any operation's result is determined by the input that is processed. As a result, the quality of elementary and secondary school certificate holders' output is heavily reliant on the quality of qualified teachers from educational institutions. The Nigerian National Policy on Education (2004:33) recognizes this element, stating that the Nigeria Certificate in Education is the minimal requirement for admission into the teaching profession (NCE).

1. 1. Statement Of Problem

There are numerous implications for failing to address the issue of student academic attainment. Students, by their very nature, participate in a wide range of activities outside of their education. When pupils lose interest in their academics, the likelihood of failing increases. Cultism, thievery, prostitution, and tyranny are just a few of the illegal behaviors they may engage in. Furthermore, inadequate academic achievement among kids may lead to failure. Students may easily drop out of school if they experience repeated failure. Economic deprivation, according to research, can also lead to failure.

Furthermore, children may engage in any type of disruptive behavior both inside and outside of the school system. One of the issues that students are likely to face is drug addiction. More students are becoming addicted to drugs, according to research. According to reports from surveys conducted in Lagos and Kano, students in both cities abuse cannabis, heroin, and cocaine. Marijuana (86.9%), cannabis (66%), alcohol (22%), cocaine (18%), and heroin (13.8%) were among the most often abused narcotics by smokers, according to NDLEA drug force reports (Vanguard, February 21, 1994).

Excessive alcohol use, on the other hand, causes a slew of health issues and shortens life expectancy. Heavy drinkers are more likely to develop cancer, ulcers, heart disease, muscle wasting, malnutrition, and liver cirrhosis. These issues may result in death. Low academic achievement may also result in joblessness once pupils graduate. As a result, kids may find it challenging to compete with their peers who have graduated from high school with honors. This could lead to other issues such as robbery, prostitution, general violence, alcoholism, smoking, and drug trafficking, to name a few.

In schooling, success is crucial. Despite the government's massive resources, the requisite quantity and quality of results are not available. In light of these issues, research is now being conducted to investigate the institutional elements that influence students' academic achievement in institutions of education in order to enable policy intervention and improve performance.

1. 1. Objective Of Study

The general aim of this study is to critically evaluate institutional factor and their  influence on students performance in Lagos State secondary schools. Below are the specific objectives: 

1. Determine if teachers experience and qualification has any significant impact on  students' academic performance.
2. Determine if teachers’ interest and commitment has any significant impact on  students' academic performance.
3. Determine if school calendar stability and leadership style has any significant impact on  students' academic performance.

1.4 Research Hypotheses

The following hypothetical statements will be validated in the course of this study

H01: Teachers’ experience and qualification has no significant impact on students' academic performance.

H02: Teachers’ interest and commitment has no significant impact on students' academic performance.

H03: School calendar stability and leadership style has no significant impact on  students' academic performance.

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