THE EFFECTS OF INDISCIPLINE ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN IGUEBEN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF EDO STATE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Discipline, according to Jemibewon (1976) is a highly desirable quality of human being or social group. Discipline behavior is accepted as essential characteristics of any educated or cultured person. Discipline, therefore, is a subject of great concern to parents, teachers, and administrators who are interested in the moulding of the character of young people. In Nigeria, there appears to be a great concern about the lack of indiscipline in schools, in oices and among people in public sectors. However, the problem of widespread indiscipline among primary school pupils and post primary schools is very clearly noticed. Every year serious cases of rioting, arsons, damages to school property occur in several post-primary schools and universities. In spite of the extreme cases of indiscipline that attract newspapers headlines, there are routine cases of truancy, disobedience, absenteeism, drug abuse, fighting and other example of indiscipline in the classroom which do not appear or are reported in the Newspapers. From indiscipline among the students, it has attracted much more attention than indiscipline among members of sta. Parents blame teachers for the indiscipline among school children and teachers blame parents, government and school administrators for the indiscipline in the society. Nigeria like any other nation wants to live in peace and harmony with their fellow country people regardless of their various ethnic groups and religious affiliation.

Today, education has contributed and attracted increased government’s attention among other priorities. However, if these objectives are to be achieved, discipline must be maintained in our school system since learning and teaching cannot effectively take place under a threatened atmosphere. But today, acts of indiscipline: riot, vandalism, lawlessness and the break down of law and order has become a way of life of our present school system. What then could be responsible for these acts of indiscipline in our school system? Identification of these factors is urgent if Nigeria is to achieve her goals in the committee of nations. Statements of Problem A research conducted by Oloruntimehire (1974) on the causes of indiscipline, in post primary schools revealed that indiscipline in Nigerian schools had been a running sore in the educational system of this country.

Indiscipline in our system had continued to persist in spite of the series of warnings from the Heads of State and concerned Nigerian that discipline should be maintained in the school system. Thus a number of measures that were adopted, such as closing down riot schools, suspension or dismissal of ring-leaders and the mass transfer of teacher in such school have not yielded any good results. The question therefore is; who is to blame, the teachers or the peer-group or the home or the students? Therefore, this study is designed to investigate the causes of indiscipline among Primary School pupils or students. The following questions have been addressed; whether: Socio-economic background had any significant influence on students’ indiscipline. School administration had any significant influence on students’ indiscipline. Societal morals have any influence on school discipline. The pressure on paper qualification has influenced school discipline. The peer-group has influence school discipline.