THE INFLUENCE OF LEARNING DISABILITIES ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN NORTHERN EDUCATION ZONE OF CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

Schools are established to equip the youths with essential skills needed for functionality as useful and knowledgeable citizens of the country. However, examination of school records shows that students’ academic performances have remained for long very unimpressive. Obviously, this is not healthy for the growth of the country. In a study, Polom (2011) analyzed West African Examination Council (WAEC), examination in Mathematics and English Language administered in 2010, and discovered that only 27.40% of the students made at least a pass and above in the two core subjects. He equally reported that the number of those who had credit and above in a foreign Language like French Language declined from 21.34% to 17.22% (WAEC Oice Data base, Calabar, February, 2012). Poor student’s performance in WAEC Examination has for some time now been a matter of great concern to education stakeholders. Concrete evidence of students’ poor performance in examinations could be seen in the results obtained each year in externally administered examinations like the WAEC examinations. As presented in Table 1, for example, students’ results in English Language and Mathematics provide a disturbing trend. In Mathematics only about 25% of those who attempted the examination in 2006 had credit passes and above. About 41% and 31% had passes and failing grades respectively.

The situation improved in 2007 when about 47% of the candidates had credit passes or above in 2008, 57.28% of the candidates also had credit passes but the situation reversed itself in 2009 and 2010 when only about 47% and about 41.95% of the candidates respectively had credit passes”. Similarly for English Language those who had credits passes declined from about 32.48% in 2006 to 30.32% in 2008.The results improved to 35.02% in 2008, then 41.55% in 2009 but moved down to 35.13% in 2010. These unsteady but declining trends are disturbing. Apart from the concerns of parents, teachers and the state government, the incessant failure of students in WAEC and NECO senior school certificate Examination (SSCE) has always been a source of worry for the Government of this country. In December 2012, Federal Ministry of Education organized a two-day summit in Abuja to discuss the issue. In the summit, the then minister of education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufai, expressed the Federal Government displeasure at the students’ poor performances.

She noted with regret that less than 30 percent of over a million students, who sat for the examination within the last six years, obtained credits in five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics. The effect of this is that more than 70 per cent of school leavers are always armed with school certificate result that do not qualify them for higher education. Besides, the high proportions of school leavers are always unable to gain employment as a result of poor academic performance. The result of persistent poor learners’ performance in schools is always a serious disruption in the overall manpower supply for the economy. Students who have poor academic record would find it difficult to cope in a competitive society. Individuals who fail in school may not be adequately and mentally equipped to face life squarely