CAUSE OF INDISCIPLINE AMONG FINAL YEAR STUDENTS (A CASE STUDY OF ENUGU NORTH L.G.A)
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 Background of the Study
According to Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary by A.S Horn by (2008) defined “cause” as that which produces an effect on event or person. Arthur Stemson (2009) defined “Cause” as events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something Michael Daft (2010) defined “Cause” as a series of actions advancing a principle or tending a toward particular end. Oxford advanced learners Dictionary 6th edition by sally Wehmeier (2007) Defined “cause” as something that make things. According to the researcher’s definition, “cause” is any thing that contributes casually to a result, a number of factors that determine the outcomes of an event.
According to the chambers Twentieth Dictionary by Littman Dolphin (2009) defined “Indiscipline” as a mode of life in accordance with rules and non-subjection to control. In other words it is the inability of a person to lie in accordance with rules and regulations of institutions. Oxford advanced learners Dictionary 6th edition by sally Wehmeier (2007) defined “Indiscipline” as a lack of control in behaviour of a group of people. The American Heritage Dictionary fourth edition by Ken Maccain (2008) defined “Indiscipline” as the trait of lacking discipline a distinguishing feature of a personal nature indulgence self indulgence an inability to resist the gratification of whim and desire. Kernerman English Dictionary by Kelly Kernerman (2009) defined “Indiscipline” as the act of bad behaviour, unwillingness to obey orders. According to researchers opinion own understanding “indiscipline” is the inability of person or group of person or an individual to line a worth while to the society and being nuisance and non-conformity to obey order and rules and regulation that guide the society.
According to oxford Advanced learner’s Dictionary 6th Edition by sally Wehmeier (2007) defined “secondary School” as a school for young people between the ages of eleven and sixteen or eighteen. Alfa Balgore (2010) defined “Secondary School” as the preparation skill that will help the students in the higher institution. According to National Policy on Education in Nigeria (2009) defined “secondary school” as a education system that produced skilled, manpower and new knowledge to requisite for technological advancement and economic growth. According to my own understanding, “Secondary School” can been seen as an education that help and guide the children in order to adapt to the society and to live worth while value to the society and to prepare for the future.
Indiscipline among final year Secondary School Students. Enugu State Ministry of Education (2009) stressed that indiscipline among final year students are cheating in examination hall, coming school late, absence from school, engaging themselves outside school lesion, smoking, disobedient, making noise in classroom, loitering in the school compound, fighting telling lies, gossiping in the classroom. Playing music in the classroom chatting; using of electronics devices such as mini, radio mobile phone inability to do home work, involving in secrete cult, gambling in the school, writing in the black board and stealing.
Enugu North Local Government Area is one of the Local Government in the State. Its Located in urban area of Enugu State it has densely and sparsely populated area due to migration for urban settlement. It comprises many secondary school both government secondary school and non-government secondary school. At least there are up to one hundred secondary schools in Enugu North Local Government Area and its headquarters is located at Okpara Avenue.
Poor management of the school and bad environment lead to indiscipline behaviour of a student poor background of the family can also hinder the progress of students making them to engage in indiscipline act. John Mokamah (2010) stressed that the problem of indiscipline is more apparent among final year student of secondary school administrators. Adefemi Yinka Yarson (2009) added that rule and regulation in most cases do affect final year students of secondary schools more than any other thing because they are made by the school authorities in order to guide and protect the students while in the school. Therefore students are no longer behave in handwork as the only honourable path to success, students of high and low big and small, powerful and downtrodden are involved in various or different in disciplinary acts. The problem of indiscipline permeates all faced of our life. It has in fact brought us down to knees and tied down by an ugly looking archer who is named “indiscipline”. According to Fidelis Okoye (2009) indiscipline in the school are now passing through an extend eclipse.
Steinson (2009) stressed that it is disappointing and not normal to see people roam the strut freely nowadays in their school uniforms. Gone are the good days when our parents would threaten to report to teachers whenever their children start acting again of the wishes of their parents. It has become nonsense to punish a student bad behaviour for such “in disciplinarian” must be beaten up by the agent of the discipline or harassed and sometimes punished as well by the parents of indiscipline students. This is not to say that the students of the poor are left out. At least students also can take vengeance by tiding; haunting stone at any slight opportunities and even poison their teacher’s food or drinks. Nowadays most children believe in having thing in one way and one way only their own. And God forbid if they do not get thing the way they likes there is hell to pay.
Indiscipline is rampant in society today where it is the parents who seen more afraid of their children rather than the other way around, parents do not seem to realize that by giving in to the child demands, they are only making him or her uncontrollable an a menace to society. Nowadays our guiding principle rested in the saying “seek ye first honour and kingdom of God wealth and riches shall fellow your path. However, it offends the thinking of our children today to even preach and kingdom of God. Students are living in a society where hard work, beautiful things, clean thinking, moral virtues, muscular skills and fair play are not valued by even the teachers, the schools and the society as a whole.
Over last decade the standards of discipline are fast deteriorating in the school environment too. School is just not what it used to be anymore as very few schools are able to maintain the same standards of behaviour. May be the teachers do not have the same confidence and commanding personality as they used to or may be work pressure have increased to such a degree that all the teachers can think of completing the curriculum on schedule. Quite obviously, most of them seem to lack the dedication to go beyond the call off duty and syllabus and contribute to the all-round development of the children. One cannot really blame them entirely, when you observe the huge number of children in each class room, and added burden to top all of this the number of subject and book have also increased are finding it difficult to cope with these extra burden. Most parents too reason why they send their children for tutorial, and serve to further increase of their load. It is a vicious circle. Not only this today’s education system does not prepare the child for employment. Bart A. Harrison (2009) stressed that any society whose educational system is careless about the needs of the students is doomed.
However, it is not enough to have a curriculum. It must important takes care of the entire societal aspirations. No doubt, Nigeria is in the need of scientific and technological breakthrough. The curriculum is far removed from practical knowledge and this makes the child’s mind and feet wander. But this cannot be pursued to the neglect of moral and social need and development of the nation. Out curriculum today is greatly lacking in moral training. The implementation of the existing moral education as contained in the curriculum is shabby and neglected. In some secondary school, it is not even taught teachers as well lack the moral value too. It is know that no student can be above his or her teacher in both academic and moral. The subjects of History, civic education and sciences etc that inculcate the ideal of nation building to children should be encourage. So as we can see the basic fault lies with the education system. Indiscipline is a behavioural disorder that is classified as act delinquency just like lying, stealing and playing fraud or running away from home. It is causes a lot of mental emotional and also physical damage such as damage to property in home as well as in schools. An undisciplined child is uncontrollable child and can do just about any damage when he or she does not get whatever her or she wants.
1.1 Statement of the Problem
The indiscipline among the final year students of secondary schools is on increase. This is a fact borne out by daily happening in Secondary Schools. The news papers are full of reports of unrest and indiscipline among final year students of secondary schools is a carlkerworm that has eaten deep into the Fabric of Nigeria. The questions that arise from this background are:
1) The researchers don’t know whether the problem of unrest and indiscipline among final year students of secondary schools in Enugu North Local Government Area is true.
2) What are causes of indiscipline in Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State?
3) To what extent are final year students of secondary school copy or emulate bad character like cheating in the examination, insult their teachers, coming to school late, truant etc it is on this background that the researcher decided to investigate on the causes and consequence of indiscipline among final year students of secondary school in Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State.
1.2 Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this background is to find out the causes of indiscipline among final year students of secondary schools in Enugu North Local Government Area. The specific purpose of the study are:
1. To identify the causes of indiscipline among final year students of secondary schools.
2. To identify the consequences of indiscipline among final years students of secondary schools.
3. To identify ways of minimizing the rate of indiscipline among final year students of secondary schools.
1.3 Significance of the Study
This study provides information on the causes of indiscipline among final year students of secondary schools in Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State. The study could help to the following:
The Researchers: It will help the researchers to finish their work on time, in order to graduate from the school.
The Students: It will enable the students to be aware that indiscipline can destroy their future.
The Parents: The result from the study will enable the parents to know the consequences of indiscipline among their children and therefore know the ways to control them.
The Schools: It will enable the school authorities to restructure the curriculum to accommodate the moral aspect of the life of the final year students of secondary schools.
The environment: The result from the study will enable the environment to know the various causes of indiscipline among the final year students of secondary schools and also expose to the government to know the means of minimizing them.
1.4 Scope of the Study
The scope of this study based in geographical and content of the topic. The geographical area cover all the secondary schools in Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State, while the content area focus attention on the causes of indiscipline among final year students of secondary schools.
1.5 Researcher Questions
The following questions are formulated to guide the study:
1) What are the causes of indiscipline among final year students of secondary school?
2) What are the consequences of indiscipline among the final year students of secondary schools?
3) What are the ways through which indiscipline among the final years students of secondary schools can be minimized?