AN ANALYSIS ON THE FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENT PERFORMANCE IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1           BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Students in Nigeria must appear for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE), which is administered by two public or national examination agencies: the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NECO). This is the examination taken by students in their last year of secondary school, i.e. students in their third and final year of secondary school. WAEC administers the West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), which is a standardized exam for WAEC's member nations of Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia (West African Examination Council, 2016). The West African Senior School Certificate is an academic school-leaving certification conferred following successful completion of the exams (WASSCE). The WAEC was formed by legislation in 1952, with headquarters in Accra, Ghana, and national offices in all member countries, with the mission of conducting examinations and awarding certificates of equivalent quality to those issued by similar examining bodies across the world. The complete process of human learning in which knowledge is transmitted, faculties are exercised, and skills are developed is known as education. Secondary schools are not only important in Nigeria's educational system, but they also serve as a link between elementary and secondary education. Secondary school education, according to Asikhai (2010), is expected to be the backbone and foundation for further education at postsecondary institutions. It is both an investment and a tool that may be utilized to help a country achieve faster economic, social, political, technical, scientific, and cultural growth. It is sad that today's secondary schools do not meet the expectations that are placed on them. The continually low performance of secondary school pupils in public examinations has sparked widespread outrage. Academic performance of pupils, according to Amadike (2005), is the criterion for evaluating a nation's educational excellence. As a result, it is necessary to maintain a high level of performance in internal and, for the most part, external examinations. For several years, press reports and research results have shown the terrible performance of secondary school pupils in public examinations. Students' low performance in public examinations has been documented in Ajayi (2002), Nwokocha (2005), WAEC (2007), The Punch newspaper (September 27, 2008), Adeyemi (2008), and Asikhia (2010). The ongoing drop in kids' performance in public tests is not only aggravating for students and parents, but it also has far-reaching societal consequences. Public examinations, such as the Senior School Certificate Examination (S.S.C.E.) in Nigeria, are one of the most powerful barometers of student performance thus far, if not the strongest. These exams are externally monitored and have a high level of public trust. Secondary education is the type of education that children get following elementary school but before they enter postsecondary education. It is self-evident that no future academic study can be built without secondary school products (Adeyemi, 2008). One would assume that the performance of day and boarding senior secondary school pupils in Kano State would considerably improve based on the goals and objectives of the school establishment. To be sure, no educational system is without flaws. The deterioration of Nigeria's educational system, on the other hand, is becoming unsightly. It was termed as disastrous by Ogunsaju (1990). Despite the fact that smart pupils may be discovered in public schools, the high rate of failure in WASSCE tends to dismiss the outstanding ones. As a result, if education is to retain its previous reputation as the best tool for promoting national development, it must be saved or resurrected. Popular techniques such as modifying the curriculum or adding more topics, increasing the length of schooling, or voting more money do not provide the desired effects. There is still much more to be done. Poor teaching facilities, inadequate and poorly educated instructors, parental laxity, underfunding, and other factors are frequently blamed by Nigerians. While all of these options exist, there is an immediate need to reevaluate schools in light of all of these issues, since conditions do not remain static (Ajayi, 2002). For example, the government continues to invest more money in education each year without seeing a matching improvement in schools. As a result, the focus of this research is on the factors that influence student performance in the West African senior secondary school certificate examination in Nigeria, using a case study of Ojo LGA as a case study.        

1.2     STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Unfortunately, this vital industry is plagued by a slew of issues. The awful performance of students in the SSCE is one of the most prominent problem areas that highlights the sector's low performance. Parents and other stakeholders in the education system have been concerned about the poor performance in WAEC and NECO. As a result, the outcry over many day and boarding senior secondary school students in Kano Metropolis, Nigeria, consistently poor and unpromising performances in Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) conducted by West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) in the past six years (2005/2006, 2006/2007, 2007/2008, 2008/2009) has led educationists, government policymakers, and researchers to question whether the schools are measuring up to t However, a number of elements among the myriad issues plaguing Kano Metropolis' Day and Boarding Senior Secondary Schools would undoubtedly influence pupils' performance in WAEC tests, either favorably or badly (Amadike, 2005). Many of them lack management of school buildings, facilities, and equipment, such as books, libraries, science, vocational, and languages laboratories, maintenance of instructional materials for the teaching and learning process, discipline, senior secondary school management and administration, inspection and supervision of school curriculum and timetable by the State Ministry of Education, inter-personal relationships between school and community, and time management (Adeyemi, 2008). Students' indiscipline in schools, poor supervision of students' behaviour in the home, and lack of student engagement are all variables that may have an equal impact on Day and Boarding students' academic performance in WAEC tests. ineffective communication in schools, a lack of innovation, a lack of student participation in school decision-making, a lack of student participation in co-curricular activities in schools, inaccurate techniques for evaluating students' academic work, frequent changes in state admission and promotion policies by educational administrators and planners for school systems, students' poor attitude toward schoolwork, teachers' qualifications and development, and students-parents relationships.

1.3     OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The overall goal of this research is to look at the elements that influence student performance in the West African senior secondary school certificate test in Nigeria, using Ojo LGA as a case study. The following are some of the study's particular goals:

i. To determine the effect of economic conditions on student performance in Nigeria's senior secondary school certificate test.

ii. To determine the impact of cultural influences on student performance in Nigeria's senior secondary school certificate test.

iii. To look at the impact of demographic determinants on student performance in Nigeria's West African senior secondary school certificate test.

iv. To investigate the influence of instructors' performance on factors affecting student performance in Nigeria's West African senior secondary school certificate test.

v. To determine the impact of the school environment on students' performance in Nigeria's senior secondary school certificate test.  

1.4     RESEARCH QUESTIONS

i. What are the effects of economic conditions on student performance in Nigeria's senior secondary school certificate test?

ii. What are the impacts of cultural influences on student performance in Nigeria's senior secondary school certificate test?

iii. What are the impacts of demographic determinants on student performance in Nigeria's West African senior secondary school certificate test?

iv. What are the influences of instructors' performance on factors affecting student performance in Nigeria's West African senior secondary school certificate test?

v. What is the impact of the school environment on students' performance in Nigeria's senior secondary school certificate test?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The conclusions of this study will encourage education officials to pay more attention to the senior high school diploma examination. It will also be helpful to guidance counselors, instructors, and principals in steering kids toward their future careers.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The research is limited to the influence on students' performance on the senior  school certificate examination.

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Effects: a change that occurs as a result of an activity or other cause.

"Hard drugs have fatal effects"

Student: A person who is enrolled at a university or other institution of higher learning is referred to as a student.

Academic Performance: Academic performance refers to the evaluation of a student's academic success in a variety of topics. Educators and policymakers frequently assess.