3-YEAR COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS SS 3 STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN MANGU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background to the Study

The effectiveness of public and private schools has been the topic of a large number of studies in education, not only in Plateau State but in others parts of Nigeria as well. In this literature, the distinction between public owned and funded schools, private but public funded schools (often religious schools) and private owned and funded schools, is especially important. Firstly, because in many countries these three types of schools exist alongside each other, especially in Nigeria. Secondly, the functions of these three types of schools differ strongly, whether along social, cultural, religious or ethnic lines. Thirdly, the distinction between owned and public funded schools, and private but public funded schools, also relates to current policy debates about organizing and financing collective goods like education.

The persistent poor performance of secondary school students in public examinations such as the Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) in Plateau State, Nigeria in the recent times has made the development of secondary education in the State a difficult task. Parents, guardians and other stakeholders in education industry have variously commented on the performances of secondary school students particularly in public schools (Adepoju, 2002).

Researchers and stakeholders in education industry have in the recent past identified several factors as the causes of poor performance of students in public schools. Among such factors identified are poor location of the school, incessant changes in government policies, closure of schools, which is contingent upon teachers’ strike action, home-school distance, high student teacher ratio, lack of supervision, monitoring and evaluation machinery, lack of good textbooks, poor content and context of instruction, poor and non-conducive environment among others (Adepoju, 2003). In an attempt to ensure that their children perform better in the SSCE and consequently, gain admission to universities of their choice, some parents and guardians have made a particular choice of the type of secondary school they want for their children not minding the location and the cost implication of the school chosen.

Despite the fact that there are qualified teachers in public schools in Nigeria, it is not out of place to find 1:50 ratio of students in public secondary schools. This is why, Alabi (2007) postulated that no matter how good or qualified a teacher may be, he can hardly make impact in an overcrowded classroom.  Furthermore, lack of proper motivation for teachers in the public secondary schools is another reason for poor performance of students in pubic schools as teachers in Plateau state keep going on strike every now and then without giving their best to the students in class. Teachers’ look warm attitude towards work is another factor which militates against the performance of students in public schools. This is why Ariya (2010) postulated, teachers in public secondary schools come to class at will, they hardly make lesson plans or lesson notes and are hardly supervised. This is typical of secondary schools in remote areas. No wonder Dada (2019) in his studies postulated that public schools in remote or rural areas perform very poorly in relation to the public schools in urban areas where supervision is more frequent.

However, the distribution of secondary schools in both urban and rural area (urban – rural dichotomy) has serious implication on the private cost and academic performance of the students. For instance, secondary schools should be planned such that students living in all parts of a state can have cheap means of transport and easy access to them. In order to reduce the private cost, school size has to be related to students’ potential population within different communities or zones. The provision of nearby schools will undoubtedly help to increase enrolment rate and thus bridge the gap of educational disparities within the State.

It is in the light of the above discussion that this study sets out to make a 3-year comparative analysis of students’ academic performance in public and private secondary schools in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State.

• Statement of the Problem

Despite the importance accorded Education, there seems to exist a large number of poor performance at all levels of education, especially inpublic schools. This does not auger well for the nation’s desire for a sound education for all its citizens. Investment by parents, Nigerian government and other stakeholders in the education of children, in particular, becomes wastefully enormous as a result of poor academic performance.

Often times, individuals refer to private secondary schools as schools where students get better knowledge or gain better education. However, other researchers such as Azi (2012) differs in his opinion that public schools performed better in his study. This and other argument have interested the research to make a 3-year comparative analysis of Senior Secondary School three (SSS 3) students’ performance in public and private secondary schools in Mangu Local Government Area.

• Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this study is to make a 3-year comparative analysis of SS 3 students’ academic performance in public and private secondary schools in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State. Specifically, the study seeks to achieve the following objectives:

1. To determine the differences inacademic achievement of public and private schools in Mangu Local Government Area.
2. To find out factors that enhance academic performance inpublic and private secondary schools.

• To examine factors that inhibit academic performance in public and private secondary schools.

1. To find out ways of enhancing the performance of public and private secondary schools.
   • Research Questions

To successfully come out with some useful findings, the researcher raised the following questions:

1. What is the differences in academic achievement of public and private schools in Mangu Local Government Area?
2. What are the factors enhancing academic performance in public and private secondary schools?
3. What are the factors inhibiting academic performance in public and private secondary schools?
4. What are the ways of enhancing the performance of public and private secondary schools?
   • Research Hypotheses

The following research hypotheses guided the study:

H_a: There is a significance difference in academic achievement of public and private schools in Mangu Local Government Area.

H₀: There is no significance difference in academic achievement of public and private schools in Mangu Local Government Area.

• Significance of the Study

The outcome of the study would be of great benefit to the students, teachers, parents, government and other stakeholders in the education industry.

            The students would have known some of the factors responsible for their low level of achievement in external examinations.

To the teachers, the outcome of the study will help them improve their teaching strategies to improve the students’ language skills.

            To the parents, as well as guardians, they will equally find the findings of this project beneficial, since they will be better informed to motivate their children and wards to improve on their performance through the provision of the needed learning materials.

            The study will also be of great importance to the government and other stakeholders in education because its outcome will spur them on, to provide necessary materials required for effective teaching and learning in both public and private schools.

• Scope and Delimitation of the Study

This studycovers a 3-year comparative analysis of SS 3 students’ academic performance in public and private secondary schools. The study is restricted to 4 selected secondary schools (2 public and 2 privates) in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State. However, the findings of the study when completed can be generalized to other parts of the state which are under the same conditions.