EFFECTS OF CORRUPTION ON EDUCATION: A STUDY OF SOME SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title page – – – – – – – – i
Declaration Page – – – – – – – – ii
Approval Page – – – – – – – – iii
Dedication – – – – – – – – – iv
Acknowledgements – – – – – – – – v
Table of contents – – – – – – – – vi
Abstract – – – – – – – – – ix

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background to the Study- – – – – – – 1
1.2. Statement of the Problem- – – – – – – 5
1.3. Purpose of the Study- – – – – – – – 6
1.4. Research Questions- – – – – – – – 7
1.5. Significance of the Study- – – – – – – 7
1.6. Scope of the Study- – – – – – – – 8
1.7. Operational Definition of Terms – – – – – – 9
1.8 Theoretical Framework – – – – – – – 10

CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Corruption- – – – – – – – – 11
2.2 Corruption in Nigerian Economy- – – – – – 13
2.3 Education – – – – – – – – – 16
2.3 Corruption in the Education Industry and National Development in
Nigeria – – – – – – – – – 17
2.4. Forms of Corruption in Schools – – – – – – 24
2.5 The Effect of Corruption on Educational System – – – 30
2.6 Possible Weak Points and Challenges that Affect Elimination of
Corruption in Educational System- – – – – – 34
2.7 The Concept and Objectives of Teaching Social Studies – – – 35
2.8 Curbing corruption via social studies education – – – – 38
2.9 Summary of Literature Review – – – – – – 39

CHAPTER THREE
METHOD AND PROCEDURE
3.0 Introduction – – – – – – – – – 41
3.1 Research Design- – – – – – – – – 41
3.2 Population of the Study – – – – – – – 41
3.3. Sample of the Study- – – – – – – – 41
3.4 Sampling Technique- – – – – – – – 43
3.5 Instrument for Data Collection – – – – – – 43
3.5.1 Validity of the Instrument- – – – – – – 44
3.5.2 Reliability of the Instrument – – – – – – 44
3.6 Procedure for Data Collection – – – – – – 44
3.7 Method of Data Analysis – – – – – – – 45

CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Results – – – – – – – – – 46
4.2 Discussion of Findings – – – – – – – 50

CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary – – – – – – – – – 52
5.2 Conclusion- – – – – – – – – 53
5.3 Recommendations- – – – – – – – 54
References – – – – – – – – – 55
Appendixes – – – – – – – – 56

Abstract
The main purpose of this research work was to investigate the effects of corruption on education with a case study of selected secondary schools in Pankshin. The research design used was the survey research design. The population of the study consisted of all students and teachers of 20 selected secondary schools. A sample of 200 respondents were used. The random sampling technique was adopted to select the sample of the study. The questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents. The method of data analysis was the simple mean score. The findings of the research indicated that causes of corruption include poverty and greed, unchecked leadership, lack of moral upbringing, tribalism and inequality in the society; effects of corruption were that corruption weakens development, cripples the justice system of a country, political instability and poverty; forms of corruption in education are enormous these include: teachers’ extortion of money from students, examination malpractice, non-payment of staff, bullying of students by teachers, students extorting money from parents. In the light of the findings, the study recommended that the government should take drastic measures in order to curb the excessive corruption eating into the Nigerian economy, teachers of Social Studies, who are charged with the duty of inculcating morals and teaching the children their civic rights and responsibilities as citizens, should not rest until they teach these leaders of tomorrow, the dangers and consequences of corruption, parents should inculcate morals in their children at a tender age by telling didactic stories to their children which will serve as deterrent to them when they find themselves in positions, students should come to terms with the fact that corruption destroys an individual and the economy’s development as well, children and youths should learn to be honest and grow up to be better citizens.

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.7. Background to the Study
Every responsible society looks up to education for progressive directions and advancements in the lives of her individual citizens and the collective and general development of the state. Education offers or renders this responsibility in many ways. Education develops the creative potentials of citizens and this on its own engineers a general turn around in the economic, political, social, moral outlooks of citizens that targets placing citizens on lanes upon which they can positively explore situations to their advantage. The truth about the powers of education in bringing about rapid changes for man and society and the curiosity for its pursuit has according to Transparency International (2013: xix) singled out education as the largest element in the public sector of many countries in the world. Again the education sector of every society receives the type of attention it receives simply because the sector has always been a focal flash point through which politicians and the political regimes seek and establish legitimacy from the general public.
Entry points of corruption into Nigeria’s education industry are as multiple and varied as there are many agencies and institutions that are interested in funding and overseeing activities in the education industry. Corruption lays in wait for learners in Nigeria on the day of their first attempt to gain entry or entrance into the gates of pre-primary education and remains through the other tiers of the education system. Common sense shows that security men at the gates of educational institutions in Nigeria receive bribes from parents, students and visitors and consequently involve themselves in corrupt and fraudulent practices that emotionally impose siege mentality not only on learners but on other stakeholders and consequently threaten and disrupt meaningful academic activities. In addition, those entrusted with security responsibilities in educational institutions in Nigeria easily compromise in their duties when bribes are given to them. That the security units in Nigeria’s education industry can be neck-deep in corruption and corrupt practices show the magnitude of corruption in the education industry in Nigeria.
Classroom teachers are not left out in the orgy of corruption and corrupt practices in Nigeria’s education industry and a pattern of corruption that is unique to them is sale of grades, sexual harassment, absenteeism, fragrant abandonment of teaching and in its place engineering and initiating a culture of private practices whereby learners are forced to participate in such privately organized tutorials using school facilities where exorbitant charges and fees are paid and learners who refuse to be part of such private tutoring are frustrated in addition to being singled out for unmerited victimization. At the tertiary education level in Nigeria, corruption exists in more sophisticated forms at virtually all units of the tertiary education levels ranging from admissions office, bursary, personnel, works, students affairs etc. In most Nigerian tertiary educational institutions, corruption harmonizes very well with ethnicity and under their joint covers, certain choice appointment and positions are reserved and made the exclusive rights of some members of certain ethnic nationalities even when they do not have the requisite qualifications to enable them pick up and occupy such positions.
It does not take the insightful and penetrating eyes of an insider and a social crusader to observe that activities of students especially at the tertiary level in recent times in Nigeria promote and support corruption and corrupt practices as such fraudulent behaviours from students are on the surface. Students representative are presently in the habit of initiating behaviours that lure lecturers and administration into extorting money from students including the ability of the representatives of students to connive with school management and service providers to increase charges under the cover of raising more money to attend to the ever increasing and ever present needs of the students. Unfortunately such charges at the end of the day are not channeled into the purported areas where they were officially alleged to be used but are embezzled by school management and students’ representatives. In recent times, the clamour and desire to participate in students union leadership in tertiary institutions in Nigeria is not to make case for the welfare of the students as such democratic participation only ends up affording golden opportunities for students representatives to navigate and ventilate their ways into what they can corruptly make for themselves from the administration, service providers in tertiary educational institutions and their fellow students (Dame, 2017).
Indeed turning every opportunity meant to serve students or the school community into opportunities for corrupt enrichment is presently becoming the norm in Nigeria as one does not need the services of prophets or diviners to tell him that minor and major school activities such as inter house sports, old boys meeting, end of year parties, anniversary day etc in the primary and secondary schools and matriculation, convocation and accreditation exercises in tertiary institutions easily turn out to be plat forms for sharp and corrupt practices so much that heads of private or public educational institution in Nigeria in whose tenure in office the above did not take place consider themselves as people who are unfortunate. Some heads of educational institutions or parastatals in Nigeria even go extra miles to create opportunities that make sharp and corrupt practices part of the rituals of the administrative system. Graphically, Okorosaye (2008) captures, summarizes and confirms all that have been said when he writes that a particular State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in Nigeria criminally and outrageously spent #800 million (Eight hundred million naira only) in executing a one day training workshop for teachers. This truly points in the direction that opportunities for brain-storming on issues or introducing radical and revolutionary innovations to improve productivity in education in Nigeria easily turn out to become opportunities for fraud and corrupt practices so terrible that strategies for achieving quality occupy no space or priority and welfare packages for teachers who drive the sector receive no attention but those who manage such programmes swim in affluence.
In the light of the above discussion, this project sets out to investigate the effect of corruption on education.
1.8. Statement of the Problem
After being independent for 57 years, Nigeria is still struggling to realize itself in terms of development. The state of development in Nigeria and Africa at large is rather moving on a snail-like motion. This slowness in development is attributed to the corruption of the African leaders who took power from the colonial masters after independence. Today, Nigeria as one of the largest producers of oil (petroleum) is still wallowing in poverty and starvation: the common man can hardly afford a three-square meal. The Nigerian economy is capable of feeding and meeting the needs of all Nigerian whose population is estimated to be at one hundred and seventy million. However, the reverse is the case – as the money circulates only in the hands of few political leaders. These leaders are so corrupt that they are passing down this cankerworm of corruption from one generation to the other.
Public office serves some Nigerians as opportunity to loot the treasury and accumulate massive wealth which are then laundered. Some Nigerians who have served as Councilors, Local Government Chairmen, Commissioners, Governors, Ministers, Senators and Representatives, etc. have acquired huge and immeasurable wealth not in any way commensurate with their positions and legitimate income. All these are indicators of bad governance in Nigeria. Committed African writers x-ray their various societies to portray the societal ills that retard the development of those societies. Nigeria has all it requires in both human and material resources to advance scientifically and technologically like the Asian technologists but the bane is bad governance leading to perverse attitude which has plunged the country into a morass.
Corruption as a canker worm eating into, first of all the political system, is gradually but successfully sinking its claws into the educational system of our society today.
1.9. Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to determine the effect of corruption on education in Pankshin Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Other specific purposes of this study are:
i. To determine the causes of corruption in Nigerian Education.
ii. To bring to bare the elements of corruption in education.
iii. To examine the implication of corruption on educational system of our society today.
iv. To find out the different forms in which corruption has taken shape in education.
v. To proffer possible solutions to the effects of corruption.
1.10. Research Questions
For the researcher to have a sense of guidance, the following research questions have been formulated:
a. What are the causes of corruption in Nigerian education?
b. What are the implications of corruption on educational system of our society today?
c. What are the different forms in which corruption has taken shape in education?
d. What are the possible solutions to the effects of corruption?
1.11. Hypothesis
H0: Corruption has no significant effect on education.
Ha: Corruption has a significant effect on education.
1.12. Significance of the Study
This research is significance especially now that society is heading towards damnation. Almost all leaders that find themselves in position today, want to amass wealth for their selfish interest. This study will therefore, be beneficial to the government, teachers, parents and students as well.
The government will get to know how the cankerworm (corruption) has eating deep into the nation’s economy and hindering development at all governmental and non-governmental sectors. Therefore, drastic measures will be taken in order to mitigate these effects.
Teachers of Social Studies, who are charged with the duty of inculcating morals and teaching the children their civic rights and responsibilities as citizens, will not rest until they teach these leaders of tomorrow, the dangers of and consequences of corruption – underdevelopment, so that when they become leaders tomorrow, they will avoid it.
To the parents, they say charity begins at home. The morals inculcated by parents in children at a tender age, is hard to be forgotten. Therefore, parents will tell didactic stories to their children which will serve as deterrent to them when they find themselves in positions.
Coming to the students, they will come to terms with the fact that corruption destroys an individual and the economy’s development as well. To this end, they learn to be honest and grow up to be better citizens.
1.13. Scope of the Study
This study is limited to corruption and its effect on education and how to avert it. The research will cover selected secondary schools in Pankshin Local Government Area of Plateau State. This is because of limited finances and time which makes the researcher unable to use the whole state. Despite the fact that this research is going to be carried out and restricted to Pankshin Local Government Area, its findings can be generic – it can be generalized to other parts of the state and the country at large.
1.7. Operational Definition of Terms
For clear understanding of the research, the terms which will be used in the course of the research and are related to the topic will be defined as follows:
Corruption: Corruption is a form of dishonest or unethical conduct by a person entrusted with a position of authority, often to acquire personal benefit.
Effect: a change which is a result or consequence of an action or other cause. It could also be likened to aftermaths of a phenomenon.
Education: Education is a systematic process through which a child or an adult acquires knowledge, experience and relevant skills from one generation to another