CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Students need a comfortable environment in which to study and do well on their tests. The purpose of providing students with hostels is to enhance the learning environment for them. As a result, many pioneering schools have constructed luxury dorms befitting their undergraduate and graduate student populations. The number of students attending school was manageable at the time. Sometimes, there would be as few as two or three students sharing a room in a hostel. According to Odilimuo (2022) there should only be one classroom full of students at any given moment. Sharing a room with multiple students, can be a source of friction. A student’s success in college can be measured not only by their grades and GPA, but also by how effectively they integrate with their peers and how successfully they set and reach their own personal goals. Numerous scholars in the field of education have devoted time and energy to this topic in an effort to gain a deeper understanding of students’ existing academic, social, and psychological well-being before attempting to pinpoint the difficulties they face in reaching their goals.

In Nigeria, the increasing student population in higher education institutions has not been met with nearly enough hostels. According to data from the Nigerian University Commission (NUC), the number of government-provided student apartments falls far short of the number needed to meet the rising demand (NUC, 2014). As the number of students increases, the government’s provision of housing for them decreases. Hostels provide a great learning environment for all majority of on-campus students. After a student has been accepted to a higher institution, he or she may start to wonder where they should reside in order to be most productive academically (Owolabi, 2015). Student dormitories are a major consideration for prospective students when picking which institution to enroll in.

Accommodation is the second most crucial need for the physical existence of man, after food, in any social environment. Because of this, the hostel system has become an integral part of the modern educational system, serving as a place for students to stay at low cost and engage in academic community with their peers. According to Olotuah (2010) despite the fact that student hostels improve students’ quality of study, the many challenges that affect their management have been ignored in the academic literature, especially in Nigeria. A hostel, in its broadest meaning, is any facility that offers low-cost housing and food to budget-conscious tourists. Again, hostel is a building in which cheap meals and lodging are supplied for students.” That’s why it is so important; it gives the students a safe place to stay for a little while, along with a bed and, in some cases, food. Hostel management entails supplying and supervising low-cost housing and its associated amenities like a television set, mattress, water supply, toilet facilities, reading tables, and chairs, all with the goal of providing each and every student with the individual care and attention they need to study in peace and comfort. According to Tajudeen, Taiwo, Mogaji-Allison and Bello (2016) a properly-run hostel will have all of these amenities in good functioning order, as well as regularly updating outdated equipment and regularly repairing or replacing broken or defaulted equipment. Because of this, students who choose to live in hostels have a higher chance of achieving academic success. This shows that if student hostels are not well maintained, students run the risk of becoming ill-acclimatized to their living circumstances, which in turn could have a negative impact on their study habits. Hostel management is an important issue that must be taken seriously and addressed with appropriate policy measures. In contrast, it’s possible that this isn’t the case in the female students’ hostel in the current study location, as it is at several higher institutions in Nigeria and other nearby African countries. Although it has been modelled after the British system, Nigeria’s educational system falls short in key areas. Students in the United Kingdom are often offered the chance to reside in a hostel equipped with all the necessities for academic success before they are formally admitted to any school.

In contrast, the pedagogical methods currently employed in Nigerian classrooms simply cannot be verified. There may be a connection to the poor administration of hostels. On the basis of this, it is reasonable to assume that managing students’ hostels in colleges of education presents significant challenges. However, these problems have not been sufficiently documented in the academic literature for their analysis to inform the creation of policies meant to address them. Several studies have taken a comprehensive look at the challenge that is hostel administration in developing countries like Nigeria and compared it to the challenges faced by other nations. According to Zhao and Kuh (2014) some of these include, but are not limited to: a lack of a planned maintenance programme, inadequate maintenance money, re-active maintenance, noncompliance with regulations, a lack of long-term viability, restricted resources, and the use of quacks. One of these causes is a lack of a maintenance culture.

As a result of the above challenges, the vast majority of students have little choice but to squat with their friends in the hostel, whether it be due to financial constraints, the desire to be near their friends, or other similar reasons. The effects of hostel squatting on students’ health, happiness, and academic achievement go far beyond the phenomenon’s sheer frequency. Therefore, this research looks at how squatting in the hostel affects the study habits of female students FCE Pankshin. According to Thompson, Samiratedu and Rafter (2010) one of the primary motivations for student squatting is the desire to save money. In addition, he said that one-fourth of today’s college students live in squatters’ quarters, typically with friends or acquaintances. Consequently, tertiary students in some higher institutions have resorted to hostel squatting due to the incapacity of the tertiary institutions to handle the expanding student population by providing adequate hostels.

Many students engage in hostel squatting, despite the fact that doing so can have a negative impact on their study habits. Many female students squat because they are free from parental or guardian oversight, but they may end up regretting it because they may not be able to finish their schooling. And thousands of students who squatted in class did horribly. Many students drop out of school a year or two after being entered because they are unable to devote sufficient time to reading, and even more drop out with failing grades or “ordinary passes” that prevent them from continuing their study (Elechi, 2018). Students in Nigerian colleges of education who squat encounter a number of problems that make it difficult for them to get their certificate at the right time without spilling-over, including a lack of concentration and procrastination because they don’t want to face their schoolwork. Similarly, students in Nigerian colleges of education frequently lose focus, which contributes to a high dropout rate. Another consequence of hostel squatting is the transmission of communicable diseases, as many students at Nigerian universities today become infected with turbaclosis, hepatitis, infections, HIV, and other such illnesses through this practise. For example, according to Alex (2018), hostel squatting has resulted in the termination of the academic careers of two female students at the University of Ife and four female students at the University of Lagos due to the contracting of various diseases. Alex further claimed that many students join bad gangs because they squat with terrible mates. In 2015, for instance, a female student at the University of Benin was murdered while squatting with her cultist pals. Even worse, many students in Nigerian universities become drug addicts while squatting in hostels, which has a negative impact on their grades. All these studies fail to examine how hostel squatting influence study habits of female students.

The definition of a study habit is the practise of setting out time in one’s calendar that is solely devoted to learning and is free from distractions. Without it, a person cannot mature and would eventually become self-limiting in their life. The way someone studies reveals how much information they are willing to learn, how far they want to travel, and how much money they want to make. All of these things may be determined with the assistance of one’s approach to studying throughout their entire life. According to Stella and Purtshothaman (2013) the reading activities that students participate in on a daily basis have an impact on their ability to study and their subsequent academic success. One might gain an appreciation for the link between healthy reading habits and the overall academic achievement of students when one takes a more general perspective on the topic.

Study habits are approaches applied to learning, centering on an individual’s efforts, with a view to taking action, based on a mode of occurrence or growth. These approaches lead people to study easily, naturally with growing skill and certainty. Study habits (approaches applied to learning) have to do with: study methods, study skill and study attitude.  They enable students to work personally and privately. They are techniques that facilitate the acquisition of knowledge and development of skills which result in achieving success and becoming productive. Study habits are very important to enhancing the proper development and attainment of an individual. Study habits are very important, because they enhance every learning process of all students, males and females alike. Findings on gender differences in study habits arouse interest and curiosity.

It is against the above discussion that this study aims to investigate the influence of hostel squatting on the study habits of female students in Federal College of Education, Pankshin.

1.2. Statement of the Problem

Concern has been expressed by all parties involved in the education system regarding the high percentage of academic failure experienced by students enrolled in colleges of education. These parties include parents, teachers, the government, and students themselves. According to Dele (2012), the unfavourable habits that students have toward their studies can be blamed for the overcrowded hostels. It is impossible to overstate how important it is for colleges of education in Nigeria, including FCE Pankshin, to offer adequate hostels.

Students attending the Federal College of Education in Pankshin reside in campus hostels that are shared with a large number of other students at a time. The way in which they interact with one another frequently causes a chain reaction of arguments. Students who engage in socially unacceptable behaviours, such as some who squat with their friends or family members without informing their roommates; others who practise their religion in a way that is intentionally offensive to their roommates; and students who, as a result, frequently end up in conflict in their rooms. In some situations, roommates will not pay their half of the rent, they will steal from each other or use their belongings without permission, and they will even sell illegal drugs in the shared space.

The issue that sparked the investigation was related to changes that were made to the programme that the college offered as well as the number of students that enrolled. As a consequence of the increased social demand for university education, there is a growing requirement for a learning environment that is both more quantitative and more qualitative. In spite of the fact that the problem continues, the absence of adequate student hostels in Nigerian colleges is a most concerning issue. The National Commission of Colleges of Education (NCCE), whose aim is to ensure that students in the college system receive an education that is of high quality and is competitive on a worldwide scale, has specified a set of requirements that must be met as a minimum. The majority of the time, governments concentrate their efforts on giving students with access to educational opportunities rather than placing as much emphasis on making affordable housing options available to students. Because there are not enough hostels, there is a significant risk that students’ study habits will suffer. These students are going to have a much harder time accomplishing their educational objectives as time goes on. Because of all of these factors, the current researcher has a strong interest in carrying out this study on the influence of hostel squatting on the study habits of female students in Federal College of Education in Pankshin.

1.3. Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this study is to examine the influence of hostel squatting on the study habits of female students in Federal College of Education Pankshin. The study’s specfic objectives include to:

1. determine the causes of hostel squatting among female students in Federal College of Education, Pankshin.
2. determine how hostel squatting affects study strategies among female students in Federal College of Education, Pankshin.
3. measure how hostel squatting cause defective study habits among female students in Federal College of Education, Pankshin.
4. find out how hostel squatting cause effective study habits among female students in Federal College of Education, Pankshin.
5. examine the challenges experienced by female students who squat in hostels in Federal College of Education Pankshin.

1.4. Research Questions

Research questions posed to guide the study included the following:

1. What are the causes of hostel squatting among female students in Federal College of Education, Pankshin?
2. How does hostel squatting affects study strategies among female students in Federal College of Education, Pankshin?
3. How does hostel hostel squatting cause defective study habits among female students in Federal College of Education, Pankshin?
4. How does hostel squatting cause effective study habits among female students in Federal College of Education, Pankshin?
5. To examine the challenges experienced by female students who squat in hostels in Federal College of Education Pankshin?

1.5. Significance of the Study

It is impossible to exaggerate the significance of this research, particularly in light of the fact that lecturers and researchers are doing all in their power to identify the obstacles that stand in the way of the study habits of female students. As a result, in addition to researchers, those who will gain from the findings are going to be college administrators, parents of female students, planners and future researchers.

The administration of the institution will become more aware of the challenges that female students encounter when they are enrolled in school. As a consequence of this, they will take measures such as building more hostels, renovating the existing ones, among others in order to enhance the study habits female students in the college hostels.

Parents will come to see the benefits of their children staying on campus in the hostels rather than off-campus options. They will strongly encourage them to reside in one of the hostels rather than having them live off campus. They will further provide adequate funds which will help the students get good hostel space rather than squatting with friends.

As a consequence of the findings of this research, female students will have a better understanding of why it is essential for them to reside at the school’s hostels, where they will be protected and able to focus on their academic pursuits. In doing this, they will understand that squatting is not the best option as their will be distraction from roommates and friends’ visitors. They will rather get a good hostel space than to squat with friends who will be distractors.  Because of this, they will have improved study habits.

When all is said and done, this research will contribute to the existing body of literature on the topic of hostel squatting and the study habits of female students attending colleges of education in the capacity of a reference material when it is finished.

1.6. Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The primary subject of this investigation is the influence of squatting in the hostels on study habits of female students. The only hostels in the Federal College of Education in Pankshin that are being investigated are the ones reserved for females. Squatting in hostels will be examined from the perspective of the causes of hostel squatting among female students in Federal College of Education, Pankshin, how hostel squatting affects study strategies among female students in Federal College of Education, Pankshin, how hostel squatting causes defective study habits among female students in Federal College of Education, Pankshin, how hostel squatting causes effective study habits among female students in Federal College of Education, Pankshin and challenges experienced by female students who squat in hostels in Federal College of Education Pankshin. Despite the fact that the research was conducted just at one college, it is possible to extrapolate the findings to other regions of the state and the nation as a whole.

1.7. Operational Definitions of Terms

Operational terms are defined in this section thus.

Hostel: a place where students can stay while they attend school apart from their families. Students: Students who are currently enrolled in a tertiary institution are the focus of this study.

Roommate: One who shares a living space, such as a room with another person is referred to as a roommate. Hostel mate, suitemate, housemate, or flat mate are all phrases that can be used interchangeably.

Squatting: Squatting is the practice of sharing a living space with another person without their consent or payment.

Study Habits:  The usage of this concept in this research implies the application of effective studying approaches such as regular and punctual attendance to lectures, note-taking during lectures, summarizing during personal studies, reviewing, being organized, observing regular study time. Study habits are approaches applied to learning centering on an individual effort with a view of taking action, base on a mode of occurrence or growth.

Review Strategy: This phrase denote a recall of leant material easier. It is important technique that enables students to check comprehension and prevent forgetting. It serves as a good test of a student’s comprehension of material received during lecture.

Note-taking: It helps students to listen actively in class and take note on the word from the lecture delivery. it helps them to be focus during lessons/lectures, therefore, helps their concentration, retention and understanding, and make them active participant rather than passive day dreamers.

Defective Study Habits: The usage of this concept in this research implies the negation, by all action/practice, of every aspect listed above under effective study habits. This situation may result in failure in Council examination, leading to re-writing the examination several times before succeeding by the students.