Attendance Dilemma and its Effects on the Academic Performance of Secondary Schools’ Students in Osun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Worried by the dwindling academic performance of students in the various national examinations in Nigeria in recent times, this study examined the causes of attendance challenge and their impact on the academic performance of Secondary Schools’ students in Osun State of Nigeria. To achieve this aim, scores in attendance and examinations for 3,050 students in the last three years were collected from 61 state-owned Secondary Schools out of a total of 208 Schools in the State. Two hypotheses were formulated and tested in this respect while descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were adopted for the analysis. The results indicated that the average attendance scores of students across the ten constituencies in the state are proportional to their examination scores. Also, parents/guardians ranked poverty level (M = 3.96), unbearable extra fees imposed on students by the school authority (M = 3.95) and high cost of instructional materials (M = 3.93) as major significant causes for their wards’ absenteeism at school. The results of Chi-square value (χ2 cal = 26.35 > χ2 tab =7.32) for the test of hypothesis showed that a significant relationship exists between class attendance and academic performance of Secondary School students in the study area. It was concluded that a mechanism should be put in place by the State Government to curb the extra fees being charged by the various school authorities.