This topic seeks to address the
destructiveness of truancy and the subsequent deviant behavioural patterns that
are associated with truancy. Truants are individuals who, for a
variety of reasons have made the decision not to attend class or who has
decided not to go to school at all. Truancy has become a national problem and
more importantly, a local challenge which negatively influences the future of
our children. Students who do not attend school are at risk of engaging in
behaviour involving alcohol, drugs, violence and other criminal conduct. This
includes students who attend only a portion of school day.
The fallout of truancy has a near
immediate negative impact upon the truant, the parents, the community, the
school district, and the students who make the decision to stay in school.
(Repowerup, 2010). These group analyzed the individual effects of truancy thus;
Students who skip class or school,
immediately fall behind in the curriculum set for them by the school. The
school suffer the blight and the lowering of its overall scoring and
performance which justifies what school is awarded certain educational benefits
and programs. No school district administration will reward schools with high
truancy and low scoring and performance. School whose students performance is
above standards are awarded programs designed to help students perform better.
Therefore, since this cannot be given to such school with high rate of truancy,
the real victims of truancy becomes the students who choose to go to school
everyday and put forth an effort to succeed. Unfortunately for them, it is not
as simple as transferring to a better performing school to escape being the
collateral damage of someone else’s destructive actions.
The community also suffers in that
truancy puts it at risk of becoming a victim of deviant behaviour. Students who
commit truancy, commit deviant acts at a higher rate than students who stay in
school. Deviant acts include, but are not limited to theft, burglary, robbery, drug
abuse, assault, various sex-related crimes and even murder. For the hard
working people of the community, every truant represents an increased chance
they or their property may become a victim of some deviant act.
These views of Repowerup conforms
with Dittimiya, who in 2001 opines that truancy has greatly affected the
development of human resources needed for economic and social transformation of
the Nigerian society. To him, truancy is a distractive and an undeserving
element in the Nigerian school system, which makes it impossible for students
to fully comprehend the whole aim of education, examination and public
morality. It does not encourage development; rather it retards the progress of
schools and the entire society. In Ohaukwu local government area, there are
many standard secondary schools measuring up to expectation, but there are yet students
who indulge in truancy and are seen not to be measuring up to full academic
standards, even when they are naturally brilliant.
In recent times, it has been
discovered that a high percentage of the crimes committed in the Nigerian
society are by secondary school students. And from the findings based on
reviewed literature, it has been proved that most of the crimes are committed
during school periods than during holidays. Truancy also leads to repetition of
classes by truants and subsequently, they drop out from school and become
social nuisance. The males drop out and mostly take to armed robbery while
their female counterparts resort to prostitution.
A study carried out in some selected
secondary schools in Nkanu west local government area of Enugu State in 2003 by
Geo-opha revealed that out of 168 sample students; 58 were identified as
truants while 110 were non-truants, but engaged in other delinquent acts. Four
sample questions were used to guide the research, tested with the chi-square,
the findings revealed that truants are noted for poor academic performance, and
that both male and female children from broken homes commit more acts of
truancy. Again, Chiakpu’s study among secondary schools in Enugu East Local
Government Area in 2007 revealed that the age at which truancy begins to manifest
in students is between 12 and 15 years. Fifteen questions were used for the
study.
The above research and findings is
not too far from what could be seen in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi
State which goes a long way to suggest what could be done to combat the
problems associated with truancy.
SUMMARY
OF LITERATURE REVIEW In the course of reviewing the
literature related to the concept of truancy in secondary schools, certain
vital issues have been discussed. From the arrays of views shared by authors
and scholars whose work were reviewed, it can be argued that the loss of the
community begins with the students who skips class or school. It can also be
put that it is the parent’s fault and even the school’s fault. But no one
person or group should be blamed for the loss of the community.
The loss of the community is like a
“fire triangle the community is made up of three major elements; family, school
and peers influence. When one of the elements are taken out or impacted, the
community breaks down. The fallout of the community break down includes such
behaviour as truancy. Students should understand their important role as the
next community of leaders and maintainers. Young people who understand their
role as community leaders and maintainers are more often willing to accept
their responsibility including young people who were once truants.
The review also looked at the
various causes of truancy among secondary school students which include the
student’s background, school factors, socio-economic situation of students and
peer group influence.
Finally, it was discovered in the
course of the literature review that some studies carried out in Nigeria have
already shed some light on some areas related to this study and this has helped
to streamline the direction of the study.