EFFECT OF INDUSTRIAL STRIKE ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SECONDARY SCHOOL, A CASE STUDY OF ADO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

EFFECT OF INDUSTRIAL STRIKE ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SECONDARY SCHOOL, A CASE STUDY OF ADO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Strike actions also called labor strike is stoppage of work caused by the mass refusal of employees to work, strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances, strikes are sometime used to pressure governments to change policies of universities infrastructural development and welfare of both Academic and non-Academic staff union of universities. Strikes are often part of a broader social movement taking the form of a campaign of civil resistance undertaken by unions during collective bargaining. Strike consists of workers refusing to attend word and picketing outside the workplace to prevent or dissuade people from working in their place or conducting business with their employer. Students strike sometimes supported by faculty not attending schools, such strike is intended to draw media attention to the institution so that the grievances that are causing the student s to strike can be aired before the public. Though this usually damages the institutions or government public image. In government- supported institutions, the student strike can cause a budgetary imbalance and have actual economic repercussions for the institution.
The education sub-sector especially secondary schools in Nigeria has witnessed in recent times incessant closures due to strike actions. The impact of these repeated closures of schools on academic programmes can better be imagined than described. Secondary school education in Nigeria has thus suffered tremendous setbacks as a result of teachers’ strike actions (Kuper, 2006). This has always subjected the students to pitiable conditions, disrupting academic programs, giving students’ undeserved extension in their study years, poor students’ concentration on academic programs and poor teacher-student relationships among others. Consequently, students’ academic performance has comparatively become so low while various forms of examination malpractice are on the increase (Marshall, 2006). The situation has assumed such an alarming dimension that it transits to tertiary institutions (Ogbuka, 2000).
Presently, education in Nigeria has not been able to achieve the noble objective because it is in deep problems (Ojielo, 2002). Paramount among these problems is the incessant National Union of Teachers strike, which has often disrupted academic activities (Adetiba, 2003). Many reasons can be seen responsible for these incessant strikes by the NUT. Prominent among those problems according to NUT are funding, lack of autonomy and dehumanizing working conditions in trying to find a lasting solution to these problems, the long commission set up by the federal government recommended in their report a 90% funding level for next fifteen years 1992-2007 (Ogbuka, 2000).
The recommendations were adopted in the agreement between the federal government of Nigeria and the NUT unfortunately government reneged on the agreement. For instance, funding in 1996 should have been four times more than what was prescribed by the report, but fell short of this expectation because of government attitude towards funding education (Gouldner, 2013). The economic down turn and the foreign exchange rates did not help matters. Judging from the economic down turn, the review of the agreement which government bluntly turned down (Olaiya, 2000). Folioing this, there has been several strikes action by the Nigerian Union of Teachers since then this situation was further aggravated by the way government reacted to NUTS strike action (Adibe, 2009). Instead of engaging in meaningful dialogue with the teachers, the governments sacked some and even went as far as forcefully ejecting them from their official quarters (Oluwadare, 2008).
In addition to the humiliation, government refused to pay them their salaries and other entitlement. As a result of this, most teachers left for the private sectors while some others went to private schools in search of greener pastures (Comte, 2009). Some student’s looks to crime, while others also secured temporary employments and yet others get involve in street hawking and became juvenile delinquents (Olugbenga, 2011). The consequence of these strike actions has led to a condition fall in education standard (Adeniran, 2000).
The conflict between the federal government and teachers has been occurring intermittently in Ekiti state secondary schools in particular, Ikere Local Government Area, following from this, it becomes pertinent that a lasting solutions be formed through a comprehensive research on the impact of strike on the academic standard of students (Adesulu, 2012). This work intends to do this by drawing government attention to the various steps to be taken in order to eliminate these problems once and for all.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The demand of National Union of Teachers (NUT) and other academic unions in the Nigerian Secondary School is that government should fulfill an agreement it reached with them in 2009 on how to save the nation’s educational system from collapse. On the other hand, government is proposing a piecemeal selective approach. There is no doubt that education is too vital to the survival of any nation that it should be treated as a subject beyond politics or evasive polemics. It is not deniable that Nigeria is presently not doing enough, by world standards, in the funding of her children’s education. As far as the government is concerned, there are other competing items for the limited funds available and government is not doing enough in the infrastructural development of the Nigerian Educational Systems.
This has caused serious altercations between government and these academic unions including NUT resulting into persistent strike actions. The incessant strike actions by NUT and all these academic unions have eventually affected the academics standard of students; it usually poses a lot of challenges to their study duration, performance in examinations and their final result. The students are kept away from school for a long time; most of them are completely cut off from academics as conditions at home may not favor productive and rigorous academic exercise. The students and their parents become frustrated because of long expectation of school resumption that is far from sight. Some of the students while at home doing nothing get engaged in other things other than academics. In some cases they are easy recruits for criminal activities, such as armed robbery, kidnapping, and rape and on the other hand encourage cultism. This has made them a problem to the society peace and order in Nigeria. However the extent to which strike actions of schools staff especially NUT strikes affects student’s academic performance require a close examination and this research focus towards examining the impact of strike actions on Nigeria education system in Ikere local government area of Ekiti state.
Purpose of the Study
The general purpose of this study was to find out the Effect of industrial strike on students academic performance in secondary schools
The specific objective of the study were to find out they;
i. To identify the effect of strike actions on students academic performance Secondary Schools in Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
ii. The prevalence of strike actions in Secondary Schools in Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
iii. The causes of strike actions in Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
iv. The strategies that can be put in place to reduce strike actions in Secondary Schools in Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
Research Questions
The researcher seeks to answer the following Research Questions which concerns the effect of strike actions on students academic performance in Secondary School.
i. What is the effect of strike actions on students academic performance Secondary Schools in Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State?
ii. What is the prevalence of strike actions in Secondary Schools in Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State?
iii. What are the causes of strike actions in Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State?
iv. What are the strategies that can be put in place to reduce strike actions in Secondary Schools in Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State?
1.5 Significance of Study
The finding of the study will be useful to Government, Funding Organizations and private institutions governing bodies. It will also help administrators and parents to provide strike-free environments for students.
It will reveal to the public and private institutions supervising agencies the causes and consequences of strike actions and the strategies that can be put in place to reduce strike actions. It will also improve academic performance of students for caring institutions that may take this research effort as a challenge.
1.6 Scope of the Study
This study centers on the effect of strike actions on students academic performance in Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State. It is aimed at all Secondary School Students in Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
1.8 Definition of Terms
Strike
Strike is workers’ refusal to work as protest for inadequate service or poor condition. In the education sector, teachers’ strike can be compared to students’ examination malpractice, corruption and other social vices in the society. Strike is a social ill not different from corruption because it eats into students’ time which makes it difficult for students to be fully and properly ‘baked’ within the designated educational time frame. As a result, ‘products’ that are illequipped in both character and learning are turned out to the society.
Action
Action can be defined as the process or state of acting or of being active e.g The machine is not in action now. Something done or performed; act; deed.
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/action)
Impact
The noun impact can refer to a physical force (like a collision), an influence (a bad role model or a hero), or a strong effect (a foot of snow will have an impact on driving conditions). Impact is used most often as a noun. A good teacher might have an impact (influence) on a struggling student. The moment two comets collide is called the "moment of impact." It can also be define as the striking of one thing against another; forceful contact; collision: The impact of the colliding cars broke the windshield.
(http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/impact).
Academic: This has been variously defined but for the purpose of this study, Hornby (1991) defined academic has that which has to do with school college studies or learning in other words designate the intellectual; aspect of education particularly the final subjects deal with organized knowledge.
Performance: According to Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, performance is the accomplishment of a given task measured against preset known standards of accuracy and completeness
Academic performance: This refers to the performance that falls within specified standard. The specific standard is usually called pass mark and the pass mark is score above average which students are considered having passed and below which students are considered having failed.
Student: According to Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, a student is a person who is learning or studying at a place of higher or further education.

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