Influence of Cultism on the Academic Performance of Secondary School Students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the influence of cultism on the academic performance of secondary school students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State. Three research questions guided the study. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised 3319 male and female senior secondary school students in public secondary schools in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State while the sample of the study was 209 male and female senior secondary school students selected through simple random sampling technique from 11 selected public secondary schools. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled “Influence of Cultism on the Academic Performance of Secondary School Students Questionnaire (ICAPSSSQ). The researcher administered 209 copies of the questionnaire to senior secondary school students and teachers in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State but 203 administered copies of the questionnaire were retrieved and analyzed using mean and standard deviation statistics. The analysis revealed among others that the need for protection, frustration, poverty, peer pressure    to seek revenge, to get accepted, economic gain, inferiority complex and lack of proper upbringing are the causes of secondary school students’ involvement in cultism in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State; cultism is prevalent among secondary school students and cultism negatively influence secondary school students’ academic performance in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State. Based on the findings, the researcher suggested among others that guidance and counseling services should be provided in schools to enlighten students on the negative consequences of cultism on their academic performance and school management should ensure that security network in the school premises is strengthened to curb the menace of cultism in secondary schools.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

In recent times, education has been recognized globally as one of the universal ways of survival and improvement of the well-being of individuals and society (Molagun, 2013). The advent of formal education is considered as the foundation for national development the surest way of making long life achievements (Molagun, 2013). For these reasons, families and citizens especially the youths and children tend to pay more attention to education. Consequently, no nation, government, organization or family makes effective impact and lasting successes in their daily affairs without having educated citizens, who have clearer understanding of their obligations, functions or responsibilities, observe the laws, apply policies and co-operate in its affairs (Ogunbameru, 2010).  The 6-3-3-4 system of education established in 1982 was aimed at providing Universal Basic Education (UBE) for the citizens in order to breed species of individuals with compassion for building a great nation, having national consciousness with the right attitude to life, properties and values required to move national development to the next level (Ogunbameru, 2010). Education as a bedrock for useful living and national development seems to be impeded with the existence of cults groups in the school system.

Cultism is an undeniably social vice setting the hand of the developmental stride of Nigeria backward. The unabated atrocities of secret cults in the Nigerian educational system and even in the wider society continues to take a toll on the lives of young and old Nigerians.  Many young people have been hacked down in their prime by rival cultists in schools. The umbrella name of the groups that unleash terror in the various academic institutions across Nigeria is called secret cult. Ogunbameru (2014) defines secret cult as any form of organization whose activities are not only exclusively kept away from the knowledge of others but such activities are carried out at odd hours of the day and they often clash with the accepted norms and values of the society. Okwu (2006) views cultism as barbaric, clandestine and a diabolical evil association that has lost contact with sanity and acceptable societal norms.

Cultism is one of the most embarrassing problems challenging tertiary institutions in the south-south geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The menace of cultism in institutions of learning is increasingly making the society unsafe (Onoh, 2016). The authors avers that virtually all segments of the society had become prone to the pervasive influence of violence, especially campus violence. Never before has the desire for the destruction of lives and property in the society been so fast escalated and out of proportion as now. There seems to be any academic session that passes without reported cases of murder, rape, maiming, and assaults in tertiary educational institutions. Okwu (2016) reported that an estimated five thousand students and lecturers had lost their lives in Nigerian institutions of learning as a result of cult-related violent clashes.

The destructive cult activities in schools in Nigeria are mind-bogging and distasteful. These clandestine and violent activities include amongst others, extortion, rape, blackmail, arson, robbery, and drug abuse, drug trafficking, kidnapping/abduction, hijacking, maiming and murdering of lives of promising young men and women had been led astray or cut short in the hands of these bloody and shucking gangs on campus and schools Secret cult is an evil wind that does no one any good (Onyekakeyah, 2017).

Secondary school students’ involvement in secret cults has ruined the lives of thousands of talented youths in south-south geopolitical zone, specifically Nigeria as a whole. It is however on record that most of the casualties of secret cult membership is by ignorance (Okwu, 2016). However, children who engage in cultism might have found life in classrooms dull, boring and uninteresting (Onyekake, 2017). Also, they must have found greater pleasure and interest in activities outside the school and the classroom environment. Such children usually leave their homes giving everybody the impression that they have gone to school but stopped on the way to participate in what they like to enjoy most. This they do until it is time for school dismissal and they return home. Some others are caught playing round the street with other students who engage in gambling and loitering outside the school premises. This is because some students get scared of some unfriendly treatment from teachers, unpleasant encounters during classroom work, unnecessary harassment and embarrassment by the senior students. These lead to loss of interest in academics in the classroom by most students (Azelama, Alude & Imhonda, 2014).

In addition, some students engage in cultism because of the feeling of inferiority among their classmates, laziness to class work, challenges of classroom test and assignments, verbal abuses and threats of classroom teachers, school phobia, anxiety, bullying, lack of skills needed to perform well at school, lack of priority to education and academics (Azelama et al., 2014). Furthermore, the impact of cultism is very obvious and usually a negative one on students in the present and future life. Cultism results in loss of intellectual development and lack of improvement of individual (Onoh, 2016). Also, it leads to poor academic performance at the end of the school periods, school terms and school year. Cultism is a threat to academic performances of students which is believed to reduce the quality of education available to learners (Azelama et al., 2014). In other words, it reduces the standard of academic achievement of a child and leads to the fall of educational standard in schools. In addition, cultism increases the rate of examination malpractices and poor examination results in both internal and external examinations. Cultism is also a factor that contributes to idleness, joblessness, unemployment and underemployment of most adults today, because of their involvement in cultism during their school days (Azelama et al., 2014). It is the light of the foregoing that this study investigated the causes and influence of cultism on the academic performance of secondary school students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State.

Statement of the Problem

Poor academic performance of secondary school students constitutes a problem to teachers and all stakeholders in the Nigerian education. The fundamental problem of cultism is the creation of uncertain and unsafe atmosphere in the school environment. Teachers, parents and government have complained of the falling standard of education which is falling very fast especially in secondary school level. The existence of cultism causes tension amongst the students leading to insecurity of life and properties. In the last two decades, Delta State witnessed, a lot of bloodletting, massacre, maiming and killings among secondary school students. Innocent students suffered humiliations and molestations from cultists. It has left many other students hopeless with amputated legs, hands, arms, or even mutilated parts of their body. Cultism has sent many secondary school students to their early grave and many others disabled. It has also caused insecurity to teachers and students and school management is always at risk during such crisis. Hence, it becomes necessary to investigate the influence of cultism on academic performance of secondary school students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State.

Purpose of the Study

Generally, the study aimed at investigating the influence of cultism on academic performance of secondary school students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State. Specifically, the study sought to:

1. ascertain the causes of secondary school students’ involvement in cultism in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State.
2. examine the prevalence of cultism among secondary school students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State
3. examine secondary school teachers’ perceptions on the influence of cultism on academic performance of students in Oshimili South Local government Area of Delta State.

Research Questions

The following research questions guided the study.

1. What are the causes of secondary school students’ involvement in cultism in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State?
2. How prevalent is cultism among secondary school students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State?
3. What are the secondary school teachers’ perceptions of the influence of cultism on academic performance of secondary school students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State?

 Significance of the Study

The study could be of significant benefits to students, teachers, school authority, parents, policy makers, school securities and future researchers.

The study could sensitize the students’ especially prospective secondary school students on the need to disengage themselves from cult activities because of its effects on their lives. It could be of immense benefits to secondary school teachers in terms of identifying the various activities of cult groups in schools which could enable them report any suspicious behaviour to the management for immediate action. This could help to reduce and possibly end the menace of cultism at the secondary school level. School authority could find this study useful because it could help to call their attention to the social vices associated with the activities of cult groups in secondary schools which could go a long way in helping them strengthen the security network tackle cult group. The findings of the study could help to call the attention of parents on the involvement of students in cultism which could enable them to work with the school management and teachers in ensuring that cultism comes to an end. It could also help to introduce an empirical dimension that will assist the government to implement policies against cultism and ways to control it. Also, the recommendations of this study could be used for planning purposes, especially in the area of the formulation of measures that could curtail cultism in the secondary schools. Various security agencies in the universities could also borrow some ideas from this study in order to make sure cultists are rehabilitated and given another chance in the society. Finally, the study could be of great benefit to researchers because it could serve as a source of literature review to those who may wish to carry out related studies.

Scope of Study

The scope of this study was influence of cultism on academic performance of secondary school students in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State. The study was delimited to investigation of causes of students’ involvement in cultism, influence of cult crises on academic performance and teachers’ perception as variables of interest in the study.

Pages:  60

Category: Project

Format:  Word & PDF               

Chapters: 1-5                                          

Source: Imsuinfo

Material contains Table of Content, Abstract and References.