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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Meaning of academic performance of student is challenging, since science student performance is the produce of socio-economic, psychological and environmental factors. Education ought to be growing as a profitable industry with prime objective of maximizing profit by delivering high quality education that produces well educated, skilled and manned student according to needs and requirement of the dynamically growing market. There are two group of student as generally perceived. That is those who improve and those who don’t improve. This student performance can be affected by different factors such as learning abilities because new paradigm about learning assumes that all student can and should learn at higher levels, but it should not be considered as constraints because there are other factors like race, gender, sex that can affect students performances (Hansen 2000).

Meshiachoudis (2001) explained the effect of age, qualification and distance from learning place on the student performance. Qualification in his explanation concerns the readiness of student in joining a particular discipline in the school for instance a student that is not capable of doing science in the secondary school joins science because his/her friends are offering the subject.

Kirby (2002) added that the academic performance of student is also affect by student impatience. Yronne (1998) further elaborated that student academic performance is very much dependent on SEB (Socio-economic background) as per his statement secondary school student performance is with satisfically significant different.

Alexander (2001) explained that some of the practice adopted by secondary school administration can also influences their academic performance, such practice like club, media and culture clubs etc. Meanwhile, looking at the fact that our main focus of this writing is to compare how student perform or the performance of student offering biology, chemistry and English in Enugu North Local Government Area from 2004-2008. You find out that most of the subject are science subject (biology and chemistry), which involve student who are brain is sharp and hot, not student who’s I que is low and cannot perform or solve any mathematic problem rather they move to the simplest subject that they can perform better (i.e. English language etc). That is why when you go into all this clubs mention above you find out that most of the student there are not in science class. Science student don’t have time and chance for all this because of their mathematical involvement reflecting to point out that they do not have time for grammer”. But of a truth that they do not have chance of joining some of the above mentioned practice (clubs, cultural groups and media) which is of great help to passing English Language in WAEC as it is well known that most of the essay in WAEC are debts. Articles and letter writing of which the English student do well in the subject because they joined the practice.

According to Bello an Abuja based educationist a member of all Nigeria Committee of principals of secondary schools ANCOPSS. The truth is that the reading culture in Nigeria is generally poor. To make it worse, these days most of our student hardly read listed they waste their precious time watching television or films, listening to music, playing video/computer games. Another educationist, MOhmud (2009) attributed the dismal performance in WAEC examination to the lactadaisical attitude of the government and its refusal to adequately fund the education sector. According to him on several occasion we clamoured for improved budgetary allocation to the education sector but all these have fallen on deaf ears. For instance UNESCO recommend that 26 percent of any country’s budget should be allocated to the education sectors, but instead what do you have in Nigeria? Government paying lip service to education sector, other countries who understand the importance of education have taken, proactive steps to adequately fund their education sector. For instance Ghana has allocated 29 percent to its education sector, even for more than the UNESCO recommendation. The same thing with South Africa and but ward who allocated 35 percent and 57 percent respectively to their education sectors. So until these thing are implemented we would continue to montage the future of our children.

Comparative study refers to the comparism of different capabilities or abilities of different groups or individual of the same or different categories wikipedia (2009). Comparative study of the performance of student in WAEC in biology, chemistry and English language from 2004-2008 deals with comparing the performance ability of student in biology chemistry and English language.

Statement of the Problem

The comparision of student performance in WAEC has been a confusing issue even to WAEC body as the case may be taken a close instance as regard this confusion. WAEC could not present the highest or the best performed student in WAEC each year as they use to do formally as at 1990. This day results are released without comparism and grades to enable student really know their level of performance when compared to the subjects, that is why these study focuses on identifying the following;

1.    Comparing the performance of student in biology and English language in WAEC from 2004-2008.

2.    Comparing the performance of student in chemistry and English in WAEC from 2004-2008.

Purpose of the Study

The main purpose underlying the project is to investigate the performance of the secondary school student in WAEC taking their comparative performance on Biology, Chemistry and English Language from 2004-2008 in Enugu North Local Government Area. The study specifically seeks to determine.

a.   The performance of student in WAEC Biology and English from 2004 – 2008 in Enugu North.

b.   The performance of student in Chemistry and English language from 2004-2008.

Significant of the Study

The usefulness of this research work in education system cannot be over emphasized of the result of the study is properly utilized, it is going to be benefit to the student because it will enable them to really know their performance in WAEC in some subject like chemistry, English and biology etc to either improve on those subjects. The research work is of great importance to the WAEC officials themselves in that it will enable them to know the impact of taking a comparative study of the student performance in WAEC in years interval as this study tries to examine the performance of student in WAEC in biology, chemistry and English language from 2004-2008. It will also help the government to know the area which the student are lacking behind and to solve the problem that brings about such lapses. It will at the same time be of help to parent so that they know the subject area which their children perform more better.

Scope of the Study

The study was based on secondary school student performance in WAEC in biology, chemistry and English language and restricted to Enugu North Local Government in Enugu State from 2004-2008.

Research Questions

1.  To what extent do the students’ performance in English varies from their performance in biology in 2004 – 2008.

2.  To what extent do the students performance in English varies from their performance in chemistry in 2004-2008.

Hypotheses

The following hypothesis was tested for this study.

1.    Ho: There is no significant difference in the students’ performance in English and biology their performance.

2.    Hi: There is significant difference between English and biology or English and chemistry.

The hypothesis is confirmed at .05 level of significant.