INTRODUCTION

1.1    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The parameter or yardstick in the measurement or determine into of ones achievement, success or failure on an assigned duty, specific task, education and or, in a business endeavour is by the evaluation of his/her performance in their various subjects of study in Nigeria is a thing of long time origin.  And the appraisal of students performance in shorthand is not an exemption. The importance of shorthand as a subject taught in secondary school in Nigeria cannot be over-emphasized. This is because a secretarial arising trained without equipping him/her with the rudiments, basic principles and a well led down foundation of shorthand would be compared to a soldier without “shooting knowledge”.  It is in this vain that many researchers have studied our school system to identify the various means, channel and or, procedure of impeaching this knowledge to our students especially secretaries.

Along the same line, too, a lot of them in the recent past hare tried to compare the performance of students in shorthand in our private and public schools without any specification of the particular level of education. Today, it has become of vital importance that a study be carried out critically, taking the public and private secondary and commercial schools into consideration to draw a comprise at their different students performance in shorthand. This performance of students is a far cry based on the expected success of institutions of these kinds or nature.  A lot of reasons has been adduced for this inspite of the preparediness of teachers of those schools to deliver.  Some of the students absent themselves from schools for a long time.  This affects their performance because they have lost touch of the essence of regular practice and continuity in shorthand studies. Secondly, the students do not avail themselves with the use of books white suppose to enhance their performance this is further caused by poor reading habit of some of them and loads of domestic work which their parents engaged them in.

In educational background that effect the public and private schools students in shorthand, it effect public schools students performance in shorthand very poor in the instance that public cannot know how to read and write shorthand faster because they are not interested on the shorthand and some of teacher that is taking them do not know it in a work place you can see that for advertisement of secretary’s many of them are required commercials schools students rather secondary schools students, but in private schools students performance they perform very well in shorthand  work is very easy for them to get, example institutions of higher learning and university some are not doing shorthand because it is very expensive to learn.

1.2     STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The subject, shorthand is one of the major subject taught in comprehensive secondary and commercial secondary schools in both public and private institutions. As a result, it constitute a big obstacle to the success of the students.  There is the persistent problem of high failure rate and attrition in shorthand classes. Like mathematics, it is expected to have particular method and special problem among other things.  It is on the realization of this problem that the researcher compared the performance of the students in the school system in the subject.

1.3   OBJECTIVES OS THE STUDY

The researcher primary purpose of embarking on the study.

1.  To investigate into the students performance in shorthand of private and public secondary schools.

2.  To compare their degree of academic excellence in the subject.

3.  To make recommendation for future improvement in the teaching and learning, of shorthand.

1.4       SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study is significant in the sense that it aims at comparing the academic performance in shorthand of both private and public secondary schools students in Enugu educational zone, Enugu state of Nigeria. The study may also enable educational planners to find out problems hindering excellent academic performane in shorthand and also, help find lashing solutions to the problems that contribute to the students failure in shorthand in secondary schools.  It will also, help to improve performance in the subject and create more positive attitude to it, on the side of students and populace. The study also will be of help to subsequent researchers that may be interested in doing more work in this area of study with the aim of improving any performance in the subject. And again, it will help to disabuse the mind of male folks in studying the subject by comprehending that none of the fainders of shorthand is a woman and therefore the subject is not for a particular sex.

1.5    RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1.  Do private schools students perform better than public schools students in shorthand?

2.  What are the factors responsible for either better or poor performance of students in shorthand?

3.  What impact has shorthand created in our public and private schools?

4.  To what extent do public students lack interest in shorthand.