CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

The problem of delinquent behavior among youths has been a prominent issue in Nigeria for years. Different societies have their own moral values which are considered normal, ideal and morally acceptable. Hence the conduct of the people in a society are regulated and controlled by their moral values (Anasi, 2010). The tendency and ability to identify what is right instead of wrong and as well practice it. Give it the moral virtues, thus good moral behavior had been emphasized and echoed in the society right from the era of Socrates to Plato through the Aristotelian philosophy perhaps that makes Fredrick Herbert to say that aim and indeed the total aim of education should be summed up under morality. Within the context of education therefore public holds the schools and teachers more accountable for students learning and behaviour (Omede and Odiba, 2010). According to Ajiboye, Atere and Olunfunmi, (2012) the United Nations puts the age of the youths between fifteen and twenty four years. Here in Nigeria, the National Youths Service Scheme applies to graduates of thirty years and below. According to Tanaka (2014) Youth are people aged 18-35; it is a stage in life when a person is young, and especially the time before a person becomes an adult. Psychologically, it refers to the stretch of time in between childhood and adulthood. Alfrey (2010) opined that youths are referred to as those persons possessing certain distinct physical characteristics which include: Ability to think fast, ability to display much energy towards the actualization of goals, assertive and resistant personality, and ability to change a state of art. Thus, youths are expected to be the most active population of a country. The higher the number of youth, the higher the quantity of wealth and national income, all things being equal. But the reverse has been the case in most developing countries of the world today where the youths are either rendered redundant or marginalized by a clique of opportunists (Nkwopara, 2011). Immorality has gone far in destroying the lives of our quotable 'leaders of tomorrow" and like a rotten fish, you might even say egg, it stinks in our nation today. Immorality is also a behavior which is synonymous with corruption, dishonesty, illegality and a host of other vices.

Immorality as you and I know is the reason for the precarious state of our nation today and you hear of kidnappings here and there, stealing of public funds at both the top and at the bottom. Our society is made up of organizations all of which have goals to meet. However, without proper discipline, none of these would be realized. For them to operate smoothly, all of them have a set of rules and regulations by which all members of the organization are expected to abide by, failure to which sanctions are imposed on the workers to discipline them accordingly. The same applies to educational organizations. For serious learning to take place, discipline has to be maintained in schools. Mbiti (2007:83) defines discipline as the moral capacity or disposition which when ingrained in the human capacity, becomes a powerful habit for self-control. Discipline therefore involves the development of an informed conscience within the individual person as part of his or her personality. Jeng (2011) points out that indeed it encompasses training of the mind and character of a person which results to self-control and a habit of obedience. The main reason why students attend school is to receive good education. Sound education can only be provided when there is discipline in schools.

Wikipedia the free encyclopedia defines Morality (from the Latin word moralis "manner, character, proper behavior") is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and action between those that are distinguished as proper and those that are improper. Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of conduct from a particular philosophy religion or culture or it can derive from a standard that a person believes should be universal. Morality may also be specifically synonymous with "goodness" or "rightness". Morality therefore can see as been discipline.

Our society is made up of organizations all of which have goals to meet. However, without proper discipline, none of these would be realized. For them to operate smoothly, all of them have a set of rules and regulations by which all members of the organization are expected to abide by, failure to which sanctions are imposed on the workers to discipline them accordingly. The same applies to educational organizations. For serious learning to take place, discipline has to be maintained in schools. Mbiti (2007:83) defines discipline as the moral capacity or disposition which when ingrained in the human capacity, becomes a powerful habit for self-control. Discipline therefore involves the development of an informed conscience within the individual person as part of his or her personality. Jeng (2011) points out that indeed it encompasses training of the mind and character of a person which results to self-control and a habit of obedience. The main reason why students attend school is to receive good education. Sound education can only be provided when there is discipline in schools. Discipline is the number one topic among others in education.

Immorality can be emulated in different ways, but before making emphasis on the types of immorality is normally used to define the term immorality i.e. immorality is normally used to describe persons or actions. In a broader sense, it can be applied to groups or corporate bodies, belief, religions and work of arts; to say that some act is immoral is to say that it is the violation of some moral laws, norms or standard.

An immoral man is a sick man, i.e. a man who is physically and spiritually sick. He may be physically healthy, but he is psychically and spiritually sick and he experiences internal disharmony. He has missed the way that leads to internal harmony, peace of mind, happiness and self-fulfillment. Since the moral way of life and immoral way of life are opposites or antithetical, it is obvious that both cannot lead to the same goal, two roads going opposite directions cannot lead to the same goal or destination. If the moral way of life i.e. the way of honesty, integrity, altruism, self-less services, e. t. c, is the way that leads to internal harmony, peace of mind, happiness and self-fulfillment, it is obvious to any right thinking person that the immoral way of life, i.e. the way of dishonesty, fraud, selfishness, corruption, embezzlement of public funds, e. t. c, can only lead to the opposite direction.

Therefore this study is aimed at investigating factors that influence immorality and the 

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Immorality continues to be a growing problem in our schools. Students’ immorality generally militates against effective teaching, learning and production of useful members of society. Immorality is rife in government owned schools as evidenced from the literature review of Okemwa (2007), Kamau (2008) and Ikambili (2003). This is an indicator of indiscipline among students. So far, there has been limited research on factors influencing immorality in public day schools in Makadara district. Among the available studies on indiscipline in Nigeria tertiary institution, few, if any, have focused on the broad and varied factors that may influence immorality in Nigeria. The focal problem of this study therefore, is to unveil the major factors influencing immorality in Nigeria tertiary institution.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main objective of this study is to investigate the factors influencing the increase of immorality in tertiary institutions, to make the study easier for the researcher the specified objectives are:

1.     To find out the effects of immorality on the performance of the students

2.     To establish the nature of immorality among the students

3.     To investigate the causes of immorality among the students

4.     To assess the positive measures/strategies being put in place to stop immorality among the students

5.     To seek suggestions on measures that could be taken to curb immorality among the students

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions will guide the researcher while conducting the research.

1.     What are the effects of indiscipline on the GDP of the students

2.     What is the nature of immorality among the students

3.     What are the main prevailing factors that influence immorality among the students

4.     What are the alternative positive strategies being put in place to stop immorality

5.     What measures should be taken to curb immorality among the Nigerian students

 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The findings of this study contributed to the existing literature of knowledge on the specific causes of immorality among Nigerian students. It also shed light into the nature of immorality bound to arise as a result of these factors. The study was significant in availing positive ways of improving morality. Teachers often punished students without clear consideration of what made them misbehave; they seldom tried to understand the motivating force. Focusing on these factors would enable them to handle their students in a more understanding and better way. It may also assist parents in monitoring the movement and association of their children with a view to guiding them to become responsible individuals. They are better placed in ensuring good upbringing of their children.

To the ministry of education and policy-makers, it is hoped that the findings may provide insight on how to improve guidance and counseling, life skills education and school-based family units in schools. The Ministry of Education may also see the need of strengthening these new programs, which are currently lacking in most schools. They may use the outcomes of the study to correct similar problems in other schools in the country.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This research is aimed at investigating the increase rate of immorality among the tertiary institution students in Nigeria. The study covers the students of Yaba College of Technology in Lagos.

DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The major problem encountered during this research is time and insufficient fund, this study is supposed to cover at least 5 tertiary institutions in Nigeria but due to the financial constraint to visit those schools the researcher has to limit the investigation to one tertiary institution in Lagos state.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Investigation: formal or systematic examination or research

Immorality: the state or quality of being immoral; wickedness

Tertiary Institution: referred to as third stage, third level, and postsecondary education