CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 BACKGROUND OF STUDY.

For Nigeria to realize her dream in the development of junior secondary school, the citizen of the country must show outstanding performance in all secondary school subjects .In recent years, student academic achievement in junior secondary school certificate examination has been on the decline. Poor performance among junior secondary school students who are the focus of this study, has been attributed to two board factors which includes hereditary and environmental factors can be subdivided into students, home, teachers, and school factors (Nwankwo, 2001) .Ojunleye B. (2009) reports that one of the major causes of academic failure by students is deeply rooted in ineffective study techniques. She further observed that effective study habits do not just happen, rather they are acquired and have to be processed to make them firmly established in students to became a style of intellectual functioning .Onyejiaku in iyalla(2001) strongly feels that there are certain underlying techniques which every student who wants to excel in academic most recognize, realize, internalize and practice .Academic performance basically devoted a student attainment in a learning situation .The academic performance of a student may be high average, good, poor, or low. Bal care (1986) outlined many factors, personality factors like anxiety, level of aspiration, motivation to learn, self concept need for achievement, emotional problems and study habit .Teaching and learning of junior subjects requires classroom teaching, laboratory investigation and field practices for effective acquisition of the skills.

However, most junior secondary schools lack not only qualified teachers but also teaching materials for practical. Effective teaching in junior secondary schools depends on the way the teachers impact knowledge to the students frequent field practical, regular use of instructional material for teaching and learning .it has been discovered that if these methods have been used effectively it will result for proper acquisition skills in junior secondary subjects. The establishment of junior secondary school education by the state government in Awka zone Anambra state like any other states has the same aims and objective as the national policy specify that secondary education is the education receive after primary education and before the tertiary institution

The junior secondary school certificate examination(JSSCE) is an external examination organized and conducted by the ministry of education, it is the only instrument that could evaluate the performance of both students and teachers at the end of junior secondary school career .The success or failure of the student in examination is a clear manifestation of the student academic activities during the course ,success or good performances determine a brighter future for the individual while failure is disastrous as it always indicate ,a dropout which is the common effect in the area of this study.

Years back ‘academic performance of students in junior secondary school certificate examination(JSSCE) in Awka educational zone Anambra state had become mass failure .This sad perpetual occurrence in the area of study had become a matter for serious concern to parents, guardian , states and nation .This situation of things has made it pertinent for us to ask why and what are the causes of mass failure of student and the effects in junior certificate examination in these years as compared to the past as the mass failure has reflected on the retrogression of a good considerable member of prospective youth in the state .It is against the background that this project focuses attention upon the major causes and effects that militate against student performance in the junior secondary school certificate examination in these selected secondary schools over a number of years, without dealing on student activities while in school and unfold their weak points which have reflected their failure .The staffing and qualify of teachers in there schools should also be examined critically and relate it to students performance in the certificate examination .The part played by parents and guardian cannot be forgotten in the investigations and also the Anambra state government running of secondary schools would be closely examined .The researcher is confident that among the above enumerated sources and others will foster a smooth research to find out the problems affecting student academic performance.

Finally, it is obvious that this findings of the study will definitely aspire the researcher to seek for possible suggestions and recommendations to students and teachers, parents, sponsors and government bring and end to student mass failure in a such external junior certificate examination and improve student performance in the future examination in these schools and other parts of the country having similar educational problems.