Reasons for Late Coming in Secondary Schools in Nigeria

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

Late coming to school continues to be one of the persistent disciplinary problems facing secondary schools in Nigeria. It is believed that punctuality is an important ingredient in the teaching-learning process as it facilitates active involvement of the learners in classroom lessons, assembly sessions, assessment exercises and all other academic activities. Persistent late comers are likely to miss out on some vital lessons, have difficulties in understanding classes taught and eventually adopt negative academic practices. For this reason, school administrators, teachers, parents and education policy makers are still worried about the high prevalence of late coming among secondary school learners.

Long distance of commuting between the places where students live and schools they attend is one of the major factors responsible for lateness among secondary school learners in Nigeria. Most secondary school students especially those enrolled in public schools have to cover long distances daily owing to lack of adequate quality schools in their areas of residence. Traffic congestion in cities such as Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and Ibadan causes delays in the arrival of students using public means of transportation. The situation is worse in rural areas owing to bad roads and inadequate transport facilities..

Another crucial aspect that most often leads to tardiness is lack of parental oversight. Parents are a great support in making sure that children get ready properly for school at that time is kept. Still, there are some parents who leave home very early to go to work and that some of them don't pay much attention to their children's morning routines. In families where parents neglect to control sleeping patterns, homework completion, arranging school uniforms and breakfast, students hardly wake up on time and get to school after the lessons have started. Consistent effective parental involvement, among other things, has been linked to improved punctuality and regular school attendance.

Also, the socio-economic status of a family matters a lot in the problem of students being late to school. There are many Nigerian families who live below the poverty line, Because of this, it is very difficult for them to provide a means of transport food school uniforms, and other necessities of education. There are those students who go to the market for small trading or involved in household economic activities to help their family income. Also, there are those who, before school time, generally perform household chores like fetching water, cooking, or helping the mother in the care of the younger siblings. These types of duties take away the time which the children should be getting ready to go to school and usually, they lead to lateness..

Generally, students' personal attitudes and behavioural characteristics equally affect punctuality. Several vary from one another, but most often, the development of poor time-management skills among teenagers is a problem that leads to the use of mobile phones or TV late at night, and ultimately sleeping in the morning. Meanwhile, some individuals intentionally arrive late as they dislike or have little motivation for school activities. As the schools do not force the rules about punctuality regularly, such behaviours might gradually become habits. Because of this, self-discipline and good time-management skills are key to help students be on time..

Besides this reasons, school-related factors may also contribute to late coming. Several research shows that in some schools, students' motivation to come early is reduced when the disciplinary measures are not effective and the enforcement of attendance policies is irregular. If students get used to the situation where there are hardly any consequences for late coming and the punishments are given at random, they might think that punctuality is not that important. However, attended classrooms which are overcrowded, poorly equipped schools, indifferent teachers, and dull schools may not only discourage children from coming to school but also affect their motivation to be on time. Because of this, effective school management through good supervision, regular checking and encouraging positive behavior is very critical in shaping punctuality in the students as a lifestyle and a habit.

One more significant cause of students coming to school late is related to their health problems. Health problems like sicknesses which keep coming back, lack of sleep, malnutrition, and emotional stress may result in a student not getting ready for school in time. The biological clock of the teenage brain is changing such that they tend to fall asleep and wake up late, Because of this having to be in school at very early hours, is a struggle for many students. Experiments have shown, among other things, that when children sleep well and have enough rest, they will be less absent, have a higher attendance rate and their performance will improve quantitatively. In order for children to sleep well, it is, of course, necessary that schools and parents work together in encouraging good sleeping habits (Ojo et al. 2025)..

Issues of security and environmental factors have equally been found to be contributing factors towards school lateness in Nigeria. There have been cases of insecurity such as kidnappings, communal clashes, and violence in some areas in Nigeria, causing disruption to the normal attendance of classes in schools. Parents can choose to make their children leave home late, when they deem the transportation to be safe. Rainy season flooding, poorly designed drainage systems, and destruction of road networks make travel to school take longer. Studies carried out on education have established that issues of insecurity reduce school attendance, enrollment, and participation in the educational process.

Urbanization has brought about difficulties in accessing educational facilities because of problems of transportation, especially in the bigger towns of Nigeria. The increase in the number of cars, commercial buses, motorcycles, and road constructions causes traffic jams when schools are in session. Pupils that use public transport means face delays which cannot be controlled by them personally.

Peer groups’ impact should also be noted. Teenagers tend to behave according to the example of their friends, even exhibiting bad behavior, like coming to school too late. Students surrounded by friends who break school regulations will sooner or later begin to act likewise in order to be accepted socially. On the other hand, good peer influence will motivate students to arrive on time if they have friends in those circles valuing discipline, responsibility, and academic achievement.

The role of technology is one more factor influencing punctuality today. Even though the availability of smartphones and internet provides possibilities for learning, their misuse while surfing through the internet, playing games, and engaging in entertainment very late into the night often results in lack of sleep among students. Lack of sleep, in turn, leads to oversleeping and fatigue in the morning, resulting in tardiness at school.

Incorporating late-coming handling is a holistic one which would include parents teachers school leaders, communities, and government bodies, among others. A school can make attendance rules transparent, keep regular attendance records, acknowledge on-time students, and do counselling, as appropriate, for those who are consistently late. Besides these, parents must keep an eye on bedtime habits, get school stuff ready beforehand, and also set an example of good time keeping. Besides these measures, government will also have to step up their game as far as transportation infrastructure, school buildings, and educational security are concerned because these are some of the external barriers that might make one late. On top of that, making learning a place one wants to come to where being on time is always something that is appreciated, will do a lot to get people coming to school regularly; it will even work on strengthening discipline among them as well as raise their academic performance.

To wrap up, late coming in Nigerian secondary schools is affected by different factors that are interrelated. These include difficulty in transportation, inadequate parental supervision, poor raising financial conditions, attitude of students illness school management security environment, influence of peers, and usage of technology. Once we have a grasp of these causes, educators and policymakers will be in a position to come up with interventions that not only advocate for punctuality but also enhance learning outcomes. A long-lasting answer would involve working together by all stakeholders to make sure that students not only get to school on time but also fully enjoy and benefit from the educational opportunities.