CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Education is a basic need and a human right that should be accorded to all human beings solely by the reason of being human being. Sharkar Rao (2015) admitted that every child has a need to attend school. Hence, schools are seen as providers of education formally. Iyiola Sunday (1991) in Okeke Benson (2007) concluded saying:
no matter who you are, you are not bigger than education itself. It makes you what you are and can always make you better but not worse. Except you make yourself a demerit, education has no demerit.
Therefore, what is education? Elliot in Ogbebor (1996) endorsed education as a means of preserving the way of life in which the person believe, while Durkhein in Kalusi (1996) coded education as the systematic socialization of the younger generation by which the later learns religious and moral beliefs, feelings or nationality and the collective opinions of all kinds. Okeke (1993) sees education as rearing, upbringing, fostering and training of a person. This implies that education aims at helping an individual to grow.
Beyond all doubt, education can be given the nomenclature ‘life’, for all that life entails in natural, physical, mental, spiritual, psychological sphere is what education is all about. A product of a man’s success is a figment of how education and what education has truly made him to be. Infact, be it formal or informal, education is like other agencies of socialization such as family, church, peer group, mass media but highly much efficacious than them all for it unifies the personalities involved. Hence, in this context, education much talked about entails the formal oneacquired from schools, historically introduced to us by the colonial masters in Nigeria (nursery, primary, secondary and tertiary education).
Talking about secondary school education, as coined by Akporehe (2011) in Obadara ‘Banji (2012), it has been regarded by some parents who know not the value of education as an optional commodity that it is not essential for their children. This is due to the society they live in, people around, cultural influence, and:
absence of an educated person whom they can look up to be like as well as non-availability of a secondary school closer to their location backed by their egocentristic perception of the demerits of education (Amao Kehinde, 2000).
However, the importance of secondary school education in the educational system of Nigeria cannot be over-emphasized. Apart from serving as the link between primary and tertiary education, it provides opportunity for a child to acquire additional knowledge, skills and quality traits beyond primary level (Chinelo, 2011; Ige, 2011; Yusuff, 2009; Osho and Osho, 2000). The National Policy on Education (2004) added that secondary school education is aimed at:
Stop at Three chapters.
No references for now.
Incomplete work.
