CHILD LABOUR: ITS IMPACT ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

INTRODUCTION

The differences in academic performance of students under the same conditions of teaching have over time given the researcher a cause for concern. Identifying the cause of high or low academic performances has been the aim whereas the researcher’s interaction with students of high academic performance shows that they came from well-to-do homes, live a comfortable life and are exposed to conducive homes. Interaction with students of low academic performance shows that most of them came from poor or broken homes with little or no means of livelihood; hence they need to fend for themselves. This exposes them to psychological and emotional instability. According to Anukam (1986), Waboso (2000), Esu (2002), Okpechi (2005) and the international society for the prevention of child labour, abuse and neglect (ISPCAN) which led to the formation of the African Network for the prevention and protection against child abuse and neglect (ANPPCAN) frown at child labour and abuse. All these groups condemn child labour and abuse. A child is said to be abused if he or she is denied basic rights like any other, citizen. In essence, he is subjected to a lot of maltreatment and forced to live in the most un-conducive environment. Child abuse takes many forms, for example, child labour, deprivation, sexual abuse, psychological and physical child abuse, children used in rituals, battering, child soldering, child prostitution, Human trafficking, child abandonment, early marriage to mention but a few Abudu, (1984); Dyorough, (1986), Waboso (2000), Okpechi, (2005). It is common in society to see school-age children as babysitters, house boy/maidservant services, housekeeping, etc. the researcher kept on imagining why these children are not in school. Again, if at all they attend school does they perform well? As a teacher, the researcher had several times observed some students in class sleeping while teaching is going on. When asked why they sleep at that time, their answers most of the time is always that they do labour before coming to school and so they are so weak i.e. (child labour). The researcher also observed that most students do not perform well academically, and therefore started to ponder whether their poor performances would be attributed to their involvement in child labour (Domestic work). For a child to perform academically well, he/she needs a stable mind and a motivating environment. These conditions often elude some children particularly those from low-income homes child abuse can have drastic consequences on the future life of the child, it is dehumanizing. It engenders low self-esteem, promotes inferiority complex, belittles the individual, as well as degrades one’s personality (The punch. August 14, 2004).