without good foundation of self-discipline,
the individual is useless to him/herself,
family and the society.”
Over the past two weeks, I have examined
the growing issue of indiscipline in the
Nigerian educational sector. I have stated
how there is a growing menace of
substance abuse among Nigerian youths
and how this shows a clear and present
danger to the objectives of most
educational institutions in Nigeria to
produce graduates who are not only
sound in learning, but who also possess
sterling character traits.
Importance of discipline to education
Discipline is important for any meaningful
inculcation of knowledge. Societal values
are important for the survival of any
society. This much is reflected in the
National Policy on Education which has as
one of its objectives the inculcation of
values and attitudes for the survival of the
Nigerian society. My finding is “that
student indiscipline generally militates
against effective teaching and learning
and production of quality graduates”.
Stating the connection between academic
learning and discipline, philomena Mukami
Njoroge in an article titled “Discipline as a
Factor in Academic Performance in
Kenya” wrote as follows:
“Discipline is essential… It is not only the
key to good academic performance, which
all parents, students and teachers cherish
and aspire but also a preparation for
success throughout life. In fact, it has
been observed that possessing good
academic qualifications without good
foundation of self-discipline, the individual
is useless to himself/herself, family and
the society. Every school is expected to
have a standard code of conduct which
every student is supposed to adhere to
willingly without compulsion.’’
As I stated last week, peer pressure
remains one of the causes of indiscipline
in schools. However, repeated studies of
the subject have revealed some other
factors which contribute to it. Whisman,
A. &Hammer, P. C. in a 2014 paper
entitled “The association between school
discipline and mathematics performance:
A case for positive discipline
approaches,” identified several factors
that can contribute to student behavioral
problems at school as including:
(a) exposure to adversity, including
violence and substance abuse in
economically distressed neighbourhoods,
which can lead to anxiety, irritability,
stress, and hyper vigilance
(b) the need to ward off the threat of
violence by developing a tough persona;
(c) being from a low-income family, living
in a low-income community, and attending
school with high rates of low-income
students;
(d) the frustration, disaffection, and lower
self-confidence that can come with low
school achievement;
The above factors are very much true in
Nigeria where economic factors do
prevent some children from getting the
much-needed upbringing that they require
to develop good characters and on the
contrary expose them too early to factors
that guarantee they develop criminal
tendencies. Some weeks back, the
internet was awash with news of a seven-
year-old boy who was lynched by an angry
mob for alleged theft of garri. However
subsequent investigations revealed that
the boy whose real age was put at about
16 was actually a member of a gang of
some homeless youths who for months
had terrorised members of the public in
that area by dispossessing them of their
property and in some cases even causing
them grievous bodily harm. In another
instance, a particular secondary school in
a part of Lagos State then noted for its
general poverty and squalor was regarded
by police authorities as a haven for
budding armed robbers. Such was the
level of indiscipline in the school that
some students were always reported to be
in possession of weapons. Without a
doubt, only dire economic circumstances
coupled with breakdown of the family unit
could have led to such circumstances.
Way out
The approach to solving the problem
must be multifaceted. It must involve all
stakeholders. As Njoroge wrote again:
“…discipline involves all stakeholders,
programmes as well as personality and
school climate. Charlton and David (1993)
assert that if there is no proper family
environment social differences and
learners are from disadvantaged social
areas; this could lead to bad discipline
and negative results academically.
However, if the family background is not
good, different social classes are present
in the school, school is located in a
socially disadvantaged area and there is
bad influence of peer groups it will have a
negative effect on discipline so academic
achievement will also be negatively
affected.“
Thus government must reappraise its
attitude and policy to issues bordering on
education. In this regard, the Sexual
Harassment in Tertiary Educational
Institutions Prohibition Act, 2016;
otherwise known as the Sexual
Harassment Act is a very welcome
development. The Act criminalises and
punishes acts of sexual harassment in
educational institutions in Nigeria. There
should also be increased funding of the
educational sector as with better pay
teachers and other stakeholders in the
sector will be motivated to carry out their
jobs effectively and with zeal rather than
in a perfunctory manner. Such increased
funding will also ensure that schools are
better equipped to impart learning. As
overcrowded classrooms have been
identified as one of the factors causing
teachers to lose control of the
classrooms, better funding will ensure
that there are more classrooms to
accommodate students. A situation in
which 50 or more students are put ina
classroom will be avoided. There must
also be an improvement in the teacher-
student ratio. Assigning few teachers to a
huge student population only contributes
to the problem.
Government must also continue to pay
attention to the urgent need to tackle
poverty. As disclosed above, the
environment in which children grow up or
in which their schools are located play
some part in their moral development and
whatever disciplinary issues they may
pose later in life. Tackling poverty will
also ensure that more children are not
forced to grow up before their time. Their
parents will also not be forced by
economic stress to relegate to the
background, issues pertaining to the
upbringing of their children. Parents on
their part must bring about a change in
their attitude to the moral training of their
children. The home must be made
conducive for such training. A child who
is raised in dysfunctional home can hardly
be expected to receive the best of moral
training. Nothing will be achieved where
emphasis is placed on academic training
alone without commensurate attention to
moral upbringing.
AARE AFE BABALOLA, OFR, SAN, CON,
LL.D
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