₦airaland Forum

Labour Market Core Skills Requirements And University Graduate Soft Skills Competence


Background to the Study
Education is a means of empowerment to an individual and the society. Also, it is a solid tool for developing human capacity needed for a sustainable national development. Tertiary education, which comprises universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and mono technics, has been recognised as a means of developing human capacity required for sustainable national growth and development. Categorically, universities are saddled with the responsibility of developing high-level manpower within the setting of the requirements of the nation. As a result of the globalisation, data innovation and revolution in the present-day learning-based economy, so much prospect has been placed on universities in creating, outfitting and transmitting information for sustainable development and improved standard of living. Consequently, the university plays a critical part in engendering the human capacities with respect to authority, administration and technical expertise.
All over the world, investment in the university education is a critical component of national development eff-ort. Countries today depend to a great extent on information, thoughts and skills which are created in universities (OECD, 1996; World Bank, 1997). As a country’s learning industry, the university increases the productive capacity of the labour force. In the developed countries, for example, university’s researchers are able to monitor ecumenical technological trends, survey their importance to national needs and help with building up the national innovative capacity with respect to economic development.
Going by this trend, there has been high demand for the university education in Nigeria since independence in order to increase the supply of manpower in the labour market. Following the recommendation of the Ashby Commission of 1959 that new universities should be established in the then three Regions and Lagos, the then Capital Territory, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and the University of Ibadan together with University of Lagos, Lagos, were established as the first generation of universities in Nigeria. It is imperative to note that since then the University network in Nigeria has developed significantly. The quantity of universities has expanded from five in 1962 to one hundred and twenty-eight (128) in 2013, comprising 40 Federal, 38 State and 50 private universities (Okojie, 2013) and a total number of 151 in 2016 (National University Commission, 2016).
The goals of the university education, as stated by the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2014), are to:
i. contribute to national development through high level manpower training;
ii. provide accessible and affordable quality learning opportunities in formal and informal education in response to the needs and interests of all Nigerians;
iii. provide high quality career counselling and lifelong learning programmes that prepare students with the knowledge and skills for self-reliance and the world of work;
iv. reduce skill shortages through the production of skilled manpower relevant to the needs of the labour market;
v. promote and encourage scholarship, entrepreneurship and community service;
vi. forge and cement national unity and
vii. promote national and international understanding and interaction. (p. 39).
Regardless of these noble goals, Sofoluwe and Etejere (2011) noticed that over the years the tertiary scholastic level has attracted underwhelming reactions, having failed to achieve the aim of providing the kind of education that would solve the problems of the country as a developing nation; such problems as abject poverty, corruption, unemployment and mismanagement of resources. This is traceable to the difficulties confronting the university education in Nigeria which are poor infrastructure, political influence, incessant industrial actions and under-funding. The issue of underfunding of education is so endemic that it has now encompassed series of other problems which include shortage of human and material assets (Durosaro, 2000). Other challenges are cultism, examination malpractices and poor quality of graduates.
Judging by this, it is evident that universities in Nigeria are yet to be well-equipped to carry out these responsibilities efficaciously due to human capacity deficiencies. Okojie (2013) lamented that the Nigerian university system keeps on falling appallingly behind required standards in the contemporary world. Engineering workshops, which are betokened to train 21st Century engineers, are provided with equipment and gadgets that were introduced in the 1960s. Library books and journals dated not later than the 1980s. Okojie further noted that hostel rooms meant for four students in the 1970s, were in 2012, occupied by 12 students each having a “cooker corner” and using kerosene stove; with the horrifying low level of research facilities in the universities, the future is apparently bleak for Nigerian education.
This circumstance pervades mostly developing nations of the world, particularly African nations. Pauw, Ooshizen and Westhuizen (2007) discovered in South Africa that many graduates lack soft skills, workplace readiness and experience. Boateng and Ofori-Sarpong (2002) also noted that in Ghana employers of labour referred to recent graduates as those who lack basic skills to complete simple routine assignments and this gave the impression that certification is a mere formality rather than an indication of achievement. The situation is not different in Nigeria as employers of labour believed that graduates are poorly trained and unproductive on the job. Nigerian graduates have been described variously as half-baked, ill-equipped, ill-trained, of poor quality, of a low standard and unemployable (Obayan, 2002). This clarified why the university education in Nigeria has not been able to consummate its mandate of endangering the high-level manpower needed for the national development in the required quality that can fit and compete favourably both at national and international labour markets.
Be as it may, the present believe is that the university education should develop in the beneficiary a certain number of employability skills to a caliber that will ascertain the perpetuated ingenious productivity of the individual. These skills, according to Obayan (2002), include:
i. analytical power; this comprises an advanced capacity for logical reasoning, employing appropriate verbal, quantitative, graphic, documentary, audio-visual, sensory perceptions and a wide variety of tools.
ii. communication; this includes oral and written as well as (in other possible forms) using the appropriate language and non-verbal forms in specific situations to achieve specific objectives.
iii. problem-solving; this is the ability to task one’s analytical power to the maximum in developing possible solution paths to the problem in a variety of situations.
iv. team spirit; is the ability to contribute meaningfully to group activities in a wide variety of forms to relate with others to get out of one’s shell while remaining oneself.
v. creativity; refers to the ability to go beyond the well-trodden path in thinking as well as in action.
vi. life-long learning skills; which include perseverance, risk taking, a spirit of enquiry, reading as a habit, self-directed learning efforts, the activity to face challenges and so on (p. 4).
In today’s labour market, employers of labour append much significance to graduate employability which refers to work preparation, that is, ownership of the skills, knowledge, attitudes and commercial understanding that will empower incipient graduates to make productive commitments to organisational objectives soon after commencing work (Mason, 2001). The Federal Government of Nigeria, in conjunction with some agencies, at one time or another, have introduced some palliative measures to address the state of joblessness. The government organised different programmes such as National Directorate of Employment (NDE) that was launched in 1986 with the mandate of designing programmes that will promote attitudinal change, employment generation, poverty reduction and wealth creation. National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) was also launched in 2001 to address poverty and related issues.
Other programmes including You Win were launched in 2011 specifically to generate jobs by empowering and supporting yearning entrepreneurial youth in Nigeria to create and execute business ideas that would lead to job creation. The National University Commission (NUC) introduced Entrepreneurial Studies as a compulsory course called “Graduates Self-Employment” (GSE 301) into universities curriculum in 2004 to enable university graduates to become self-employed. Yet, there is still the high rate of unemployment, especially among the Nigerian university graduates. Despite the programmes, the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2008 still acknowledged that about 80 percent of Nigeria’s youth are unemployed and 10 percent underemployed (Daily Trust, 2008).
Oyesiku (2010) reported that available statistics show that the nation’s job creation capacity is growing at an annual rate of five percent and seven percent over the last seven years. In the interim, about 213 Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education in the country then produced over 300,000 graduates annually; a number that should usually meet the nation’s human capital resource assets, however employers willing to pay well to attract skilled workers are increasingly finding it difficult to fill the job vacancies. Federal Office of Statistic (2012) also reported that with the current unemployment rate at 23.9 percent and unemployed youth population put at 20.3 million, Nigeria produced about 4.5 million new entrants into the labour market every year.
The Nigeria’s vigorous economic performance over the last decade has not translated to jobs and real-life opportunities for its youth. Akanmu (2011) asserted that three out of ten graduates of tertiary institutions cannot find jobs, and being highly educated does not increase the chance of finding a jobs. Those who find jobs are not usually gainfully employed; some are forced to accept marginal jobs that do not use their qualifications in sales, agriculture and manual labour while employers are often probing for skills that transcend qualifications and experience. Apart from the sluggish growth rate of the Nigerian economy, it lacks the structural and transformational capacity that is sufficient to expand employment for the long bloated labour market. In other words, whatever growth that takes place in Nigeria is not labour intensive and as such cannot engender a commensurate proportion of jobs for the unemployed graduates.
Therefore, the Nigerian society today is facing challenges of getting the education that will deliver to the students the right set of skills and knowledge demanded by the labour market. The reality on the ground is that the university education should turn out students who are ready to fill available jobs in the marketplace. The National Universities Commission (2004) affirmed that massive unemployment of Nigerian university graduates in the country is traceable to the disequilibrium between labour market requirements and essential employable skills by the graduates. However, contention subsists regarding what exactly constitutes what employers are requiring from graduates in the labour market. It was against this background that the researcher is interested in investigating the relationship between labour market core skills requirements and university graduate soft skills competence in North-west, Nigeria.
Statement of the Problem
The trend of graduate unemployability has become a worrisome issue in the Nigeria labour market, especially for stakeholders like employers of labour, training institutions, parents and graduates. The Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA) (2005) expressed that companies were not recruiting but adopting employment protection strategies due to the poor quality graduates who do not meet demands of industries. Therefore, Chiacha and Amaechi (2013) carried out a study on entrepreneurship education and graduate employability in Nigeria. They found out that the entrepreneurial education currently offered in schools did not lead to high employability index of graduates. Also, Pitan and Adedeji (2012) examined the problem of skills mismatch and its prevalence in the Nigeria labour market. The study discovered that university graduates were not adequately prepared for work with respect to the skill demand of the labour market.
In spite of these findings, the challenge of graduate employability still persists in Nigeria. The National Bureau of Statistics (2011) reported that the rate of unemployment in Nigeria was high. The report revealed that the North-west recorded highest rate of unemployment with 25.40%, followed by South-west with 21.56%, North-east with 16.47%, South-south was 12.03%, while North-central had the lowest with 11.60%. This situation became more alarming in the third quarter of 2014 where North-west recorded 30.0%, North-east 23.9%, North-central 15.1%, South-east 8.9%, South-west 8.9% and South-south 18.7% (Ajaikaye, 2016).
The issue of unemployment is traceable to mismatch between labour market core skills requirements and soft skills competence of graduates. This gap, Kayode (2009) expressed, is responsible for a high percentage of young graduate unemployment. Other researchers such as Dabalen, Oni and Adekola (2000), Mora (2008), Ajayi, Adeniji and Adu (2008), Pitan and Adedeji (2012) and Philips Consulting (2014). have carried out some researches on graduates’ employability skills, unemployment, entrepreneurial human capital development, economic future of Nigerian graduates and labour market prospects of university graduates in Nigeria but the gap identified by the researcher was that none of these mentioned researchers among others focused on labour market core skills requirements and university graduate soft skills competence for a relationship test in North-west geo-political zone of Nigeria. The researcher, therefore, considered it highly essential to carry out a study on labour market core skills requirements and university graduate soft skills competence in North-west, Nigeria.
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between labour market core skills requirements and university graduate soft skills competence in North-west, Nigeria. However, the specific purposes of the study are to:
1. examine categories of classes of degrees required by employers of labour from university graduates in North-west, Nigeria;
2. assess areas of specialisations required by employers of labour from university graduates in North-west, Nigeria;
3. identify work-related experiences required by employers of labour from university graduates in North-west, Nigeria;
4. examine the ages required by employers of labour from university graduates in North-west, Nigeria.
5. assess the competence level of university graduate communication skills in North-west, Nigeria;
6. examine the competence level of university graduate basic computer skills in North-west, Nigeria;
7. determine the competence level of university graduate analytical skills in North-west, Nigeria;
8. examine the competence level of university graduate entrepreneurial skills in North-west, Nigeria and
9. examine the competence level of university graduate interpersonal skills in North-west, Nigeria.
10. examine the relationship between labour market core skills requirements and university graduate soft skills competence in North-west, Nigeria.
Research Questions
The following research questions are raised to guide the study:
1. what are the classes of degrees required by employers of labour from university graduates in North-west, Nigeria?
2. what are the areas of specialisations required by employers of labour from university graduates in North-west, Nigeria?
3. what are the work-related experiences required by employers of labour from university graduates in North-west, Nigeria?
4. what are the ages required by employers of labour from university graduates in North-west, Nigeria?
5. what is the competence level of university graduate communication skills in North-west, Nigeria?
6. what is the competence level of university graduate basic computer skills in North-west, Nigeria?
7. what is the competence level of university graduate analytical skills in North-west, Nigeria?
8. what is the competence level of university graduate entrepreneurial skills in North-west, Nigeria?
9. what is the competence level of university graduate interpersonal skills in North-west, Nigeria?
10. what is the relationship between labour market core skills requirements and university graduate soft skills competence in North-west, Nigeria.
Research Hypotheses
The following hypotheses are raised to guide the study:
Main Hypothesis (Ho)
Ho: There is no significant relationship between labour market core skills requirements and university graduate soft skills competence in North-west, Nigeria.
Ho1: There is no significant relationship between classes of degrees and university graduate soft skills competence in North-west, Nigeria.
Ho2: There is no significant relationship between areas of specialisations and university graduate soft skills competence in North-west, Nigeria.
Ho3: There is no significant relationship between years of work-related experiences and university graduate soft skills competence in North-west, Nigeria.
Ho4: There is no significant relationship between age demand and university graduate soft skills competence in North-west, Nigeria.


EDITOR SOURCES:
1. Labour Market Core Skills Requirements And University Graduate Soft Skills Competence
2. Labour Market Core Skills Requirements And University Graduate Soft Skills Competence
3. Labour Market Core Skills Requirements And University Graduate Soft Skills Competence

Assessment Of Heavy Metal In Sediment Of Orogodo River, Agbor, Delta State




Background Of The Study
Orogodo River is one of the numerous freshwater bodies that abound in the Niger Delta area of southern Nigeria. It is a typical municipal stream flowing through Agbor town with a pollution of over 100,000 people (Arimoroet al., 2008). The river is subjected to organic pollution load arising from the effluent discharge from the abattoirs stations along the river bank, which comprises of stomach and intestinal contents of slaughtered animals, ashes of burnt animals’ materials that are slaughtered daily that makes up an enormous volume of waste discharge regularly into the stream without treatment. Furthermore, the river is influenced by frequent disturbance from human and animal activities which if not properly managed can pose severe health risk to the populace. There is need to assess the level of heavy metal contamination in Nigeria water sediments and also see the effect of these contamination to the aquatic life and ecosystem in general. It is widely recognized that marine ecosystems can become contaminated by trace of metals from numerous and diverse sources. However, anthropogenic activities, such as mining and industrial processing of ores and metals, still remain the principal cause of the increase amount of heavy metals which have been dumped in to the oceans (DeGregori et al., 1996). Heavy metals belong to the group of elements whose hydro-geochemistry cycles have been greatly accelerated by man. Anthropogenic metals emission into the atmosphere such as Pb, Hg, Zn, Cd and Cu are 1:3 orders of magnitude higher than natural fluxes. As a consequence, these elements are expected to become increasingly accumulated in natural reservoirs.
Protecting sediment quality is an important part of restoring and monitoring the biological integrity of our Nation’s water as well as protecting aquatic life, wild life and human health. Sediment is an integral component of aquatic ecosystem providing habitat, feeding, spawning and rearing areas for many aquatic organisms. Sediment also serves as reservoir for pollutants and therefore a potential source of pollutantsto the water column, organisms, and ultimately human consumers of those organisms. Contaminated sediment can cause lethal and sub-lethal effect in benthic and other sediment associated organisms (US EPA 2001). Also natural and human disturbances can release pollutants to the overlying water, where pelagic (water column) organisms can be exposed. Sediment pollutants can reduce or eliminate species of recreational, commercial or ecological importance, either through direct effects or by affecting the food supply which the sustainable population requires. The extent and severity of sediment contamination in U.S has been documented in the National Sediment Inventory (NSI). The evaluation of sediment contamination data indicates that thousands of locations have been affected throughout the country (US EPA2001).This work covers sampling of whole sediment and analysis to ascertain the level of contamination of heavy metals in River Orogodo.
1.2:Statement Of Problem
Orogodo River has potential for pollution arising from anthropogenic activities like all major rivers passing through densely populated and built environments. The river is subjected to organic pollution load arising from the effluent discharge from the abattoirs stations along the river bank, which comprises of stomach and intestinal contents of slaughtered animals, ashes of burnt animals’ materials that are slaughtered daily that makes up an enormous volume of waste discharge regularly into the stream without treatment. Furthermore, the river is influenced by frequent disturbance from human and animal activities which if not properly managed can pose severe health risk to the populace. There is need to assess the level of heavy metal contamination in Nigeria water sediments and also see the effect of these contamination to the aquatic life and ecosystem in general.
1.3: Aim And Objectives
The aim of this project work is to determine heavy metals in some selected location in Orogodo River, Delta state, Nigeria.
Objectives:
• The objective of this work is to ascertain the level of heavy metals in analyzed samples.
• To determine the concentration of heavy metals in the selected locations of the Orogodo river.
• To evaluate the impact of the abattoir effluent discharge on the river and consequently, the risk posed to public health as a result of the identified pollution.
• Compare the concentrations to known standards
1.4: Scope Of The Study
The scope of this study covers the sampling exercise, field study, a laboratory analysis of samples obtained and interpretation of laboratory data using statistical, graphical illustration. The field study was carried out along the course of the Orogodo River, taking the abattoir discharges point as the source. Sediment was collected using the grab sampler from some specific point of the river both upstream and downstream discharges from the abattoir.
1.5: Significance Of The Study
In small quantities, certain heavy metals are nutritionally essential for a healthy life. Diagnostic medical application includes direct injection of gallium during radio logical procedures dosing with chromium in parent nutrition mixtures, and the use of lead as x-ray shield (Jassir, M.S., et al, 2005). Heavy metals are also common in industrial applications such as the manufacture of pesticides, batteries, alloys, electroplated metal parts, textile dyes, steel, and so forth (WHO, 2006). Many of these products are in our homes and add to the quality of life when properly used. In biological systems, heavy metals have been reported to affect cellular organelles and components such as cell membrane, mitochondrial, lysosome, endoplasmic reticulum, nuclei, and some enzymes involved in metabolism, detoxification, and damage repair. Metal ions have been found to interact with cell components such as DNA and nuclear proteins, causing DNA damage and conformational changes that may lead to cell cycle modulation, carcinogenesis or apoptosis. Several studies from our laboratory have demonstrated that reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and oxidative stress play a key role in the toxicity and carcinogenicity of metals such as arsenic,cadmium,chromium, lead, and mercury. Because of their high degree of toxicity, these five elements rank among the priority metals that are of great public health significance. They are all systemic toxicants that are known to induce multiple organ damage, even at lower levels of exposure. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), these metals are also classified as either “known” or “probable” human carcinogens based on epidemiological and experimental studies showing an association between exposure and cancer incidence in humans and animals. Heavy metal-induced toxicity and carcinogenicity involves many mechanistic aspects, some of which are not clearly elucidated or understood. However, each metal is known to have unique features and physic-chemical properties that confer to its specific toxicological mechanisms of action.
Abstract
This study was carried out to examine heavy metals concentration in sediment of upstream and downstream of the entry of the sewage to the Orogodo River, Agbor, Delta state Nigeria . Samples were collected from upstream and downstream and were analyzed for Heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Ni, Ca, Mg, Co, Mn and Zn) by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. It shows the concentration of iron, cadmium, manganese, cobalt, chromium, zinc, magnesium, calcium, nickel, lead and copper in mg/kg in sediments sampled.Some specific physico-chemical characteristics, such as TDS, pH, Temperature and conductivity which are known to influence the interactions and dynamics of metals within the sediment. The mean value of the metals listed above in all the six locations gave 126.09mg/kg, 0.000mg/kg, 0.538mg/kg, 0.000mg/kg, 0.141mg/kg, 1.789mg/kg, 1.258mg/kg, 9.49mg/kg, 0.000mg/kg, 0.112mg/kg and 0.0827mg/kg respectively.. The result of the analysis It shown that the concentrations of heavy metal like Zn, Pb, Cr, Ca, Cu, Co, Mg, Mn, Cd and Ni in the sediment are low, but require monitoring to prevent an increase. Hence the concentration of Fe is higher when compared with the WHO and FEPA standard for sediment which may constitute risk to the environment. The concentration of heavy metal varies for the different locations. Based on the result of the analysis, recommendations were offered to reduce the concentration of heavy metal of the river.
EDITOR SOURCES:
1. Assessment Of Heavy Metal In Sediment Of Orogodo River, Agbor, Delta State
2. Assessment Of Heavy Metal In Sediment Of Orogodo River, Agbor, Delta State
3. Assessment Of Heavy Metal In Sediment Of Orogodo River, Agbor, Delta State

The Element Of Para Gothicism Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre And Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights









Introduction
Background to the Study
This research study will be dealing with the subject matter of the para-gothicism in the novels of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. It will be very necessary to give the basics of the subject matter before a broader look will be given the subject matter in the review of the literature.
It will be very necessary to first of all make an absolute definition of what a gothic novel is. Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story". The effect of Gothic fiction feeds on a pleasing sort of terror, an extension of Romantic literary pleasures that were relatively new at the time of Walpole's novel. Melodrama and parody (including self-parody) were other long-standing features of the Gothic initiated by Walpole.
Generally, the tone and mood of gothic novels are brooding and sombre. Often, female protagonists find themselves in the midst of conspiracies, in the clutches of mysterious or sinister people (usually men), and people tend to harbour (dark!) secrets. The male protagonist, who may be the romantic interest, is often brooding and charismatic. The landscape and/or climate are often inhospitable, and the author may use pathetic fallacy to good effect. Buildings, dwellings, and architecture are often scary or mysterious--there may be secret rooms or rooms with special significance.
Narratives revolve around the macabre, the supernatural, and death quite a bit. People are sometimes 'haunted' by memories of dead loved ones. Other times, the supernatural element is explained away, though. i.e., the main characters think there's a ghost, but a rational explanation for seemingly supernatural events is revealed. Protagonists' psychology is important too: a lot of the time, these stories are rooted in some deep fears of death, sex, etc., and so a lot of the terror may be in their imagination--which does not necessarily make it less terrifying.
Para-Gothicism is not a rediscovery of the gothic, but rather a rebirth of that style; it is also a modern name for Gothicism. According to The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it is defined as relating and constituting the revival or adaptation of the Gothic, especially in literature or architecture.
The Gothic motifs and forms are imitated. This genre could be said to be broad and hybrid in nature. It covers three genres:
1. The Gothic novels – This utilizes the mysterious, the supernatural, the horrific, and the romantic.
2. The romance novel – This lays emphasis on love and passion and represents the notion of two lovers destined for each other.
3. The Bildungsroman – It is a narration of a character’s internal development as he/she undergoes a succession of encounters with the external world
In architectural terms parallel to the ascendancy of the neo-Gothic styles in the 19th century in England, interest spread rapidly to the continent of Europe, Australia, South Africa, and America. The number of Gothic revival structures built in the 19th and 20th centuries has exceeded the number of authentic Gothic structures that had been built previously. Today, for instance, the Gothic style of architecture has been imitated in churches, military academies and university buildings.
Also, Jane Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published in London, England, in 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. with the title Jane Eyre. An Autobiography under the pen name "Currer Bell." The first American edition was released the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York. The Penguin edition describes it as an "influential feminist text" because of its in-depth exploration of a strong female character's feelings.
The novel merges elements of three distinct genres. It has the form of a Bildungsroman, a story about a child's maturation, focusing on the emotions and experiences that accompany growth to adulthood. The novel also contains much social criticism, with a strong sense of morality at its core, and finally has the brooding and moody quality and Byronic character typical of Gothic fiction.
It is a novel often considered ahead of its time due to its portrayal of the development of a thinking and passionate young woman who is both individualistic, desiring for a full life, and also highly moral. Jane evolves from her beginnings as a poor and plain woman without captivating charm to her mature stage as a compassionate and confident whole woman. As she matures, she comments much on the complexities of the human condition. Jane also has a deeply pious personal trust in God but is also highly self-reliant. Although Jane suffers much, she is never portrayed as a damsel in distress who needs rescuing. For this reason, it is sometimes considered an important early feminist (or proto-feminist) novel.
Also taking a look at Wuthering Heights is a novel by Emily Brontë published in 1847. It was her only novel and was written between December 1845 and July 1846. It remained unpublished until July 1847 and was not printed until December after the success of her sister Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre. It was finally printed under the pseudonym Ellis Bell; a posthumous second edition was edited by Charlotte.
The title of the novel comes from the Yorkshire manor on the moors of the story. The narrative centres on the all-encompassing, passionate but doomed love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, and how this unresolved passion eventually destroys them and many around them.
Today considered a classic of English literature, Wuthering Heights was met with mixed reviews when it first appeared, mainly because of the narrative's stark depiction of mental and physical cruelty. Although Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre was generally considered the best of the Brontë sisters' works during most of the nineteenth century, many subsequent critics of Wuthering Heights argued that it was a superior achievement. Wuthering Heights has also given rise to many adaptations and inspired works, including films, radio, television dramatisations, a musical by Bernard J. Taylor, a ballet, three operas (respectively by Bernard Herrmann, Carlisle Floyd, and Frédéric Chaslin), a role-playing game, and a song by Kate Bush.
However, in the proceeding chapter, a broader look will be given to the subject matter and also we will be looking at what other writers have got to evaluate Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights.
Statement of the Problem
There was a time in the last decades of the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century, reflected dimly in the prints, paintings and surviving relics of that era, which effectively symbolises our deep-rooted yearning to escape from the mindlessness of modern existence through its portal where glimpses of a beautiful, unpolluted world with clean, graceful architecture starkly contrasts with the smoke-discoloured edifices of concrete in today’s wilderness of ugly buildings set in a wasteland of dying forests. Such vistas, such colour and the pleasure they produce are of different orders from anything we now experience. So much so, that were we to glimpse, feel, smell and taste how life once was (against the natural background sound of birds, brooks and horses’ hooves instead of the cacophony of aeroplanes, industry and motor vehicles) we would probably think and indeed dream differently.
However, the problem of this research study is to unfold the Gothic genre and the romanticism, the demonstration of the finite and tragically self-consuming nature of passion in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights.
Research Question
The following questions will help guide the research study to achieve its objectives.
1. What is Gothicism?
2. What is para-Gothicism?
3. What are the para-Gothic element in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre?
4. What are the interrelationships between Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre?
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to examine the following:
1. To understand the nature of Gothicism in its various context.
2. The Gothic element in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre.
3. And to also explore the interrelationship between Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre.
Significance of the Study
The importance of this research study cannot be overemphasised, by virtue of the fact that it is going to elucidate an area that has long existed and has remained in a diversified sense.
This study is highly significant in the sense that it will help the readers of this work especially students in the field of languages to further understand the diversifying nature of Gothicism.
Also, the novels whose Gothic nature is been poised will be better understood and easily comprehended by the readers of this research study.
And to crown it all, this research study is also significant taking cognisance of the fact that it will also explore the themes of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, and will elucidate the relationships that do exist between these two Gothic novels.
 
Scope of the Study
This research study will be limited in scope only to the works of Charlotte Bronte and Emily Bronte novels, that is, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights respectively and to the review of related literature.
Operational Definition of Terms
Gothicism: is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance.
Para-Gothicism: The combination of three genres (that is, Gothic, Romance, and Bildungsroman).
Supernatural is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature.
Protagonist: The protagonist means the main character of a story.
Proto-feminist: Proto-feminist is a term used to define women in a philosophical tradition that anticipated modern feminist concepts.
Romance: Romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe.

ABSTRACT
Para-Gothicism is not a rediscovery of the gothic, but rather a rebirth of that style; it is also a modern name for Gothicism, a genre or mode of literature combining elements of both horror and romance. This research study is centred on the novels of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. Love and struggle is the central Para-Gothic theme in both Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Love is presented as a powerful force in both novels. Love is used by both authors to develop the character's personalities, and produces two different outcomes. Both novels are stories of love and how this powerful emotion was able to overcome countless obstacles. Characters within Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre overcame the constraints society had upon them, what appeared to be their destinies and characters were able to overcome themselves. These obstacles were lengthy struggles that characters within each novel were faced with and went through immense pain all for love. The research study is designed in a five-chapter format, with chapter one as an introductory aspect, which leads to the review of related literature and also followed by the Para-Gothic elements/themes of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, and finally, chapter four is a concluding part of the research study.

EDITOR SOURCE:
1. The Element Of Para Gothicism Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre And Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights
2. The Element Of Para Gothicism Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre And Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights
3. The Element Of Para Gothicism Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre And Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights

The Effects Of Qualification Of English Teachers On The Performance Of Secondary School Students In External Examinations






Introduction
1.1 Background To The Study
The quality of education is directly related to the quality of instruction in the classrooms. It is a fact that the academic qualifications, knowledge of the subject matter, competence, and skills of teaching and the commitment of the teacher have an effective impact on the teaching-learning process (National Education Policy 1998-2010). Quality improvement in education depends upon the proper training of teachers. The teachers cannot play any of the roles unless properly trained (Yadved and Singh, 1988). The performance of students especially in external examinations goes a long way to show the level of preparedness of the student definitely by qualified teachers.
Teaching is an art. It can be refined by training and practice. The availability of competent teachers is central to the reconstruction of the educational system. English has acquired the status of a global language (Crystal, 1997). Keeping in view the growing need and importance of the English language in every walk of life, English is made a compulsory subject in Nigeria from the very beginning of the academic career. This increasingly necessitates good quality initial preparation for non-native speaker teachers in the school system (Cullen, 1994).
English is taught as a compulsory subject and also the whole teaching-learning process is carried out in the English language. In other words, English is also the medium of instruction in Nigerian schools. This enables the students of these schools to learn English in an environment where most of the interaction between the teacher and the students is in English (Fuller & Clark, 1994). As a result, the students of these schools are more proficient in English and perform well in external examinations.
In some schools, however, the teaching of English is done somewhat differently and the proficiency in the language is somewhat inadequate. The traditional grammar-translation method is a favourite with the teachers and there is hardly any exposure to the English language inside or outside the class. Most of the activities in the class are done in the vernacular or the mother tongue. Even the English language is explained through Urdu or the vernaculars (Al-mutawa&Kailani, 1989). The students resort to memorization and cramming.
The teacher is the facilitator of examinations rather than of learning. The students memorize, translate and retranslate and, finally reproduce the crammed information or knowledge in the external examinations. No creativity is witnessed on the part of the students from this kind of teaching experience (Baumgardner, 1993). The reason is that the teachers themselves are not qualified or competent enough to teach English efficiently. This causes poor results in English eventually leading to the highest failure percentage in English at external examinations. Thus English becomes the biggest hurdle (particularly for the students from rural areas) on the way to getting a higher education and key administrative posts. In its annual report, Federal Public Service Commission (1998) reported that the English language as the medium of expression in the external examination is depriving the students of some poor institutions to compete with their counterparts from highly placed institutions.
English as a language plays a number of roles in the socio-economic, political and cultural development of Nigerian society. The continued slide in the performance of students in the English language in external examinations is a course of great concern not only for the teachers but also for all stakeholders in the business of education. This is more worrisome when one considers the fact that English doubles as a medium of instruction in Nigerian schools as well as our linquafranca. The central role of English cannot, therefore, be wished away. The pattern of failure has, however, shown that the incidence appears to be higher in some schools than it is in other schools. A number of factors have been linked to the courses but more relevant is the issue of qualification of the teachers. This is more important because, in the business of teaching and learning, teachers offer only what they have; you cannot offer what you don’t have. The qualification of teachers involved in teaching and learning has a great role in the performance of students and it is to find out these effects that this study set out to accomplish. Chomsky (1972) “states that one can not really teach a language but can only present the conditions in which it will develop spontaneously in the mind in its own ways”
1.2 Statement Of The Problem
Language teaching has been the primary focus of applied linguistics. Formal instruction does not work in a vacuum. The school environment, teacher qualifications, curriculum and instructional approaches, and many other factors interact to produce growth in student academic skills and knowledge. There is sufficient empirical evidence that suggests that the academic performance of students relies substantially on the teachers they are assigned. Classroom-based research is valid enough to determine whether the learners are receiving appropriate content instruction or not. Pennington (1989) says that the quality of teaching must be considered in determining what results can be expected. He further states that teachers make decisions about classroom management based on achievement gains. Thus we can say that findings about the relationship between teacher characteristics and student academic performance scores are important in determining the policy regarding teachers. It is assumed that only those who have professional training in English teaching should teach the English language. The English teacher should be the one whose competence and proficiency in all the language skills are good measures. But especially in written and conversational English, is not deficient. The English teacher should have a good knowledge of current usage and the theoretical aspects of English. In Nigeria today, most students in secondary schools and in fact even in universities lack the ability to communicate efficiently in English, both oral and written. This is still the major problem faced by English students today. It is therefore important to find out if the qualification of the English teachers has any effect on the performance of the students in written and spoken English in external examinations.
1.3 Objectives Of The Study
The following are the objectives of this study:
1. To examine the effects of qualification of English teachers on the performance of secondary school students in external examinations.
2. To examine the criteria for producing a qualified English teacher.
3. To determine the factors that can improve the academic performance of secondary school students in external examinations.
1.4 Research Questions
1. What are the effects of qualification of English teachers on the performance of secondary school students in the external examinations?
2. What are the criteria for producing a qualified English teacher?
3. What are the factors that can improve the academic performance of secondary school students in external examinations?
1.5 Hypothesis
HO: There is no significant relationship between the qualification of English teachers and secondary school student performance in external examinations.
HA: There is a significant relationship between the qualification of English teachers and secondary school student performance in external examinations.
1.6 Significance Of The Study
The following are the significance of this study:
1. This study will serve as a painter to the ministry of education to verify whether the qualification of teachers has any effect on the student performance in the senior secondary school certificate examination (SSCE). The finding will also help people who want to conduct such research to serve as a reference.
2. This research will also serve as a resource base for other scholars and researchers interested in carrying out further research in this field subsequently if applied will go to an extent to provide new explanations for the topic
1.7 Limitation Of Study
Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted to the research work.

EDITOR SOURCE:
1. The Effects Of Qualification Of English Teachers On The Performance Of Secondary School Students In External Examinations
2. The Effects Of Qualification Of English Teachers On The Performance Of Secondary School Students In External Examinations
3. The Effects Of Qualification Of English Teachers On The Performance Of Secondary School Students In External Examinations

The modern trend in education and the complex nature of learning and instruction have made the role of the teachers more challenging. This new role does not just involve the more transmission of information to students but it involves looking at the problems associated with learning and instruction. The National Policy on Education (NPE, 2004) in Nigeria emphasized that our children should be educated properly so that they can acquire skills and competencies that would enable them to function well and solve problems in society. The accomplishment and realization of these important educational goals in Nigeria lie in the new trend in educational approaches.
These new approaches to learning and instruction expose the students to conceptualize and effectively manage their own learning and thus reinforce their learning and transfer their training to practical situations. Despite the new approach to learning and instruction, the English language at the Senior Secondary School level in Nigeria has been plagued with poor results and low achievements. Annual results from West African Examinations Council (WAEC) reveal woeful performances from the students who have made enrolment for English language examinations a yearly ritual. It is worrisome to note too that the performance of these students has continued to deteriorate year after year. It is understood that if the situation in the English Language remains like this, it will affect both the economic and technological growth of the state. This is because a good mastery of the English language is mandatory for all students in order to do well in other secondary school subjects. Students who are handicapped in the English language are therefore likely to be handicapped in the acquisition of skills in arts and technology-related subjects.
From the foregoing, therefore, we can conclude that the English language is an indispensable language of communication in Kaduna.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
This research as stated above concerns itself with the study of strategies for improving low academic performance in the English language by suggesting a possible solution to the following questions:
1. i) What are the attitude/feelings of the students towards the studying English language?
2. ii) What accounts for the decline in performance in the subject (English language)?
• iii) Do they have enough material and human resources for the teaching and learning process?
1. iv) Do they understand the subject very well?
2. v) Does the Senior Secondary School Certificate (SSCE) syllabus have either a positive or a negative effect on student performance?
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to find out strategies for improving the performance of secondary school students in the English language. Specifically, it ought to:
1. i) To find out the types of facilities available in the secondary schools for teaching the English language.
2. ii) To identify the methods of teaching used in teaching the English language.
• iii) To identify the extent to which teachers are motivated to teach the English language.
1. iv) To identify strategies for improving the low academic performance of students in the English language.
1.4 Research Questions
The following research questions were formulated to guide the study:
1. i) What type of facilities is available for teaching the English language in secondary schools in Kaduna State?
2. ii) What are the methods of teaching adopted by English Language teachers?
• iii) To what extent are English Language teachers motivated?
1. iv) What are the strategies for improving the low academic performance of students in the English Language?
o Significance of the Study
This research work intends to investigate student achievement in the subject. The research will be significant in the following ways:
1. i) The findings of the study will shed light on the nature, contents examination and performance level of the SSCE examination.
2. ii) The findings of the study will contribute meaningfully to the knowledge of teaching and learning the English language, especially with the role of English in day-to-day communication.
• iii) The findings of the students will also benefit the Ministry of Education in Kaduna State by recruiting qualified teachers in order to improve the performance of the students.
1.6 Delimitation of the Study
The study covers strategies for improving low academic performance in the English Language in Secondary Schools in Kaduna State. Respondents were drawn from selected secondary schools in Kaduna North Local Government Area.
1.7 Limitation of the Study
In any type of research work, are many hindrances that the researcher must come across in the course of the assignment. The problem encountered in the course of this could be attributed to delays in gathering the relevant data needed for the research work and the uncompromising attitude of the people to give the required information. Time is another major limitation as far as the research work is concerned. The time needed to implement the work may not be sufficient for logistic reasons. Financial resources may be lacking in carrying out the required work of the project.
1.8 Definition of Terms
• Performance: This relates to the execution carried out or putting into effect the task, job or operation.
• Teacher: A professional trained to impart knowledge to pupils/students.
• Assessment: Evaluation or estimation of the nature, value or quality of something or a subject.
• Effectiveness: It is the ability to determine appropriate objectives, that is, the degree to which School’s goals are met within established resources “doing the right thing.”
• Indiscipline: This can be described as a mode of life not in conformation with rules and non-subjection to contain. The term connotes the regulations capable of obstructing the smooth and orderly function of the school system
• Reading: This is the process of receiving and interpreting information encoded in language form via the medium of print.
• Writing: Writing is the process by which an author uses his mental ability to put words to paper as well as the result of that process.
• Speech: Expression of or the ability to express thoughts and feelings by articulate sounds.
• Mother Tongue: This is the original and first language of an individual which they acquire from their parents.
• L2: This is language two. This is a second that is learnt as a second language in addition to their mother tongue.
• FGN: Acronym for Federal Government of Nigeria.
• Curriculum: Curriculum is the subjects comprising a step-by-step guide of a course of study in a school.


ABSTRACT
This study examines strategies for improving low academic performance in the English language in secondary schools in Kaduna state. Over the years, there has been a consistent decline in students’ performance in the English Language. This sordid situation has caused teachers, parents, curriculum experts and evaluators a serious concern. To carry out this investigation, data were collected from thirty-eight (38) English language teachers randomly from twenty secondary schools in Kaduna North Local Government Area. Analysis of the data revealed that poorly trained English language teachers, poor instructional delivery, lack of infrastructural facilities, teachers’ attitude toward innovation, and the traditional content/knowledge-oriented curriculum were factors associated with students’ low performance in the English language. Based on the findings recommendations were made on strategies that will improve the quality of performance in the subject. In this work, data was collected in the area of material, facilities and human resources available for teaching the subject, using questionnaires, personal interviews and relevant textbooks. Put together, the research questionnaire distributed was forty.



EDITOR SOURCES:
1. Improving Low Academic Performance In English Language In Secondary Schools
2. Strategies For Improving Low Academic Performance In English Language In Secondary Schools
3. Strategies For Improving Low Academic Performance In English Language In Secondary Schools In Cross River State

Predominant Devices Used By Ngugi Wa Thiong’o In His Novel Wizard Of The Crow









Introduction
1.1 Background Of The Study
Language is a distinctive quality unique to man. It is what enables man to express him/herself and communicate with his/her fellow man, and it is acquired naturally. According to Fromkin et al “…language is the source of human life and power” (3). They also state that “we use language to convey information to others…, ask questions…, give command…, and express wishes” (173). There are two specific media of using language: oral – which is by words of mouth; and written – which is a graphic representation of words on paper.
It is in the use of language that style comes in. Style shows the difference between one piece of writing and the other. According to Adejare, “style is an ambiguous term…” (1). He further states that the term style means different things to different professions. Some examples are: to a psychologist, a style is a form of behaviour, to the critic, style is individuality and to the linguist, it is the formal structures in function (1).
Stylistics is the study of oral and written texts. It is the description of the linguistic characteristics (which means features of linguistics) of all situationally restricted uses of language. Linguistics is the scientific study of language or of a particular language. Linguistics is scientific because it applies the method of objective observation, collection, classification and application of facts to the study of language.
Stylistics focuses on texts and gives much attention to the devices, parts of speech and figures of speech. It goes further to look into the effects of the use of the devices on the reader.
Talking about the scope of stylistics, Onwukwe Ekwutosi gave four distinctive types of stylistics and they are:
1. General stylistics
2. Literary stylistics
3. Stylo-stylistics
4. Phono-stylistics
General stylistics deals with the non-dialectical varieties found within a language. In other words, it deals with situational or contextual use of language, that is, variation according to use. It also includes a variation of language according to the field of discourse, variation according to the mode of discourse and finally, variation according to the style of discourse.
Literary stylistics deals with language use in literature, that is, variations, and characteristics of individual writers that made marks in literature. Often, we hear people talk about the style of Shakespeare, Milton, Achebe or Soyinka.
And also, stylo-stylistics deals with the qualification of the stylistic pattern. It studies the statistical structure of literary texts often using computers. Finally, phono-stylistics is the study of the expression of the aesthetic function of sound.
Stylistic features can be described as features that produce a style. They include linguistic features such as diction(writer’s choice of words, such as clichés, archaism, polysyllabic, monosyllabic), sentence structure such as loose and period sentences, parallelism, parenthetical expressions and passive expressions. Other features are cohesion, coherence, use of punctuation marks and figures of speech such as metaphor, simile, hyperbole, metonymy and personification, slang, colloquialism and connotation.
Diction: By diction, the reader looks at the simplicity or the difficulty of words chosen by the writer to express himself.
Sentence: It is made up of words that express a complete thought. It is the basic unit of thought in any communication. Both oral and written languages are made up of sentences. There are two main kinds of sentences; loose and periodic sentences.
Loose sentence: It is the kind of sentence that states the main point at the beginning. Even when the statement is grammatically complete, one or more explanatory clauses or phrases come after it.
Periodic sentence: This kind of sentence keeps the main point for the end. The sentence is not grammatically complete until the end of the sentence.
Parallelism: It is the use of pattern repetition in a literary text for a particular stylistic effect.
Parenthetical expression: It is used to give more information and also as an afterthought in a statement.
Passive expression: This is the use of words in the past tense to show the time of action.
Cohesion: It is a linguistic phenomenon which explains the way discourse is structured or organized with regard to message. It is a binding force that ties together stretches of utterances.
Coherence: This is the arrangement of sentences in a logical order.
Punctuation marks: These are signs in writing to divide sentences and phrases and to make meanings clear.
Figure of speech: A figure of speech is an expression used figuratively rather than literary. It gives a deeper meaning to words. Some examples are:
Metaphor: Is a comparison between two dissimilar things which have something in common.
Simile: It is a clear comparison between two dissimilar things. These two unlike items however share something in common. It is this common characteristic that is emphasized by the use of like or as …as.
Hyperbole: It is an overstatement where the speaker exaggerates what he is saying out of proportion.
Metonymy: This is using a word for something to refer to another with which it has become closely associated.
Personification: It is giving human quality to an inanimate object.
Slang: Very informal words and expressions that are more common in spoken language, especially used by a particular group of people.
Colloquialism: A word or phrase that is used in conversation but not in a formal speech in writing.
Connotation: It is the additional meaning the word gains because of the different environments in which a word has been used in the past.
Archaism: This is the use of old and middle English words which are no longer in general usage today. Some examples are, “thereto”, and “thou”.
Clichés: They are phrases or ideas that have been used so often that it no longer has much meaning and is not interesting.
A way of stylistic analysis is taking a text and analyzing it at the various levels of the linguistic organization – phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic levels. It is the identification of patterns of usage in speech and writing. It is usually made for the purpose of commenting on quality and meaning in a text.
1.2 Statement Of The Problem
Though many works have been done on the style of Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s other novels, not much has been done on his style in Wizard of the Crow, which is his most recent novel, published in 2007. Consequently, the researcher intends to examine the style of Ngugi in this latest novel.
Secondly, most of the works did not use quantitative stylistic analysis to determine the predominant or most frequently occurring devices. They often simply listed out all the devices used.
1.3 Objective Of The Study
The objectives of this study is to identify the predominant devices used by Ngugi wa Thiong’o in his novel Wizard of the Crow and what he achieved by using those devices.
1.4 Significance Of The Study
This research will help the readers identify the predominant stylistic devices used by Ngugi wa Thiong’o in his latest novel Wizard of the Crow and why he used them. It will also provide reference material for other researchers in the field.
1.5 Scope Of The Study
The study is restricted to the novel Wizard of the Crow, a novel comprising six books namely; Book 1 – Power Daemons, Book 2 – Queuing Daemons, Book 3 – Female Daemons, Book 4 – Male Daemons, Book 5 – Rebel Daemons and Book 6 – Bearded Daemons, with a total of 264 chapters.
To enable the researcher to carry out a detailed study of the text and for close textual references considering the limited time available to the researcher, the scope is further restricted to only 30 chapters of the novel. In addition, the researcher will restrict the analysis of the stylistic devices to the use of ellipses, rhetorical questions, parenthetical expressions, italics and long sentences which in the course of reading the novel, the researcher found to have occurred more frequently than the others.
1.6 Research Methodology
The method to be used in this study will be an intensive study of related materials from the library and a close textual analysis of the text: Wizard of the Crow using quantitative stylistic analysis. This entails counting and writing down the number of times each of the selected stylistic devices occurred. In addition, 5 chapters will be selected by simple random sampling from each of the six books giving a total sample of 30 chapters out of the total 264 chapters that make up the novel.
EDITOR SOURCE: Predominant Devices Used By Ngugi Wa Thiong’o In His Novel Wizard Of The Crow

The Principal Human Relation Strategies And Teacher’s Job Performances In Secondary Schools



Background to the Study
The aim of education in every society in the world is to develop the young ones to become useful adults. Although education varies in different societies of the world, education remains the bedrock of every society. Therefore, any nation that toys with education is definitely sitting on a key of gunpowder and this is bound to explode. For the goal of education to be achieved in a nation, the principal actors of learning are the teachers, and the learner and the environment must be co-operatively organized. The aim of education in the olden days includes moral and spiritual development which reflects in the societal system of thought and beliefs and these, in turn, have a great influence on the economic activities of its members. For example, the African traditional society is replete with people whose minds have been observed with the magical religious systems of thoughts, as nduka putss !! (Waste. 1999). Here society regards every fortune as coming from one or more of its numerous Gods as well as their spirits. In such an environment, progressive thinking is almost impossible.
The success of any organization depends to a large extent upon the leader of the organization and the effectiveness of any secondary school in attaining its objective. Depends on the chief executive at the school level otherwise known as the principal. The principal helps to integrate the teachers, non-teaching staff, students and other resources into a productive working mechanism and student performance by influencing teachers' behaviours and beliefs through corrective supervisory activities, cooperation, motivation, effective communication and evaluation for the achievement of educational objectives. The principals perform dual functions as a professional and administrators. As an administrative duty like planning and conduct of meetings, attending to emails, visiting ministries to resolve school problems etc principal as a professional engaged in curriculum design recruiting and deploying and source of material resources to assist teaching staff. As put by Okeke (1985), The bigger the situation to be managed or administered the more complex the leadership needed and the greater the task involved. of the usefulness of all these activities. It is only when the principal is able to recognize and adopt the right leadership styles that he would get his subordinates to interact freely with him on a continuous basis. In this way, they will together pursue common goals. The teacher has personal goals and needs which he or may not be conscious of it may therefore be reasonable to argue that workers' behaviour in the workplace is a reaction, and action of the head colleagues' students and their entire environment.
The falling standard of education has all been attributed to the fact that most of the school principals’ has failed to exhibit the good leadership required for the effectiveness of the school system. Furthermore, other people think that leaders are responsible for the poor performance of students. While others even believed that the students are also responsible for their academic performance as the majority of them disobey school rules and regulations and are no longer ready to work and some believed that the government should be held responsible since it has failed to satisfy the needs of teachers. From the various comments, it could be generally agreed that all the various components of the educational system have their own allocation of the blame. The attitude of a principal towards his subordinates would influence the behaviour of the teacher in a significant manner and this, in turn, affects students' academic performance it can then be assumed that the level of interaction of principals with their teachers would directly or indirectly determine student level of performance in their tasks. The principal should examine the performance of the school personnel to determine how the set objectives are being achieved Where performance deviates from the desired result, he undertakes corrective measures guiding counselling and coaching the personnel concerned. In the case of staff, he may even encourage them to go for higher education and training in order to acquire the desired competencies and establish good morals through their leadership styles. Promised on the backgrounds discussed so far, this study seeks to investigate the principals’ human relation strategies and teachers’ job performance in Patigi Local Government area Secondary schools, Kwara State.
Statement of the Problem
The principal as an educational leader plays a pivotal role in the success of the school. To build a strong culture of collaboration and creative problem solving, set appropriate human relations that possess an instructional leadership quality that takes responsibility for achievement, develop and communicate plans for effective teaching among all staff members. {CFBT, 2008} argued that principals spent much of their time on political duties unrelated to the education of students at their schools, and required much absence from the school site. This seems to reduce the level of principal’s human relations and teacher’s job performance in the schools or cause undesirable outcomes such as failure of students in examination, repetition rate, drop out as well as other instructional activities at schools.
The purpose of this study, therefore, was to investigate the principals’ human relation strategies and teachers’ job performance in secondary schools in Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State. In addressing this problem, the following research questions were raised:-
1. What is the significant relationship between the principals with the teacher's performance in secondary schools?
2. Which type of principals’ human relation enhances teachers’ performance in the schools?
3. To what extent does school principals’ decision making influence the level of teachers’ performance in secondary schools?
4. To what extent does school principals’ communication affect teachers’ performance?
5. To what extent does school principals’ delegation of duties influence teachers' performance in the secondary school?
6. What is the like solution to improve the students’ academic performance as a result of the influence of principals’ teacher relationships?

Research Questions
The following research questions were raised and answered in this research:
1. What are the principals’ human relations strategies Mostly used in secondary schools in Patigi Local Government Area, Kwara State?
2. What is the Level of teachers’ job performance in secondary schools in Patigi Local Government Area, Kwara State?
Research Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were generated to guide the Study?
HO: There is no significant relationship between principals’ human relation strategies and teacher job performance in secondary schools in the Patigi Local government Area. Kwara State.
HO1: There is no significant relationship between Collaboration Strategies and teachers’ job performance in secondary schools in Patigi Local Government Area, Kwara State.
HO2: There is no significant relationship between Communication Strategies and teachers’ job performance in secondary schools in the Patigi Local Government Area in Kwara State.
HO3: There is no significant relationship between Motivation Strategies and teachers’ job performance in secondary schools in Patigi Local Government Area, Kwara State.
HO4: There is no significant relationship between Safety Strategies and teachers’ job performance in secondary schools in Patigi Local Government Area, Kwara State.
Purpose of the Study
The general purpose of this study is to find out the principal’s Humanrelation strategies and teachers’ job performance in secondary Schools in Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State. Specifically, this study was carried out to:
1. Examine and assess principals’ human relations strategies in secondary schools.
2. Identify and assess teachers’ preference for job performance in the schools.
3. Find out the major factors limiting the principal human relation in secondary schools and
4. Suggest possible solutions.
Significance of the Study
The findings of this study would be of great benefit to principals and teachers in Secondary schools, by identifying the values of principal human relation strategies and Teachers' job performance as basic and Fundamental in the teaching profession.
- It may also inform the teachers of the need to adequately cover
topics in their scheme of work and lesson plan.
- It may also encourage the principals concerned to enhance the
Level of their human relation strategies in schools.
- In addition, it may reveal some of the causes of poor performance
Of teachers in schools and ways in how they can be adequately
Prepared to achieve the stated goals.
- Furthermore, It may afford the teachers to be enlightened on the
great opportunities awaiting them in future, such as appointing them as
Directors in the ministries, Education secretary, and Head of the service. etc
Scope and Limitation of the Study
The study is delimited to the Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State. This study is restricted to investigating the principal’s human relations strategies and teacher’s job performance in Secondary schools of Patigi Local government, Kwara state. Even though the research has attained its objectives, were some unpreventable limitations. First, there are various models of principals’ motivation strategies due to the limited time, finance and material resources:
This research was not incorporating all models to see teachers’ performance in addition.
Because of the limits mentioned above, this research was conducted on Secondary schools teachers in the three districts named Patigi district, Lade district and Kpada district inPatigi Local Government Area in Kwara State
Definition of Variables and Terms
This is presented as used in this study
Principal Human Relation: refer to the pattern or way of doing Things by the Principal in pursuit of his or her duties. In this study, Human relations are looked at in terms of The way principals involve Teachers in decision making: The way they communicate and the way they delegate duties to teachers. The way the principals behave in line of decision making, communication and delegation of hypothesized to Determine teacher performance in secondary schools of Patigi local government in one way or the other.

Human Relation Strategies: Can seem in education through Development and the resulting interpersonal interaction. The ability to effectively communicate is the most important aspect of human Relations. Without the ability to effectively communicate, there would be no human relations.
Teacher Job Performance
Teachers' job performance refers to the way by which the teachers effectively discharge their duties it also includes commitment, promptness, punctuality, interest, and consistency in the process of teaching and learning within the schools and outside schools.


ABSTRACT
This study examined principal human relation strategies and teachers' job performance in secondary schools in Patigi Local Government
Area, Kwara State.
A sample of secondary schools was randomly selected. The questionnaire was administered to one hundred and sixty principals and Teachers for research, questions were generated and tested for the study. The result obtained showed good principal human relation strategies and Teachers' job performance by involving them in Motivation, Communication, Safety and collaboration for smoothly running of the school.
Therefore, the principal and Teachers should continue having a good relationship to bring about improvement of the teacher and output of the school (student). The principal can also influence the teacher’s activities towards improving teacher skills, organizing workshops, in-service training and seminars.
EDITOR SOURCE: The Principal Human Relation Strategies And Teachers Job Performances In Secondary Schools

PREDOMINANT DEVICES USED BY NGUGI WA THIONG’O IN HIS NOVEL WIZARD OF THE CROW









INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Language is a distinctive quality unique to man. It is what enables man to express him/herself and communicate with his/her fellow man, and it is acquired naturally. According to Fromkin et al “…language is the source of human life and power” (3). They also state that “we use language to convey information to others…, ask questions…, give command…, and express wishes” (173). There are two specific media of using language: oral – which is by words of mouth; and written – which is a graphic representation of words on paper.
It is in the use of language that style comes in. Style shows the difference between one piece of writing and the other. According to Adejare, “style is an ambiguous term…” (1). He further states that the term style means different things to different professions. Some examples are: to a psychologist, a style is a form of behaviour, to the critic, style is individuality and to the linguist, it is the formal structures in function (1).
Stylistics is the study of oral and written texts. It is the description of the linguistic characteristics (which means features of linguistics) of all situationally restricted uses of language. Linguistics is the scientific study of language or of a particular language. Linguistics is scientific because it applies the method of objective observation, collection, classification and application of facts to the study of language.
Stylistics focuses on texts and gives much attention to the devices, parts of speech and figures of speech. It goes further to look into the effects of the use of the devices on the reader.
Talking about the scope of stylistics, Onwukwe Ekwutosi gave four distinctive types of stylistics and they are:
1. General stylistics
2. Literary stylistics
3. Stylo-stylistics
4. Phono-stylistics
General stylistics deals with the non-dialectical varieties found within a language. In other words, it deals with situational or contextual use of language, that is, variation according to use. It also includes a variation of language according to the field of discourse, variation according to the mode of discourse and finally, variation according to the style of discourse.
Literary stylistics deals with language use in literature, that is, variations, and characteristics of individual writers that made marks in literature. Often, we hear people talk about the style of Shakespeare, Milton, Achebe or Soyinka.
And also, stylo-stylistics deals with the qualification of the stylistic pattern. It studies the statistical structure of literary texts often using computers. Finally, phono-stylistics is the study of the expression of the aesthetic function of sound.
Stylistic features can be described as features that produce a style. They include linguistic features such as diction(writer’s choice of words, such as clichés, archaism, polysyllabic, monosyllabic), sentence structure such as loose and period sentences, parallelism, parenthetical expressions and passive expressions. Other features are cohesion, coherence, use of punctuation marks and figures of speech such as metaphor, simile, hyperbole, metonymy and personification, slang, colloquialism and connotation.
Diction: By diction, the reader looks at the simplicity or the difficulty of words chosen by the writer to express himself.
Sentence: It is made up of words that express a complete thought. It is the basic unit of thought in any communication. Both oral and written languages are made up of sentences. There are two main kinds of sentences; loose and periodic sentences.
Loose sentence: It is the kind of sentence that states the main point at the beginning. Even when the statement is grammatically complete, one or more explanatory clauses or phrases come after it.
Periodic sentence: This kind of sentence keeps the main point for the end. The sentence is not grammatically complete until the end of the sentence.
Parallelism: It is the use of pattern repetition in a literary text for a particular stylistic effect.
Parenthetical expression: It is used to give more information and also as an afterthought in a statement.
Passive expression: This is the use of words in the past tense to show the time of action.
Cohesion: It is a linguistic phenomenon which explains the way discourse is structured or organized with regard to message. It is a binding force that ties together stretches of utterances.
Coherence: This is the arrangement of sentences in a logical order.
Punctuation marks: These are signs in writing to divide sentences and phrases and to make meanings clear.
Figure of speech: A figure of speech is an expression used figuratively rather than literary. It gives a deeper meaning to words. Some examples are:
Metaphor: Is a comparison between two dissimilar things which have something in common.
Simile: It is a clear comparison between two dissimilar things. These two unlike items however share something in common. It is this common characteristic that is emphasized by the use of like or as …as.
Hyperbole: It is an overstatement where the speaker exaggerates what he is saying out of proportion.
Metonymy: This is using a word for something to refer to another with which it has become closely associated.
Personification: It is giving human quality to an inanimate object.
Slang: Very informal words and expressions that are more common in spoken language, especially used by a particular group of people.
Colloquialism: A word or phrase that is used in conversation but not in a formal speech in writing.
Connotation: It is the additional meaning the word gains because of the different environments in which a word has been used in the past.
Archaism: This is the use of old and middle English words which are no longer in general usage today. Some examples are, “thereto”, and “thou”.
Clichés: They are phrases or ideas that have been used so often that it no longer has much meaning and is not interesting.
A way of stylistic analysis is taking a text and analyzing it at the various levels of the linguistic organization – phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic levels. It is the identification of patterns of usage in speech and writing. It is usually made for the purpose of commenting on quality and meaning in a text.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Though many works have been done on the style of Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s other novels, not much has been done on his style in Wizard of the Crow, which is his most recent novel, published in 2007. Consequently, the researcher intends to examine the style of Ngugi in this latest novel.
Secondly, most of the works did not use quantitative stylistic analysis to determine the predominant or most frequently occurring devices. They often simply listed out all the devices used.
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The objectives of this study is to identify the predominant devices used by Ngugi wa Thiong’o in his novel Wizard of the Crow and what he achieved by using those devices.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This research will help the readers identify the predominant stylistic devices used by Ngugi wa Thiong’o in his latest novel Wizard of the Crow and why he used them. It will also provide reference material for other researchers in the field.
1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study is restricted to the novel Wizard of the Crow, a novel comprising six books namely; Book 1 – Power Daemons, Book 2 – Queuing Daemons, Book 3 – Female Daemons, Book 4 – Male Daemons, Book 5 – Rebel Daemons and Book 6 – Bearded Daemons, with a total of 264 chapters.
To enable the researcher to carry out a detailed study of the text and for close textual references considering the limited time available to the researcher, the scope is further restricted to only 30 chapters of the novel. In addition, the researcher will restrict the analysis of the stylistic devices to the use of ellipses, rhetorical questions, parenthetical expressions, italics and long sentences which in the course of reading the novel, the researcher found to have occurred more frequently than the others.
1.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The method to be used in this study will be an intensive study of related materials from the library and a close textual analysis of the text: Wizard of the Crow using quantitative stylistic analysis. This entails counting and writing down the number of times each of the selected stylistic devices occurred. In addition, 5 chapters will be selected by simple random sampling from each of the six books giving a total sample of 30 chapters out of the total 264 chapters that make up the novel.


EDITOR SOURCE: Predominant Devices Used By Ngugi Wa Thiong’o In His Novel Wizard Of The Crow

Pragmatic Analysis Of Whatsapp Chats









Introduction
1.1 Background to the Study
Language is one of the most complex of all human-specific phenomena. Its convolutions of parts and meanings. It goes beyond its semiotic possibility of conveying information at a communicative level to have an art form that exists by it alone which is known as the literary art.
At the communicative level, it involves other tools to aid interlocution namely voice modulation and pitch, gesticulations which for the sake of this study include facial expressions and feedback from the other person for the clarification of meanings and understanding. At the interpersonal level, language is always based on contextual sense-making as the complexity of language always bears upon every utterance.
Remove the verbal and personal arrangement of this semiotic speech act and all the other tools for sense-making to go with it. So that one runs the risk of being misunderstood which defeats the aim of conversations at all levels. However, with the advancement of technology especially in the telecommunications sector, people now rely much on texting and instant messaging platforms are becoming more and more popular across social classes and with this popularity comes the need for its acceptance by formal and informal purposes.
• Statement of the Problem
The use of the WhatsApp instant messaging application involves a two-way attempt to decipher interlocution beyond the texts. So features like emojis and Smiley’s are added to aid understanding while shorthands are also evolved and their meanings learnt by users and new users. However, a greater chance of sense-making still lies in the texts and how users are able to adjust to each person's texting pattern. In any event, one relies majorly on the context in order to make sense of what is being read and when this fails, one asks for clarifications from the other person(s). This is the problem that has given rise to the present research: to conduct a pragmatic study of WhatsApp chats.
• Research Questions
o what are the common methods through which users arrive at a contextual meaning of texts on the Application?
o How far can the Contextual theory of semantics with all its shortcomings bear upon any study such as the present one?
o What are the troubles users tend to run into in terms of sense-making on the platform
o And how peculiar are the texting styles across different regions
• Objectives of the Study
The major purpose of this research work is to carry out a pragmatic analysis of the intricacies of the WhatsApp instant messaging application. This would be achieved through:
• An identification of the various common methods users employs in the contextual sense-making process.
• The research will describe in detail the movement of contextual sensemaking among users of the instant messaging application. This description will aim at looking at these methods as they develop into popularity among a particular age range usually the millennials.
o Significance of the Study
The present research work is deeply significant especially as it closes up an academic gap which has been called it up. In language study especially the part the linguistics are mandated to study, the research will give models for reading WhatsApp conversations and other conversations on similar platforms with similar features like Imo, Instagram Direct Message and Facebook Messenger.
In the wider picture and seeing that many legal conversations go on with the use of the app, forensics and criminal law can gain insight from the work done here in understanding how to handle conversations of this kind tendered as evidence in legal action.
• Research Hypothesis
The assumption on which this research work is predicated upon the assumption that the contextual sense-making process is what is used by users of the instant messaging application: WhatsApp.
• Scope of the Study
The focus of this research work is on deciphering how sense-making in WhatsApp chats is predicated upon the context of messages. While focusing on WhatsApp references would be made as the discussion progresses to other instant messaging software like the Facebook Messenger app and Imo.
• Limitations of the Study
The major limitations of this research work are time issues and the nature of the research which would require sifting through a random cross-section of WhatsApp chats in order to better carry out the study which would also require lots of time and financial resources.
• Definition of Terms
Pragmatics
This is the branch of linguistics that enquires into how the context of texts and word usages bear upon their meanings.




EDITOR SOURCE: Pragmatic Analysis Of Whatsapp Chats

Political Corruption In Nigeria – The Causes And Prevention, Using The Work Of Selected Activists And Writers In Nigeria









Introduction
Nigeria’s political problems sprang from the carefree manner in which the British took over, administered, and abandoned the government and people of Nigeria. British administrators did not make an effort to weld the country together and unite the heterogeneous groups of people. Though many things we have today are due to their enlightenment, they still left us hanging. According to Adewele Ademoyega in his book Why We Struck 1981, he said that when the British came, they forcibly rubber-stamped the political state of the ethnic groups of Nigeria, and maintained that status quo until they left. According to him upon their departure nearly a hundred years later, the people resumed fighting for their political rights.
When the British came to Nigeria as an imperial nation to take over the rulership of the country from 1861 (with the cession of Lagos), they met the people of the south totally free, only observing and regulating their own monarchies and institutions (Adewele Ademoyega: Why We Struck). Chinua Achebe in his work or novel Things Fall Apart, 1958, tries to portray the life Africans lived before and during the arrival of the Europeans in Nigeria.
Things Fall Apart tells the tragic story of the rise and fall of Okonkwo and the equally tragic story of the disintegration of Igbo culture, symbolized by the agrarian society of Umofia, under the relentless encroachments of British Christian imperialism.
For Achebe, Mister Johnson represents the worst kind of portrayal of Africans by Europeans. To him, the portrayal was all the more disheartening because John Cary was working hard to achieve an accurate depiction, unlike many British authors during the imperial colonial period who deliberately, often cynically, exploited the stereotyping of Africans and African society. It was precise because John Cary was a liberal-minded and sympathetic writer, as well as a colonial administrator that Achebe felt the record had to be set straight. Achebe’s purpose then is to write about and for his own people. His first novels form a continuum over one hundred years of Igbo civilization. The Europeans have not yet penetrated Umuofia, the setting of the first novel when Things Fall Apart beings. When the novel ends colonial rule has been established. His other novels talk about the different changes that took place before independence and after it.
The British governed Nigeria indirectly through their traditional rulers, as a result, the true leader of the masses was hamstrung and held down. Just because Africans were given authority to rule over their own people, they saw it as a means to maltreat those that have wronged them, extort from those that have more than them and sell his/her own brother and sister for favours from the superior leaders - The British. (Adewele Ademoyega: Why We Struck).
These actions by the local and foreign leaders made the people sort for independence. Many of them were not thinking straight anymore. Many people now saw the need to transfer their faults to others using others as an excuse. The present leader blames the colonial masters and fore runners-for-independence for their actions for not doing what is expected of them well and also for the embezzlement and stealing of public funds. They claim that the colonial masters taught them to do so. The political elites in other to become rich and influential in the society, steal and blame it on the economy and leaders. No one takes responsibility for his own crime and faults.
Between the politicians and the military, they blame one another for a bad government no one agrees that the other is better than himself. In the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, people do all types of things just to steal from the petroleum companies they believe that it is their own right and bunkering which is a common business there is no stealing. That is why Tanure Ojaide uses his novel The Activist to enlighten the people about what is happening in the Niger Delta areas. He says those that claim to be literate in society are the Chief Criminals sabotaging one another. Everybody in the country is in one way or the other suffering from the harms political corruption brought, we are psychosocial disordered.
Kole Omotoso in his fiction focuses on identifying the problems in Nigerian society and proposing solutions. He lived his childhood and adolescence, sharing the nationalist dreams of peace, progress, and prosperity, as an adult and as a writer, he was forced to watch the systematic deferment of these dreams after independence for decades after freedom from colonial rule, Nigeria was cursed by civil strife, including a civil war (1967 – 1970) and incessant military coups d’etat. These events, together with undemocratic rule political chicanery and bureaucratic cynicism resulted in a steady decline in the quality of life in a nation that, because it is the most populous black nation on earth is often looked upon as representative of the black race. Omotoso tries to use fiction to talk about the decay and chaos in the society but he tries to make it less real as Armah did in his The Beautiful Ones are not yet Born.
1.1 Definition of Terms
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality is also considered political corruption.
Forms of corruption vary, they include bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft and embezzlement. While corruption may facilitate criminal enterprises such as drug trafficking, money laundering and trafficking, it is not restricted to these activities. While political corruption is an illegal abuse of power, the psychosocial disorder is the mental reaction one gets from it.
A psychosocial disorder is a mental illness caused or influenced by maladjusted cognitive and behavioural processes.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Due to the political dictatorship and the high rate of starvation and poverty in the country, many of the people are suffering from problems caused by the many ways they are treated and controlled.
Their manner of thinking has been blurred with the idea that if they steal or kill to survive, it is not a crime because their leader is also thieved who loots the national treasure and put it in their foreign accounts.
Again due to this, the citizens are psychosocially disordered and their minds corrupt. The key problem is the government. Because of the corrupt nature of society, the government sells its pride and glory to foreign companies and enterprises. These people now treat the natural inhabitants of the areas where the companies are located like animals without dignity. An example is the Niger Delta area of Nigeria which is an oil-producing state.
The major problem is between the people and her government. Both are psychologically and socially sick. The pain of poverty and starvation in abundant money has destroyed the people's minds that they no longer think or reason straight.
1.3 Aim and Objectives
The objectives of this research are;
To identify the problems caused by political corruption and
To provide suggestions for the prevention of political corruption and psychosocial disorder and find a way to eliminate it completely from the society in general.
• Significance of the study
Political corruption and psychosocial disorder using The Activist by Tanure Ojaide and Arrow of Rain by Oke Ndibe will serve as good material for student researchers.
This work will show how the government and the citizens and foreign companies helped in the corruption of the society and her environment and how the act of corruption has disordered everything.
1.5 Scope of Research
This project is restricted to the study of political corruption and psychosocial disorder, using Tanure Ojaide’s The Activist and Okey Ndibe’s Arrow of Rain and other relevant literary work of some other Nigerian and African prose writers and commentaries on corruption.
The research is divided into five chapters, chapter one consists of the introduction, definition of the term, statement of the problem, aims and objectives, the significance of the study, scope of research and research methodology. Chapter two is the review of related literature, chapter three is a textual analysis of the novel The Activist by Tanure Ojaide, Chapter four is a textual analysis of the novel Arrows of Rain Arrow of Rain by Okey Ndibe and chapter five is the summary and conclusion.
1.6 Research Methodology
The main source of this research work is a textual analysis of The main source of this research work is a textual analysis of The Activist by Tanue Ojaide and Arrow of Rain by Okey Ndibe.
The secondary materials are from the library, texts, magazines and some works on African prose writers.

EDITOR SOURCE: Political Corruption In Nigeria

Language Attitudes Among Teenagers And Its Effect (A Case Study Of Teenagers In Uyo




Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
In the time past, language attitudes have been analyzed and debated with respect to how languages can be endangered, and how they can die. The two main points to be considered in this research are attitude and language, and how teenagers manipulate them.
Attitude is defined as the way that one thinks and feels about somebody or something, the way that one behaves towards somebody or something that shows how one thinks and feels. While language is defined as the system of communication in speech and writing that is used by people of a particular country. Also, another dictionary definition of language is a particular style of speaking or writing.
So for the purpose of further development and preservation of the Ibibio Language, this research is going to be concerned with the behaviour exhibited by teenagers In Uyo, Akwa Ibom State particularly those in the Uyo Local Government Area of the State to their indigenous language
1.2 Significance and Scope of the Study
The study “language attitudes among teenagers and its effects” is a study of how language is being approached and manipulated by teenagers in the Uyo district of Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, for their day-to-day interaction, fellowship and relationship.

1.3 Purpose of this Study
This research aims at seeing why teenagers behave the way they do to language (what influence and inform the behaviour so exhibited to language), see the effect of their behaviour on their indigenous language, and proffer possible solutions aimed at internalizing the language in the minds of these teenagers thereby preserving the language.
1.4 Methodology
In analyzing various related texts in relation to this field, a socio-linguistic method of approach is used in examining the behaviour or attitudes exhibited by teenagers in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State to their indigenous language vis-à-vis English and pidgin.
Also, questionnaires have used the observation of their attitude to language as a means of data collection.
1.5 Statement of the Problem
Most language users do not see the language that they speak as a definition of their race, their culture, and their personality. Negligence, ignorance and quest to follow the current trend have left Africans in general and Nigerians in particular far from their root – their source/who they really are.
So in this research, ways in which we have drifted from our culture (through the embracing of a foreign language) are being elaborated upon, and suggestions on how to re-position our attitude toward our indigenous language are made explicit.

EDITOR SOURCE: Language Attitudes Among Teenagers And Its Effect

Influence Of Music On Language Acquisition On Children As Perceived By Primary School Teachers In Oyun Lga, Kwara State




Introduction
1.1 Background to the Study
Language is often seen generally as fundamental to human cognitive ability and development. Music on the other hand while being seen as human-specific and universal, is often viewed as a secondary skill one which is predicated and draws its origin from and in language. However, when viewed critically it is often seen and arguably so that language is a systematically and universal kind of music in itself. A couple of recent studies into the roles of music and its application reveals that it is fundamental to language learning.
At any rate, music is seen as a universal human skill and specific to humans as well one which every human who is born healthy is also born with the innate ability to produce or at least to appreciate.
However, in its level of application, music is often viewed in this regard as only applicable in the case of slower cognitive development and while this is true to a great extent, it doesn’t excuse the fact that its role especially in language acquisition cannot be overemphasized.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The application and significance of music in language learning especially in a young child have always been suspected to be integral to the process. This is the problem this present research work has assigned itself – to investigate the influence of music in language learning on children through the eyes of a primary school teacher who has the front row seat to view the learning process in all its intricacies.
1.3 Research Questions
1.3.1 what are the different studies that have supported this research statement
1.3.2 What genre of music is most likely to aid language acquisition.
1.4 Objectives of the Study
The research aims to extensively describe the processes of music playing a significant role in the learning process of language in a child at the primary and preprimary school levels. The extent to which it quickens language acquisition in children will be analyzed while that of mentally challenged children will be discussed specifically in its own right.
The characteristics of music that help make it possible for it to aid language learning will be determined to a limited extent if time and space will allow while the research will also attempt to establish the limitations of music in aiding language learning and whether such is informed by the language in question and/or the kind of music introduced.
1.5 Significance of the Study
The significance of this research work borders between applied music and aiding language teaching both in school and at home. In the former, it is important in that it sheds light on what can be introduced by the primary education board into the curriculum other than the recommendations of texts to be repeatedly read by children who are yet to get inured to the graphic mode of language learning. With music helping in this regard, efforts can be put in to determine how to adapt its use in classrooms.
Its findings and recommendations will also prove very useful to parents and teachers as stated above who find it very difficult teaching some of their mentally challenged children.
1.6 Research Hypothesis
The assumption on which this research was built is one that recognizes the influence of music in the language acquisition process in primary school children. So that the research seeks to prove with its thorough study the correctness of this hypothesis.
1.7 Scope of the Study
The research work will focus its study on teachers and pupils at the primary school level and see to what extent music can be introduced in teaching language to them in practical terms. However, references might be made to the significance and use of music for the same purpose for kindergarten levels and comparing it with primary level one hopes to see the graduation and relevance of music in language learning.
1.8 Limitations of the Study
The major limitations of this research work are firstly the time factor to complete the required study within the given time irrespective of the volume of research that should go into the work. Another is that of resources to fund to conduct the length of observation needed to arrive at a conclusion and make recommendations which did not come in the needed amount hence, reflecting, though minutely, on the work.
1.9 Definition of Terms
Language Acquisition
This refers to the learning of a language anew with all the four language skills at a reasonable level of proficiency in both first languages and others.


EDITOR SOURCE: Influence Of Music On Language Acquisition On Children

Influence Of Guidance And Counselling On Career Choice Of Secondary School Students

Introduction
Background to the Study
Counselling is a helping relationship in which one person endeavours to help another solve his/her adjustment problems (English and English, 1971, cited in Okebiah and Okorodudu, 2004). This helping relationship originated from the very discovery that young people need to be guided in their career decision-making process. Okobiah and Okorodudu (2004) emphasise that counselling is a person-to-person process in which one person (the counselee is helped by another person (the counsellor) to help, increase understanding and ability to solve his/her adjustment problems. They explained further that counselling requires a wide range of activities which should start from the infant stage of the child designed to aid individuals in solving their problems, the problems referred to in counselling and mostly those of decision-making and developmental problems. One of the benefits of counselling is that it helps the individual to develop, sustain a career and be adjusted in life (Obiunu and Ebunu, 2010).
Career, according to Okobiah and Okorodudu (2004), refers to a variety of work and non-work situations which usually span through the entire life of an individual. According to them, a career is generally related to a pattern of decisions, transactions and adjustments affect one’s decision, transactions and adjustments affect one’s role in work, education family, community development and leisure. The National Career Development Association (NCDA) (2003) stated that a career is the total of work. Paid and unpaid – one does in his/her lifetime. Thus, a career embraces a sequence of positions jobs or occupations which an individual holds during his/her lifetime (Obiunu and Ebunu, 2010).
Career counselling is a field of counselling which gives relevant information regarding different careers. It is a process of helping and enabling people in their career development. Career counselling helps the students to select their careers according to their choices and interests. Career counselling is now being increasingly stressed as an integral part of education. According to Francis (2010), career counselling involves three steps which are: self-analysis, occupational analysis, and true reasoning or counselling to relate personal and occupational information.
One major variable that affects how people choose their occupations is personality traits. Holland (1987) argued that the choice of an occupation shares similar personality characteristics. Career interest is a second factor that affects the choice of a career. Interest may be concerned in terms of an activity which an individual engages in for the interest of it without deserving an external reward. The reward is in the performance of the activity the person does (Lazarus, 2011).
Personality and interest are not the only criteria for choosing a career. An individual’s aptitude and intellectual abilities are equally of great importance. An aptitude is a potential for success in an area after undergoing some training but a layman may define aptitude as a flair for something. The context in which people live, their personal aptitudes, and educational attainment are other things that do influence people’s career choices (Bandura, Barbnaranelli, Cafrara and Pastorelli, 2001).
Similarly, skill and values also affect peoples’ choices. Values are the guiding principles that are ordered in importance and serve as standards for judging and justifying actions (Schwartz, 1992). In addition, Osakunle and Adegoroye (20080 identified factors that influence adolescents’ choice of career as sex, location of the choice maker, environment, school influence (peer and curriculum content), religious affiliation, child-rearing and family values.
In the opinion of Morris and Levinson 91995): and Pierce, McDdermolt and Butkus (2003), although intelligence is associated with career maturity and the development of decision-making skills, factors other than skills, abilities, and personality play a major role in career development and satisfaction for people with mental retardation. Factors such as interests, social opportunities, emotional rewards, and economic benefits influence the career choices (of most adolescents, including those with cognitive limitations) (Szymanski, Hershenson, Enright and Ettinger, 1998).
In addition, Krumboltz, Mitchell and Jones (1976) opined that there are four factors that affect the career choice of individuals, these are genetic enrolment and special abilities (such as race, gender, physical appearance and characteristics), environmental conditions and events like social, cultural and political, economic forces; natural forces and natural resources), learning experiences (instrumental learning experience which consists of preceding circumstances.sti1mulus; behavioural responses (overt and covert); consequences, associative learning experience, and task approach skills (personal standards of performance; work habits, emotional responses).
Fundamentally, the goal of guidance and counselling is to make it possible for an individual to see and explore his or her unlimited endowed options. Many scholars such as Odeck (1999), Ipaye, (1995), and Makinde (1981) opined that the major service areas of guidance and counselling which assist students in their curriculum and school life choices, vocational guidance and counselling which assists the individual to choose and prepare for an occupation that is compatible with his interests and aptitudes, and personal and social guidance and counselling which assists the individual to behave appropriately in relation to other members of the society.
As part of vocational guidance and counselling programme, career development enables guidance counsellors to assist individuals to identify and learn the skills by which they can be more effective in planning for and choosing jobs, in making effective transitions effectively. Career development, for most people, is a lifelong process of engaging the work world through choosing among employment opportunities made available to them. It is a process of getting ready to choose, choosing, and continuing to make choices (Brown, Brooks, and Associates, 1996).
The National Career Development Association (NCDA) (1993) noted, that helping individuals increase their self-understanding of their abilities, interests, values, and goals is a vital foundation of the career development process (p.2). The NCDA suggested that career development activities help students develop positive work habits (for example, organization, following directions, completing assignments on time), setting goals, making informed decisions, identifying interests and abilities and exploring jobs (for example, job shadowing and apprenticeships).
From the foregoing, the factors influencing career choices include psychological, sociological, physical, economic, educational and choice factors. It should be noted that the roles of guidance and counselling on the career choices of secondary school students cannot be overemphasized.

Statement of Problem
A major turning point in adolescents’ lives involves the career choice that they make while in senior secondary school. Frequently, it is viewed by family and community as a mere start to workplace readiness; however, this decision plays a major role in establishing youth in a career path that opens as well as closes opportunities (Lazarus, 2011).
Essentially, parental influence has been inflated in the career choice of children (Roe 1987, Adigwe 1981, Okeke 1996, Gesinde 1986). Okeke for example also studied the relationship between parental occupations and their children’s occupational preferences. Okeke found that 60% of the children were willing to take after their fathers’ occupations (medicine) while 23% were willing to follow their mother’s occupations (nursing). Gesinde on other hand posits that parents' influence is much more intricate and more pervasive than is shown, students of secondary schools are often not aware of these influences and may accept the choice of their parents as theirs. The situation owes its origin to early childhood when the child grabs his parent’s attitude towards different vocations. A conflict, therefore, occurs when the child submits to his parent’s choice while at the same time deeply resenting his submissions as he becomes aware of his loss of independence and finds his area of interest (Gesinde, 1986).
Peer groups also have an influence on the occupation choice of students. In his view, Hinchilife (1973) observes that friends are an important factor in the career choice of adolescents. Durojaiye (1970) also found that 76.6% of the pupils he studied said that their classmates would be employed in professional occupations just like them; while 24% said that their chosen jobs would be the same as those of their friends.
Interest is also a significant factor in students’ vocational choices. Owie (2003) advanced the position that the most important reason why a person chooses a particular career is that the person has an intrinsic interest in the field, while this may be highly influenced by prior academic achievement.
Moreover, Gesinde’s (1978) study showed that gender plays an important role in determining the career preferences of students. Other research findings which support gender differences in career preferences and choices include the works of Yuh (1980) who in her study of some correlates of vocational orientations of some Nigerian Secondary students discovered that significantly, more male students preferred realistic, investigative and enterprising careers than females.
Thus, the problem of the study is that some secondary school students are not able to make appropriate career ch1oices due to a number of factors that affect their career development process. This study investigated the influence of guidance and counselling on career choices among secondary school students in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State.

Research questions
The following research questions are generated for the study which the researcher intends to answer:
• What is the influence of guidance and counselling on the career choice of secondary school students?
• Is there any significant difference in the expression of secondary school students on the influence of guidance and counselling on career choices on the basis of sex?
• Is there any significant difference in the expression of secondary school students on the influence of guidance and counselling on career choices on the basis of class level?
• Is there any significant difference in the expression of secondary school students on the influence of guidance and counselling on career choices on the basis of age?
• Is there any significant difference in the expression of secondary school students on the influence of guidance and counselling on career choices on the basis of religion?

Research Hypotheses
From the questions stated above, the following null hypotheses have been formulated:
• There is no significant difference in the expression of secondary school students on the influence of guidance and counselling on career choices on the basis of sex.
• There is no significant difference in the expression of secondary school students on the influence of guidance and counselling on career choices on the basis of class level.
• There is no significant difference in the expression of secondary school students on the influence of guidance and counselling on career choices on the basis of age.
• There is no significant difference in the expression of secondary school students on the influence of guidance and counselling on career choices on the basis of religion.

Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study is to investigate the view of secondary school students on the influence of guidance and counselling on career choices. In the course of this research work, variables such as age, religion, sex and class levels are considered whether they have direct significant impacts on the influence of guidance and counselling on career choices as expressed by the respondents.

Significance of the Study
This study is highly imperative to secondary school students because it will enable them to know various career choices in our contemporary world. In other words, it will enlighten and sensitize them on various career options and determinants of career choices in our society. Therefore, the problem of wrong and ill-informed career choices will be addressed, because the students will be more informed and sensitized by this empirical study.
Moreover, this study will be highly useful to the school administrators in the area of planning and curricular development in schools. It will enlighten them on the relevance and importance of guidance and counselling on career choices among the students in secondary schools. Therefore, emphasis will be placed on guidance and counselling as an important mechanism for career guidance and development.
Subsequently, this study is fundamental because it will enlighten the parents on various career options for their children or wards ad various determinants of career choices. This will enable them to properly guide their children and wards towards making an informed career option or choice because teachers or school counsellors cannot do it alone; it is a collective responsibility.
Lastly, this study is highly imperative to the Ministry of Education in their formulation of career guidance programs for secondary school students, such programs may include sponsoring workshops, classes, focus groups and special presentations that focus on job skills and personal development. Also, like job shadowing arrangements, work placement and community-based learning programs.



Operational Definition of Terms
For the purpose of clarity, the following terms are operationally defined as used in this study:
Career Choices and Options: Career options are a series of jobs that are available for people to choose such as medicine, law, engineering, pharmacist, and teacher. This can also mean career options. Therefore, career choices can be referred to as the picking of a job out of various career options available.
Career Guidance: Career guidance means those programs aimed to help students make more informed and better educational and career choices.
Career: A career is the series of jobs that a person in a particular area of work, usually involving more responsibility as time passes. In other words, the period of time that someone spends in his/her life working or doing a particular thing.
Counselling: Counselling can be defined, according to how it is used in the study, as professional advice about a problem such as career choices.
Guidance: Guidance, according to the study, means help or advice that is given to somebody, especially by somebody older or with more experience.
School Counsellor: A school counsellor is a counsellor who works in elementary, middle and secondary schools to provide academic career, college access and personal/social competencies to students.

Scope of the Study
This research work is designed to find the influence of guidance and counselling on career choices in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State as expressed by secondary school students. All the secondary school students of the area are the target population but 100 respondents are selected to participate in the study. In the course of the research work, consider whether they have direct significant impacts on the influence of guidance and counselling on career choices as expressed by the respondents. The questionnaire technique will be used to collect the information/data from the respondents.



ABSTRACT
This study investigated the influence of Guidance and Counselling on the career choice of secondary school students in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State. This research work was to assess the extent to which the influence of Guidance and Counselling has influenced the career choice of secondary school students in Ekiti Local Government Area, Kwara State.
The population sample was two hundred (200) students randomly selected from each school in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State. The researcher’s designed influence of Guidance and Counselling in carrier choice questionnaire (IGCCQ) was used to collect data from the respondents. Four null hypotheses were generated to guide the study.
The finding revealed that age, gender, religion and class level of respondents have an influence on guidance and counselling in the career choice of secondary school students in Ekiti Local Government, Kwara State.
It was recommended that practising counsellors from all levels of institutions should design individual and group counselling programmes for students to cater for comprehensive and effective education for all levels of institutions. Through such programmes, students will be educated to appreciate good morals and stay away from deviant behaviours in the school and outside the school. Also, the indecent dressing should be discouraged and students should work harder and be dedicated to their studies.


EDITOR SOURCE: Influence Of Guidance And Counselling On Career Choice Of Secondary School Students

Gender And Identity Issues In Second Language Acquisition



Introduction
1.1 Background to the Study
Extensive language acquisition is determined by a level of dexterity in the four language skills namely speaking, listening, reading and writing. Listening and speaking, in this order, have been described as the most important two as language transcends the semiotic, that is the language for communication, and role. Language is both a sociological and political tool that influences man more than man does it; in it, a person’s worldview is determined to the extent that language is consciousness so that such things as art especially the literary kind become a production of this consciousness at the same time a product of it. Disciplines like anthropology, sociology, psychology, economics, history, etc., invest much time in the study of language as the latter bear upon any deep human-related study. As a result, bridge disciplines have sprung up over the last few decades such as sociolinguistics and so on.
However, it is the application of language studies in things like marketing, advertisement, social media strategies, programming, etc., that inform the surging call for more diverse language-related studies. One of such is on the issues of gender and identity in second language acquisition.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
A cross-section of second language learners of a particular language with the same materials namely same tutors, learning media, duration of exposure, etc., are found to have advanced in the language at alarming differences in dexterity. One begins to enquire into the various factors that have come to bear upon these differences in second language acquisition.
Studies have been carried out before now on the issues of gender in L2 and also the representation of identity in the acquisition of L2(Second Language). One such study is Masoud Zoghi et al “The Effect of Gender on Language Learning” which:
examine[d] the effect of gender on English as a second language (EFL) achievement test at the end of RUN2 (young adults) at ILI (Iran Language institute in 2013). In other words, the aim of th[e] study was to determine whether students’ gender can affect their learning of English as a second language or not. (1)

1.3 Objectives of the Study
The objectives of every research work always revolve around a problem and an enquiry into its solution. In research, of course, this problem can be in the form of a question whose posing can spurn into other questions. The research process then is the attempt at answering or solving this problem under established rules of the discipline from which the question originated.
In this particular research work, the focus is to establish the presence and issues of gender and identity in the learning of a second language. Individually, the influence of gender and identity on the acquisition of a second language has been studied and in the case of gender, researchers have concluded that presented before the same learning conditions and same languages, women have, at the initial stage, proven to be quicker and more eloquent in the new language than men whereby as time progresses, men tend to be better at it. It is the aim of this present examination to follow the study alongside the issues of identity in the learning of a second language.
Consequently, this study hopes to put to rest the question as to whether how a learner sees himself generally can influence his learning of a second language and how he is most likely to wield this second language. This is as it has been suspected that learners of a second language who say English in areas where they enjoy free political security thrive better in the language than those who don’t.
1.4 Research Questions
As we pointed out in the background of the study, what brings research into being isn’t always necessarily a problem; it can, and usually, in the humanities, be a question. And the following questions have brought the present research work into being and have informed its scope.
1.4.1 Do gender and identity influence the acquisition of a second language?
1.4.2 What are the issues that inform this influence?
1.4.3 To what extent do they come to bear upon the learning of the second language?

1.5 Significance of the Study
This research work would be of great significance to anyone teaching a language to an international student or just a second language learner as it would help shape the curriculum and teaching technique.
It would also be of immense importance to digital marketers in that their topographical targeting would take into consideration the findings of this work thereby focusing their social media campaigns and adverts on the gender which would relate to particular language use in written content.
The gender and identity issues raised in this work would stand as a case points in the cultural reorientation of the younger generations; the cultural practices that may be found to hamper the smooth learning of the second language in gender would be legislated upon and a better ground found. One of such is the little or no exposure given to the girl child in most African countries to formal education which makes them illiterate in their mother tongue; a skill whose lack results in a difficulty in the acquisition of a second language.

1.6 Research Hypothesis
The hypothesis on which this research work would be carried out is found in the statement that issues of gender and identity significantly influence the acquisition of second languages
1.7 Scope of the Study
The gender and identity issues as related to the learning of a second language which would be treated here will concentrate on the immediate issues only.
1.8 Limitations of the Study
The very significant limitation of this research work is that of resources to carry out an extensive enquiry that can cut across a wide section of second language learners of different genders and backgrounds and also of different ages in order to conclude without any doubt that these factors influence second language acquisition. However, one cannot overlook the time factor as the present research work is one that demands extensive field and theoretical work.
1.9 Definition of Terms
Gender
Gender is the state of being either male or female albeit there are other genders apart from this. But in a sociolinguistic study such as this, these two will suffice.
Identity
Character or the state and condition that gives a person the quality by which he or she is identified from other persons. identity often has a societal or legal undertone.

EDITOR SOURCE: Gender And Identity Issues In Second Language Acquisition

English Linguicism And Language Loss: A Case Study Of Yoruba Language Use Among Students Of Obafemi Awolowo University And Adeyemi College Of Education







Introduction
1.1 Background to the Study
Language is a human phenomenon that goes way beyond its immediate semiotic possibility to be a diverse sociological factor in which the people’s historical, political, and cultural memory and behaviour are encapsulated. From a certain language use, one can tell another’s social and cultural background and also the strings of events that have shaped the persons personality. For this reason, it is seen that language affects people as much as people affect a language.
Usually, the longer the event experienced by the said language users the more solidified the effects on them are by language and the clearer it is evident in the language. A more political event like colonialism always goes beyond a political factor to shaping the people’s attitude to life but also shaping the people’s attitude toward their own native language, especially to the point of disadvantaging the native language.
This disadvantage is a result of the social significance the new language has come to stand for thereby relegating the native language to the background and imbuing it with low social standing and associating its ardent users with the perception of lacking in culture. It is no wonder that when an event like colonialism goes side by side with formal education or a new form of education, those who are not exposed to it and who often cling to the older world views and cultural orientation are seen as unlearned and prejudiced. Because of the position of the new language, in this our case- English, the people often tend to disassociate themselves from it thereby positioning the native language to its demise through disuse.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
A relationship between two languages always is not an equal one. There are internal convolutions which always define them. Surprisingly, these internal working are usually user based than language-based in that the user's perception of the two languages often shapes this relationship and its outcome. In Nigeria, the English language is the language of the media, education, formal relations and the language of the intellectuals. This has conferred on the language the status of the high social class alongside its fluent users to the disadvantage of the native language. The younger the users the more they hold the language has on them or while those who are not so fluent in the English language are associated with a lack of education and the entire prejudice that comes with such social judgement. The motivation of this present research work is to study the presence of English Linguicism and language loss as it pertains to the Yoruba language with students of Obafemi Awolowo University and Adeyemi College of Education as a case study.
1.3 Research Questions
1. Is there a manifestation of English Linguicism in the Yoruba speaking parts of the country?
2. Is there a possible indication of the situation to a total loss of Yoruba language with time?
3. What political factors exacerbate the situation?
1.4 Objectives of the Study
1. To determine if there is a manifestation of English Linguicism in the Yoruba speaking parts of the country.
2. To determine if there is a possible indication of the situation to a total loss of Yoruba language with time.
3. To examine the political factors that can exacerbate the situation.



1.5 Significance of the Study
The work will significantly help in the resuscitation of the language and motivate campaigns that are geared towards boosting the use of the Yoruba language, especially among the younger generation. So far, the discussions on the issue going on presently are always around academic circles which the younger generation who are most affected by the English Linguicism are not relatable. The study carried out here will reinvent the posture and methods of the conversations around the issue so that a more practical approach will be adopted in tackling the issue.
1.6 Research Hypothesis
Ho: The manifestation of English Linguicism in the Yoruba speaking parts of the country is not statistically significant.
H1: The manifestation of English Linguicism in the Yoruba speaking parts of the country is statistically significant.

1.7 Scope of the Study
The research is limited to the campuses of Awolowo university and Adeyemi college of education and is focused on the manifestations of English Linguicism as it pertains to the students of those tertiary institutions with the exception of their staff members.

1.8 Limitations of the Study
Time majorly is the limiting factor for this research as there is much literature to be sifted through in understanding the nature of English Linguicism in the Yoruba language in the case studies.
1.9 Definition of Terms
Linguicism
This refers to the discrimination of an individual based on his or her language use or entirely his language. It also manifests in the overall judging of a person’s academic achievements, social status, character and wealth-based simply on his or her language use or the eloquence or the lack of it in a particular language.
Language Loss
This refers, in the worst-case scenario, to the death of the last native speaker of a particular language as is the case with Latin and many other languages. It also refers to the absorption of a minor language by another through politically motivated disuse of the former.


EDITOR SOURCE - English Linguicism And Language Loss

The Effect Of Child Abuse On The Academic Performance Of Secondary School Students In Nigeria







Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
Child abuse and neglect are fastly becoming universal phenomena in the current world societies despite the fact that child’s rights are being recognized and even to some extent, protected by legislation and constitutions in many countries of the world. Childhood abuse potentially has major economic implications for Nigerian schools and for their students. Even conservative estimates suggest that at least 8 per cent of U.S. children experience sexual abuse before age 18, while 17 per cent experience physical abuse and 18 per cent experience physical neglect (Flisher, Kramer, Hoven, & Greenwald, 2007). Childhood maltreatment, and aversive parenting practices, in general, have the potential to delay the academic progress of students (Shonk & Cicchetti, 2001). It, therefore, has the potential to undermine schools’ ability to satisfy standards of school progress entailed in the No Child Left Behind legislation (U.S. Department of Education, 2005), putting them at risk for loss of federal funding. It also has the potential to adversely affect students' economic outcomes in adulthood, via its impact on achievement in middle and high school (Cawley, Heckman, & Vytlacil, 2001).
Child abuse has been defined by the African network for the prevention and protection against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN) as the intentional and unintentional acts which endanger the physical, health, emotional, moral and educational welfare of the child. Hopper (2004) also described child abuse as any act of maltreatment or subjection that endangers a child’s physical, emotional and health development.
Gelles, (2007) affirmed that child abuse includes not only physical assault but also malnourishment, abandonment, neglect, emotional abuse and sexual abuse.
According to Mba (2002), prominent forms of child abuse in Nigeria are child battering, child labour, child abandonment, neglect, teenage prostitution, early marriage and forced marriage. Kolander (2000) stated that emotional and sexual abuses are highly noticeable in Nigeria. Oji (2006) observed that babies born to teenage mothers in Nigeria were 625,024 of the reporting time.
According to Walsh (2005), unwanted pregnancy has been identified to be a major cause of child abuse in Nigeria. Many abused children were unwanted in the first place and turned out to be a severe burden on their emotionally immature or impoverished parents. Odey (2003) stated that children from poor homes are more vulnerable to abuse and Todd,(2004) in his support said that Nigeria, which is are known corrupt nation in Africa is heading towards dangerous poverty where her teeming population does not have enough food for healthy living. Oluwole (2002) equally lamented when analyzing the situation of children who are being used for house help. Child labour is the major obstacle to the achievement of education for all (EFA) and this resulted in a setback in the achievement of the world target of universal primary education by 2015.
According to Onye (2004), child abuse is evidence of poverty. Aderinto and Okunola (2008) equally recorded that some children reported that they were pushed into the street hawking for the maintenance needs of the family. That means that they are the breadwinners of their various families at an early age. It is a common sight in major parks and streets in Nigeria to see children of school age between 6-16 years as bus/taxi mates, hawking wares, pushing trucks for money or begging for money when they are supposed to in the classroom learning in the schools. All of these point to the fact that the worst-hit groups are children who are at the risk of diseases, exploitation, neglect and violence.
Although the potential impact of child abuse is large, evidence of causal effects of maltreatment on children's longer-term outcomes in school is generally lacking. The current state of evidence for a link between childhood maltreatment (physical and sexual abuse or neglect) and school performance is limited to negative associations between maltreatment and school performance. On average, children who are abused receive lower ratings of performance from their school teachers, score lower on cognitive assessments and standardized tests of academic achievement, obtain lower grades, and get suspended from school and retained in grade more frequently (Erickson, Egeland, & Pianta, 2003). Abused children are also prone to difficulty in forming new relationships with peers and adults and in adapting to norms of social behaviour (Shields, Cicchetti and Ryan, 2004). Although these examples of negative associations between child abuse and school performance are suggestive of causal effects, they could be spuriously driven by unmeasured factors in families or neighbourhoods that are themselves correlated with worse academic outcomes among children (Todd and Wolpin, 2003).
In addition, not much of the previous evidence linking childhood maltreatment to worse school performance generalizes well to older children in middle and high school and to children not already identified as needing services. Evidence of the impacts of maltreatment on academic performance in the general population of middle and high school students is needed to establish evidence of effects on schooling attainment in the general education population and on economic outcomes in adulthood.
Using a large dataset of U.S. adolescent sibling pairs, this study explores the effects of maltreatment—neglect, physical aggression, and sexual abuse on adolescents’ performance in middle and high school. First, the questions of how childhood maltreatment theoretically could negatively affect later school performance, and of how unobserved family background and neighbourhood characteristics might influence ordinary least squares and fixed effects regression estimates of relationships between childhood maltreatment and later school performance, are discussed. Second, empirical estimates from models that controlled for observable and unobservable family and neighbourhood characteristics are presented.
1.2 Statement of Problem
Grill (2009) stated that the school can do a lot of things about child abuse since it has a way of affecting the school system. The problem of child abuse has long been existing in Nigeria and has even become more even devastating to society as a whole. That history of child abuse in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State is as old as the persistence of the phenomenon in Nigeria itself cannot be overemphasized. Children suffered all forms of abuse ranging from child battering, child labour, child abandonment, neglect, teenage prostitution, early marriage and forced marriage. And in most cases, the parents are even at the centre of the root cause of all this social maltreatment. The school though, as an agent of socialization portends to have a strong and overwhelming influence on the development of the child, but observation has shown that this essence of education could probably be defeated if the children are made to continually suffer the pains of child labour (Martins E.O. 2010). This study, however, centres on the extent to which the school has been involved in its attempt to develop the child within the social context of child abuse. And It is in the light of these, that the study attempts to unravel the major causes of child abuse and how it affects the child’s educational performance.
1.3 Purpose of Study
This research project has its main objective the problem of finding out the effect of child abuse on the academic performance of secondary school students in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State. Moreover, this research study sets:
1. To examine the causes of child abuse in Esan West Local Government Area
2. To determine the effect of child abuse on child’s educational performance in Esan West Local Government Area
3. To examine the consequences of child abuse on a child’s academic performance.
4. To determine possible solutions to child abuse among secondary school students.
1.4 Significance of the Study
This study is to provide parents and school administrators with an insight into how much damage child abuse and especially hawking after school can have on the academic development of students in general. This study is significant as the findings will be beneficial to parents, guardians, teachers, school heads and all other stakeholders in the educational sector, as they will be better enlightened on the problems associated with child abuse. Such knowledge may curtail any further action of exploiting the child, especially being used as the object of raising the family economy. Hawking no doubt exposes the child to many social vices, thus the fact that the study attempts to create a model for the proper upbringing of the child in the society makes it justifiable.
1.6 Delimitation/Scope of the study
The study laid emphasis on the effect of child abuse and how it affects the academic performance of the child using secondary schools in Esan West Local Government Area as a case study.
• Definition of Terms
The following terms are defined for the essence of this work:
1. Child Abuse: harsh or ill-treatment melted on any child; it could be by physical pr emotional means.
2. Physical Abuse: any form of corporal punishment melted on a child by his parent, teacher or guardian.
3. Neglect: paying no attention, not given enough care, leaving undone what needs to be done.


ABSTRACT
This project work focuses on the effects of child abuse on students’ academic performance. The study attempts to unravel the causes, effects and remedies to child abuse among secondary school students. It was carried out in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State. A sample of 100 was randomly drawn from selected secondary schools in the local government and questionnaires were administered to the respondents. The mean percentage test, which was adopted in the study’s analysis, indicated that excessive battering of a child by parents/teacher/guidance; broken homes, child hawking before and after school and an unconducive learning environment are all causes of child abuse. Also, it was found that child abuse negatively affects a child’s school performance; such abused children are vulnerable to early pregnancy. Ill-treatment as well causes permanent and lifelong trauma, thereby making children develop low cognition of school subjects. The preaching of good morals by religious leaders to parents and guardians is part of the recommendations made in this study. Also, melting out punishment in form of fines on erring parents/guidance especially those forcing their children to hawk, and prevention from bad peer influence will help eliminate or reduce to the barest minimum the incidence of child abuse among secondary school students.




EDITOR SOURCE: Effect Of Child Abuse On The Academic Performance Of Secondary School Students In Nigeria

Design And Fabrication Of Yam Pounding Machine








Introduction
Yam is another crop cultivated across Nigeria. It is a seasonal crop and very difficult to preserve as it tends to rot. Nearly all Nigerians consume yam on a regular basis and in large quantities particularly the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria. Nature allows yam to form a bond when it is pounded or beaten in a mortar, it is then consumed as a meal with a choice soup. Pounded yam is a staple food consumed by the indigenous process of pounding yam is very laborious. It requires physical pounding by one or more people.
Depending on the quantity in the mortar, in a bid to reduce the labour involved in yam pounding came the manufacturing of Herbert mixer, the Kenwood mixer and Hammermill in early 1975. These intended yam pounders failed due to some limitations in their operational functions. The Herbert and Kenwood mixers had almost the same operational principle and they had been identified for poor pounding due to the flapping (moving up and down) of their stirrer or mixer which is keyed to the electric rotating shaft. In addition to the poor pounding of both pounders, the Herbert mixer was found to heat excessively and as a result, the machine has to be stopped intermittently for cooling purposes.
1.1 Historical Background
Yam belongs to the class of carbohydrate type of food and had been one of the oldest recipes known to man. It has been a major food crop in many of the African/Caribbean countries such as Ghana, Ethiopia, Benin Republic and Nigeria in particular. Also, in some other parts of the world like Brazil, India, Oceania and Latin America, yam is a major source of food.
The word “yam” was derived from the Wolof word “nyam” which is a Portuguese name meaning “to taste”. Also, in other African languages, it can mean “to eat” e.g. in Hausa “nyam”. This perennial herbaceous crop is of different species such as white yam (Dioscorea-rotundata) yellow yam (Dioscorea-Acayenensis), water yam (Dioscorea alata) and trifoliate yam (Dioscorea-dumentorum). The fruit of yam consists of a membranaceous, three-wing capsule. The yam family is mostly of the weak-stemmed vines with large, underground food storage organs-tuber-rhizomes.
Yam has found its use in the preparation of steroid hormones by syntax synthesis of cortisone from yam extract. Also, its lower glycemic index than potato products accounts for its more sustainable energy and better protection against obesity and diabetes.
According to the food information network in 2008, it was estimated that the world production of yam in 1993 was at 28.1million tons of which 96% of this estimate is from the West African tropical regions and 71% from Nigeria. This figure was later reviewed in 1998 accounting for about 72.4% of the world's total production of 29.6million tonnes. Also, according to the Federal Office of Statistics, Nigeria is the world's largest producer of yams having the water yam (Dioscorea alata) and the yellow yam (Dioscorea rotumdata) as her most cultivated species of yam.
Yam is one of the most sumptuous meals that can be prepared in diverse ways. While the Yoruba tribe may prefer its dried, milled and then made into a slightly solid paste called “Amala”, the Igbos would prefer cutting the tuber into smaller blocks, or in bits, boiled and eaten in order to avoid the tedious nature of pounding the boiled yam which results to bond formation like Nigeria locally prepared fufu. However, the process of meshing or beating something into pulp or powder with repeated heavy blows is known as pounding.
Yam has remained one of the most highly regarded food products in West Africa and particularly Nigeria as virtually all her ethnic groups feed on it; hence its close integration into the sociocultural, economic and religious aspects of life such as marriage where some tubers of yam are presented to the bride family in accordance to the customs of the people. Also, there is the new yam festival which marks the harvest and eating of the newly harvested yams which are also used as sacrificial and appreciation items.
However, the background of this study originated from the desire of a Nigerian family of four who spent the majority of his career life in the United Kingdom (Bristol, England) in the medical field who came back home and needed to adapt to his home culture which he found pounded yam very sumptuous meal but the rigorous processes involved in the traditional method which he also observed to be unhygienic and the noisy effect of the process due to the number of strokes during pounding to be uncalled for.
1.1.1 Major Cultivated Species
Yam, a tropical crop in the genus Dioscorea, has as many as 600 species out of which six are economically important staple species. These are:
Dioscorea rotundata (white guinea yam), Dioscorea alata (yellow yam), Dioscorea bulbifera (aerial yam). Dioscorea esculent (Chinese yam) and Dioscorea dum etroum (trifoliarte yam). Out of these, Dioscorea rotundata (white yam) and Dioscorea alata (water yam) are the most common species in Nigeria. Yams are grown in the coastal region in rain forests, wood savanna and southern savanna habitats.
Yam is in the class of roots and tubers that are a staple of the Nigerian and West African diet, which provides some 200 calories of energy per capita daily. In Nigeria, in many yam producing areas, it is said that “yam is food and food is yam”. However, the production of yams in Nigeria is substantially short and cannot meet the growing demand at its present level of use. It also has an important social status in gatherings and religious functions, which is assessed by the size of yam holdings one possesses.

1.1.2 National Value
Yams are primary agricultural commodities and major staple crops in Africa, where yam cultivation began 11,000 years ago. In West Africa, they are major sources of income and have high cultural value. They are used in marriage ceremonies, and a festival is held annually to celebrate its harvest.
Consumers’ demand for yam is generally very high in this sub-region and yam cultivation is very profitable despite high production costs.
1.2 Problem Statement
The edible yams are root crops groomed on a field scale for the tubers. They provide staple carbohydrate food in the yam zone of West Africa, where daily consumption is 0.5, 1.0kg yam need a great deal of labour for their cultivation and to prepare them for food and they are usually expensive to buy for normal human consumption, the field or peel, sometimes after partial boiling in West Africa, they are usually eaten as pounded yam which is prepared by peeling cut-up yam and boil before pounding them in a wooden mortar to produce a glutinous dough (pounded yam).
The chemical composition of yam tuber is as follows:
Water 70%
Starch 25%
Sugar 1%
Protein 1.2%
• Justification Of Project
The most important justification for this project is as follows:
• The machine is being operated electrically
• The safety of the user comes first when constructing the machine
• The operation is hygienic and the machine can be cleaned with water after being used
• Lubrication of the adjacent moving part is made possible through a channel to reduce frictional resistance
• The need to improve the country’s economy for if the machine is produced in large number they could be exported thereby improving our foreign trade and hence, earning of more foreign exchange.
o Aims And Objectives
The aims and objectives of the project were:
• To design and develop a mechanical device that with the rotary motion of the beaters perform the pounding operation which will be more efficient, less time consuming, with less human effort and of greater hygienic processing.
• To make the beaters detachable for easy maintenance




Abstract
The aim of this research work is based on the design and development of a motorized yam pounder for pounding yam. This research was considered because of the importance of pounded yam in Africa particularly in Nigerian and because of the time and energy wasted using the traditional mortal and pestle method of yam pounding. The research work aimed at eliminating the labour involved in the traditional method of pounding. Through this improvement, the possibility of food contamination by sweating while pounding will be controlled. This project work sought to design a yam pounder that pounds yam right from the peeled cooked stage in a pounding bowl with the help of an electric motor that transmits power through rotary motion together with the help of a shaft. The pounding blades function at the pestle. The machine is to be operated by electricity and it consists of a shaft, electric motor, yam beaters or pounding blades, bowl and the frame. Metal Rod for shaft; 0.30mm, Angle Bar for Frame; 40O, Stainless Steel Sheet; 0.2mm, Flat Mild (Pan); 2mm (Thickness), Prime mover; 1horse power, Bolts and Nuts; M8, Belt; V-belt, V-35, Screws; Cap Screw. Low-cost materials were used so as to make the machine affordable for the average. Nigerian homes, thereby improving the standard of living. In order to avoid food contamination, stainless materials were also incorporated for smooth and clean pounding before consumption.




EDITOR SOURCE: Design And Fabrication Of Yam Pounding Machine

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE, COMPUTER SCIENCE AND INTEGRATED SCIENCE IN EXTERNAL EXAMINATIONS FROM 2003 TO 2007









INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Measuring of academic performance of students is challenging since student performance is the product of socio-economic, psychological and environmental factors. Education ought to be growing as a profitable industry with the prime objective of maximizing profit by delivering high-quality education that produces well educated, skilled mannered students according to the needs and requirements of the dynamically growing market. There are two groups of students as generally perceived, that is those who improve and those who don’t improve. Students' performance is also affected by different factors such as learning abilities because the new paradigm about learning assumes that all students can and should learn at higher levels but it should not be considered as a constraint because there are other factors like race, gender, and sex that can affect students performance Hansen (2000).
Mishae (2001) explained the effect of age, qualification and distance from learning. Place on the student's performance in his explanation concerns the readiness in doing a particular discipline in the school; for instance, a student that is not capable of doing sciences in the secondary school joins sciences because his/her friends are offering the subjects. Winston et al (2002) added that the academic performance of students is also coined in the student's impatience (this time discount behaviour). Yuonne (1998) further elaborated that students' academic performance is very much dependent on SEB (socio-economic background) as per his statement, secondary school students' performance is with statically significant differences. Alexander (2001) explained that some of the practices adopted by secondary school administration can also influence their academic performance, such practices as organized study groups, debate clubs, media and culture clubs etc.
According to Bello Lawal, an Abuja based educationist and a member of the All Nigeria committee of Principals of secondary school (ANCOPSS). The truth is that the reading culture in Nigeria is generally poor. To make it worse, these days, most of our students hardly read. Instead, they waste their precious time watching television or films, listening to music, playing music, and playing video/computer games.

Another educationist Mohammed (2009) attributed the dismal performance in the external examinations to the lackadaisical attitude of the government and its refusal to adequately fund the education sector. According to him, on several occasions, we clamoured for improved budgeting allocation to the education sector but all these have fallen on deaf ears. For instance, UNESCO recommends that 26 per cent of any country’s budget should be allocated to the education sector but instead what do we have in Nigeria.
Government paying lip service to the education sector. Other countries that understand the importance of education have taken proactive steps to adequately fund their education sector. For instance, Ghana has allocated 29 per cent of its budget education sector, even far more than the UNESCO recommendation. The same thing with countries like South Africa and Botswana which allocated 35 and 37 per cent respectively to the education sector. So until these things are implemented we would continue to Morty age the future of our children.
Statement of the problem
Secondary school students' performances in external examinations have been nagging issues in Nigeria generally and particularly in Enugu North Local Government Area, Enugu State.
Language is a medium of the institution. For teaching and learning to take place effectively, there must be adequate communication between the learner and the teacher. In Nigeria, the English language is a “Lingua Franka”. Except in vernacular, it is used in communicating with the learner in all Nigerian schools. The importance of the English language can hardly be overemphasized. That is why it appears almost every day in the school timetable.

Unfortunately, a cursory look at the performance of students in the English language in particular computer and integrated science in external examination in Enugu North Local Government Area is nothing to write home about. Since computer and integrated science are relatively new in the development of science and technology, the researchers would want to find out why there is an always recorded low performance in English language, computer science and integrated science from 2003 to 2007 in the case study.
Secondly, what facilities are available for teaching and learning the three subjects in the Senior secondary school certificate examination in Enugu Local Government Area.

Purpose of the study
Based on the background and the problem of this study, the main purpose underlying the project is to compare the academic performances of the Senior secondary school students in English language, computer science and integrated science in external Examinations from 2003 TO 2007. (A case study of Enugu North Local Government Area, Enugu State) specifically, the purpose of the study tends to find out:
1. Why there is the poor performance of students in external examinations
2. How students perform in external examinations
3. How do students perform in English Language, Computer Science and Integrated Science in External Examination and when compared, which one among the listed did perform better than the others
Significance of the study
The usefulness of the research work in the educational system cannot be overemphasized if the result of the study is properly utilized. It is going to be a benefit to the students, teachers, parents and government. This would help to provide some information for curriculum designers and classroom teachers in order to utilize relevant approaches to enhance meaningful learning and teaching of English language, Integrated Science and computer science students. Thus, the knowledge of students’ cognitive styles and attitudes would be very useful in both academic and career enhancement.
Scope of the study
The study was based on the Senior secondary school students' performance in external examinations in English Language, Integrated Science and Computer science in Enugu North Local Government Area, Enugu State. This specification covers the following Senior secondary schools;
1. New Layout Secondary school
2. Days Secondary School Independent Layout
3. Government secondary school Enugu
4. Coal Camp Secondary School, Enugu
The schools mentioned above are used in this research work for better coverage and easy assessment.
Research questions
The following research questions were formulated to guide the study. These questions are:-
1. What are the causes of the poor performance of students in external examinations?
2. In what ways can the performance of students in external examinations be improved?
3. How do students perform in external examinations in English language, Computer science and Integrated science and which of the three subjects did they perform better on?
Limitation of the study
For proper project research to be carried out effectively, there should be some limitations along the line, these limitations include:
Time Constraint: This is the time consumed by students carrying out a particular project research topic.
First and foremost, for a student to achieve his or her goals on project research, there should be an effective plan on how the materials needed can be gotten.
And this will be actualised by proper research which might involve moving from one place to another in search of these materials. By so doing time is consumed.
On the other hand, some students in a particular group may be giving excuses that the time fixed is not suitable for them, and some may complain that they usually do their domestic work for their parents during the project research exercise, which may demand all attention.
In order to balance the equation, they should be proper plans for time management.
Money: This involves the money needed for the project to be carried out in a situation whereby the money needed becomes high, some students in a group will be affected and this may hinder their chances of participating and finally terminates their work since nothing good comes easy without money.
Difficulty Experiences: This is the experience we encounter in our group. Since everybody has his/her own personal character couple with an individual schedule for daily activity, things can never be done at the same time. Therefore, the time schedule for a particular group to carry out their project research varies.
The insincerity of responding to questionnaire items: this is the inability of the supervisor did not explain properly the most essential things needed and how he wants the project to be done. The project writer may find it difficult to cope.


ABSTRACT

The research investigated the comparison of academic performances of Senior Science in External Examinations from 2003 to 2007. This study is a survey research design. It is research conducted on a large number of people to identify general opinion. The study was carried out in Enugu North Local Government Area. The area belongs to Enugu Educational Zone. The population of the study consist of all the students and teachers in Senior secondary schools in Enugu North Local Government Area, Enugu State. The population of the students are 20, 470 while that of teachers is 4, 300. We used four Senior secondary schools as our sample out of the Senior secondary schools in Enugu North Local Government Area, Enugu State. Random sampling techniques were used to select ten (10) students from each of the schools used in the table listed above to ensure that the relevant features of the population were adequately represented. Five (5) staff (teachers) from each of the schools were also sampled. The instrument used was a questionnaire designed to elicit responses to the items in questions. The researchers used the four scales strongly agreed (SA), Agreed (A) Disagree (D) and strongly |Disagreed (SD). The respondents are required to tick against the column that best describes their views on each item. The questionnaire will be distributed to ten (10) students from each school and five (5) teachers from each school and will also be collected through items. The researchers used means to analyze and interpret the data. Interpretation of the data was based on the following scores interval:
SA – Strongly Agreed – 4 points
A - Agreed - 3 points
D – Disagreed - 2 points
SD- Strongly Disagreed – 1 point
The output was determined by finding the mean of each number.



EDITOR SOURCE: Comparative Analysis Of Academic Performance Of Senior Secondary School Students In English Language, Computer Science And Integrated Science In External Examinations From 2003-2007

Child Hawking And Educational Development




1.1 Background to the Study
There is no generally accepted definition for the term ‘Child Hawking’. But it could simply be referred to as the abuse of a child by his parents or guardian or any other adult. Edu and Edu (1990), describe child abuse as willful maltreatment of a child below eighteen years of age in street sales. Such treatment according to them can include acts of commission (abuse) and omission (neglect). A narrow definition of child hawking is united to life-threatening, physical violence including severe beating, and rape (sexually harassed) which are inflicted on the children by the adult member of the community. A broader definition however lays emphasis on any treatment other than the most favourable care and includes neglect sexual and or emotional abuse and exploitation .which ever this social problem is been defined the question that comes to mind is “are children who are God’s given gifts granted freedom, comfort and peace by adults in the society?
In Nigeria, for example, the rights of citizens in chapter 4 sections 30, 40 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantee every citizen’s basic and fundamental human rights. Here, the constitution does not make any destination between the rights of adults and children to trade. Thus, children are expected to enjoy these rights. With the menace of child hawking (abuse) in the country, children are being exposed to all kinds of societal hazards. This study, therefore, examines street hawking in Nigeria, with a view to identifying its consequences on children.
Street trading and child hawking have become a global phenomenon and a global concern. The United Nations International Children Education Fund (NCICEF) has estimated that there are 100 and 200 million child labourers across both industrial and developing countries. Estimates for Nigeria shows that 20% of children between the age of 10 and 14 are involved in child labour and street trading. Nigeria alone is estimated to have between 12 and 15 million child hawkers.
According to Human Right Watch (2004), Nigerians have the largest child labour force in the world. The dramatic increase in child labour and street hawking in Nigeria can be attributed to several factors. The rapid population growth of less developed countries, high rates of unemployment, inflation, low wages and deplorable working conditions have contributed to incidents of child hawking and child labour, as children attempt to help support their families (Charles and Charles 2004, Deth 1993). According to Arat (2002), the proliferation of industries can also be linked to an increase in child hawking and child labour. Social ills affecting children have been an area of active empirical investigation.
Indeed numerous studies exist on children who, along with their parents are and on weekends and holidays. This study will bring to light the dangers associated with street trading and child hawking as reported by children who engage in these practices.
1.2 Statement of Problem
Street trading and child hawking have the potential to corrupt young minds in two major ways. Firstly, a child that misses school frequently falls to benefit comprehensively from the education system. This can mean poor performance in examinations and open the door to examination malpractices for those seeking a certificate at all costs. This in turn can lead to incompetent and unlearned graduates with consequences for the nation as a whole, including increased national illiteracy.
Secondly, street trading and child hawking may also lead to behavioural patterns inimical to healthy citizenship. They may indulge in negative activities or criminal acts, such as prostitution, armed robbery, pickpocketing and face imprisonment. (Humert, 2009 Humphrices, 2010). Many government policies have been put in place to curb the issue of child hawking and child labour, but all to no avail. This probably is a result of the low economic status of most Nigerians who barely earn enough to feed themselves and their children. Oruwari (1996); Okojie (1987) and Aderinto (2000) linked the phenomenon of child hawking and educational development to the socioeconomic status of poor parents who subsist at the periphery of the urban economy.
This research will offer solutions to the menaces of child hawking and child development. It is believed that the solutions discussed below will reduce the menace to its absolute minimum in the course of this discussion this study will also attempt to address the following questions why do parent engage their children in street trading and child hawking? Are parents happy about this situation considering the dangers involved? Why have the policies of government not succeeded?
1.3 Objectives of Study
1. To examine the causes of child hawking in Ekpoma
2. To examine the consequences of child hawking on children.
3. To examine the relationship between child hawking and development.
4. To examine the relationship between child hawking and academic performance.
1.4 Research Hypothesis
1. There is a relationship between poverty and child hawking
2. There is no relationship between polygamous family and child hawking
3. There is a relationship between singly parenthood and child hawking.
1.5 Scope of Study
The scope of the study shall lay emphasis on the effect and consequences of child hawking on child development in Ekpoma. Also, this study examines the relationship between child hawking and development.
Furthermore, this study examines government policies on how to eradicate child hawking in Ekpoma and Nigeria at large.
1.6 Significance of Study
Existing literature portrays little information about child hawking and development. This study is therefore important because it will reveal child hawking practices in Ekpoma. Also, the importance of this study is to give an insight to those who will like to carry out similar research on this topic in the nearest future.
1.7 Definition of Terms
1. Child: This is used in this study as a young human being at the age of puberty. In other words, a young individual below the age of 18 years.
2. Street Hawking: The act of selling goods or foodstuffs and other items on the streets. It can also be described as an act of selling, offering or exposing for sale any article in a public place.
3. Child labour: This simply means the use of children by other adults e.g. parents/guardians for the economic purpose that brings income to such adults. UNICEF defines child labour as work that exceeds a minimum number of hours depending on the age of a child (especially those below 18 years) and on the type of work.
4. Abuse: As used in this study mean maltreatment of a person in an unjust or undesired manner. Therefore, the term child abuse refers to the physical or emotional or social mistreatment of children. World Health Organization (WHO, 2009) define it as any act or failure to act that violates the rights of the child, to endangers his/ her optimum health, survival and development.


ABSTRACT
This research study examined the prevalence of child hawking and educational development. The study was carried out in Ekpoma, Edo State. The structured and unstructured questionnaires were used to elicit information from the respondents. The sample for the study comprised 120 subjects who were drawn from different communities in Ekpoma town. In chapter four, the researcher presents the data and the hypotheses were analyzed using the Chi (X2) Square statistical techniques. The findings from the study showed that the incidence of child hawking is high in Ekpoma, and thus, called for serious attention. It was also found that single parenthood and child hawking, are cases of child hawking which have an effect on the academic development or educational development of the child. However, it was submitted that the government and law enforcement agencies can reduce the child hawking rate through adherence to the “child right act”.




EDITOR SOURCE: Child Hawking And Educational Development

Attitude Of Parents Towards Primary Education Of Their Children In Nigeria


INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Primary education is the foundation a child requires in his or her educational pursuit. The quality of primary education a child gets would determine his performance in a secondary school as well as tertiary level. It will equally affect his or her life after school. As such the importance of primary education cannot be overemphasis.

It is in this regard that Malotyre and Clarkj (1996) opined that the attitude of parent determine the quality of education their children or wards receive in primary school. The positive attitude of the parent has a positive impact on their children's performance and aspirations helps in raising knowledge and increasing understanding and facilitates academic progress through the involvement of parents in their children's academic activities. On the other hand, the negative attitude of parents towards their children's education has a negative effect on their academic progress leading to poor academic performance and consequently the withdrawal of such children from school. This makes such children take to the street and become a menace to society later in life.
However, Obodochi (2003) opined that most parents in the rural areas of Nigeria are careless about the primary education of their children and as such put up a negative attitude towards their children’s education at the level. This is so because most rural dwellers in Nigeria are more interested in achieving short term immediate development of their children as such prefer sending their children to learn vocational trade or assist them in farm work but parents in urban areas have a positive attitude to education of their children and wards owing to their perception about education and the value they attach to education and its effect on the future of their children.

It is in this regard that Wilkinson (1997) states that the perception of the value of education to a large extent determines the attitude of parents towards their children in Kwali Area Council Abuja.

1.2 Statement of Problem
Primary education is the foundation of education and is very vital to a child’s educational development Okoh (2005).
But in spite of the importance of primary education to children’s educational development, the attitude of parents towards their children's education is unsatisfactory and remains a big impediment to primary education in the area under study. This is evident in the high rate of street hawking by children of primary school age and enrolment in vocational trade during school hours. This is attributed to a myriad of vague problems ranging from poverty to cultural and religious constraints as well as parents' loss of faith in the Western educational sequel to the declining standard of education and the high rate of unemployed graduates combing the street in search of jobs endlessly. Hence the attitude of most parents towards the education of their children becomes questionable.

It is against this, that the subject matter: Attitude of parents toward the primary education of their children is seen as a problem worthy of being studied. As such the searchlight is on Kwali Area Council Abuja.

• The Objective Of The Study
The central objective of the study is to examine the attitude of parents towards the primary education of their children in Kwali Area Council Abuja. The specific objectives are:
• To find out the perception of parents about the value of primary education on their children's educational development in Kwali Area Council.
• To evaluate parents' involvement in their children's academic work in Kwali Area Council.
• To determine whether the declining standard of primary education affect parent attitude toward their children's education.
• To identify that parental attitude that is militating against primary education in Kwali Area Council.
1. To make recommendations for practice, policy and future research on the subject matter.

1.4 Significance of the Study
The significance of a study of this magnitude cannot be overemphasized. Parents, local government education departments, and state and federal ministries of education involved in policy formulation and implementation would find this study really useful especially as they utilize the findings of the study.

The study will equally add to the existing body of knowledge on the subject matter. Students undergoing research work similar to the present study who may wish to use this work as reference material or a springboard for their own work will find this work really useful.

1.5 Research Questions
1. What is the perception of parents about the value of primary education in Kwali Area Council Abuja?
2. How involved are parents in their children's academic work in Kwali Area Council Primary schools?
3. Does the declining standard of primary education have any effect on parent attitude toward their children's primary education?
4. What are those parental attitudes that militate against the primary education of children in Kwali Area Council?

1.6 Scope and Limitation of the Study
The study covers the empirical examination of the attitude of parents towards the primary education of their children in Kwali Area Council. The study equally covers the perception of parents about the value of primary education as well as their involvement in their children's academic work. The study also seeks to find out whether the declining standard of education has any effect on the attitude of parents toward their children's primary education as well as the parental attitude that militate against primary education in Kwali Area Council Abuja
The research is limited by the inaccessibility of research subjects resulting in using less than a fair representative sample, low return rate of questionnaires, and inability to use correct data gathering instruments due to ignorance between the researcher’s institution and the study area.

1.7 Definition of Terms
All the terms will be defined as they were used in the context of this research.
• Parental Attitude: The way parents behave toward their children in primary school.
• Parents: This refers to a father, mother or guardian's responsibility for the educational training of wards or their children in primary school.
• Primary School: School for children between the ages of 5 and 11 establish for elementary studies.
• School Management: This is an act of getting things done through teachers or the day to day running and administration of the primary school.
• Educational Policy: This is the statement of the government on education.
• Educational leadership: This is the process of formulating and implementing educational policies in primary schools.
• Headteacher: A teacher who is in charge of primary school.
EDITOR SOURCE: Attitude Of Parents Towards Primary Education Of Their Children In Nigeria

ASSESSMENT OF THE FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT IN NIGERIA






INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
It has been the general assumption that children with reasonable physical care would grow into normal happy adulthood. But scientific investigations by psychologists, sociologist and psychiatrists regarding personality development has uncovered the greater importance of growing up and its lasting effects on the total personality of a person. Adult personality has its root in childhood. What we can do as adults are largely determined by the ways in which we were allowed to experience inevitable events of childhood.

Thus the aim of this research work is to shed more light on the issue of child abuse and neglect in Kaduna South Local Government of Kaduna State.

A child is neglected when he lacks continuous physical and emotional contact with his mother. Children under this category may be due to the loss of a mother or both parents or the separation of both parents, this child may be sent to nursery school or orphanages with many children which makes it difficult for special individual attention to be rendered to each child. Those children are therefore brought up by strangers which could be changed at different times due to the shift of their studies.

Child abuse on the other hand can be defined as the portion of harm to children that result from human action or inaction that is prescribed, proximate and preventable. The definition recognizes that such harm is no accident but something perpetrated on children by others, usually intestinally and that the actors inflicting this harm do not enjoy society's approval. It is also pointed out that abuse generally comes from the child's immediate environment and that it is preventable child neglect is a passive form of maltreatment or abuse UNICEF (1986).







1.2 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Kaduna South Local Government Area was created on 23rd September 1991 by the Babangida’s regime. Hitherto it was part and parcel of Kaduna Local Government. The Local Government Council has its headquarters located at Makera, comprising two districts namely: Tudun Wada and Makera, each district is headed by a district head and supported by village and wards councillors, Kaduna South shares a common boundary with Kaduna North to the North West. The two districts share a common boundary with the other districts located in the three local government areas. Kaduna South has a population of 373,576 as per the 2006 census.

Education
However, in the education, the area is having about (29) public schools which (are primary schools in Tudun Wada and (13) in Makera and five (5) secondary schools in Tudunwada and three (3) in Makeri.

Furthermore, the area is having private nursery/primary and secondary schools approximately one hundred and twenty-four (124) i.e. 80 in Tudun Wada and (44) in Makera district.

Adult education programmes and constructed apart from the various vocational training centres, run by various organizations like (YMCA). Apart from Kaduna Polytechnic as a higher institution of learning. There is a prison school at Barnawa, a Health Institution like the school of Nursing and Midwifery and the School of psychiatric Barnawa.

There are over fifty (50) large and small scale industries that abound in the local government and some include, textile, defence corporation, Nigeria Breweries, Peugeot Automobile, KFCC, fertilizer superphosphate, pharmaceutical company, and blanket industry just to mention a few.

To boost commercial activities in the local government area and the markets and up to R. Tourist attractions and hotels, the council has six (6) tourist areas and about twelve (12) hotels. Kaduna South Local Government areas are well connected by road, bridges and railway line system.

Thus, the above mentioned geographical, emotional, educational and administrative features taken together give Kaduna South its unique characteristics. It was discovered that the habitants have little or no knowledge of what child abuse is.

Some with dishes roaming the street and begging for food and aims for a certain belief. They were also denied educational pursuit and a child's right to decide for themselves what they want to become in future. Without being told, you will see for yourself how little children hawk around from morning till evening for financial support, this researcher strongly, believes is one of the causes of child abuse and neglect because this kind of occupation endangers the child’s life and expose him to a hard situation.






1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The researcher’s concern to delve into the affairs of CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT in Kaduna South Local Government Area of Kaduna State becomes necessary because the record available to this researcher shows that since the creation of Kaduna South from the former Kaduna local government there was not been any necessary attempt for research work into the activities of child abuse and neglect.

However, it is widely believed that the good image of any social or community depends largely on the social background of its children. Therefore, the problem of child abuse in the local government has been total neglect to large extent. A situation brought about probably by the undesirable element in our society mostly associated with women folk and partly perhaps the government who have not given enough attention to the ugly situation in the area but rather sitting on chairs in offices. Based on this, the researcher will seriousness wishes to know the activities to the authority concerned with the affairs of child abuse, towards educating the people of the area and of course suggest ways on how to improve and implements their programme towards making the entire area a conducive place of living.

1.4 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The following are the objectives of the study:
a. To identify the factors responsible for child neglect
b. To determine the factors responsible for child neglect
c. To identify the factors responsible for child abuse. To determine the rating of the factors responsible for child abuse

1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research question guided the study:
a. The absence of either parent in any family setting can also perhaps bring about child abuse
b. Roaming the street and begging for food and aims for certain beliefs will equally bring in child abuse
c. The act of ignorance among the parent will make a child not go to school but hawk all day and that also brings in child abuse
d. The occupational pressure of the working parent is also a contributing factor to child abuse

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study is the opportunity to do or achieve something which children are being abused of more to say, production of two many children to the wide world and not taking care of them should be eradicated by family planning to space the recreation of babies.

However, the absence of a mother in any family setting can also perhaps bring about child abuse and the study is out in looking for a suitable solution to resolving it, through the government and the societal people to be aware of the child to try to come affection, warmth etc.

Finally, the scope of the study is to improve the standard of living of clued not by seen influenced by the absence of one parent and two much of giving birth babies.

The government should Endeavour to encourage agencies to treat such a social ill or evil in the society.

1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The study is an attempt to provide evidence and identify patterns of child abuse and neglect with a view to offering suggestions and recommendations that will date the level. This study would be of immense value to parents, counselling teachers with low levels of education and children. The finding and suggestions resulting from this study will go a long way in helping parents and guidance to know irritating entrance or actions, it has on youth and children or young once which can be economical, psychological or society which will enable parents, adults, to adjust in order to ensure smooth development of children. It will also address the practical problem which when left will cut at the very root of civilized ethics particularly significant at present a bold attempt to go into an area of scarcity literature.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Child: Child is defined as a dependent person in the custody of a parent or guardian for the protection of his/her life.
Abuse: Is any deliberate act by a person: or group of people in a society designed to inflict on a child or parent normal, mental physical, emotional and normal development.
Neglect: This usually occurs when families fail on their own part to provide the necessary need for their children such as food, medical care or being deprived of the essential need of life or it is a situation where one shows a sign of suffering or lack of care and attention.
Child care: This is care which is supposed to be given to children by those who are responsible for looking after them provide them with childcare facilities.
Child Abuse: Those are the cruel treatment of children by adults involving violence or sexual activities which is capable of affecting physically, mentally and psychologically.


ABSTRACT

The child abuse menace is as old as the birth of the first child, until very recently child maltreatment has never been seen as a social problem. It was falsely assumed that such physical punishments are supposed to correct bad behaviour and ensure conformity. But the consequential distorted personality of the child disproves the assumption. This study aims at showing that it is only through the care of children will one gains experience and develops an interest in finding out more about the affliction of the Nigerian child. In addition, the researcher hopes that those who are able to read this will get to know and pray that the past experiences of this silent suffering will serve to prevent tomorrow’s children from a similar fate.



EDITOR SOURCE: Assessment Of The Factors Responsible For Child Abuse And Neglect In Nigeria

A SOCIOLINGUISTIC STUDY OF CODE-MIXING AND CODE-SWITCHING IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS







INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Language can be said to be the most complex and detailed aspect of human existence. It is the DNA of human behaviour and culture as the people’s history and memory is embedded in it. This memory encapsulated in language also determines, among other things, how they used language and how language uses them. This volatile characteristic of language has birthed, directly and indirectly, bridge studies such as sociolinguistics which is
the descriptive study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language are used, and the effects of language use on society (Wikipedia)
The organic feature language implies that it surfaces in its use. A person fluent in more than one language would often find his or herself segueing from one language to another and consequently one language system to another. Language affects perception and in the expression of thought verbally, these varying thought patterns are seen.
This switching isn’t just in moving from one language to another but can be seen in the use of systems of one language in another showing a consciousness that is tied to a language even when one has extensive command of the one presently in use. This is how pidgins are born: the establishment of unique systems in language use across bilingual users. Against this backdrop, we would be doing a sociolinguistic study of code-mixing and code-switching in secondary schools in Nigeria.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Among secondary school students in Nigeria presently are varying language uses including English which is the official language and the language of education. However, these are children who go home to parents and peers who speak their native language. Sometimes of the singular fact that there is a lack of proper teaching of the English language, these secondary school children leant and use the language through the eyes of their mother tongue.
Other times, it is simply the bilingual presence of dexterity in two languages equally so that thought is exercised simultaneously in these two or more languages. This is known as code-mixing and interchanged with another term, code-switching by scholars. This phenomenon has been studied severally across varying language users but not specifically among Nigerian secondary school students who are unique in that they represent adequately the percentage of the Nigerian populace who have a good command of both languages ( English and their mother tongue).
1.3 Research Questions
1.3.1 Can code-mixing and code-switching be used interchangeably?
1.3.2 What are the factors that inform their presence in secondary school students’ language use?
1.4 Objectives of the Study
The major objective of this research like every other research work of it’s kind is to fill up an academic gap. It is this gap that calls the research work into being which makes such a work valid whether it is able to prove its hypothesis or not. In this case, it aims at studying and establishing the manifestations of code-mixing and code-switching in secondary school students
1.5 Significance of the Study
This work is of great significance to any sociolinguist on research on any of the manifestations of code-mixing and code-switching among a certain age and topography of Nigeria especially one whose focus is on a pattered manifestation.
It’s also very relevant for teachers in tracking a child’s acquisition of a second language and to what extent this child exercises thought in the languages at his or her disposal. So that the modules for teaching can be fashioned with a specific aim in view.
1.6 Research Hypothesis
This research work is predicated upon the sociolinguistic assumption that code-mixing and code-switching are not to be used interchangeably. It also assumes that a greater manifestation of it in Nigeria is to be seen among secondary school students.
1.7 Scope of the Study
The scope of this study is strictly studying code-mixing and code-switching among secondary school students across the different regions of the country. However, the study subject will consist of one school for each of the different geopolitical zones with one covering the whole of the north due to lack of space, time and resources.
Also, data will be gathered through the use of one on one interactions with the students and the passing of questionnaires with questions that aim at capturing this form of language use in and off the learning environment.
1.8 Limitations of the Study
Research such as this one would require a thorough examination of the sociolinguistic issue of code-mixing and code-switching across a large pool of students and reading materials as it is a topic that cuts across disciplines and bridges disciplines. The above are the limitations of this research work namely the time constraints and financial inadequacies to cover wider grounds.
1.9 Definition of Term
Code-mixing
This is the mixing of two or more languages and language systems during a speech act so that one slide from one string of phrases to another
Code-switching
Most linguists and sociolinguists use both code-mixing and code-switching interchangeably. However, in code-mixing what is emphasized is the hybrid created from this mixture of two language systems while code-switching merely captures just this drawing from two language systems.
Sociolinguistics
This bridge discipline between sociology and linguistics studies in detail the societal influences on language and also how language influences society.
Code
It is a verbal component that can be as small as a morpheme or as comprehensive and complex as the entire system of a language. It also refers to speech varieties in a language.

Switching
It is the process of moving something into another. It is a shift or change.
Code Switching
It is a common term for alternative use of two or more languages, varieties of a language or even speech styles. While Hoffman (1991:104) defines code-switching as the changes over sentences that can occur during a conversation.
Mixing
It is putting or bringing something together.
Code mixing
It refers to all cases where lexical items and grammatical features from two languages appear in one sentence.

EDITOR SOURCE: A Sociolinguistic Study Of Code-Mixing And Code-Switching In Secondary Schools

A QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER’S PREPARATION IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CALABAR, CALABAR CROSS RIVERS STATE








INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Teaching is an active engagement that always has a result in view and no matter how energetic a lecture period is, it’s quality will always be measured in relation to students percentage of having grasped what was taught. So that each discipline, faculty, department and corresponding department keep tabs of how the lecturers are handling the courses allocated them. In a country where there is a high level of work apathy due to a list of factors, there is always more and more need to supervise the teaching skills and preparedness of workers and lecturer particularly. The job description in any establishment determines the method of recording output. Some jobs can easily and productively be measured in terms of numbers and visible results.
However, others can prove to be more difficult with a qualitative assessment of input and consequently output. By quantitative assessment we are referring to those types of work assessment that:
express their results in numbers. They tend to answer questions like “How many?” or “How much?” or “How often?” When they’re used to compare things – the results of community programs, the effects of an economic development effort, or attitudes about a community issue (Phil Rabinowitz)
When it comes to the issue we are grappling with namely the degree of preparedness of lecturers who teach the English language in the University of Calabar in Cross River, Nigeria, this number based method of assessment does not suffice. If one relies on student performance to assess this, one runs into the discrepancies that would be created by differences in cognitive abilities of student thereby calling for an assessment method that is more organic than statistical.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Owing to the recurring habit of low preparedness in the teachers of the English Language in the department of English and their sister Use of English units of the School of General studies, it is evident that there should be put in place a feasible method of assessing the level and quality of preparation on the side of these teacher. It is not surprising that this is directly proportional to the students' overall performance in the course and their good command of the object of study- the English language. This is the problem that has birthed the present research work which aims to use a qualitative assessment method on the above.
1.3 Research Questions
1.3.1 what are the factors that bear upon the low level of preparation in the teachers of English language in the said university.
1.3.2 What are the methods that will see to a holistic assessment that will only arrive at clear feedback on the object of study.
1.4 Objectives of the Study
The purpose of the present research work is to qualitatively assess the teacher preparedness in teaching English language in the university of Calabar. Calabar Cross Rivers State of Nigerian. This objective will be achieved by targeted delineation of this bulky task into it’s various area.
First, the teachers in question are going to be made to write an essay detailing the protocol, whether departmentally designed of personally developed, by which they prepare for their lectures and the handling of the courses allocated them in general. This way the research will show the present or lack thereof of an adequate preparation.
1.5 Significance of the Study
On a holistic view, this research work will show a pattern that informs a high level of preparation or a low level of preparation of teachers in the department. The implication is that what needs to be done to combat a low level of preparation which consequently will affect student performance will be revealed and measures will be put in place for it.
This research work is highly significant in that it’s findings and the recommendations it will make in the last chapter can be implemented in many other tertiary institutions within and outside Cross River state including other departments whose mode of lecture deliverance and preparation bears great structural resemblance to that of the English departments.
This work is particularly significant seeing the nature of the course in question. English language is a second language in Nigeria which presents both grammatical, phonological, syntactical issues for both the students and teachers. Therefore, the teachers as well need even more preparation before teaching the course as anything learned in it through time becomes etched in the psyche of the students who would later become teachers in the future. The findings here would assist both the school and teachers in keeping a meticulous tab on the quality of what is delivered in the classroom.
1.6 Research Hypothesis
This research work was conducted with an initial assumption that student grade output and lecture duration will not show a reliable assessment of the problem taken up here. It is believed here that whatever method to be used should focus on the teachers' own methods.
1.7 Scope of the Study
This research is focused on the teachers in the department of English in the University of Calabar Cross Rivers State, Nigeria which it sees as a microcosm of other related departments across the country with similar curriculum objectives hence a required level of preparation.
The assessment will engage only the teachers in the department and exclude every other class situation outside the requirements of course like make up seminar classes that features more of inputs from the students.
The mode of assessing the teachers will include a direct observance of their teaching on the spot and informal interviews targeted at providing a patterned methods of preparation.
1.8 Limitations of the Study
The first limitation encountered in the course of this research is the lack of a sincere feedback from the teachers. Most of them are prone to constructing preparation methods that are not followed in the end.
Lack of manpower is another one. To observe each of the teachers takes time and financial resources which are not adequately covered by the research grant awarded this work.

1.9 Definition of Terms
Qualitative Assessment
These are methods of assessment that do not depend on numbers, data and a superficial enquiry into something but rather delves into the motivations of the situation.


EDITOR SOURCE: A Qualitative Assessment Of English Language Teacher’s Preparation In The University Of Calabar, Calabar Cross Rivers State

STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE STUDY OF ECONOMICS IN NIGERIAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS







INTRODUCTION
1.1BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greekοἰκονομία (oikonomia, "management of a household, administration" from οἶκος (oikos, "house" + νόμος (nomos, "custom" or "law", hence "rules of the house(hold)". Political economy was the earlier name for the subject, but economists in the late 19th century suggested "economics" as a shorter term for "economic science" that also avoided a narrow political-interest connotation and as similar in form to "mathematics", "ethics", and so forth.
A focus of the subject is how economic agents behave or interact and how economies work. Consistent with this, a primary textbook distinction is between microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics examines the behavior of basic elements in the economy, including individual agents (such as households and firms or as buyers and sellers) and markets, and their interactions. Macroeconomics analyzes the entire economy and issues affecting it, including unemployment, inflation, economic growth, and monetary and fiscal policy.
Other broad distinctions include those between positive economics (describing "what is" and normative economics (advocating "what ought to be"; between economic theory and applied economics; between rational and behavioral economics; and between mainstream economics (more "orthodox" and dealing with the "rationality-individualism-equilibrium nexus" and heterodox economics (more "radical" and dealing with the "institutions-history-social structure nexus".
Economic analysis may be applied throughout society, as in business, finance, health care, and government, but also to such diverse subjects as crime,[education, the family, law, politics, religion social institutions, war, and science. At the turn of the 21st century, the expanding domain of economics in the social sciences has been described as economic imperialism.
An attitude may be defined as a predisposition to respond in a favourable or unfavourable manner with respect to a given attitude object (Oskamp and Schultz 2005). The focus of this project is on school students’ attitudes towards Economics subjects taught in secondary classrooms. The term ‘subjects’ refers to both theory and laboratory classes in secondary school. Thus, the scope of the present study was limited to Economics as experienced by students in secondary school rather than out-of-school experiences obtained from external sources such as the media, museums, field trips and friends. Attitude toward Economics or science denotes interests or feelings towards studying Economics or science. It is the students’ disposition towards like or ‘dislike’ science while attitude in science means scientific approach assumed by an individual for solving problems, assessing ideas and making decisions. Student beliefs and attitudes have the potential to either facilitate or inhibit learning (Yara, 2009). Many factors could contribute to a student’s attitudes toward studying science (Economics). Several studies (including Wilson 1983; Soyibo, 1985;Berg 2005; Adesoji, 2008) report that students’ positive attitudes to science correlate highly with their that, in general, the attitude of Nigeria students towards the basic sciences tend to decrease in the order, Biology, Economics, Physics and Mathematics. Defiana (1995) found that using integrated science environment activities improved high school student attitude toward and awareness about the environment. Armstrong and Impara (1991) in their studies determined that fifth and seventh – grade students using nature score as a curriculum supplement developed more positive attitudes than those who did not. Abimbola (1983) reported that students exposed to a programmed instruction recorded higher and more favourable attitude towards mathematics. Ayelaagbe (1998) also reported a more positive attitude of studies after exposing them to self learning strategy. Similar results were obtained by Udousoro (2000) after using computer and text assisted programmed instruction and Popoola (2002) after exposing students to a self learning device. Popoola(2008) also reported that students attitudes and interests to sciences, especially Agricultural science correlate highly with their science achievement. Halladyna and Shanghnessy (1982) and Adesoji (2008) have concluded that a number of factors have been identified as related to students’ attitude to science (Economics). Such factors include; teaching methods, teacher attitude, influence of parents, gender, age, cognitive styles of pupils, career interest, social view of science and Scientifics, social implicating of science (Economics)and achievement. The studies thus reviewed suggest that there is a relationship between attitude and methods of instruction and also between attitude and achievement; and that it is possible to predict achievement from attitude scores. What is needed to complement the results of such studies however is the nature of relationship between students’ attitude and factors related to teaching and learning of Economics? Results of these types of study are likely to broaden our knowledge as how we can influence students’ attitude positively towards Economics as a subject in Akure, Nigeria.
1.2PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of the study is to investigate the attitudes of students in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State toward studying of Economics as a subject. The study is also designed to make various recommendations for teachers and other stakeholders on how to arouse or improve students attitudes in the subject.

1.3STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS
Despite the greater number of Economics graduates produced by our tertiary institutions; every year there are numbers of secondary schools where Economics teachers are not competent in the teaching of the subject. Also, the attitude of the students in secondary schools towards Economics as a profession is not encouraging. This makes the teaching of Economics ineffective and inefficient even where there are competent teachers to teach. It is on this premise, that this study is designed to investigate the attitude of students to teaching and learning of Economics in secondary schools.

1.4RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In order to investigate the attitude of students to Economics, the following questions were raised:
1. Do the students have positive attitudes towards Economics?
2. Do their negative attitudes a result of the attitude of their teachers towards the subject?
3. Do their attitudes towards problem solving result of unavailability of textbook and other instructional materials?
4. Should Economics be made compulsory for all science students in secondary schools?

1.5SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study was limited to secondary schools in Akure South Local Government of Ondo State only. Based on the time frame and financial constraints in covering all the secondary schools in the Local Government, thestudy was also limited to the students in Senior Secondary Schools (SS Class)

The names of the schools are:
• St. Dominic Grammar School, Akure.
• C.A.C. Grammar School, Akure.
• Oyemekun High School, Akure.
• St. Peter’s Unity High School, Akure.
• Fiwasiaye Girls Grammar School, Akure.

1.6SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The study is aimed at looking at the students’ attitudes towards Economics in some selected secondary schools in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State. The results of the study is hoped to assist Economics teachers to develop new learning experience for the students and reorganize these learning experience in some ways enough to arouse the interest of the students. It would be of good assistance to teachers to create a habit were they would improve on the obsolete teaching methods, use adequate, modern and relevant instructional materials and textbooks at their disposed to the fullest. This study may also assist the students to improve their attitude towards the study of the subject. Finally, the government and parents would benefit from the study of their roles as these would be highlighted at the recommendation column.1.7Assumption of the Study Based on the study, the following assumptions were made. Secondary school students constitute a valid source of data needed in the study. Also, that the respondents will give valid and unbiased responses to the questionnaire items and that the samples drawn will be representatives of the population

1.8DEFINITION OF TERMS
Economics:- This is a science subject taught in the Senior Secondary Schools.
Learning:- This is the process of acquiring knowledge in Economics among Senior Secondary School Students.
Attitude:- This refers to students’ positive mind to the study of Economics.
Teaching:- Transmission of the knowledge of Economics to Senior Secondary School Students. Instruction
Materials:- These are aids used in teaching and learning of Economics in Senior Secondary School.




EDITOR SOURCE: Students’ Attitude Towards The Study Of Economics In Nigerian Secondary Schools

EFFECTS OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND OF PARENTS ON THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF THEIR CHILDREN IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS








INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Man as a social being is endowed with different abilities to explore his environment and possibly to improve the lots of mankind. That is why there are differences in educational attainment of students.
However, these variances are not only found in students’ characteristics like hereditary, age, sex and intelligence quotients which are believed to relate more strongly to his/her achievement levels. A considerable portion of variation in students could be accounted for, in other forms via socio-economic status of parents, family and environment, (family size), beliefs, value and prestige, reward of higher educational parental choice etc.
The effects of socio-economic background of parents on the achievement of their children in school have been a great factor in the recent decade in academic system in the country.
Socialization is the study of the society. Various sociological schools of thought have asserted that in deciding whether a child performs well or not at school is of immense importance to identify the difference between the influence of the socio-economic background of parents and their children’s academic achievement and attainment.
Coleman (1975) and Medill (1963) have argued that parental financial position and their level of education also reflects strongly on students’ performances. This is so because it is generally accepted that the educated parents mostly value education. However, the background of a child affects his success in schools.
Levine and Harighurt (1975) discovered that all societies large or small, primitive or modern show social status group phenomenon of ranks. The leader and people of high esteem occupying position at the top, others occupy intermediate position, yet others are at the foot of the ladder in social scale.
Social environmental factors have been found to affect educational achievement of a child. These factors include:
a. Occupational status of his parents.
b. The parent’s attitude towards their children’s school and expectation that they have for their children.
Boocock (1973) and Durbey (1972 & 1973) explain that parents of socio-economic upper class have more positive attitudes towards their children schooling and also have high expectations and standard for the children as they are given high motivation of success in school.
The status of parents determines the type of education that the child is bound to receive; wealthy parents often allow their children to attend private schools, while the less privilege or opportune parents send their children to public school where the school fees are affordable to them. Students’ progress through school is reflected not only in grades list scores and accounts of personal behavior in the classroom but in the characteristics.
Parents not only train children towards the social norms of the society but improve their socio-economic background towards achieving a stated goal. It’s therefore, imperative and immense benefit to look at the effect of socio-economic background of parents on the academic achievement of their children in schools.
1.2 Statement of Problem
This project is designed to investigate the effect of socio-economic background on the academic achievement of their children in school at Igueben Local Government Area of Edo State.
The research aimed at investigating the extent of the following sub-problems:
1. To what extent does parents’ background usually affect their children’s academic performance?
2. To what extent do children from the home of low income group attend school regularly because of their parents’ inability to provide for school requirements and equipment adequately?
3. To what extent there exist good parents – child relationship, how such affects their children’s academic performance?

1.3 Research Questions
To evaluate the socio-economic background as it affects the academic achievement of children in schools, the following research questions were raised:
1. Is there any significant difference between children from wealthy parents and those from poor parents in terms of academic achievement?
2. Is there any major difference between the academic ends, achievements of children from broken home and children from unbroken homes?
3. Is there difference between the academic performance of children from polygamous families and the children from monogamous families?
4. Is there significant difference between the academic achievement of children from educated home and those from uneducated homes?
5. Is there any significant difference in academic performance between children from large family and those from small family?
1.4 Research Hypotheses
i. There is no significant difference between children from wealthy parents and those from poor parents in terms of academic achievement.
ii. There is no difference in the academic performance of children from polygamous families and the children from monogamous families.
iii. There is no significant difference in academic performance between children from large family and those from small family.
iv. There is no significant difference in the academic achievement of children from educated homes and those from uneducated homes.
v. There is no major difference in the academic achievements of children from broken homes and children from unbroken homes.
1.5 Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study is to investigate and determine to what extent parents’ education, wealth, parents-child relationship, types of family, size of family etc influence academic performance or achievement of pupils in Igueben Local Government Area of Edo State and make suitable recommendations to ameliorate them.
1.6 Significance of the Study
It is believed that this study will highlight the effects of the socio-economic background of parents on the academic achievements of their children in schools in Igueben Local Government Area.
These findings will no doubt influence parents or government to be well informed in order not to be misled about the socio-economic variable that affect students’ educational achievements.
The findings will help educate parents on how best to attain the best academic achievement of their children. It also exposes teachers, counselors and educationist to the problem facing students’ academic performance like emotional instability, tension brought from poor homes.
Conclusively, this work will give useful recommendations to government and parents on how to improve the academic achievement of their students in schools.
1.7 Scope and Delimitation
This study is focused on how the socio-economic background of parents affects their children’s academic performance in school in the present day, in Igueben Local Government Area of Edo State.
Limitation
The possibility of the respondents being hesitant to give the timely responses, even after being assured of confidentiality. This may result in some inaccurate result; some biased responses from some of the respondents may also affect the accuracy of the findings.


1.8 Definition of Terms
In order to avoid misinterpretation of terms, the following terms used in this study and their definitions are given in accordance in this study as follows:
Socio-economic Status: The socio-economic status of an individual in a family within any given society is determined by the level of education, income, occupational background and other criteria of social class.
Academic Achievement/Performance: This refers to how much an individual has achieved or attain after a course of instructional training in a school settings.
Polygamous Family: This is a custom in which a man is married to more than one wife at a time.
Monogamous Family: This is the practice of a man being married to a wife at a time.
Broken Home: This is a situation whereby the parents of the homes are apart or divorced, that is the parents of a child are not living together (in most cases, the children lack care, security and training).
Unbroken Home: Here the co-operation exists between the father, mother and children, because they are together and not divorced. In this practice the children enjoy care, security, training, etc. So the child is well catered for.



EDITOR SOURCE: Effects Of Socio-Economic Background Of Parents On The Academic Achievement Of Their Children In Secondary Schools In Nigeria

THE EFFECT OF COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES ON POVERTY ALLEVIATION AMONG RURAL FARM HOUSEHOLDS




Nigeria as a land filled with milk and honey suffers from the menace of poverty. Different questions have been asked to how poverty which is affecting the economy can be reduced to minimum. Several Government bodies have been setup to find a lasting solution to the problem striking the masses. However, it will be expedient to know what poverty is all about and to know the meaning of cooperative according to different scholars and join the two together to have a clearer understanding of the purpose of the study.
According to Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, Poverty is a state of being poor. It is the inability of a household to generate adequate income for the maintenance of the household.
Poverty has become a pervasive National and Global issue resulting from a state of short or long term deprivation and insecurity in basic human needs (Chambers, 1996; Mullen, 1996;Obadan, 2002). Poverty has also become a feature of the living conditions and life situation of the vast majority of Nigerians. The incidence of poverty in Nigeria was put at 28.8% in 1980, 46.3% in 1985, 42.7% in 1992 and 65.6% in 1996. In 2008, estimates from the National Bureau of Statistics put incidence of poverty at 54.4% (Fakoya, Banmeke, Ashimolowo, Fapojuwo2010). Several evidences have suggested that majority of the world’s poor live and work in the rural area and that they would continue to do so in 2025 (IFAD, 2001).
(Oseni, 2007) defined poverty as a state of involuntarily deprivation to which a person, household, community or nation can be subjected to poverty is a condition in which one cannot generate sufficient income required to secure a minimum standard of living in a sustainable pattern. Poverty in Nigeria is caused by lack of employment, high rate of illiteracy among the citizenry, poor infrastructure, inadequate access to micro credit facilities, mismanagement of public funds, bad governance, instability of the governments and its policies. Poverty gives rise to many other serious social problems, some of which, not only impose enormous economic and social costs upon the non- poor and society in general, but also threaten the survival and stability of the society. In these regards, the Federal Government of Nigeria had designed several programmes aimed at alleviating poverty and improving the living conditions of its people which include Operation Feed the Nation (OFN), Green Revolution, Structural Adjustment Programme, Better Life Programme and Family Support Programme, National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI), National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) and National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). These programmes bythe various governments of Nigeria were designed by policy makers and targeted at poverty alleviation in Nigeria. Unfortunately, the quality of life of majority of Nigerians had remained unenviable and embarrassingly low, despite the huge budgetary allocations by these governments to these poverty alleviation programmes (Orji, 2005). There is a need to identify other means of addressing the serious damage caused by poverty to the Nigerian society, attention should therefore be shifted to the use of self-help using Cooperative organizations formed and administered by the people.
Cooperatives have been dedicated to conducting business in a way now being recommended as the most effective route to transformational development: putting people in charge of their own destinies and helping them bring services to their communities; increasing decision making, trust and accountability through democratic participation; providing a profitable connection to the private sector; building and protecting assets at the community level; limiting the role of government; and working together to resolve problems.
A co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, as well as cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise (COPAC, 1999). A Co-operative is a group-based and members-owned business that can be formed for economic and social development in any sector (Ohio Co-operative Development Centres (OCDC) 2007). According to DFID (2005), co- operatives have four main characteristics: first, they are formed by groups of people, who have a specified need or problem. Secondly, the organization is formed freely by members after contributing to its assets. Thirdly, the organization formed, is governed democratically in order to achieve desired objectives on equitable norms, and fourthly, it is an independent enterprise promoted, owned and controlled by people to meet their needs. Cooperatives provide self-employment through millions of worker-owners of production and service cooperatives; financial cooperatives mobilize capital for productive investment and provide people with secure institutions for the deposit of savings; consumer cooperatives provide households with affordable goods and services reducing the proportion of income used for basic living costs, and similarly user-owned cooperatives such as housing, utility, health and social care cooperatives provide affordable access to basic services.
Cooperative as socio-economic institutions through their activities could be a potent tool for poverty alleviation particularly in fighting poverty and unemployment. This could be in the area of agriculture, provision of infrastructural facilities and education.
Therefore, in Yewa Division where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the impact of cooperative societies in alleviating poverty among rural households.


EDITOR’S SOURCE: Effect Of Cooperative Societies On Poverty Alleviation Among Rural Farm Households

ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF MICROORGANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH VEGETABLE SALAD










ABSTRACT
Fresh samples of vegetable salad collected from different food outlet in Ilorin metropolis were evaluated for bacteria loads, at a temperature of 250c and the PH of the samples which is 3.7 using spread plate agar dilution method, the bacteria load ranges from 1.6x104cfu/g to 11.5x104cfu/g and faecal coliform ranges from 1.6x104cfu/g to 4.6x104cfu/g associated with the salad from majority of the samples. Microorganism associated with vegetable salad include,Bacillus anthracis mycobacterium spp, Brucella spp, Listeria monocytogenis, Yersima enterolytia, clostridium perfringens, Klebsiella spp and M. Paratuberculosis

CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Vegetables are most consumed as salads or cooked in savory or salty dishes. While culinary fruits are usually sweet and used for deserts, but it is not the universal rule (Harri Vaino, Franca Bianchini, 2003).Some vegetable can be consumed raw, some may be eaten cooked and some must be cooked to destroy certain natural toxins or microbes in egg plant, unripe tomatoes, day lily, winter melon, fiddle head fern, and most kinds of legume/beans (such as common beans)
The yellow/orange colors of fruits and vegetable are due to the presence of carotenoids, which are also affected by normal cooking processes or changes in pH. Chlorophyll is affected by the pH and it changes to olive green in acid conditions, and to bright green in alkaline conditions. Some of the acids are released in steam during cooking without a cover. The red/blue coloring of some fruits and vegetables (e.g., blackberries and red cabbage) are due to anthocyanins, which are sensitive to changes in pH. When the pH is natural, the pigments are purple, when acidic, red, and when alkaline, blue. These pigments are quite water-soluble. This property can be used in rudimentary testing of pH.
Vegetables, as it name implies, is an edible plant or part of a plant, other than a fruit, planned for cooking or eating raw (Harri Vainio, Franca Bianchini,2003).
During harvesting and transportation, raw vegetables may be bruised resulting in the release of plant nutrient, and thereby, providing substrates for microorganism present on the surface of the vegetables to grow. With a view of such exposure to pathogens, vegetables have been associated with the outbreaks of food borne disease in many countries (Alice, 2001).
Bacteria are commonly found on raw foods like salads, eggs, beef, vegetables, cheese, ice cream, unpastaurized milk, fish, fresh fruits, canned foods mushrooms etc(Noah,2009;Fry et al., 2005)
Outbreaks of staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus and proteus food poisons after eating in a restaurant have been reported by some researchers in 2001, Norinaga Miwa reported on outbreak of staphylococcus aureus food poison due to the consumption of eggs in boxed launches prepared at their company cafeteria.(Norinaga et al). Aerobic colony counts, coliform and enterococci enumeration are useful and most often used means of accessing overall sanitation in the environments of food service establishment. (Collins, 1964; Jay, 1978, Moyo and Baudi, 2004).
Effective cleaning is of prime importance since it not only removes gross contaminations but also any residues that could support the subsequent survivals and growth of microorganisms.(Clark,1965).As a result of inadequate cleaning microorganism may persists on utensil and work surfaces and build in numbers(Fraizer and Westhoff,1988).The main objectives of sanitations is to minimize the access of microorganisms in food from various sources at all stages of handling (Marrioat,1989,cords and Dychdala,1993)
Salad may be served at any point during a meal, such as: appetizer salads, light salads to stimulate the appetite as the first course of the meal, Dessert salads, sweet version often containing fruit, gelatin and or whipped cream
In recent years, salad has become a very popular components of menu served in birthdays and wedding parties; they are also sold in fast food outlets in most major cities in Nigeria.
Examples of different parts of plants used as vegetables are: coriander leaf, stem, flower bulbs, Leaves, leaf sheaths, leek, Tuber, Roots stem shoots, stem bulbs etc



EDITOR SOURCE: Isolation And Identification Of Microorganism Associated With Vegetable Salad

ABSTRACT


Among the aetiological agents of treatable sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), Neisseria Gonorrhea is considered to be most important, because of emerging antibiotic resistance strains that compromise the effectiveness of treatment of the disease. Gonococci infections are usually treated with single – dose therapy with an agent found to cure above 95 percent of each case, but unfortunately Neisseria gonorrhea has developed resistance to most of the antibiotic used against it, which can be categorized into pre-quinolone, quinolone and post – quinolone era.
Among the anti-biotic available so far, the third generation “cephalosporin has also be safely recommended as first line therapy for gonorrhea globally;

INTRODUCTION
Despite the recent advances in diagnosis, surveillance and treatment, sexual transmitted disease (STDs) remain one of the leading diseases throughout the world. Increased promiscuity and onset of sexual activity at an early age are two important contributing factors to the spread of sexual transmitted disease. Neisseria gonorrheae (also known as the gonococcus) colonizes primarily in the human genital urinary tract, giving rise to the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhea. It cause both symptomatic and asymptomatic genital and extra genital tract infections. Disease caused by this organism is a significant public health problem despite continual advances in treatment (Tanaka and Reyn et al, 2004).


World wide, there is an estimated 62million new cases a year, with an average of 22miilion cases at any given time (WHO, 1992). N. gonorrhea inhabits mainly mucosal surface of the urethra in males and the cervix in females. As the signs and symptoms of infection are often absent or obscure complication such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), infertility, entopic pregnant woman may lead to crucial perforation and blindness in the newborn. Gonococci infection have also been documented to facilitate acquisition and transmission of HIV and HPV infection (Hunter et al. 1990). Asymptomatic infections by N. gonorrhoeae largely contribute to the persistence and transmission of disease in a community. (Hunter et, al.1990).
Therefore, to eliminate N. gonorrhea infection and in turn to control HIV and HPV infection it is important not only to screen high – risk population but also to treat them immediately with most effective drugs. Control of gonococci infection has relied on effective single – dose antibiotic therapy given at the initial clinical visit, prior to any knowledge of the organism’s susceptibility pattern. In the recent past, there has been an alarming increase in the number of isolate of N. gonorrhea resistance to commonly used drugs. (Chaudhry et al, 2002). Surveillance is therefore, necessary to understand on going resistance trends and to ensure the success of any therapy.
The irrational and injudicious use of antibacterial agents especially in the developing countries is encouraging this trend and the situation is expected to worsen unless appropriate steps are initiated. This resistance of the gonococcus to antibiotics has been the cause of much concern in recent years and has been the subject of extensive investigation. The present review summarizes and trends to drug resistance in N. gonorrhoeae, mechanism of drug resistance and discusses the treatment regime. In addition, the need to look for new and alternative antibacterial agent is also emphasized.

EDITOR SOURCE: An Insight Into The Drug Resistance Profile And Mechanism Of Drug Resistance In Neisseria Gonorrhoea

THE IMPACT OF BANKING REFORMS ON BANK PERFORMANCE IN NIGERIA




Reforms are predicated upon the need for reorientation and repositioning of an existing status quo in order to attain an effective and efficient state. There could be fundamental bottle-neck that may inhibit the functioning of the institutions for growth and the achievement of core objectives in the drive towards enhancing and sustaining the economic and social imperatives of human endeavor. Carried out through either government institutions or private enterprises, reform becomes inevitable in the light of the global dynamic exigencies and emerging landscape (Somoye, 2006).

In terms of policy thrust therefore the banking sector reforms are expected to build and foster a competitive and healthy financial system to support development and avoid systemic distress (Soludo, 2007). Thus Balogun (2007) averred that banking sector reforms is interpreted to mean embarking on comprehensive process aimed at
Substantially improving the financial infrastructure, strengthening the regulatory and supervisory framework to address the issue of low capitalization and a structured financing for cheap credit to the real sector and financial accommodation for small and rural credit schemes. In most cases, bank reforms are embarked upon to forestall banking crises or cushion the effects of a recent crisis. Banking sector reforms have come into play due to banks inability to meet up to required obligations or satisfy their stakeholders which overtime have led to subsequent failures and crises. A banking crisis can be triggered by weakness in banking system characterized by persistent illiquidity, insolvency, undercapitalization, high level of non-performing loans and weak corporate governance, among others. (Adegbaju and Olokoyo, 2008).

The reforms carried out in Nigerian banking industry which started from July 6 2004 was done primarily to meet the developmental challenges of the 21st century. In his words, Professor Charles Soludo, the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria from June 2004 to June 2009 said that the reforms were to engender exchange rate and price stability, managing interest rate for stability and development of macroeconomic coordination, vigorous pursuit of the developmental roles of the CBN, improvement of the payment system, financial sector diversification and regulatory reforms and strategies for integrating the Nigeria’s financial system into the African regional and global financial system. He further emphasized his desire to concentrate on the theme of banking sector consolidation. Strengthening and consolidating the banking system was to constitute the first phase of the reforms designed to ensure a diversified, strong and reliable banking sector which will ensure the safety of the depositor’s money, play active developmental roles in the Nigerian economy and be competent and competitive players in the African regional and global financial system. The reform was to support the banks to become strong players for good health, long live and positive contributors to the economy. Depositors were expected to have sweet dreams in aftermath of this reform. With the universal Banking system which was introduced in 2000, banks became one stop shops offering a range of financial services, insurance, mortgage, stock broking, investment, banking etc. Unfortunately after the observation that the banks were putting shareholders’ funds at risk and not concentrating on their areas of core competence, the central Bank of Nigeria on 15 March 2010 announced the phasing out of universal banking within the 18 months. All these reforms had taken place but the benefits especially as it relates to bank performance is still a doubt to many people.


1.0 STATEMENT TO THE PROBLEM
Oloyode (1994) observed that the banking sector over the years has been faced with so many crises and some fraudulent practices. These crises led to the recent reforms in the banking system one of which was merger and acquisition of banks. Oke (2006) observed that the inconsistency in monetary reforms and regulatory policies as a major setback to banks stability as the surveillance and regulatory measures of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have unfortunately been unable to keep the pace with the rapidity of the changes in the financial system.

One objective of the reform is to create a sound and more secured banking system that depositors can trust. These banking reforms were expected to address the problem faced by the banks and other technically insolvent institutions without an initial resort to liquidation, with all its adverse consequences for deposits. These problems encountered by the banks before the reformation according to Lemo (2005) were as follows:
a. Weak corporate governance, evidenced by high turnover in the board and management staff, inaccurate reports and non compliance with regulatory requirements.
b. Late or non publication of annual accounts that obviates the impact of market discipline in ensuring banking soundness.
c. Poor risk management practice.
d. Operation at level lower than that which could deliver competitive return on equity.
e. Poor asset quality.
f. Poor quality services and diversified delivery channels.
g. Thin spread of qualified and experienced man power.
h. Heavy reliance by banks on government patronage.
i. Gross insider abuses, resulting in huge non performing insider related credits.
j. Weak capital base, the minimum capital base before the reforms was N2 billion which is approximately $15 million. But after the reform the minimum capital requirement stood at N25 billion, approximately $250 million.
According to Soludo (2007), the Nigerian banking system has undergone remarkable changes over the years. Regimes in Central Bank of Nigeria have always geared up towards the avoidance of banking distresses and its attendant consequences as witnessed in Nigeria in the past. These changes have been influenced largely by challenges posed by the reforms in an attempt to consolidate and strengthen the banking system and solve the problem of illiquidity and distress, and to restore public confidence in the sector. However, the correlation between these sets of reforms and banks performance has not been clearly ascertained.


1.1 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The main objective of the study is to ascertain the impact of banking reforms on Bank performance in Nigeria. The specific objectives are:
1. To determine the effect (s) of banking reforms on bank performance in Nigeria.
2 To assess the impact of interest rate restructuring on bank’s performance in Nigeria.
3 To determine the impact of Bank Recapitalization /consolidation on bank’s performance in Nigeria.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The research questions were formulated to address the research problem and the research objectives as discussed above. Three principal research questions were answered in this study. They are:
1. Do bank reforms have any effect on bank’s performance in Nigeria?
2. How does interest Rate restructuring impact on bank’s performance in Nigeria?
3. Has bank recapitalization /consolidation had any impact on bank’s performance Nigeria?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
Based on the research questions above the following hypotheses were designed to guide the course of study
1. Bank reforms do not have any effect on bank’s performance in Nigeria.
2. There is no significant impact on bank’s performance by interest Rate in Nigeria.
3. Bank Recapitalization/consolidation does not significantly impact on bank’s performance in Nigeria.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The research covers all the reforms that have taken place in the Nigerian Banking system within the period 2000 – 2008.

1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
One of the major significance of the work includes the evaluation of the banking reforms in terms of its impact on efficiency in the Nigerian banking sector. At the en of this study, the following shall benefit.
 Government of Nigeria at respective levels: Federal, State and Local Government in seeing the way to propound laws to care for the problems of the monetary policies of the bank.
 The bankers in seeing how to execute their works in order to bring about a fair and sound financial system.
 General public in understanding how the reforms have helped the banking sector.

1.8 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS
Consolidation: This occurs when two companies combines into one for either a
business or other purposes.
Mergers: A merger occurs when two or more companies transfer their businesses and asset to a new company and in consideration; their members receive shares in the transferee company
Acquisition: An acquisition occurs when one company acquires sufficient shares in another company so as to control that other company. This may be informed of take over bids or by purchasing shares in the market


EDITOR SOURCE: The Impact Of Banking Reforms On Bank Performance In Nigeria

TAKING OFF PROCESSES AND PREPARATION OF AN UN-PRICED BILL OF QUANTITIES (A CASE STUDY OF THE PROPOSED FOUR (4) BEDROOM FULLY DETACHED DUPLEX AT PLOT 3003A AND 3003B SABONLUGBE EAST EXTENSION LAYOUT, CADASTRAL 07-07, ABUJA NIGERIA)





In partial fulfillment for the requirement of the award of National Diploma (ND) in Quantity Surveying, student will have to demonstrate what have been taught in class.
Thus, this project which is a group work is aimed at taking off and preparing a Un-Priced Bill of Quantities for the proposed Four (4) Bedroom Fully Detached Duplex at plot 3003A and 3003B Sanbowlugbe East Extension Layout Cadastral Zone 07-07 Abuja Nigeria.
This project is also aimed at exposing us to practical aspect of that which is not taught in class and also enable us know more better about what has already been taught in the class.


1.1 DESCRIPTION OF WORK
The project as it is fully shown on the building drawing or plan is the construction of a proposed four (4) Bedroom fully detached, duplex at 3003A and 3003B Sambowlugbe East Extention layout cadastral Zone 07-07 Abuja, Nigeria.
For: Rainbow workstation service Ltd.
This project work includes the process of taking off for the building, abstracting and the process of preparing an un-priced bill of quantities for substructural work only.


1.2 AIMS & OBJECTIVES
1.2.1 AIMS
The aim of this project work is to prepared a taking off for quantities completely for four (4) bedroom fully detached duplex and to prepare an abstract and un-priced bill of quantities for the sub structural work.


1.2.2 OBJECTIVES
In order to achieve the aforementioned aims, the following objectives are carried out.
- To prepare literature review of some terms for better understanding of the little of the project.
- To prepare a taking off and squaring quantities for four (4) bedrooms fully detached duplex.
- To prepare an abstract for substructure work only.
- To prepare an un-priced bill of quantities for substructure work only.


1.3 SCOPE AND LIMITATION
The scope of this work is limited to the processes that are involved in taking off and preparing an un-priced bill of quantities for building work but excluding the abstracting, un-priced bill of quantities and service for super structural work.


ABSTRACT
Class work alone on measurement of building work is not enough to equipped the student with the required knowledge and skill required on the measurement of building work, it is against this background that the introduction of project work was introduce to expose the student to practical and theoretical method of taking off of building work apart from class work so as to increase their skill and knowledge in addition to class work.
The chapter one of this project demonstrate the aims and objectives of this research, the scope and limitation while the chapter two and three represent a literature review on measurement of building work in order to have a better understanding of taking off, abstracting and billing processes prepared in chapter for the proposed four (4) bedroom fully detached duplex.

EDITOR SOURCE: Taking Off Processes And Preparation Of An Un-Priced Bill Of Quantities