EFFECT OF COVID-19 ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Abstract

The study was designed to examine the effect Of Covid-19 on the academic performance of secondary students in Nigeria. A survey research design was used for the study. The sample comprised of senior secondary students (both male and female) from ten selected government owned secondary schools in Anambra State. The instrument used for data collection was the students’ structured questionnaire. The data collected for the study were analysed using mean, standard deviation and t-test. The major findings showed that the lockdown of schools as a results of the coronavirus epidemic in Nigeria have a negative effect on students academic performance. The study also discovered that the period of stay at home increases the number of illiterates in the society. The study recommends that government should at all time be prepared in other to contain any epidemic that may occur in the future, the study among others recommends for parents to hire private teachers for their children when they are not in school, this will boost their academic performance in classroom.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRPDUCTION

• Background of the study

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), corona viruses are a family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).These viruses were originally transmitted from animals to people. SARS, for instance, was transmitted from civet cats to humans while MERS moved to humans from a type of camel. Several known corona viruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans. The name corona virus comes from the Latin word corona, meaning crown or halo. Under an electron microscope, the looks like it is surrounded by a solar corona. The novel corona virus, identified by Chinese authorities on January 7 and since named SARS-CoV-2, is a new strain that had not been previously identified in humans. Little is known about it, although human-to-human transmission has been confirmed (Ajazeera, 2020). Chinese health authorities are still trying to determine the origin of the virus, which they say likely, came from a seafood market in Wuhan, China where wildlife was also traded illegally. On February 7, Chinese researchers said the virus could have spread from an infected animal species to humans through illegally-trafficked pangolins, which are prized in Asia for food and medicine. Scientists have pointed to either bats or snakes as possible sources of the virus According to the WHO, signs of infection include fever, cough, and shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, it can lead to pneumonia, multiple organ failure and even death. Current estimates of the incubation period – the time between infection and the onset of symptoms – range from one to 14 days. Most infected people show symptoms within five to six days. However, infected patients can also be asymptomatic, meaning they do not display any symptoms despite having the virus in their systems (Ajazeera, 2020). The number of fatalities from the new corona virus has overwhelmingly surpassed the toll of the 2002-2003 SARS outbreaks, which also originated in China. SARS killed about 9 percent of those it infected – nearly 800 people worldwide and more than 300 in China alone. MERS, which did not spread as widely, was more deadly, killing one-third of those infected. As of April 4, more than 60,000 people worldwide have died of COVID-19, the highly infectious respiratory disease caused by the corona virus. The number of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 has exceeded 1 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. While the new corona virus is more widespread than SARS in terms of case numbers, the mortality rate remains considerably lower at approximately 3.4 percent, according to the WHO. Scientists around the globe are racing to develop a vaccine but have warned it is not likely one will be available for mass distribution before 2021. There have been five global health emergencies since 2005 when the declaration was formalized: swine flu in 2009, polio in 2014, Ebola in 2014, Zika in 2016 and Ebola again in 2019 (Ajazeera, 2020). As of April 4, more than 60,000 people worldwide have died of COVID-19, the highly infectious respiratory disease caused by the corona virus. The number of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 has exceeded 1 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Countries around the world are scrambling to halt the spread of the corona virus pandemic. This outbreak of COVID-19 is a global health emergency, the WHO said on January 30, raising the alarm further on March 11 when it declared the crisis a pandemic. Presently, COVID-19 has spread to about 200 Countries in the World including Nigeria. Countries across the World have in quick succession announced the closure of their schools and universities for a minimum of two weeks or one month in order to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus which has been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. But authorities in many of the countries acknowledge that closures could last much longer. The closures came thick and fast this week after the number of cases began to rise several weeks after countries in North East Asia including Japan, South Korea, Singapore and China – where the virus originated – closed their educational institutions in February and March. Educational institutions have yet to reopen in any of the countries in the region, which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan. In Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Education has directed all educational institutions in Nigeria to shut down and allow students to go home as cases of reported COVID-19 increased to 130000. The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Sonny Echono, told reporters on 19 March that the directive was part of the country’s overall strategy to contain the spread of the virus. Nigeria joins the growing list of countries in Africa which have closed schools and universities. It is in view of this that the study intend to examine the impact of Covid-19 on the academic performance of secondary school student.

• STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Several governmental measures have been taken to counteract the risk of disease spreading. These measures include travel restrictions, mandatory quarantines for travelers, social distancing, bans on public gatherings, schools and universities closure, business closures, self-isolation, asking people to work at home, curfews, and lockdown (Bedford JP, Gerry S, Hatch RA, Rechner I, Young JD, Watkinson PJ.  2020). Authorities in several countries worldwide have declared either lockdown or curfew as a measure to break the fast spread of virus infection (Paital B, Das K, Parida SK. 2020). These measures have a negative worldwide effect on the business, education, health, and tourism. COVID-19 pandemic has affected all levels of the education system. Educational institutions around the world (in 192 countries) have either temporarily closed or implemented localized closures affecting about 1.7 billion of student population worldwide. It is in view of this that the researcher intend to investigate the impact of Covid-19 on student academic performance.

• OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of Covid-19 on the academic performance of student with emphasis on Angel crown international school Abuja; the specific objective of the study are;

1. To examine the effect of Covid-19 pandemic on the academic performance of secondary school student

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