Possible impact of COVID-19 on senior secondary school students performance in science education in Nigeria

Oluwatoyin Mary Oyinloye

doi:10.33902/jpsp.2020263901

Abstract

The recent outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has led to the total lockdown of major cities globally which resulted in the early closure of schools in the cities affected, Nigeria inclusive. It is hypothesized that COVID-19 may have a negative outcome on the performance of senior secondary school students in class 3 (SS3) who are yet to write their 2020 external examination (West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination as well as National Examination Council) especially in the science subjects namely Biology, Physics and Chemistry. This study collected data from three teachers who are science experts and head of their respective departments in three government secondary schools in Ado-Ekiti local government area of Ekiti State, Nigeria. A semi-structured interview was used to collect data from the teachers through phone calls and WhatsApp chats. This qualitative study employed a case study research approach. Findings from this study revealed that there is the possibility of a further drop in the pass rate (%) of senior secondary school students’ in this year’s external examinations if this pandemic is not contained soon knowing fully well that the school academic calendar has already been disrupted due to early closure of schools in Nigeria. As part of COVID-19 relief package, recommendations are made to the Federal government of Nigeria and policymakers to distribute iPads and electronic tablets preloaded with e-textbooks in these subject areas to SS3 students and their teachers to facilitate online learning as this will enhance their performance in Science subjects in this year’s national examination.

Highlights

Over the years, poverty and malnutrition have been implicated to have a far-reaching consequence on the academic performance of school children globally (Humble & Dixon, 2017; Sawaya, 2006)
The three teachers expressed their views on the possible negative impact of COVID-19 on student performance in the forthcoming external examinations, which is likely to be caused as a result of loss of contact hours by students
With the present situation in the country, all students will be adversely affected especially the senior secondary school (SS3) who were at the verge of writing external examination in May/June

Summary

Introduction

Poverty and malnutrition have been implicated to have a far-reaching consequence on the academic performance of school children globally (Humble & Dixon, 2017; Sawaya, 2006). Though Nigeria as a country is blessed immensely with extraordinary economic resources such as oil, cocoa, rubber and plantations, the country is not spared from the global trends of poverty as accessibility to quality education is a big challenge for the majority of the poor masses in the country (Ismail, 2010). The inability of the citizens to have access to three square meals in a day is a major index revealing poverty in the land. Another index of poverty among the citizens is the inability to afford quality education as most parents are still owing school fees for 2 to 3 terms respectively and many are unable to buy current textbooks for their children or wards in school. Another index of poverty among the citizens is the inability to afford quality education as most parents are still owing school fees for 2 to 3 terms respectively and many are unable to buy current textbooks for their children or wards in school. (Kudaisi & Martins, 2014; Ismail, 2010)

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