INFLUENCE OF INSECURITY ON ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES IN PUBLIC SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN RIVERS STATE

Abstract

This study examined the influence of insecurity on academic activities in public senior secondary schools in Rivers State. The study was guided by three research objectives from which three research questions were posed and three hypotheses were tested. The study adopted a descriptive survey design with a population of was 1,041 comprising 1003 teachers and 38 principals in all the public senior secondary schools in Emohua and Ikwerre Local Government Areas of Rivers State. The sample of this study was 324 comprising 286 teachers and 38 principals in public senior secondary schools in Emohua and Ikwerre Local Government Areas of Rivers State. Taro Yamane’s formula was used in determining the sample size of the teachers while the entire principals were taken as a census without sampling. However, the simple random sampling technique was adopted in selecting the number of teachers. The instrument for data collection in the study was a self-structured and validated questionnaire titled “Influence of Insecurity on Academic Activities Questionnaire. The internal consistency of the instrument was determined using the Cronbach Alpha statistics. A composite reliability coefficient of 0.88 was obtained which showed the instrument was reliable. The research questions were answered using mean statistics and standard deviation while the hypotheses were tested using z-test statistics at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the analyzed data revealed cult related violence, kidnapping and communal conflicts  influence academic activities in public senior secondary schools in Emohua and Ikwerre LGA to a high extent.  Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that State and Local Government should establish and sustain the efforts of vigilantes in guarding against cult activities in communities in Emohua and Ikwerre Local Government Areas as this will reduce the effect of cultism on academic activities.