Comparative Study Of Senior Secondary Certificate Examination Performances Of Private Schools And Public Schools

INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY:
According to Ozoani (2010), education is seen as a life-long process, that is, the process of renewing or up-dating knowledge to ensure job security, effective social, political, economical and cultural participation, continuous individual growth and development.
The National Policy on Education (2004) revised, sees education in Nigeria as an instrument “per excellence” for effecting national development. No nation has ever or can ever rise above the quality of her educational system.
According to Onwuasoanya (2005), secondary education is a very important aspect of education; the importance of secondary education lies on its position, both as the bridge between primary and tertiary education, and agent of preparation for a person’s useful living in the society.
Oduaran (1991) defined education using three basic criteria such as:
– Education implies the transmission of what is worthwhile to those who become committed to it.
– Education must involve knowledge and understanding and some kind of cognitive perspective, which is not innate.
– Education at least rules out some procedures of transmission on the ground that they lack willingness and voluntariness on the part of the learner.
Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE), Coordinated by West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (IMECO) originated when the need to evaluate critically and comprehensively the scheme of work expected to have been covered by any learner who claims to have passed through and gotten acquainted with the desired knowledge (cognitive trait), skills (psychomotor trait) and attitude (effective trait) required of them at senior secondary school stage of learning. For instance “the whole literature students of senior secondary school three in Nigeria are already acquainted with the work of Shakespeare – Arrow of God”. This can only be proved using a tool (examination), thus SSCE aid.
The National policy on Education Via curriculum planners have ensure that the desired content is evenly distributed to encompass the cognitive, psychomotor and affective domain of learning within the scope of three (3) years of SS1 – SS3. At this juncture, it is of utmost importance to note that SSCE is of great relevance to our educational system in that it:
– Provides feedback to education policy makers on the impact of the education policies which are made from time to time.
– Provides feedback to education policies which are made from time to time.
– Feeds back the curriculum planners on the extend to which the scheme has been covered.
– Gives a holistic and generalized knowledge to different scholars from different schools (public and private), area and localities in that the same scheme is used throughout the whole member participants.
– Serve as a prove to claims of acquisition of desired traits contained in the scheme.
– Forms the basic qualification for enrolment into higher institutions.
– Shows students performances in various subject groups and the rate of failure in different years. Example of Students Performance in SSCE Subject Groups
Year and Grade Arts Subjects Pure Sciences Social Science Vocational /Technical
May/June 1992
Candidates 753,706 840,476 675,318 505,302
A & C Grades 25.5% 18.3% 39.6% 23.7%
Pass Grades 22.2% 25.2% 25.5% 32.6%
Fail Grades 52,3% 56.5% 45.0% 43.7%
Year and Grade Arts Subjects Pure Sciences Social Science Vocations!/
Technical
May/June 1996
Candidates 1,016/123 1,318,432 1,105,245 049,814
A & C Grades 23.8% 17.5% 24.5% 2.1.2%
Pass Grades 23.5% 30.5% 25,5% 21.7%
Fail Grades 52.7% 52.0% 50.0% 57,1%
Note:
1. Arts subjects:
English Language, Literature in English, History, Islamic Studies, Christian Religious Studies
2. Pure Science Subjects:
Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and physics
3. Social Science Subjects:
Economics, Geography, Government.
4. Vocational/Technical Subjects: Technical Drawing, Agriculture.
5. There have been some performance improvements in recent years, but however much increased, sophisticated examination malpractice methods contributed to the improved results, we may never know,
Source: (WAEC Statistics Records)
This research is therefore necessary in order to showcase differences in SSCC performance amongst private and public schools and thereby pi offer solutions to the differences.
To also improve students performance in SSCE. If their performances are not checked and compared, there will be no challenges that will face them, they will relax and never think of how to be desired result to a high degree. This research can hardly be overstressed because when each day is done, children are born, grown and groomed at which the educational aspect of child up-bringing is the basic of total support on a child. Parents that are financially viable go in search of grade school for their wards that they may acquire power to adapt, survive and become independent in the society (successfulness in life). SSCE results go a long way in retarding or accelerating the growth as well as damaging or projecting the image of a school. The family being a unit of the society made this notion an ideal in the society, thereby creating a social strata oven in the educational sector, though this situation might be difficult to be addressed. These arisings have necessitated the problem under investigation.
This research will serve as a guide to knowing areas of modification and improvement in the educational sector of our nation. The child that finds self in any school doesn’t know how and why he/she is there and have not even the choice to determine whore to be until actually this period of SSCE that many began to be inquisitive about what the future holds for them in relation to that particular learning environment. They insist and take the exams where they will sale through. Therefore, it is important that at least 85% of the school provided is imbibed in any child graduating from any part of the country and whether through the public or private school sector.
The research on SSCE results of private schools and public schools detects the reasons for differences found amongst the private school and public school sectors. This underscores the need for the study.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Despite the fact that the scheme of work for senior secondary schools are same all over the country, the still exist differences in the performance of SSCE when private and public school results arc compared. This might he a case of management of the various school resources i.e. human and material resources. The reward for service is wages, if the labourers in the field (private and public schools) have a handsome reward of sufficient salary payment, it will serve as a motivational factor for them to putting in their possible best to being diligent, honest and sincere to service because any work worth doing is worth doing well.
The problem in question (difference in SSCE performance though same curriculum) might also arise as a result of lack of adequate required learning materials, equipment and infrastructure that aid fast and complete learning. A well equipped laboratory and functional library, staff and classrooms coupled with a high refined human resources will breed efficacious students that can defend their course at all and sundry.
Attitude towards continued guidance and counselling in schools might be a factor, the student might be a factor, the student might equally take a greater percentage of the cause of imbalance of education due to his attitude to learning as earlier rioted in basic criteria of education gearing towards his level of commitment.
Now the herculean task is what causes the wide differences amongst student’s performance in SSCE of different schools since ail these and others has not been proved as problems causing the differences, hence the need for this research work.

PURPOSES OF THE STUDY
The main purpose of this study is to compare the performances of private and public Senior Secondary School Examination (SSCE) results in the selected schools of Enugu Educational Zone of Enugu State.
Specifically, the researchers intend to determine:
1. The performance of both government (public) and private schools for the years 2009 – 2011.
2. The effect in the performance of students that migrate from one school to the other.
3. The preventive measures to be taken to curtail the students
migration from one school to another.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:
This study has immense dimension of significant to the teachers, parents, children and youths, to the educational policy makers, examination supervisors, government and the nation at large. It is hoped and believed that the result will furnish educational policy makers data on SSCE useful in making decisions.
The outcome will equally benefit students in that it will make them discover the loopholes and achiiles heel of both their predecessors and theirs respectively to make adjustments and equally reduce fear and migration practices commonly associated with SSCE,
The findings of this researcher will assist the government in equipping the schools with adequate required resources (both human and material resources) and eradicate the wrong notion which the society holds about some schools.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of this study is focused on the comparative study of the performance of private and public school SSCE results in Enugu State.
However, the study is limited to Enugu Education Zone due to some constraints that might hinder the furtherance to other zones such as time factor which has deterred the researchers from embarking on much and extensive work.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
The following research questions guided the study:
1. What is the mean performance of private school students in SSCE from the year 2009 to 2011?
2. What is the mean performance of public school students from the year 2009-2011?
3. To what extent are the effects in the performance of public school students’ migration in public schools to the other?
4. To what extent are the effects in the performance of private school students’ migration to the other schools?
5. What are the preventive measures that are to be taken to curtail the students’ migration from one school to another?