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The Danger Of Illicit Use Of Hard Drugs Among Youth In Tertiary Institutions
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The Nigerian airport of Mombasa has been identified in the report as the
major transit point for drug trafficking in Africa. According to a
National survey on the magnitude of alcohol and drug abuse conducted by
National Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA) (2012), the abuse of
alcohol in the country is worrying. The facts and figures from this
report indicate that 13 per cent of teenagers in the 10 to 11 years age
bracket have used an intoxicating substance mostly alcohol followed by
cigarettes. In the 15 to 24 year bracket, a worrying 11.7 per cent are
currently hooked in to alcohol, while 6.2 per cent are regular users of
Tobacco products, of this group, 4.7 per cent chew miraa (khat) while
1.5 per cent smokes bhang. Regrettably this age bracket constitutes
tertiary institution going-age in Nigeria. The sad reality presented by
the figures and facts in NACADA’S 2012 survey on drugs that is 14.8 per
cent of the respondents aged between10 to 14 years old are completely
oblivious of the risks associated with substance abuse. These statistics
underline the need to educate our young people on dangers of alcohol
and drug abuse. A number of studies have found a clear and consistent
association between substance abuse and school achievement. This
practice is not only a determinant to school success and motivation in
learning but also on psychological and physical well-being among
adolescents (Abot, 2005). The initiation into substance abuse in the
early stages of life of the adolescents is positively associated to
increased risk of early school dropout and an involvement in deviant
adolescent behaviours and behavioural problems into adulthood, which are
manifestation in learning among youth in tertiary institution (Abot,
2005).
If left unaddressed, escalating rate of drug and substance
abuse puts the country at a risk of losing generations as well as
underdevelopment owing to the diversion of resources to address among
others; basic needs for uneducated and unskilled youth, dependant young
adults, increased health care needs among the youth abusing alcohol and
drugs, the cost of policing will also be high due to crimes resulting
from idleness and youth drinking habits, all those compounded will go a
long way in frustrating the attainment of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) specifically the Education for All (E.F.A) goal, and the
vision 2030 which envisages making Nigeria industrial and mid-level
income country.
1.1.3 Drug Abuse and Motivation to Learn
Motivation
is something that energizes, directs and sustains behaviour; it gets
students moving and points then in a particular direction (Beighler, et
al, 1993). Students’ motivation is reflected in personal investment and
in cognitive, emotional and behavioural engagement in school activities
(Fredrick et al., 2010). Virtually all students are motivated in one way
or another. One student may be keenly interested in classroom subject
matter and seek out challenging course work, participate actively in
class discussions and earn high marks; another student may be more
concerned with the social side of school, interacting with classmates
frequently, attending extracurricular activities almost every day. Still
another may be focussed on athletics, excelling in physical education
classes.
Motivation increases student’s time on task which is an
important factor affecting their learning achievement (Brophy, 1988) a
motivated student makes a concerted effort to understand classroom
material. The more motivated students are, the more they want to be
accepted and respected by peers. Students who have little interests in
academic achievement are at high risk of dropping out before they
graduate from high school. Yet another student perhaps due to undetected
learning disability or negative peer pressure and consequently
indulgence in drug and substance abuse may exhibit withdrawal symptoms, a
shy temperament and uncoordinated behaviour. Such a student may be
motivated to avoid academics, social situations or athletic activities,
pursue school tasks apathetically with an ultimate result of declining
performing in academics. According to Ryan et al (2011) indicators of
motivation in participation in school related activities include among
of time spent on homework, rate of homework completion achievement of
high grades, school attendance and perceptions of the connectedness to
school, teachers and peers.
Akwa Ibom state has posted declining
results in Nigeria National examinations compared to neighbouring
districts in the country among other factors that can be attributed to
this trend is the problem of illicit brew. The region being under the
Arid and Semi-Arid Land (ASAL) classification is devoid of any
meaningful economic activity, this situation has forced many households
to turn into illicit liquor brewing as a mainstay to earn a livelihood,
school going children in those households and the neighbourhood get
exposed and introduced to drug abuse at a very tender age.
Data
available at the District Education office at Akwa Ibom state show that
in 2012 alone, 16 students from 5 tertiary institutions were an agenda
for discussion in several District Education Board meetings facing
eminent expulsion. Again during sports and other out of school
activities, it is common to meet students taking alcohol or being
suspended for having taken drugs. In a recent Education Day, the
District Education Officer urged that liquor licences of those who sell
beer to students, be cancelled by the relevant authority. It is against
this backdrop that the current study sets out to study the effects of
drug and substance abuse on participation in learning in Akwa Ibom state
of Akwa Ibom state with a view of suggesting intervention measures to
salvage the drug abuse menace in our Nigerian Tertiary institutions.
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