Environmental Factors
i. Traffic
Ogbuvbu (2008) identified traffic as one of the causes of lateness to school among secondary school students. For commuting students, traffic is a constant threat and killer to that perfect attendance (Internet Resources, 2007). In Nigeria where transport communication is poor, secondary school students may be late to school not on their own. Besides, traffic congestion, especially in the urban areas, mostly in the mornings and poor bus service are other problems that students face which make them to be late. The bus may be caught in the traffic. At times the students may wait at the bus stops for long before they get a bus and when they do, it may be late and they might still be caught up in the traffic, and invariably they may go late. Narayan (2007) asserted that they used to begin classes at 9.00am, but half the school population would be outside the gate. He asked, “How can I expect a girl coming from Madippa-kkan to be on time in the kind of traffic we see, if her bus does not come on time?â€
Another factor of transport problem is the condition of the Nigerian roads and buses. There are potholes here and there. The buses carrying the students to school may not be in good condition, and thus may break down on the way, amounting to students being late to school.
ii. Distance
Anagbogu (2002), Ogbuvbu (2008), Oguagha (1989), Oni (1986) and Osisioma (1997) were of the view that distance between the students home and the school leads to lateness to school among secondary school students. Some schools are very far from the student’s homes. It will thus take the students (who have to trek for the school) some hours to reach the school. Those who may use transport may not find it easy. Students whose schools are very far from their homes will always be late to school.
iii. Teachers’ Behaviour
According to Anagbogu (2002) and Osisioma (1997) teachers’ behaviour contributes to lateness among secondary school students. As Osisioma put it, “where teachers are not friendly some students keep late so as to have reduced contact with them, and if such teachers handle early morning classes, your guess will be as good as mineâ€. The students will be missing the teacher’s lesson deliberately. Muodumogu (2007) attested to this by saying that in reality, some teachers are not adolescent-friendly, and the adolescents boycott such teachers’ lessons.
Skinner (1968) observed that the student who walks mainly to escape aversive stimulation discovers other ways of escaping the teacher’s strong control. He is dejected, creeping, (like snail) unwilling to go to school. It is thus implicit that a student who walks at snail’s pace to school will definitely be late.
iv. Attitude of Teachers to their Profession
Osisioma (1997) opined that some teachers are nonfunctional. Ogbuvbu (2008), Lawal (2001), Dioha and Baiti (2001) were of the view that teachers come late to school. Lawal observed that the attitude of some teachers to their work leaves much to be desired. He stated that it is shown in their poor attendance to lessons, lateness to school… and poor relationship with their students. According to Dioha and Baiti “many teachers report to their duty at their leisure timeâ€. In situations like these, the students will not be in a hurry to go to school where nothing is happening.
Moreover, the students are there looking at them and emulating them. No wonder it is said, “example is better than percepts†(Women Mirror, 2007).
Aminu (2001) imputed that:
Nigerians are losing confidence in the country’s educational system. The students said they are getting nothing out of the system. Teachers said it frustrated them, parents complained that their children return from school only to constitute themselves nuisance at home. The question is will the students who have claimed that they get nothing out of the educational system, be in a hurry to school? The answer is no.
v. Inconsistency in Judgment
According to Osisioma (1997) some students come late because the late catchers do not stay all through, hence those who come much later have freer access into the school. In our schools, teachers and students who catch latecomers usually do not stay so long catching them. As a result, students who are early latecomers are caught and punished, while those who come late much later are not even caught. Therefore, students decide that instead of hurrying up to school to be punished for coming late a little, it would be better to come much later and escape punishment.
vi. Incorrect Use of Students
Anagbogu (2002) and Osisioma (1997) noted in what they called wrong use of students, that students who are punctual to school are used to keep the school compound clean and tidy. According to them, this wrong use of students brings about their going late to school. According to Osisioma, the school has to be kept clean and tidy at the beginning of the school day, students who are early to school are used to do the portions of those who come late to school. Not only that they are used to do the duties of the late- comers, in addition to theirs, the late-comers often go unpunished. As a result, some of these students who come early to school decides to keep late.
vii. Peer Group
Oguagha (1989) identified peer influence as a contributory factor to lateness. Peer group constitutes a very strong force in the life of a growing child. The average adolescent student is still undergoing a learning process and may be led into imitating the bad habits of his other peers. To this regard, Owuamanam (2000) noted that adolescents pick up misinformation, peer fallacies and wrong ideas of peer groups. A student who has been coming early to school, once he falls into a group that comes late to school, will automatically become a latecomer because that is the only way he can continue with the group. If he should continue coming early to school, his peers are likely to be against him, and that is what he would not like. Akinboye (1982) affirmed this by saying that many African adolescents face the problem of whether to hold to their idea or to conform to the wishes of the others. Baron (1994) also agreed that adolescents (students) are influenced by their peers. Students who do not smoke, consume alcohol among others, are compelled to engage in all these because friends do. So it will be with a punctual student who has latecomers as friends. Ogbuvbu (2008) also noted that students who keep friends who are not students go late to school.
