Truancy Habit: Nigerian Students in the Screen

By Abdussamad Yahya Sufi (200lvl Mass Communication)

It has become norm for many Nigerian students to become truant in their academic journey. Truancy includes both being late to lectures and not resuming at the stipulated time set by the school management for the commencement of academic activities. It is practiced by students at the primary, secondary and tertiary level. This article will focus solely on how tertiary institution students adopt this habit, which has become so common that many institutions pay less heed to it.

Let me start with a quotation from the old Nigerian National Anthem: "The labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain." The first group in Nigerian society responsible for upholding these lines and building a better Nigeria are the educated youths who are the potential elites of our society. The question is, can a person who commits truancy truly aspire to be a responsible servant in the future when employed? Could such a person as a leader influence uneducated laborers in an industry or ministry to perform their tasks effectively? Who drives their responsibilities? Another significant question is, should all truant students be blamed, or are there exceptions among them that should be considered?

Students from colleges, polytechnics, and universities are well-known for this habit. Strict action is often taken by lecturers when a student comes late to class. However, those who do not resume school after a session or midsemester break are not properly punished.

Some students come late to class due to a nonchalant attitude towards their studies. They stay at home, enjoying the freedom that no one will force them to attend lectures. Among them, some choose lectures they personally enjoy or love the lecturer, and some attend lectures of a strict lecturer known to be intolerant of the habit, or one they think might give an unexpected test. But if a lecturer has none of these characteristics, those students prefer to remain outside the classroom. Additionally, some students cannot afford to attend every lecture due to the distance from school to their homes. Others cannot stay for all-day lectures because they must attend to their businesses for a living. There are numerous examples of students whose situations force them to miss lectures.

Now, let's discuss students who don't resume school by the deadline after a break. It is undeniable that many students take responsibility for their studies, including paying for school fees, feeding, and other school tasks. Many come from distant locations and by the time they resume school, all their business or hustles are stopped until the next break. Therefore, many exceed the date of resumption to prepare well. Some even resume without having a sufficient amount of money to cater to all their needs.

Furthermore, the months given by the institution management as a break can be enough for many students but not all. Those who sponsor their education start gathering their resources from scratch because they have consumed all they earned previously. Many of them have no one to send them even a kobo while in school.

Lastly, there is a set of truant students who refuse to resume early even though their families or guardians provide them with all they need. They decide to stay long at home to socialize with friends or rest until they begin forgetting the color of the paint in their lecture halls. This set of students are mostly less productive academically and they rarely experience hardship while on campus. They are the majority of students on campus who prefer to spend their days sleeping or engaging in leisure activities without attending lectures.

So, the first group to help tackle the issue of truancy among unfocused students should be parents. Parents should always monitor their child's movements while in school by contacting the department, a relative, or a friend close to the school to keep an eye on their children. The second group to help is the school management. Departments should take attendance more seriously and invite students who miss more than three lectures for queries. During breaks, parents should ensure their children resume to school early and should have the school's calendar to avoid being disinformed by the child. Truant students who take responsibility for their studies should make more effort to meet resumption deadlines. The school management should also organize special orientations for these students to provide guidance by professionals.