How Distance Poses Threat To Children’s Education In Tofa LGA Of Kano

By Adewole Kehinde

Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits. Educational methods include storytelling, discussion, teaching, training, and directed research. Education frequently takes place under the guidance of educators, but learners may also educate themselves. Education can take place in formal or informal settings and any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational. The methodology of teaching is called pedagogy.

Formal education is commonly divided formally into such stages as preschool or kindergarten, primary school, secondary school and then college, university, or apprenticeship.

A right to education has been recognized by some governments and the United Nations. In most regions, education is compulsory up to a certain age.

Tofa is a Local Government Area in Kano State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Tofa.

It has an area of 202 km² and a population of 97,734 according to the 2006 census.

According to 2006 statistics, the male population in Tofa LGA is 49,870 and Females is 48,733. Further statistics shown that their age groups in Tofa LGA ranges between 0-14 years, 47,899; 15-64 years 47,397; and 65+ years 3,307 while the Age Distribution is as follows: 0-9 years 36,570; 10-19 years 20,713; 20-29 years 15,423; 30-39 years 10,486; 40-49 years 6,498; 50-59 years 3,935; 60-69 years 2,198; 70-79 years 1,443 and 80+ years 1,337.

Army Children Special Primary School, Janguza Barracks was established in 1980. The school had high numbers of students who walk longer distance from their homes compared to students of other schools. Among the involved students, 8 reported to walk at or above 6 kilometers per day. Because of longer walking distance to and from school, the students claimed that they reach schools late and tired. They elaborated that, such travelled distance to and from the schools posed serious impacts to their learning either in class or during their private studies when at home or in school.

As a result most students claimed that they were unable to complete assignments as well as conduct private studies in the evening when in their homes.

This number of students informed that they walked such shorter distance to school because their homes were closely located to the schools. During the study, it was further informed by students that they were able to reach the school early, conduct school activities such as cleanliness and later prepare for their forthcoming school lessons.

Travelling a shorter distance to school made them to maintain friendly relationships with their teachers compared to their counterparts who have been in crisis with teachers. Those who walked longer distance were found claiming that they have been in poor relationship with teachers because of the inability to participate in morning school activities mainly cleanliness.

Longer walking distance to and from the school, have affected students‘ academic attainment in their terminal and National examinations. Most of students who walk beyond 6 kilometers were found to perform poorly in their National Examinations.

Sometimes, failure of students to complete previously given home-works put them in crisis with the subject teachers. Students held the view that longer distance to school impacted their academic achievement as was expected by subject teachers, parents, and students themselves.

One of the teacher from Army Children Special Primary School, Janguza Barrack  shared the view arguing that longer distance impacted students‘ moral behaviors and perseverance to learning activities, hence poor performance to both internal and national examinations. The teacher added that some of such students who used to walk longer distance were bright but they have turned down to be among the poor performers in their class activities and examinations as well.

It is in this indication that one could as well argue that shorter distance to and from school has academic advantage to schooling students.

Because of their lateness to school, students reported being punished by teachers which made them loose interest and concentration to school sessions. Such lose of interest and concentration to school resulted through psychological and mental disturbance caused by punishment. It was established that most of the late comers lost lessons offered in the first periods as some walk or travel from far places like

Loss of the daily first period counts much to student learning and its performance as such loss is not easily recovered by students. Because of inability of students to recover the loss, they also faced difficulty to make necessary preparation in their final examination

To a lesser extent, accidents were also indicated among problems associated with longer walk to and from schools. Such problem was caused by students themselves or by other people who intentionally or unintentionally failed to obey road safety rules. Accidents were also caused by overcrowded bicycles in a limited road by students causing obstruction to one another.

As they obstructed each other, some lacked tolerance and control resulting into occurrence of accidents. In one of the reported case, a student in Army Children Special Primary School, Janguza Barrack   took six months to recover from the injuries.

Tiredness and lack of enough time to engage in private studies and the completion of homework assignments made students to have minimal knowledge ability among them which ultimately result into poor performance in their examinations.

Most of students pointed out that, they had limited time for private studies as they reached home tired and in some cases, the home environment did not friendly favour their learning due to poor power electric supply. Students claimed to experience short of time for accomplishing school activities at home as family members tended to assign domestic activities for them to participate.

WAY OUT
One of the best way to resolve the distance issue is the construction of hostels for students to stay at school and concentrate with schooling other than being interfered with non-academic issues.

Construction of hostels was considered as an essential alternative to free students from the unacceptable behaviours on the way to or from the school. 

Another options to consider is the giving the students bicycles which is already serving as major means of transport used by students to make them reach schools early. Bicycles have served as the most economical transport mean to make students reach their schools and return home easily.

Though it could be considered that bicycles were the affordable means of transport, yet some students did not manage to have one. This indicates that a huge number of students who stayed far from their schools used their foot as the means of transport to reach schools.

Construction of teachers‘ quarters is another options that should be put into consideration.

Adewole Kehinde is the Publisher of Swift Reporters, an online news media based in Abuja.