THE IMPACT OF HIGH COST OF LIVING ON PROVISION OF QUALITATIVE EDUCATION TO SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Introduction

1.1 Background to the Study

In Nigeria today, cost of living has been a prevailing issue that every Nigerian young and old feels the impact. Parents are now spending more on their children’s education than they use to do some years back. Equally, the prices of goods and services have continued to rise daily, even though the government policies might have meant well for the common man.

According to Mendinnus and Johnson (1966) “cost of living is average cost of food, clothing, and other necessities paid by a person, family etc. Foster (1985) observed that there is a definite association between parental occupational characteristics and access to school education by the children as a consequence of the cost of living which may be telling more on the parents as they could not meet up with the demands, they may prefer keeping their children at home so that they will accompany them in the farm or go to support the family.

In the view of Oderinlo (1998), most school heads contributes to the high cost of education of children both in rural and urban areas as some school Administrators and Principals embezzle the examination and other fees paid by the guardians and parents on behalf of their wards. This negative attitude of some School Administrators put further, strain on the cost of educating the children and impedes the access of the nation’s children to education. Oderinlo (1998) commented further, that the affected students must not be abandoned to fate. Government should liaise with other concerned organizations such as WAEC, NECO etc to ensure that such retrogressive matters that are likely to thwart the ambition of the students are quickly resolved.

In 1998, an incident happened at Okota Girls Secondary School where a student’s WAEC fees was embezzled by the Principal thereby putting further stains on the parents meager resources. Nigerians are passing through one of the most difficult times with the cost of living reaching unprecedented heights that salary earners feel good only when they receive their wages or salaries for the month. Every month, the fixed earning parents find themselves less capable of handling their pay pockets to solve their financial problems as inflation bites harder and cost of living continues to rise.

According to Gross et al (1991) patterns of use of income highlighted the fact that on a given income level, a family spending a longer than usual proportion on a category could cuts elsewhere or goes on debt.

The view was supported by the results of an interview conducted by Yomilend in (1981). He interviewed middle class couples who are both graduates and discovered that the average take home pay was N8,000 and he spent N6,000 every month while the woman’s average take home pay was N5,000. The result of the interview indicated that the men were left with almost nothing at the end of the month because they still had to pick their bills on rent and electricity and maintain their cars. The same thing is with the woman, who had no money for frivolities, especially with an average of two children per family who are to be cared for.

A messenger was also interviewed; his take home pay at the end of the month was N7,000. He had this to say “I am never balanced, no matter how hard I try; I spend more than I earn and find myself in debt every month, which I have to pay back one way or the other.”

It is true that everyone needs food, such other things as medical transportation, education, electricity things also require attention but only clothing and shelter, care, taxes, rent, and so many other the rich minority can afford them because at the continuous rise to the cast ofliving and the education of the children.

Families in Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Areas may also have been affected by the rise in cost of living hence, the need to conduct an investigation on the impact of the high cost of living on the provision of qualitative education for the children of Oshodi-Isolo area and see how the community can cope with the rising cost of living with a view to returning its effect on the provision of qualitative education for the children.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

High cost of living is likely to impede the education of the children. It has been observed that long before, one save money to buy an educational material for his children, the price has risen by some unimaginable percentages and that before one takes his or her list to the market, the budget has been rendered useless as a consequence of spiraling inflation. This investigation will reveal if these observations are true with respect to families in Oshodi/Isolo Local Government area.

Mgboodile et al (1986) observed that high cost of living has made parents to neglect their responsibilities to their children and wards by failing to provide them with the basic requirements such as textbooks, school uniform and reasonable pocket money. They also fail to pay their wards school fees on time and that such negligence and delay leads to absenteeism, pilfering and neglect of school work, such situations they opined are to hamper academic performance of such children.

According to Nickel et al (1990) Academic achievement of students in school is threatened such that there are more absenteeism as a consequence of rise in cost of living with all these problems of the high cost of living, it has become necessary to look into what effects these conditions having on children’s education in Oshodi/Isolo Local Government Area.

1.3 Purpose of Study

1.  The purpose of study includes finding out the opinions of parents in Oshodi/Isolo Local Government Area on how the high cost of living is affecting the provision of qualitative education to their wards and children.
2. To find out how government can help the parents in solving the problems.
3. To offer useful suggestions based on the outcome of the study.
4. To know how qualitative education can be attained without the parents spending more.
5. To reduce the high cost of living on provision of qualitative education and still maintain a high standard of qualitative education.

1.4 Research Questions

1. To what extent does high cost of living influence provision of qualitative education to children?
2. To what extent does high cost of living affect the standard of living?
3. To what extent does the provision of non-position of the educational materials affect the qualitative education of children?

1.5 Research Hypothesis

Based on the problems identified, the following null research hypotheses have been formulated for investigation in the study.

1. High cost of living does not significantly influence the provision of qualitative education to the children.
2. High cost of living does not have significant effect on the standard of living.
3. Provision of educational materials does not affect the education of children.

1.6 Significance of Study

The study will throw light on the impact of high cost of living on the provision of qualitative education to children in Oshodi/Isolo Local Government Area. It will reveal how high cost of living in that area affects the provision of qualitative education and general standard of living. The outcome of this investigation will be of assistant to the Parent on the education of their children despite the high cost of living in the society.

Finally, this study will help the governments and other stakeholders in education in taking decisions that will make it easier for both poor and rich parents to finance the education of their children and wards.

1.7 Delimitations of Study

This investigation is to be carried out in Oshodi/Isolo Government Area of Lagos State. It will cover five schools namely:

1. Okota Girls High School, Isolo
2. Ajumoni Grammar School, Isolo
3. Ansar-Ud-Deen Comprehensive, Isolo
4. Ansa-Ud-Deen Grammar School, Isolo
5. Okota Grammar School, Isolo

1.8 Limitation of the Study

Time, information and finance ace the major factors of limitation to this project work.

Time

Time has been a major constraint of doing thorough and indept justice to this kind of research work. Therefore, considering the fact that the study must be carried out with a time limit along with other educational engagement, certain details could not be researched into.

Information

Information is the interaction between two people. For effectiveness of the project we need a lot of information through electronic media, face to face interaction with people and the library. Power failure is a constraint to securing information through electronic media while face 6 to face interaction has its own limitations, people are not willing to release information especially when they are to be quoted. Most of the libraries lack adequate information as a result of lack of funding by relevance agencies.

Finance

Money had always been a scare resource; hence it had equally constituted a major constraint to the willingness of the researcher towards carrying out a more detailed study within the time limit.

1.9 Operational Definition of Terms

Cost of Living:

Cost of living is the average cost of food, clothing and other necessities paid by a person or family Mendinnus and Johnson (1996).

High Cost of Living:

According to Patherson in Spark (1987) high cost of living means when the cost of living exceeded the common degree of measure than required.

Provision:

According to Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, provision is the act of supplying with what one need or want. It is the supply of food, drinks, housing and educational materials.

Qualitative:

According to Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, it defined Qualitative as a high standard of good quality connected with how good a thing is rather than with much of it.

Education:

Ugwu (1997) defined education as all efforts towards the inculcation or cultivation of the right attitude, habits, skills and knowledge necessary for proper adjustment in the society. It is a process that continues throughout one’s life.

Durkheim (1956) defined education as ‘the influence exercised by adult generations on those that are not yet ready for social life. Its objective is to arouse and develop in the child a certain number of physical, intellectual and moral states which are demanded of him by both the political society as a whole and the social “mellien” for which he is specifically destined.

Aristotle, Piati and Dewey have recognized education as a powerful instrument devised by man for his own improvement.

Children’s Education:

Durojaiye (1996) defined children’s education as the services of training and instructions given to school children to help them develop their potentials.

Family:

Henslim (1990) defined family as any group of people related by blood or marriage especially group of two grownups and their children or those people descended from common person. The family is made up of the bread winner who is the father, the mother and the offspring.