CLASS SKIPPING AS A HIDDEN CAUSE OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN LAGOS STATE PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS: IMPLICATIONS FOR VALUE REORIENTATION

Abstract

Class skipping is a hidden deviant behaviour in schools, especially in public secondary schools. Many researchers have focused on absenteeism and truancy, but class skipping is more dangerous because it includes the attributes of absenteeism, truancy, and many other undesirable deviant behaviours. Its danger includes breeding and nurturing recruits for touts and cultists and being a source of producing agents of insecurity if not addressed. This study aimed to establish the prevalence of class skipping in Lagos State public secondary schools and ascertain its relationship with juvenile delinquent behaviours. The study used a descriptive survey research design. The sample consisted of one hundred and eighty-eight participants (45.9% male and 54.1% female), out of which one hundred and twenty-two (122) were students and fifty-nine (59) were teachers in Lagos State public secondary schools. A random sampling technique was used to select study participants from all six education districts. The participants came from eighty-four (84) secondary schools—twenty-three (23) Junior Secondary Schools and sixty-one (61) Senior Secondary Schools. A self-developed questionnaire titled "Questionnaire on Class-Skipping as a Hidden Threat for Juvenile Delinquency in Lagos State Public Secondary Schools," vetted with face validity by a test and evaluation expert in the Department of Counselling and Human Development Studies, Faculty of Education, University of Ibadan, was used as the instrument for collecting data. The questionnaire was administered by the researcher, who employed research assistants. The questionnaire was analysed using percentage. The study revealed that out of an average classroom of 50-100 students, there was an average of 1-5 class skippers. Class skipping might cause juvenile delinquent behaviours in Lagos State public schools, and there is a possibility of rehabilitating the class skippers. Therefore, a full-time professional counsellor should be employed and assigned to each secondary school in Nigeria to achieve Sustainable Development Goals four education for all.