Late resumption to school is one of the major problems that have plagued many schools; there is hardly any school that is spared from this problem. The impact of this great menace cannot be over emphasized, as it has contributed immensely in a negative way to the academic achievement of learners and the functioning of the school (Okpupara and Chuwuone, 2007).
A school is primarily an established institution that aims to educate learners (Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, 2010). It is designed with the purpose of bringing children from different families together under one roof (the classroom) for the purpose of teaching and learning under the direction of teachers. One of the important traits entering into a successful person’s character is the habit of punctuality (Phurutse, 2005). Effective teaching and learning cannot take place without the coming together of the teacher and the learners (Oghuvbu, 2012). A learner that is not regular in school faces learning problems resulting from late –resumption to school such as truancy, and inability to read and not consulting with the teacher (Onouwodeke, 1995).
Late-resumption can be viewed as an outcome of laxity or system breakdown (Peretemode, 1991). Lateness is a function of time and as such time is usually used as the criteria for determining lateness. Late resumption violates the principle of punctuality and if not checked at the onset, may become a habit with the individual involved and may have negative consequences on such individual’s plans including the achievement of educational goals (Breeze, Markey & Woll, 2010).
The importance of education is increasing and is regarded highly. The societies of the past are on the front rank of the world civilization on account of education, this educational system may be seriously hampered as a result of lateresumption especially in high schools. In most developing countries, Late-resumption is a major and a continuous administrative problem among high school learners (Egbule, 2004; Dafiaghor, 2011).
Late resumption as a factor could be responsible for students’ poor academic performance in the sense that if any student resumes late for academic work, it is expected that before he or she resumes, especially in Benson Idahosa University, a lot of academic activities must have taken place and his or her absence from these academic engagements could have negative effects on his or her academic performance.
In the same vein, another factor that could be contributing to academic challenge is sex. g. From the study, female headed household have higher attendance in schools whereas educated fathers are more likely to have strong impact in increasing the probability of child school attendance than mothers. Emore (2005) reported that lateness is common among female students than male students. So, it could be believable that male students in the higher institutions tend to resume at the stipulated time and this may not be the same with the female students in the same academic programme in the school. This could also reflect negative results on their academics.
Yearly, the universities and colleges in Nigeria are turning out many graduates. Some of these graduates cannot have a correct spelling of a simple word or speak simple, correct English. There are many who cannot even write a business letter but parading fine certificates in the streets (Abati, 2005). These deficiencies may be traceable to their academic performance while in the colleges and universities
If one of the parameters used to measure the level of prosperity a nation could acquire is by the reason of their educational status which could be measurable only on the academic achievement of the learners and yearly reports of learners’ academic performance is showing a decadence even when teachers’ and government’ efforts had been expended a still the problem continues, then there is a need to look at the factor that one rarely considers to be responsible. On this backdrop, this study seeks to investigate the influence of late resumption on students’ academic performance among English education students in Benson Idahosa University.
