CHILD ABUSE AND ITS IMPLICATION ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN IBAJI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KOGI STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study was conducted to examine child abuse and its implication on academic performance in Ibaji Local Government Area of Kogi State, Nigeria. The tools of analysis used were simple descriptive statistics and mean scores. The study used 90 respondents (households) from three districts of the Local Government Area; namely, Onyedega, Ujeh and Unale in proportions of 30:30:30, respectively. Structured questionnaire was randomly administered on the respondents to obtain information on child abuse and its implication on academic performance. The mean age of the respondents was 42.31 years, indicating that most parents are of youthful age. The results of mean score analysis showed that lack of adequate parental care with mean score of 3.98, has the greatest implication on child abuse and academic performance. Also divorced couples and poverty of parents with mean score of 3.30 and 3.23, respectively, played crucial roles in child abuse and poor academic performance. It was recommended that the provisions of the Child Rights Act be made mandatory for all State Governments in the federation to enforce and to compel parents to take adequate care of their children. Defaulting parents should be made to face stiff penalties. Poverty alleviation programme should be strengthened to have visible effects on the rural poor.