THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF COVID19 ON EDUCATION AND STUDENT’S PERFORMANCE, A CASE STUDY OF SOME SELECTED SCHOOLS IN YDE VII MUNICIPALITY

Abstract

This study was on the Causes and effects of covid19 on education and students performance, a case study of Some selected schools in yde vii municipality. Three objectives were raised which included: To ascertain the effect of COVID19 on educational sector in Cameroon, to find out the effect of COVID19 on student academic performance of secondary school and to find out the causes of COVID19 in Cameroon especially Yde Vii municipality. The total population for the study is 75 teachers from selected secondary schools in Yde municipality. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies. The study recommends that the government should increase the funding of secondary schools in next year budget to allow them to manage all the damages caused by the COVID-19 school close down, the Nigeria government should direct all the secondary schools to extend physical teaching, conduct online teaching and jointly solve new problems that may arise in the teaching process, the Ministry of education should direct all senior secondary schools administrators to come up with strategies to cover up the teaching and learning gap created as a result of the COVID-19 schools closed down and finally, the government should provide all infrastructural facilities that will support online education in all the senior secondary schools in Yde Vii municipality, in particular, to prevent any eventuality of a future close down of schools because of the pandemic

Chapter one

Introduction

1.1Background of the study

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), coronaviruses are a family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). These viruses were originally transmitted from animals to people. SARS, for instance, was transmitted from civet cats to humans while MERS moved to humans from a type of camel. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans. The name coronavirus comes from the Latin word corona, meaning crown or halo. Under an electron microscope, the looks like it is surrounded by a solar corona. The novel coronavirus, identified by Chinese authorities on January 7 and since named SARS-CoV-2, is a new strain that had not been previously identified in humans. Little is known about it, although human-to-human transmission has been confirmed (Ajazeera, 2020).

According to the WHO, signs of infection include fever, cough, and shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, it can lead to pneumonia, multiple organ failure, and even death. Current estimates of the incubation period – the time between infection and the onset of symptoms – ranging from one to 14 days. Most infected people show symptoms within five to six days. However, infected patients can also be asymptomatic, meaning they do not display any symptoms despite having the virus in their systems (Ajazeera, 2020).

Several governmental measures have been taken to counteract the risk of disease spreading. These measures include travel restrictions, mandatory quarantines for travelers, social distancing, bans on public gatherings, schools and universities closure, business closures, self isolation, asking people to work at home, curfews, and lockdown (Bedford et al., 2020; Gostin and Wiley, 2020). Authorities in several countries worldwide have declared either lockdown or curfew as a measure to break the fast spread of virus infection (Paital et al., 2020). These measures have a negative worldwide effect on business, education, health, and tourism (Pragholapati, 2020).

COVID-19 pandemic has affected all levels of the education system (Nicola et al, 2020). Educational institutions around the world (in 192 countries) have either temporarily closed or implemented localized closures affecting about 1.7 billion student populations worldwide (UNESCO 2020). Many universities around the world either postponed or canceled all campus activities to minimize gatherings and hence decrease the transmission of the virus. However, these measures lead to higher economical, medical, and social implications on both undergraduate and postgraduate communities (Nicola et al, 2020; Esposito and Principi, 2020).

Due to the suspension of classroom teaching in many colleges and universities, a switch to online teaching for undergraduate and graduate students becomes effective [reviewed in (Sahu, 2020; Yamin, 2020)]. This form of learning provides an alternative way to minimize either the contact between students themselves or between the students and lecturers (Pragholapati, 2020). However, many students have no access to online teaching due to a lack of either the means or the instruments due to the economical and digital divide (UNESCO 2020).

Statement of the problem

Yde vii municipality is the Capital of Cameroon. It is host to many educational institutions. Among the educational institutions are public senior secondary schools and private senior secondary schools. Sometimes around March 2020 many of the public and private senior secondary schools have been shut down in compliance with the government directives that all educational institutions should be shut down to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This study is aim to investigate the causes and effects of Covid-19 on education and students’ academic performance in senior secondary schools in Yde vii municipality.

Purpose of the study

The objectives of the study are;

1. To ascertain the effect of COVID19 on educational sector in Cameroon
2. To find out the effect of COVID19 on student academic performance of secondary school
3. To find out the causes of COVID19 in Cameroon especially Yde Vii municipality

Research question

The study formulated the following research question

1. What is the effect of COVID19 on educational sector in Cameroon?
2. What is the effect of COVID19 on student academic performance in secondary school?
3. What is the causes of COVID19 in Cameroon especially Yde Vii municipality?

Research Hypotheses

The following research hypotheses were formulated;

H0: there is no effect of COVID19 on educational sector in Cameroon

H1: there is effect of COVID19 on educational sector in Cameroon

H0: there is no effect of COVID19 on student academic performance in secondary school

H2: there is effect of COVID19 on student academic performance in secondary school

H0: there are no causes of COVID19 in Cameroon especially Yde Vii municipality

H3: there are causes of COVID19 in Cameroon especially Yde Vii municipality

Significance of the study

The study on the causes and effects of corona virus disease (COVID-19) on education and students  performance in Yde vii municipality, will be of immense benefit to all the Cameroon citizens, the educational sector, and the federal government of Nigeria. The study will explore the prevalence of corona virus disease (COVID-19), the causes, and the effect of the corona virus disease (COVID-19) the Cameroon educational sector. The study will educate the masses on the mode of transmission of the corona virus disease (COVID-19) and the preventive measures to be adopted.  The study will educate the Cameroon government on the policy implementation to curb the prevalence of the corona virus disease (COVID-19) and how to improve the Nigeria economy during this period. The study will serve as a repository of information to other researchers that desire to carry out similar research on the above topic. Finally the study will contribute to the body of the existing literature on the causes and effects of corona virus disease (COVID-19) on the Cameroon education

Scope of the study

The scope of the study covers the causes and effects of COVID19 on education and students performance. The study will be limited to secondary school students in Yde vii municipality

Limitation of the study

Limitations/constraints are inevitable in carrying out a research work of this nature. However, in the course of this research, the following constraints were encountered thus:

1. Non-availability of enough resources (finance): A work of this nature is very tasking financially, money had to be spent at various stages of the research such resources which may aid proper carrying out of the study were not adequately available.
2. Time factor: The time used in carrying out the research work is relatively not enough to bring the best information out of it. However, I hope that the little that is contained in this study will go a long way in solving many greater problems.

Definition of terms

INFECTIOUS EPIDEMIC: Infectious diseases are caused by pathogenic microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi; the diseases can be spread, directly or indirectly, from one person to another. EDUCATIONAL SECTOR: The education sector or education system is a group of institutions (ministries of education, local educational authorities, teacher training institutions, schools, universities, etc.) whose primary purpose is to provide education to children and young people in educational settings.

COVID19: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus.

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