Reasons Of Poor Academic Performance In Guyana

In recent years, there has been a significant upsurge in the poor academic performances of students in our societies throughout Guyana, particularly in the rural areas. Many prominent people are of the belief that these poor academic performances are as a direct result of delinquent parents. While this may be true in some of the numerous cases of children’s poor performances, there are several other noticeable factors within the society that can be directly attributed to the high rate of poor performances. Consequently, these poor academic performance by certain students in secondary schools in the county of Essequibo is not as a direct result of delinquent parents who merely contribute but rather peer pressure, the child’s negative attitude towards the teaching and learning process and the school system which has failed miserably in its attempts to inculcate knowledge in the children, just to name a few, have all contributed to this faction of children performing poorly rather than pinpointing the delinquent parents as the solitary creator.

Peer pressure is often seen predominantly during the adolescence stage of teenagers because they often seek comfort among their peers and intend to do what their peers do without knowing if it is good or bad for them. This is the period where they are looking for an identity and are destined to find it. In many cases, the child wants to feel belonged to and feel connected to his or her peers, hence would do as the peers say. For instance, John sees his friends are skulking from school to go places to imbibe alcohol and involve in other frivolous activities. Further, his friends tell him that he needs to be apart and give him sufficient reasons and will call him names if he refuses. For the sake of not being rejected and not being called names, John joins his friends not even thinking of the consequences. At this juncture, John is not thinking of the repercussions his action may cause. Certainly, this is the creator of poor academic performance and not the parents who might have been delinquent but still wholeheartedly send John to school to be taught. Unfortunately, he chooses otherwise.

Another pertinent point to note is that the school system in a few selected schools in this outlying region has somewhat failed to carry out its mandates in an efficient and effective manner and has produced students who perform poorly. A recent survey carried out by the Ministry of Education showed that for the past three years there have been twenty-five percent of school drop-outs. This figure is startling to say the least. The question to ask here is, why are so many children dropping out of school? The answer is clear. The systems in these schools have not catered adequately for the children’s learning style, learning rate, and even their cognitive abilities. When this happens, the children who are generally weak will be left behind to suffer. The results of this action, on the part of the teachers, are clear. Students will find undesirable activities to engage their attention. It therefore,, means that teachers need to get busy acquainting themselves with the children under their charge, in order to eradicate the surging rate of drop-outs and poor performances in our schools rather than casting blames on delinquent parents. Having knowledge of the children under your care as a teacher means knowing their strengths and weaknesses.

Finally, the child’s negative attitude towards school and the process of learning is directly linked to poor academic performance rather than the parents who are deemed, delinquents. It’s clear that the attitude students demonstrate towards school and learning is associated with his or her academic achievement. Some students are just outright lethargic and complacent. These students, unfortunately, have a total disinclination for school and the teachers. As a result, these students with poor academic performance demonstrate a more negative attitude towards learning and believe unequivocally that school and learning will not help them to be successful in the future. This, I believe fervently, is reliably linked to students poorly in secondary schools in Essequibo Coast and not the delinquent parents who merely contribute to this situation. Irrespective of the importance of various streams which help the country as a whole, empiric evidence shows that most students who perform poorly lack curiosity and zeal. My own daily experience of dealing and interacting with students revealed that their academic studies have been given less priority. As a result, most students gained low marks for the various subject areas which simultaneously affect their academic cumulative grades.

In understanding the magnitude of this situation, one must realize that delinquent parents may be a contributing factor to poor academic performance but it is not the only factor or main factor. People’s misconceptions should be dismissed once and for all. To think that delinquent parents are the sole creator of students’ poor academic performance in secondary school is absurd and injudicious. With good sense prevailing, one can see the other plausible factors which directly contribute to poor academic performance in selected secondary schools on Essequibo Coast. These factors include peer pressure, the school system which has failed a fraction of students, and the child’s own negative attitude towards the learning process. Although learning style has a close connection with a person’s personality and intellectual capabilities, the selection of these styles is also influenced by environmental factors such as educational support provided by peers and teachers. It must also be noted that the teachers should strive to build upon excellent rapport with students and create an attractive and enjoyable environment to get the students dynamically involve in the classroom activities and learn content areas enthusiastically and efficiently. This will ensure that the factors contributing to students’ poor academic performances in secondary schools in Essequibo and Guyana can be minimized. As a consequence to these actions, the past rate of the students will be improved tremendously.