EPILEPTIC POWER SUPPLY AND ITS IMPACT ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The availability of electrical power is a panacea for the provision of services such as that will be of benefit to students. Students' academic performance suffers as a result of power outages.

(Aremu, Adeyemi 2011) defined Power as the pace at which energy is transferred, thus the terms power and energy are used interchangeably in everyday discourse. In practice, the quantity of power obtained from any mechanical system is proportional to the amount of energy held by such system. As a result, a system with a high energy will produce a high power; hence, energy is connected to power. The European Commission's Energy Research has also revealed that energy is critical to the quality of man's daily existence. Over the decades, it has been clear that man is completely dependent and dependant on energy for both job and personal life. In reality, the usage of energy pervades all industries. The dependency on energy is even more obvious in the twenty-first century, with the widespread use of electrical energy in practically every aspect of life, from household usage to entertainment, education, amusement, and industrial use. Power availability is typically associated with prosperity, efficiency, and a higher quality of life in all sectors of the economy (Aremu, Adeyemi 2011).

The Power Holding Company of Nigeria –PHCN (formerly the National Electric Power Authority –NEPA) and (now privatized) is statutorily required to create and distribute power for residential, industrial, governmental institutions, and other commercial applications. PHCN is a subsidiary of the Federal Ministry of Power and Steel. PHCN's performance has been heavily criticized throughout the years due to the low and deteriorating quality of services provided to its clients. According to Aberie, Fayomi, Opera and Pamda (2011), energy generation and availability in Nigeria fell to 1600MW in 1999 from 5,876 MW installed capacity, with just 19 of the 79 generating units operational.

It is clear from the following that Nigerians, particularly Nigerian colleges and students, are suffering from energy poverty and crises. For example, Akpama, Okoro, and Chikuni (2008) found that the University of Benin has been dealing with energy difficulties from its establishment and continues to do so. Despite Nigeria's rich energy resources, about 40% of the people still lacks access to electricity (UNDP, 2001; Ajanaku, 2007; Adegbamigbe, 2007). Poor electricity supply is characterized by blackouts and widespread reliance on self-generated electricity, despite government claims of 16 billion dollars in investments in the sector by the Obasanjo administration (Akinyunola 2011). As a result, Nigerian higher institutions are unable to sufficiently provide energy, which is essential in the everyday operation of the school. This development poses a difficulty to students since it reduces productivity and has an impact on academic achievement.

Students' academic performance is an important aspect of education (Rono, 2013). It is regarded as the pivot around which the entire educational system revolves. According to Narad and Abdullah (2016), academic performance of students influences the success or failure of any academic institution. Signh, Malik, and Signh (2016) also stated that student academic achievement has a direct influence on a country's socioeconomic growth. Similarly, Farooq, Chaudhry, Shafiq, and Behanu (2011) claimed that academic achievement of students serves as a foundation for knowledge acquisition and skill development. Furthermore, Akinyunola,(2011) underlined that academic success of pupils is the primary concern of all instructors. According to Narad and Abdullah (2016), academic performance is the information learned that is measured by a teacher through marks and/or educational goals set by students and instructors to be achieved within a particular time period. They further stated that these objectives are measured by continual evaluation or examination outcomes.

Epileptic power supply has been one of the major challenges faced by students and this has greatly affected their performance in school.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The epileptic power supply in Nigeria has been a big concern to both the old and young. People from all facets of life have been affected. Students of secondary schools and tertiary institutions have been adversely affected as they need electricicity to read, search for materials, learn and so on.

The Federal Government has over the years, kept making promises to effect a change in the energy sector but this promise has never been fulfilled. Over the years, Nigerian students have voiced out their wish to be like their contemporaries in the western world. They wish to make use of the latest technology during learning and research, wish to have their lectures with the use of internet etc. This wishes cannot be fulfilled with the current epileptic power supply in Nigeria.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Epileptic power supply and its impact on the academic performance of University Students is the primary aim of this study. Other objectives are:

a)        To examine the negative effects of power supply on academic performance.

b)        To determine the challenges students encounter in their academics due to epileptic power supply

c)        To proffer solutions to the problems students encounter due to epileptic power supply.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following questions will be used for this research.

a)        What are the effects of power supply on academic performance?

b)        What are the challenges students encounter in their academics due to epileptic power supply?

c)        What are the solutions proffered to the challenges students encounter due to epileptic power supply?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will be beneficial to the energy industry as they will know the impacts power supply has on the academic performance of students. It will also be beneficial to school administrators as the findings will let them know what policies should be put in place to enhance power supply in their respective schools.

Finally, this study will serve as existing material for scholars to carry on further research and it will also be used for future references.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study will focus on Epileptic power supply and its impact on the academic performance of University Students. It will also focus on the challenges encountered by students in their academics due to epileptic power supply and it will proffer possible solutions to these challenges. This study will use students of the University of Agriculture, Umudike in Abia State as enrolled participants.

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This study will be limited to the Epileptic power supply and its impact on the academic performance of University Students. It will not be focusing on other impacts of academic performance of university students. This study will be limited to the University of Agriculture, Umudike and as such the findings of this work cannot be used in any other university until further research is carried out.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Epileptic: a problematic system

Power supply:  an electronic circuit designed to provide various ac and dc voltages for equipment operation. 

Impacts: a marked effect or influence

Academic performance:  is the measurement of student achievement across various academic subjects

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