Investigation into the Truant Behaviours among Secondary School Teachers in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State: The Counselling Implications (Published)
Truancy among secondary school teachers in Emohua Local Government Area has reached alarming proportion with disastrous consequences. This descriptive study investigated truant behaviours among secondary school teachers in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State. Three research questions were answered and two hypotheses tested at 0.05. Teachers’ attendance data were obtained from attendance registers provided in the schools. The results of the study show that overall rate of teacher absenteeism in Emohua Local Government Area was 38.62%. Rate of absenteeism among female teachers was found to be significantly higher than that of the male teachers, while the rate of absenteeism among married teachers was significantly higher than that of the single teachers. This rate of teacher absenteeism as found in this study is an indication that there is counselling failure among the counsellors in public secondary schools in Emohua Local Government Area. Therefore, counsellors must intensify their efforts using various programmes including individual or group counselling, seminar, workshops and conferences to enlighten the teachers on the need to be dedicated in their duties. The counsellors must also impress on the teachers the importance of doing their work diligently for social economic, technological and political development of the nation.
Keywords: Absenteeism, Education, National Development, Truancy, facilities, salary