APPLICATION OF GROUP GUIDANCE AS A EFFORT OVERCOMING

LATE STUDENTS TO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS SMKS TIK

DARUSSALAM

Muhammad Ridho Al Fattah1

Fakultas Ilmu Tarbiyah dan Keguruan (FITK) Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera
Utara
E-Mail: muhammadridhoalfattah@gmail.com1

Introduction

Punctuality is said to be the soul of business, and there can be nothing more
fundamental to the school business than punctuality (Ezewu, 1982). Thus
punctuality could be seen in two dimensions that is coming to the school at the
right time and closing at the right time. This attitude of punctuality is both the
business of the teachers and students. Teachers cannot work without students
likewise visa-versa. Students’ punctuality avail them the opportunity to attend to
all school programmes and activities. In the morning for instance the students
benefit from the morning activities such as the general assembly, where vital
information, admonitions and prayers are made. The students could also interact
with students other than their classmate and even arm. Most importantly students
who are punctual get full benefits of morning hour lessons, which are vital
(English and Mathematics) for these subjects are fixed during morning hours due
to their importance.

On the contrary, unpunctual (late-comers) students are caned, given corporal

punishment such as toilet washing, sweeping, weeding and lot more. These
punishments have dual effects on the students, thus afflicting pains and waste of
time (non attending vital period of the morning hours). In addition, late comers
usually get mis-informed during lessons, for they come to class while lessons
have already began, they also disturb other students already in class and many at
times disrupt lessons. School as a system operates in interconnection and

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interrelatedness within and also with the community (the home). In the school
there exist division of responsibilities/duties among the staff and to some extent
the students. Maina and Jumare (2011) postulate that the principal is responsible
for school programmes and activities which cover planning, organizing,
controlling, coordinating and evaluating the. This implies that the principal
delegates authority/responsibility to all staff, hitherto, the staff report back to him
or her for evaluation.1

Punctuality is the key to any goal-driven organization such as the school.

Unpunctuality of students in school has generated lots of concern among
stakeholders in the Nigerian society. The school, which is basically established to
make individuals learn irrespective of gender, ethnic group or religion, requires
these individuals to arrive at school as at when due. This implies that no
meaningful activity can take place in school with the occurrence of students’
lateness. There are many factors that could make a student get late or develop the
habit of getting late to school. This could range from sleeping late, poor
preparation for school, school factor, illness, economic influence and family
background among others, films at night (Marwan, 2014); watching films at night,
engagement in too many house chores, lack of motivation for school, lack of
stringent rules in school against lateness etc. (Dafiaghor, 2011).2

A school is primarily an established institution that aims to educate learners

(Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, 2010). It is designed with the purpose of
bringing children from different families together under one roof (the classroom)
for the purpose of teaching and learning under the direction of teachers. One of
the important traits entering into a successful person’s character is the habit of
punctuality (Phurutse, 2005). Effective teaching and learning cannot take place
without the coming together of the teacher and the learners (Oghuvbu, 2012). A
learner that is not regular in school, faces learning problems resulting from late –

1
Abubakare M. Jumare, Analysis on Students’ Late-Coming Factors in Selected
Secondary Schools in Zaria: Implications for Educational Managers, Journal of Education and
Practice, Vol 6, No 32,2015,p.56
2
Kabir Adewale Adegunju, Factors Responsible for Students’ Lateness to School as
Expressed by Nigerian Teachers in Elementary Schools, Journal of Education and Practice, Vol 6,
No 2, p. 185 -186

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coming to school such as, truancy, and inability to read and not consulting with
the teacher (Onouwodeke, 1995).

The regular attendance of school by students is necessary in preparing the students

towards reaching their full potential (Agboblie & Mensah, 2016). However,
lateness to school has defeated the purpose of the school establishment which,
inter alia, includes educating and training students within a scheduled and pre-
arranged programme with a view to preparing students’ entrance into a successful
life through punctuality (Agboblie & Mensah, 2016). The policy on child
education in most countries dwells on ‘accessibility’ to good education and
theoretically, access could encompass educational quality, process, outcomes as
well as inclusivity, equity and sustainability (Consortium for Research into
Educational Access, Transitions and Equity [CREATE], 2012). A learner who is
often late to school would not fulfil roles such as engagement with peers,
engagement with good quality teaching and learning in the classroom (Humphrey
et al., 2015).

Developing and preparing learners for the future requires regular school
attendance by both teachers and learners to ensure that optimal training takes
place. However, developing and preparing learners for the future may be
hampered by late coming, truancy, inability to read and lack of consultation
opportunities with teachers (Oghuvbu, 2012). Regular school attendance provides
opportunities to learners to realize their full potential through skills development.
Sultana and Rashid (2013) posit that punctuality and time management problems
among learners in schools are related to late coming. Agboblie and Mensah
(2016) and Maile and Olowyo (2017) postulate that recurrent lateness at schools
may not only affect the academic performance of learners, but could also create
serious problems for individuals in later life if not checked

Persistent late coming by learners at schools has been linked to the falling
standards of education globally (Chujor, 2014). In fact, scholars have suggested
that for any school to succeed in discharging its basic duty of training learners
there should be some form of discipline and management. For instance, Jonathan
et al. (2017) assert that discipline is necessary because it sets a congenial

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atmosphere needed for teaching and learning. The impact of late coming is also
felt in society because education is seen as a vital tool that serves as a major
driving factor for social and economic transformation of a nation and this may
later result into progress and development of the society.3

Lateness can be viewed as an outcome of laxity or system breakdown

(Peretemode, 1991). Lateness is a function of time and as such time is usually
used as the criteria for determining lateness. Late coming violates the principle of
punctuality and if not checked at the onset, may become a habit with the
individual involved and may have negative consequences (Breeze et al., 2010).4

The aim of this study is to investigate different causes of late coming among high
school students, Based on the above phenomenon, researchers are interested in
conducting research with the title: APPLICATION OF GROUP GUIDANCE
AS A EFFORT OVERCOMING LATE STUDENTS TO SCHOOL FOR
STUDENTS SMKS TIK DARUSSALAM

B. Problem Formulation

From the focus of the problem above, which is the main problem in this research
can 4. To find out the supporting and inhibiting factors in improve the quality of
graduates at the Taman Siswa Binjai Private Vocational School. be formulated,
namely:

1. What are the factors that cause students to be late?

2. How do schools handle students who are late?

C. Research Purposes

The objectives of this research are to find out:

1. To find out the quality of graduates at the Taman Siswa Binjai Private Vocationa.

3
Mary Motolani Olowoyo, Differences in Factors Responsible for Lateness at School by Male and
Female Learners in Selected Schools in Soshanguve Township, South Africa, International Journal
of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, Vol.20,No 7, p 292 - 293
4
Simeon Maile, The Causes of Late Coming among High School Students in Soshanguve, Pretoria,
South Africa, Pedagogical Research, Vol 2, No 2, p 1 - 2