““Time and School Attendance: Time and School Attendance: A Pre-Requisite for Student A Pre-Requisite for Student

Academic Performance”Academic Performance”

NGORA HIGH SCHOOLCareer Talk to Students

Thursday, October 15, 2015BY

ROBERT AGWOT KOMAKECHAuthor & Teaching Assistant

Tel: +256 774 181 052/ +256 752 181 052

Con’t Con’t There are many inequities in the world, but one thing we all have in

common is the same amount of time each day. God has allotted 24 hours to each one of us each day. When one considers that there are 168 hours in a week where in the world with approximately:

56 hours for sleep 30 hours for class attendance 21 hours for nourishment 16 hours for worship & relaxationAnd there are still 45 hours left over to be use wisely for study purpose

It is not uncommon to hear comments like: There just isn’t enough time in a day to do everything I need to

do. I just don’t know where the time goes. I’ll try to find time, but I’m hard pressed for time at the present.

Con’tCon’tWe speak of the peak or rush hour of the day,

or we tell family members to move on because we don’t have all day. We regularly use words like urgent, priority, or pressing.

It is common to hear comments like:There just isn’t enough time in a day to do

everything I need to do.I just don’t know where the time goes.I’ll try to find time, but I’m hard pressed for

time at the present.

Characteristics of TimeCharacteristics of TimeMost of us Value Time as a Resource.

Moreover, it is a unique resource: It cannot be accumulated like Money or

stockpiled like Raw Materials.We are forced to spend it, whether we choose

to or not, it is at a fixed rate of 60 seconds every minute.

It cannot be turned on and off like a machine or replaced like a man.

It is irretrievable

How do you use your time?How do you use your time?This is because in everyone’s life, there is a

special time for those purposes which you plan and for those which are planned for you. For instance:

Time to studyTime to workTime to worshipTime to playTime to be happyTime to ….

Five Principles to put you on the Road to Five Principles to put you on the Road to Move Towards your PotentialMove Towards your PotentialConcentrate on one main Goal; Nobody ever

reach their potential by scattering themselves in ten directions eg Campus point

Concentrate on Continual Improvement; Each day you can become a little bit better than yesterday e.g. football players

Forget the PastPastor Jack Hayford from Van Nuys, California

said; “We can’t gain momentum moving towards tomorrow if we are dragging the past behind us.”

Con’t Con’t Focus on the Future; You can become better tomorrow than you are

today. As Spanish says; “He who does not look a head remains behind.” the people you admire at one time were like you and some did not put on shoes at your age …

African Proverbs says; “For tomorrow belongs to the people who prepares for it today.”

Attend Classes Regularly

Question on Class AttendanceQuestion on Class Attendance

Do you agree with the statement that; Good attendance is critical in secondary school but it matters less in primary school?

Con’tCon’tStudies  show that  better  attendance  is  related to

higher academic achievement for students of  all backgrounds, but particularly for children with lower socio‐economic status.

Students who attend school regularly score higher tests than their peers, who are frequently absent

Children who have poor attendance in kindergarten tend to do poorly in first grade; and that children with a history of poor attendance in the early elementary grades have lower levels of academic achievement throughout their school years.

Effects of Students’ Absenteeism on Effects of Students’ Absenteeism on Students’ Academic PerformanceStudents’ Academic Performance

Leads to poor Academic PerformanceStudents Drop out of schoolGraduating half-baked studentsPoor Curriculum CoverageLoss of interest in Learning

Effects of Students’ Absenteeism Effects of Students’ Absenteeism on Schoolon School PerformancePerformanceAffects the school imageLower the students’ enrollmentTransfer of Students by parentsWastage of Teachers’ and Administrators’

timeAffects the University/Tertiary enrolment

Best Practices to Prevent Best Practices to Prevent Students’ AbsenteeismStudents’ AbsenteeismZero Tolerance To Student AbsenteeismRewards for Students with regular

attendance Parental involvement and participationRich School ProgrammesEffective Guidance and CounselingGood CommunicationDeveloping Students’ Mentoring Programme

Illustration on the Danger of Lost Illustration on the Danger of Lost Time on Students PerformanceTime on Students PerformanceDAYS OFF SCHOOL ADD UP TO LOST LEARNING

175 NON SCHOOL DAYS A YEAR175 days to spend on family time, visits, holidays, shopping, household

jobs and other appointments 190

SCHOOL DAYS IN EACH YEAR

190 days for your child's education

10 days absence

180DAYS OF

EDUCATION

19 days absence

171DAYS OF

EDUCATION

29 days absence

A term missed

161DAYS OF

EDUCATION

38 days absence

152DAYS OF

EDUCATION

47 days absence

143DAYS OF

EDUCATION

100% 95% 90% 85% 80% 75%Good

Best chance of success. Gets your child off to a

flying start

WorryingLess chance of success.

Makes it harder tomake progress

Serious Concern

Not fair on your child.Court action!

Major Challenges of Dealing Major Challenges of Dealing with Absentee Studentswith Absentee StudentsInterruption of LessonsStudents being hostile/belligerent to

TeachersParents defending their Children

Approach of Dealing with Unexcused Approach of Dealing with Unexcused Absentee Students in Uganda Absentee Students in Uganda

Slashing the compoundCanningCalling a Parent/ GuardianWriting an apology letterGuidance and CounselingSuspension

Conclusion Conclusion School attendance is part of the students’ academic

success and parents have the responsibility to ensure that their children are punctual and regular in schools. The study has shown that attendance improves the academic performance of the student/schools, builds the students’ social and emotional skills, improves on students’ knowledge and employment skills, and reduces the risks of dropout. Therefore, to support students academically in and out of school; administrators, teachers, and families need to have a shared understanding of their children’s learning and work as partners to meet their academic and social-emotional needs.

Be a Good Steward of Time and Be a Good Steward of Time and Say Zero Tolerance to Say Zero Tolerance to Absenteeism!Absenteeism!

GOD BLESS YOU!