THE ROLE OF PROPRIETORS AND ADMINISTRATORS IN ENSURING STRICT COMPLIANCE TO COVID-19 SAFETY MEASURES AMONG STUDENTS.

THE ROLE OF PROPRIETORS AND ADMINISTRATORS IN ENSURING STRICT COMPLIANCE TO COVID-19 SAFETY MEASURES AMONG STUDENTS.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY

COVID-19 was discovered in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and quickly spread throughout the world, severely affecting all countries and territories. At the time of this study, over 6 million COVID-19 cases had been reported worldwide, with over 1,000 deaths (Johns Hopkins University, 2020; WHO) (2020). These figures were staggering, making the pandemic the most significant global health crisis in recent memory. According to health experts, the disease does not discriminate against people based on their age, gender, race, ethnicity, class, or other social markers (WHO, 2020). Children, the elderly, low-income families, indigenous people, and those with underlying chronic or immune diseases are thought to be more vulnerable to this pandemic (WHO, 2020).

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak was declared.

an International Concerning Public Health Emergency (PHEIC).

According to researchers, coronaviruses are zoonotic viruses that cause moderate respiratory tract infections as well as lethal pneumonia in humans. (Su, S., Wong, G., et al., 2016) In the 1960s, human coronaviruses (HCoV) were discovered in the noses of patients suffering from the common cold (Felman A 2020). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified seven coronaviruses that can infect humans as follows: 229E (alpha coronavirus), NL63 (alpha coronavirus), OC43 (beta coronavirus), HKU1 (beta coronavirus), MERS-CoV (beta coronavirus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome), SARS-CoV (beta coronavirus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome), and SARS (the novel coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19).

Sociologically, the pandemic has caused global academic disruption by limiting research opportunities.

global social relations. The concept of “social distancing” implies a lack of regular social interaction. The general lockdown of academic institutes posed a significant challenge to schools, disrupting the educational calendar and lowering students’ academic performance (Amzat and Razum, 2014). Most governments around the world temporarily closed schools to try to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, numerous preventive measures and the development of vaccines have significantly slowed the spread of the virus, resulting in the reopening of schools and other organizations. While COVID-19 is still present in society, it is critical that schools take effective measures to ensure students’ compliance with all critical preventive measures in order to prevent further transmission and reduce the impact of the outbreak.

and support control measures.

1.2 THE PROBLEM’S STATEMENT

If adequate compliance with established preventive measures, particularly among schoolchildren, is not achieved, Covid-19 may spread in a second wave. Most Nigerian schools are overcrowded, which is exacerbated by the fact that schoolchildren are merely children and adolescents with a relatively low sense of understanding, and many of them behave completely carelessly based on their level of comprehension. As a result, without adequate supervision by guidance, they may drop out of instruction; thus, ensuring their regular and consistent in-school compliance to covid-19 safety measures is food for thought, as managing school children is always complex in nature. As a result, the purpose of this research is to investigate the role of proprietors and administrators.

in ensuring that students strictly adhere to Covid-19 safety measures.

1.3 THE STUDY’S OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of proprietors and administrators in ensuring strict adherence to Covid-19 safety measures among students. To accomplish this, the following goals emerged:

1. Determine how well schoolchildren adhere to Covid-19 measures when they are not supervised.

2. Investigate the impact of school principals’ supervisory roles on student adherence to Covid-19 preventive measures.

3. Determine the extent to which teachers help to ensure that students follow Covid-19 safety precautions.

1.4 QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCH

1. How well do schoolchildren follow Covid-19 safety measures when they are not supervised?

2. What effect do school owners have?

supervisory role in student compliance with Covid-19 preventive measures?

3. How much do teachers contribute to ensuring students follow Covid-19 safety precautions?

1.5 THE STUDY’S IMPORTANCE

This study will inform school officials, parents, and the government about the dangers that exist when Covid-19 safety rules and precautionary measures are not mandatory and consistently followed by schoolchildren. However, when properly implemented, the study’s recommendations will help alleviate the problem. Notably, this study will be of great interest to researchers, teachers, students, and other astute academics who may conduct research on a similar topic in their spare time.

1.6 STUDY OBJECTIVES

This research looks into the roles of proprietors and administrators in

ensuring that students strictly adhere to Covid-19 safety measures. The scope of this study, however, expands to investigate the extent to which schoolchildren adhere to Covid-19 measures in the absence of supervision; the impact of school proprietors’ supervisory role on the level of student compliance to Covid-19 preventive measures; and the extent to which teachers contribute to ensuring students’ compliance to Covid-19 safety precautions. The scope of this study is limited to a few primary schools in Adavi Local Government, Kogi State.

1.7 THE STUDY’S LIMITATIONS

While conducting this study, the researcher encountered some constraints such as time constraints, financial constraints, language barriers, and the respondents’ attitudes.

1.8 TERMS’ DEFINITIONS

COVID-19 is a coronavirus disease caused by a new strain. ‘CO’ is an abbreviation for

‘VI’ stands for virus, and ‘D’ stands for disease. This disease was previously known as ‘2019 novel coronavirus’ (2019-nCoV).

A safety measure is a step taken to increase or ensure safety or protection from harm.

Adherence to established safety measures is referred to as compliance.