PRINCIPALS’ ADMINISTRATION OF SCHOOL PUNISHMENT AND STUDENTS LEGAL RIGHT TO FAIR HEARING IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN CROSS STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined the influence of principals" administration of school punishment and students' legal right to fair hearing in Cross River State secondary schools, Nigeria. Six research questions and six null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The study adopted ex-post facto research design since the effects of the independent variables had already occurred before the lime of the investigation. The study adopted Census approach and all 260 principals (212 males and 48 females) in all the area were used for the study. The data for the study were collected through the use of two sets of questionnaire designed by the researcher. The reliability of the instruments were determined using Cronbach alpha reliability method, which yielded coefficients that ranged from .73 to .89, for the scale and its subscales. Data collection was don? Personally by the researcher after the principals were appropriately consulted and agreements made on the time of administering the questionnaires. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and One-way Analysis of Variance tested at .05 level of significance. The result of the analysis ix-value that principals' administration of physical punishment, detention, imposition and discrimination had a significant negative influence on students' right to evidence, right to witness and right to preparation as well as right to fair hearing in Cross River State. The result further revealed that principals' administration of suspension and expulsion had a significant positive influence on students' right to evidence, right lo witness and right to preparation as well as right to fair hearing in Cross River State. Based on these, it was recommended among others that defendants should be permitted to confront their accusers instead of spanking those accused of breaking the school rules and students should not be excluded from school activities on the basis of skin colour, disabilities and students should be punished equally.