MANAGEMENT OF STUDENT DISCIPLINE IN NIGERIAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS: IN LOCO PARENTIS AND TEACHERS’ RESPONSIBILITIES

Abstract

Discipline and punishment are Siamese twins that are indispensible to the control of secondary school students and achievement of educational goals in Nigeria. This paper examined teachers’ responsibilities in-loco parentis and the importance of maintaining discipline in Nigerian secondary schools. Since time immemorial, the doctrine of ‘in-loco parentis’ has empowered teachers to act in the place of parents to enable the control of students’ conduct. It therefore explained the meaning of the concepts “discipline in totality, its purpose, doctrine of in-loco parentis, and its usefulness in encouraging moral, physical, and intellectual development among secondary school students. It also emphasized punishment as a tool of student control and discipline, types of punishment, legality of punishment and the implications in schools. Finally, the study revealed the limitations of the doctrine in loco parentis, which are supported with some precedent cases at different courts.