Impact of Free Education on the Academic Performance of Senior Secondary School Students in Jalingo Lga of Taraba State

Abstract This study critically investigated the Impact of free education on the academic performance of senior secondary school students in Jalingo LGA of Taraba state. Three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The descriptive survey was adopted for the study. The study was conducted in Jalingo local Government Area of Taraba State. The population of this study comprised of 3310 students from Senior Secondary Schools in Jalingo L.G.A, Taraba state with 100 respondents as sample for the study. 15-item structured questionnaire titled “Impact of Free Education on Academic Performance Questionnaire” (IFEAPQ) to elicit information from the respondents. Descriptive statistics of frequency and percentages were used to describe the demographic information while mean scores and the standard deviation were used to answer the research questions. A mean of 2.50 and above was accepted otherwise rejected. The findings of the study revealed that the removal of tuition fees has a statistically significant positive effect on students' academic performance; an increase in student enrollment rates positively impacts the academic performance of students, though with some challenges and the provision of adequate learning resources, such as textbooks, computers, and laboratory equipment, was shown to significantly improve academic performance in senior secondary schools in Jalingo LGA. It was recommended among others that governments and educational stakeholders should continue to support the removal of tuition fees to enhance access to education and reduce financial burdens on families.