CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
1.1   Background to the Study
A person’s education is closely linked to their life chances, income, and wellbeing (Battle and Lewis 2002), therefore it is important to have a clear understanding of what benefits or hinders one is educational attainment. Several topical areas are mostly commonly linked to academic performance of student, such as school factors, family factors and peers factors. Generally, academic performance is how well a student an individual achieves a set objectives.
School environment factors such as school size, neighborhood and relationship between teacher and student also influence test score (Crosnoe, Johnson and Elder 2004). Also, family background has been found to influence student’s academic performance and socio-economic statues, parental involvement, and family size are particularly important factors (Majoribanks, 2006). Peer influence can also affects student’s performance in that peer pressure and peer conformity can lead to an individual participating in risk taking behavior which has negative effect on academic performance.

Hunt, 2005 and Miller et al, 2005 define social class as literacy of social order or group more or less hereditary but with provision for movement up and down the ladder, all the class are endowed in unequal degree with right and privilege, obligation degree duties in accordance with their position in the social scales. In the Nigerian society, the social class one belongs depends on the educational level, occupation and environmental factors such as circumstance of birth, thus the home becomes and important socializing agent especially in the important socializing agent especially in the early development of the person’s education (Aguokogbuo 2005). At birth an individuals is totally dependent on his/her parent and others grown-up individual in his/her immediate family for guidance. Man is an embodiment of nature and nurture, nature here means biological inheritance from biological parent while nurture is environmental influences. At birth an individual is firmly rooted in or dependent on the parent for socialization process and such a way, social attitude, value norms etc are captured by the individual. According to Locke as cited in Augokogbuo (2005) a man at birth has no innate ideas but rather his mind is tabula rasa (clean slate) thus the original nature of man is neither good or bad but neutrally. A child becomes whatever the society makes of him.
Education is regarded as an important tool for achieving national objective, it is a venture that every society and individual needs. In line with the April 2000 education for all commitment, the Nigerian government in the National Policy for Education (2004) section I, sub-section c posited that every Nigerian child shall have a right o equal educational opportunities irrespective of any real or imagined disabilities each according to his ability.