International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention ISSN (Online): 2319 – 7722, ISSN (Print): 2319 – 7714 www.ijhssi.org Volume 2 Issue 11 ǁ November. 2013ǁ PP.72-76 www.ijhssi.org 72 | P a g e Poor Study Habit as an Educational Problem Among University Undergraduates In The Contemporary Times And Effective Management Strategies DR.O.O.PITAN . 1, School Of Education . National Open University Of Nigeria. Lagos, Nigeria ABSTRACT :Educational problems are multifaceted and are hindering factors that inhibit the maximal realization of learners’ endowment. These problems could be leaner–resident, school–resident, home-resident or societal–resident. One of the consequences of these problems is academic underachievement and academic failure caused by poor or improper study habit. On the part of the affected students, ethological suggestions to motivate them for achievement and psycho-stimulants to develop their reading skills can be of use in reducing the effect of this educational problem, poor study habit. Studies have established the prevalence of poor study habit among the University undergraduates, which has led to poor performance in home assignments as well as in examinations. Hence, this study focuses on the factors that are capable of precipitating poor study habit which aggravate into educational problems and how they can be effectively managed to increase the level of academic achievement in the average undergraduate .The reduction effect will go a long way to build a nation where mediocrity will soon become a thing of the past. Integrity, as a value, will be further established as examination malpractice will be highly curbed in our institutions of learning. I. INTRODUCTION In contemporary times, the success of the developed countries or the world have been linked to huge investment in human resources, but the societal problems in particular ,in the poverty stricken sub-Saharan Africa, has not made this possible. Other problems in the African society include that of education, employment, health, food and some others that could be affecting the national growth. No doubt, Nigeria is a highly populated country, and Onweh (2007) in his study established the fact that about half of the children‟s population completes the primary education. He further said that 81% of the relevant school age groups got enrolled into various educational institutions at different levels, but 69% managed to graduate. According to Onweh , secondary education in Nigeria grew at 10% yearly during the 1990s but access to it experienced great constraints due to complex admission processes and bottle necks created by administrative directives. Technical education then was neglected by the government. Higher education enrollment was so poor to the extent that 4% of the relevant age showed interest. This revealed the background to the problems encountered by Nigerian education and which are still lingering. Onweh further reiterated in his comparative study on the educational enrolment of places like South Africa which stood at 17%, India had 17%, Indonesia recorded 11%, and Brazil was not too lagging behind with its 12% stance. Nigeria was really found wanting compared to the points of the entries into the various educational systems of these afore mentioned countries. The poor embrace that education got at the initial stage of its introduction to Nigeria has its resultant effect on the society and this manifested as the poor reading culture of the average Nigerian (Okebukola, 2004). The values of reading cannot be overemphasized as he further affirmed. Through reading, according to him, human beings have the tools to transmit knowledge to each succeeding generation. Douglas (2000), in his own case asserted that every child must be fully competent in reading to succeed in school and discharge responsibilities as a citizen in a democratic society. Reading is the foundation of much enjoyment in life and it is closely related to vocational efficiency (Adigun, 1984). These submissions however signaled that lack of reading skill is can be the cause of this educational problem, termed poor study habit. According to Tracy (2008), reading is the only form of entertainment that is also an essential part of life skills. Children with poor reading habit receive poor grades in school, get easily distracted and frustrated. According to Rubin (2002), children with poor reading habits have a higher chance of engaging in anti-social behaviours, like delinquency, truancy, school violence, bullying, hacking computers and examination malpractices. While poor reading habit can be instrumental to the destruction of any individual who is plagued with it, good reading habit do help to develop steadily and build a constructive mind. According to him, good reading skill matures into good study habit.