ECONOMICS

The catfish industry in Nigeria faces significant challenges including high production cost, low productivity, and limited profitability. Despite its potential, the industry has not fully explored the use of concrete pond for catfish production which could improve efficiency and reduce costs. This study investigated the socio-economic characteristics, profitability, and technical and allocative efficiency of concrete pond catfish production in the Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria, and identified key constraints faced by farmers. Data were collected from 113 concrete pond catfish farmers and analyzed using descriptive statistics, net profit analysis, and the Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) model. Socio-economic analysis revealed the enterprise is dominated by economically active males (62.83%) with a mean age of 44 years. A significant majority of farmers (69.91%) possess tertiary education, and 74.34% engage in full-time catfish farming. The cost and return analysis confirmed that concrete pond catfish production is highly profitable, yielding an average net profit of ₦599,386.39 and a strong Return on Investment (ROI) of 2.49 per production cycle, demonstrating high financial viability. The technical and allocative efficiency analysis showed that 95.28% of farmers operated at >90% efficiency, with a mean technical efficiency of 94.46%. However, the overall Returns to Scale (RTS) was -7.4534, indicating that the enterprise operates in an economically irrational region (Stage III) of production due to significant resource overuse. Technical efficiency was positively and significantly influenced by stock density and quantity of fingerlings, but negatively by fuel usage. Allocative efficiency was positively affected by the cost of fuel, feed, and fingerlings, but negatively by labor costs and depreciated fixed costs. Inefficiency models showed that increased age and pond size decreased allocative inefficiency, while increased experience, household size, and income increased technical and/or allocative inefficiency. The major constraint identified was the high cost of feed (Mean = 3.98), followed by disease outbreaks and theft. The study concludes that while concrete pond catfish production is highly profitable, there is an urgent need to address resource overuse to move production into the rational efficiency stage. Recommendations include promoting optimal stocking density, investing in high-quality fingerlings, and providing targeted training to enhance feed and labor management, ultimately ensuring the long-term sustainability and profitability of the sector.

This study investigated the assessment of the attitude of secondary school students towards Economics in public secondary schools in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. To achieve the purpose of the study, four research questions were raised and examined. The sample size for the study was made up of 200 students randomly selected from SS1 and SS2. The questionnaire was the instrument for data collection. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. An analysis of data was done using mean score. Criterions mean score of 2.50 was used as selection criterion.The findings from the study include that teaching methods, mastery of subject matter, conducive learning environment and availability of resources all constitute factors influencing the attitude of students towards Economics. It was concluded that there is positive attitude of SS1 and SS2 students towards Economics in public secondary schools in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. It was therefore recommended among others that since there is positive attitude of students towards the study of Economics, government should continue to ensure that the subject matter of Economics remain a top priority in order to sustain the interest of students.

The study investigated the impact of teachers’ qualification on students’ academic performance in Economics in public senior secondary schools in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. To achieve the purpose of the study, four research questions were raised and examined. The sample size for the study was made up of one hundred (100) respondents randomly selected from20 public secondary schools in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. The questionnaire was the instrument for data collection. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. An analysis of data was done using frequency count and simple percentage. The findings from the study include that there is significant impact of teachers’ qualification on students’ academic performance in Economics in public senior secondary schools in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. It was concluded that there is a significant impact of teachers’ qualification on students’ participation in classroom activities in Economics in public senior secondary schools in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State.

This research investigated Extent of the use of instructional materials for effective teaching and learning of home Economics in secondary school in Edo State. Three research question was raised. How effective is the use of audio instructional materials for effective teaching and learning of home economics in secondary schools in Edo state, what are the problems that are associated with the use of video instructional materials for effective teaching and learning of home economics in secondary schools in Edo state, How much awareness is been created on the use of audio-visual instructional materials for effective teaching and learning of home economics in secondary schools in Edo state. The purpose of the study was to examine the extent of the use of Instructional materials for effective teaching and learning of home economics in secondary school in Edo state. The objective was achieved by analyzing the data obtained on the sampled population, using survey research design and simple proportionate techniques I.e 20% of the population. The sample consist of 53 students drawn from four secondary schools in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area Edo State. The instrument used for the survey is a questionnaire, which has two sections (A and B) and 15 items. Analysis of the data revealed that. From the above findings. conclusion were drawn and some recommendations were made which include that school authorities should provide avenue for practical which will aid effective teaching and learning of home economics in secondary schools, school authorities should not demand payment from students for the provision of instructional materials, because it will scare them from attending home economics classes, Government and school proprietors should organise training and retraining conference, seminar and workshops for teachers in order to equip them with modern method of teaching and how to utilize instructional materials which could enhance their teaching skills.