Cybercrime and Its Implications on Secondary Education in The
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www.udsspace.uds.edu.gh UNIVERSITY FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES CYBERCRIME AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON SECONDARY EDUCATION IN THE TAMALE METROPOLIS OF THE NORTHERN REGION OF GHANA RUHIYA ABU 2020 www.udsspace.uds.edu.gh UNIVERSITY FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES CYBERCRIME AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON SECONDARY EDUCATION IN THE TAMALE METROPOLIS OF THE NORTHERN REGION OF GHANA BY RUHIYA ABU (BA INTEGRATED BUSINESS STUDIES) UDS/MSA/0114/15 THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND HISTORICAL STUDIES, FACULTY OF INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT STUDIES, UNIVERSITY FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE IN SOCIAL ADMINISTRATION APRIL, 2020 www.udsspace.uds.edu.gh DECLARATION Student I hereby declare that this thesis is the result of my own original work and that no part of it has been presented for another degree in this University or elsewhere: Candidate’s Signature:…………………………………………Date:………………………… Ruhiya Abu Supervisor I hereby declare that preparation and presentation of the thesis was supervised in accordance with the guidelines on supervision of thesis laid down by the University for Development Studies. Supervisor’s Signature:……………………………….Date:……………………………. Dr. Frank K. Teng-Zeng www.udsspace.uds.edu.gh ABSTRACT This research is about the study of cybercrime and its implications on secondary education in the Tamale metropolis. Cybercrime activities have several implications on the various facets of students’ academic career at the Senior High School level and hence the main objective of this study was to examine the implications of cybercrime on secondary education. Differential association and general strain theories anchor the study. The 120 participants (respondents) in the study were SHS students (40 of them were involved in cybercrime activities), key informants (8) and internet café operators (4). Cross-sectional design was used for the study. This helped to triangulate both qualitative and quantitative methods. Data were analysed using SPSS version 21 to estimate the frequencies, percentages and the Kendall’s coefficient of concordance. Audio files were also transcribed and analysed to achieve the objectives of the study. The simple random, purposive and snowball techniques were used to select respondents. The study reveals that the major causes and motivating factors that are responsible for the involvement of individuals in cybercrime according to respondents varies and it is determined based on different factors such as peer group influence, unemployment, easy access to internet, weak laws and corruption. From the study results, a sizeable number of cybercriminals in Ghana falls within the youthful age. None of them indicated there is a law in the statute books that addresses these types of crimes and hence its illegality and punishment by law. Some of these Sakawa guys cater for themselves and their siblings’ education from basic to tertiary level with the aid of the cybercrime activities. In conclusion, cybercrime has a negative impact on secondary educational attainment since some of them have abandoned their education. ii www.udsspace.uds.edu.gh ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My sincere and deepest gratitude goes to my principal supervisor, Dr. Frank K. Teng-Zeng, for his guidance and support through the entire course. You will forever remain an inspiration to me. I am most grateful to Mr. Stephen Ameyaw for his support and useful comments. My appreciation would be incomplete without thanking my family, most especially my lovely dad for the financial support. iii www.udsspace.uds.edu.gh TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION............................................................................................................................ i ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ iii DEDICATION.............................................................................................................................. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................ iv LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER ONE ........................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................... 1 1.0 Background ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Problem Statement ........................................................................................................... 5 1.2 Research Questions .......................................................................................................... 7 1.3.1 Specific Research Questions ........................................................................................ 7 1.4 Objectives of the Study .................................................................................................... 7 1.5 Significance of the study .................................................................................................. 8 1.6 The Scope of the Study .................................................................................................... 8 1.6 Organisation of the study ...................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER TWO ........................................................................................................................ 11 LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................................... 11 2.0. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 11 2.1 Definition of Concepts ........................................................................................................ 11 2.1.1 The Concept of Education ................................................................................................ 11 2.1.2. The Concept of Secondary Education ............................................................................. 13 iv www.udsspace.uds.edu.gh 2.1.3 The Concept of Information and Communication Technology ....................................... 14 2.1.3. The Concept of Crime ..................................................................................................... 16 2.1.4 Types of Crime ................................................................................................................. 18 2.1.4.1 Crime Against Persons .............................................................................................. 18 2.1.4.2 Crime against property .............................................................................................. 19 2.1.4.3 Crime against society .................................................................................................... 20 2.1.5 Overview of Cybercrime .................................................................................................. 21 2.1.6 The Concept of Cybercrime ............................................................................................. 22 2.1.7 Forms of Cybercrimes .................................................................................................. 25 2.1.8. Aspects of Cybercrimes ............................................................................................... 27 2.2. Causes of Cybercrime ..................................................................................................... 32 2.3. Cyber Security in Perspective ............................................................................................ 32 2.4. Activities on Cyber Security .............................................................................................. 35 2.4.1 Global Activities on Cyber Security ............................................................................. 35 2.4.2. Regional Initiatives ...................................................................................................... 37 2.4.3. Initiatives in Ghana ...................................................................................................... 38 2.5. 1. Cybercrime in Ghana: History, Paradigms, Profiles, and Responses ............................ 40 2.5.2. The Upsurge of Cybercrime ‘Sakawa’ In Ghana ............................................................ 41 2.5.3. Cybercrime and Local Legislation .................................................................................. 44 2.5.4. Legal Components for Cybercrime Prosecution ............................................................. 46 2.6. Awareness of Cybercrimes among Students ...................................................................... 47 2.7. Effects of Cybercrime ........................................................................................................ 50 2.7.1. The Necessity of Cyber Education in High Schools ......................................................