Abstract
Poverty and ill-health are often intertwined. Poverty can lead to poor health outcomes due to inadequate nutrition and lack of access to healthcare, while ill-health can further impoverish families by increasing healthcare costs and reducing income. This creates a vicious cycle that disproportionately affects children and their access to education. This study investigated poverty and ill-health as factors militating against the education of the Nigerian child as perceived by secondary school students in Owerri Municipal. The study design was descriptive survey. The target population of the study was 8,560 secondary school students in Owerri Municipal. The instrument used for data collection was structured questionnaire. The sample size used for the study was 865 students which represents 10% of the study population. Data were collected through questionnaire on whether poverty of parents affects their ward’s performance in examinations, whether ill-health of students affects the quality of schools they attend, and the level of education ultimately attained. Analysis was done using mean statistical tool for the research questions while chi-square was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 alpha levels. The findings reveal that ill-health of students and poverty of parents negatively affects their ward’s academic performance, the quality of schools their wards attend and the level of education ultimately attained. Recommendations were made inter alia that government should establish a social welfare scheme for students of the poor and needy.

Keywords
Poverty, Ill health, Education, Nigerian and Child.