ABSTRACT
The study investigated the contribution of the class size on students’ academic performance in Buea municipality. This end was fulfilled through four major objectives namely: to find out the current class sizes in the selected secondary schools in Buea municipality; investigate the challenges facing teachers in teaching large class sizes in Buea municipality  and to investigate the contribution of class size on enhancing students’ academic performance. The study used descriptive design whereby both qualitative and quantitative approaches were the basis of data collection
and data analysis. The data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, documentary review as well as observation. The findings revealed that large class size contribute significantly on the students’ academic performance by lowering students’ performance because they do not master the intended contents, competence and skills fully. This seemed due to the difficulties to get enough opportunity to practice the materials being taught in class. It was also learned that classes were congested with students ranging from 60 students to 80 students per stream. It was also learned that teachers have been facing many challenges such as difficulties in managing classes, limited time to mark students’ works as well as less time to attend students concerns
(problems) and needs. Basing on Education Policies (e.g., Education and Training Policy, 1995; Education Policy, 2014) the appropriate class size conducive for effective teaching and learning should be adhered for teachers’ teaching endeavours and students’ wellbeing during learning and performance in general.

CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Problem
Education in every sense is one of the fundamental factors of development. No country can achieve sustainable economic development without substantial investment in education. It enriches people’s understanding of themselves and the world; it improves the quality of their lives and leads to broad social benefits to individual and the society. Education raises people’s productivity, creativity and promotes entrepreneurship as well as technological advancements. In addition it plays a very crucial role in securing economic social progress and improving income distribution. Education is very important as it helps individual to convert economic resource into something valuable (Streeten, 2003). Education also makes people more ambitious and self confident; education is a weapon against feelings like shame and lack of hope (UNDP, 1990, p. 10). Education is a basic right not a privilege as it is also an essential catalyst for the achievement of all other global goals. Academic achievement help students to get job opportunities as employers only hire those who graduate. It allows students to enter competitive fields and it helps a student interpret the world around them. The students’ academic performance in secondary schools can drop or rise due to a number of factors some of them are:, teachers’ competence and teachers
commitments to work contributes to students’ academic performance, the distribution of available resources among the available schools in the nation, socio- economic background of the student, economic status of a teacher due to low pay which lead to low purchasing power, time in which students are in actual learning process, untaught parts of the intended curriculum, the national ideology, in adequate teaching and learning materials, learning environment, class size for instance classes which are big are likely to have negative impact on students’ academic performance and availability of important infrastructures like classrooms, library, laboratories, teachers’ houses as well as furniture (Babyegeya, 2002) .