8th February, 2017
An educationist, Mrs Victoria Oladunni , has identified the advent of the social media as a major cause in the decline of reading culture among primary and secondary school students in Nigeria.
Oladunni made the observation in Ilorin on Wednesday.
She said that many students now prefer to “google” rather than search out information from books.
“Facebook, whatsapp and the likes take their time, they do not read adequately.
“Reading culture in our students has declined due to civilization, the
use of electronic reading materials such as discs and the internet have affected reading from books.
“Some parents who claim not to have enough time will prefer to play a video that the child can learn from rather than helping them with books.
“We still have about 20 per cent of students who have cultivated reading habits especially those who have teachers as parents.
“Parents , therefore , should train their children to read from books rather than from television, there is more expression in books.
“Schools should also have time dedicated to the use of library in their activities.
“Reading habits have decreased compared to the old days because of the social media, students do not have interest in reading anymore.
“They prefer to go online, ask questions through the social media and
online search engines.
“And one of the ways by which it can be improved is by reviving reading habits
such as the readers’ club, press clubs, debate clubs and reading competition, such as news cast in the school.
“News cast activities in schools will make the students read more of newspapers for information on current affairs, and not only that, there are educative materials in newspapers and journals which they can share with their mates in school.
“This will help improve academic excellence and education in Nigeria”, she said.
Oladunni noted that the use of electronic reading aids have made reading seem a difficult task for students.
“Some school libraries are not well equipped, because some of the books are outdated, libraries should be stocked to meet the required standard.
“The library is important for schools, because it is not all students that have the required text books and those who do not have should make use of the available ones in the library for assignments and reading.
“The library is very effective and important for academic excellence.”