#Education

‘Internet destroying reading culture’

By Kehinde Oluwatayo

|

Advent of internet and civilization have been identified as some of the problems responsible for decline in reading culture among Nigerian students.

Secretary of Parents Teachers Association PTA in Ondo State, Dr Toyin Olobayo who made the remarks during an interview with The Hope, stated that the country will continue to produce mediocre if the problem is not addressed.

According to Olobayo who is also the Principal of Ejioba in Obaile, students of nowadays have lost interest in reading and prefer to surf the internet since it is a shortcut to arrive at any answer instead of working hard to get it.

“For some years now, it has been discovered that reading culture is going down in the country. It is a nostalgia. At all levels of education, students now google the internet and we call it civilization.”

“It will result in mediocrity for us in this nation. Now we are saying our youths are our future, if we produce mediocres and they get to positions tomorrow, what type of policies will they make? So it is not healthy for the country.

“You can only acquire knowledge and gain experiences by reading. If they are not reading and only surf internet for shortcut solutions, I don’t know what becomes of our future,” he said.

He also identified movie as another distraction to reading among students saying that they can watch movies a whole day without doing any other thing.

“In those days, a teacher could give up to ten novels to a student to read in one term and if he failed to read, punishments were waiting for him and the parents had no audacity to fight the teacher, but today it has changed.

Related News  ACA, OGSA, Command shine as FGGS celebrates Press Club Day

“Today, how many parents have time for their children. Some would wake up in the morning, go about their businesses  and won’t return until evening. Nobody guides the child or tells him to go and read. Some do not even buy books for their children.

“What about peer influence? Some students whose parents do not have future plans for particularly the teenagers are influencing good ones with their bad behaviours,” he said.

To address the problem, Olobayo called for regular sensitisation of the public so that stakeholders can play their roles.

While advising students to study hard since reading is the only means by which knowledge can be acquired, he said any student who does not read hard will end up as a mediocre.

He advised parents to buy books for their children, ensure they read and make themselves available for them adding that they are their future.

He also called on philanthropists and government to donate books in schools libraries since poverty has made it difficult for most parents to buy books for their children so that students who want to read can have access to them.

Share

Ondo releases 2022 state exams’ timetable

‘Internet destroying reading culture’

Ondo begins National Personnel Audit in schools

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *