By Emmanuel Oluwadola
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Education experts have raised alarm over eroding reading culture among youth in Nigeria, saying many youths have lost value for education.
Worried that many students read only when examinations are approaching, the experts said they should rather have a comprehensive understanding of the course of study.
The experts added that the implication of reading just to pass would make students not have a robust knowledge of what they are studying, stressing that they would be unable to defend their degrees after school.
According to them, many half-baked graduates are being produced by Nigerian tertiary institutions because of poor reading culture and lack of value for education by the youth.
Speaking with The Hope, a lecturer of Computer Science at Rufus Giwa Polytechnic Owo, Dr (Mrs) Olutola Agbelusi, said reading only to pass examinations can lead to short-term success and hinder students’ long-term learning and critical thinking skills.
Olutola advised students to always read and understand to aid their thinking skills and problem-solving capacity in their society, adding that students can only have profound solution(s) if they have a good understanding of a concept.
Also speaking, a Mass Communication lecturer at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Mr Lamidi Ishola, said some students do not read until the examination because they think of circumventing the system, believing that no amount of preparation would make them pass.
“To me, it is a wrong approach because it has to do with a lazy approach to their education career, lack of commitment on the part of such a student and those who indulge in that, I believe, would only read for exams.
“Some also believe they probably would not use the degree, forgetting that no knowledge is lost. Whatever you acquire in the higher institution will always stand you out among your colleagues and make you a better person.
“The implication of reading just to pass is that such a person may not have a robust knowledge of what they are studying. They may be unable to defend or profess what they claim to have. That is why we have a lot of half-baked graduates nowadays. Something must be done to checkmate this. Otherwise, the educational standard will become a total mess.
“So people should read to acquire knowledge and better understand what they are studying in the university so that by the time they are out, they can defend it and become the driver of the economy and significant policymakers.
“My advice to them is that what is worth doing at all is worth doing well. If they imbibe that culture, it will stand them out and advance the course of education in Nigeria. If there is anything nobody can take away from you is the knowledge you have acquired, nobody can steal it.
“Students should take their education seriously and should not believe in a short way to success but go through the normal process,” he said.
Contributing, a lecturer at the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), Mr Sunday Oladipo Oladeji, noted that engaging in other activities distracts students from reading as expected.
He suggested that students should do away with all distractions and ensure they put all their minds into reading. Otherwise, the knowledge gained will be swallowed.
