THE ROLE OF EXAMINATION GRADE IN SHAPING THE READING CULTURE OF STUDENTS IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

This study entitled the role of Examination grade in shaping the reading culture of students in Tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

A big part of any course or study programme is measuring how much a student has actually learned. Examinations can come in different forms, while grading must comply with a certain norm.

The study tried to look at the link between reading culture and the issue of educational imbalance in the country to ascertain connectivity between the two. Academic achievement means how much knowledge the individual has acquired from the school is directly linked to reading culture. Various studies have proven that reading culture, whether academic or non-academic, have an effect on academic performance of students regardless of their level. (Bashir & Mattoo, 2012) A good number of children in Nigeria are quite privileged to have access to the internet, television, and other electronic devices and thus, most students would prefer to watch or listen rather than read. Many of today’s children have little or no interest in reading especially non-academic materials as they may refer to it as boring or time wasting. It is for this reason that majority of the youth would rarely purchase a newspaper, journal or novel, and would prefer to watch the content of the material in books as a film or listen to it. Some academic authors have published audio formats of their manuscripts and textbooks to assist student especially in the Senior High School (SHS) but even this also has been ineffective. Students with poor reading culture in the SHS face a lot of challenges if they make it to the tertiary institutions, mostly because they are compelled to read huge volumes of academic books. They may find it even more challenging because they are required to do their own research at the library or online in order to fully understand and succeed in their coursework. The poor reading attitude follows individuals from SHS to the Tertiary level and to the professional world, creating a workforce that can hardly read manuals for devices, medication instructions and public notices. Reading culture can be described as a socialization process and needs to be encouraged at all levels and all contexts. Some progress is being made as seen in the Nigeria Education Service’s announcement that a “reading hour” will be added to the education curriculum of all schools beginning this

2014/2015 academic year. The Acting Director of the GES, Charles Aheto Tsegah told Citi News, the addition has become necessary due to the falling standards of education in the country; a situation he attributed to the bad reading culture of children.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

There is no concrete empirical study to show the depth and seriousness of reading activities and their impacts on University students in Nigeria. There are reports that reading has been relegated to the background in our Universities. The extents to which poor reading culture pervade among students of the three major tribes have not been determined. In other words, the extent of the prevailing poor reading culture among students has not been established. The absence of concrete empirical studies to show reading frequency profiles of one major tribe in relation to the others in Nigeria prompted this study.

This study is therefore aimed at assessing the role of Examination grade in shaping the reading culture of students in Tertiary institutions in Nigeria.