CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
The high demand for elimination of illiteracy has in various forms elicited response from the Nigerian Government. This has resulted in the government declaration of Universal primary Education (UPE) in 1976 and the Universal Basic Education (UBE) in 2003 which increased students’ enrollment. Reading according to Moyle (1969) is thinking the thoughts that a writer is communicating to his readers by way of the written or printed words. Suleiman and Crossman (1980) defined reading as interactive not passive. They viewed reading as sense making, an act of becoming, where new questions, insights and understanding that were once held are subject to modification, re-interpretation and even dismissal. Reading can also be seen as a psycholinguistic process involving the interaction of languages and thought as language is decoded and meaning is reconstructed. Kolawole (1979).
The importance of good reading culture cannot be over-emphasized as it provides individuals welfare, social progress and international understanding. It also provides skills, knowledge and right attitude and frees one from boredom or idleness, among others. Reading is not just for school but for life since it enhance the success at both school and beyond. It has been observed that some of the disadvantages of poor reading culture are high failure rate, increase in students’ dropout rate, continuous high rate of unskilled manpower, poverty, frustration, loss of self esteem and illiteracy among others. There is a general feeling that students in tertiary institutions lack reading culture. This may be borne out of the poor habits formed at the lower academic levels. Many lecturers complain about the poor reading habits among their students which may have implications on the personal and intellectual development. Edomwandagbon (2005) reported that if students who were preparing for both or either internal and external examinations avail themselves of facilities in the various libraries, read their notes and textbooks diligently, the incidence of cheating, impersonation and examination malpractice and cultism will be greatly reduced in Nigerian higher institutions of learning. The irony is that the case under discussion cuts across even affecting students in University of Benin.
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