Decline in reading habit of students worrisome —Lagos govt

LAGOS State government has expressed deep concern over declining reading habits, especially among primary and secondary school children.

It said something concrete must be done fast to reverse the trend, which it attributes to many factors including the increasing Information and Communication Technology awareness in the country.

The director of the state’s library board, Mr. Asimiyu Oyadipe, made the observation at a recent press conference and launch of the ‘LagosReads’ project held at the Herbert Macaulay Library in Yaba, Lagos.

He noted that many children are no longer interested in reading recommended textbooks in schools, let alone other useful materials; that they prefer to watch movies and surf the internet for hours for photographs and pornographic materials that will do them no good.

“But researches have shown that it is only when one reads that one gets the right knowledge and is able to put such knowledge into practice for the good of one and for all,” he explained. “So, that the interest of many children to reading is going down by the day is a serious issue that calls for concern among stakeholders, including governments at all levels.”

Oyadipe, however, said that was why the state government had been giving prominence to programmes and activities that could arouse children’s interest in reading from their early ages and grow with the habit to adulthood.

The ‘LagosReads’ project, he said, was designed to promote reading culture of people of Lagos, especially by encouraging them to make use of both the public and private libraries across the state.

He added that part of the approaches to achieve this objective is by organising quiz competitions among library users and reward those who excel accordingly.

In his remark, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Mr. Obafela Bank-Olemoh, reinstated state’s government determination to cause a revolutionary change in reading culture among people of the state.

The essence of all these, according to him, is not only to assist readers (both young and old) in their spelling, diction and writing ability, but also to make reading fun to them.