Nigeria is currently faced with two major probl... - JAMB English 2009 Question

  Nigeria is currently faced with two major problems which necessitate the use of the broadcast media to satisfy the ever-increasing demand for qualitative education in the country. These are population explosion and debilitating mass poverty. Population explosion in the country has greatly increased the need for more schools so much that demand now far outstrips provision of education opportunities, particularly at the post-secondary level. In addition, the Nigerian society is currently handicapped by a crippling economic crisis which has forced many people out of school as a result of growing inability to meet the cost of training, like tuition fees and board charges.

  A way out of these problems lies in the provision of educational opportunities through the use of radio and television broadcast. Only when radio and television are fully utilized for teaching and learning can the foundation be laid for mass education in the country. Besides, using radio and television to transmit educational programmes can cut the cost of education as boarding and tuition will become unnecessary for most beneficiaries. At the moment, many Nigerians are unable to enrol to stay on in school because of the high cost of education and because government is unable to provide the staggering amount needed to finance mass education via the traditional school system

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  Also of importance is the fact that radio and television will offer good opportunities for the standardization of education in the country. At the moment, the best school in terms of facilities and qualified teachers are concentrated in the urban centres to the detriment of the rural areas. This has given rise to imbalance and uneven distribution of qualitative education in the country, so much so that experienced and qualified teachers often reject posting to rural schools, while over-concentration leads to under-utilization of capable hands in urban schools. Since educational broadcasting involves the best brains producing and broadcasting educational materials from one central location and reaching out simultaneously to scattered audience in the rural and urban areas, the quality of educational provision will be made even throughout the country.

  The usual argument against the use of radio and television for teaching is the absence of immediate feedback which is thought to be essential for learning. But this handicap is more than compensated for by the listener’s or watcher’s ability to record and play back as often as he or she likes, any part of the lesson he or she may find confusing or difficult to understand. Besides, support facilities like telephone and postal services may be used to clarify difficulties or answer students’ questions. In addition, since Nigeria is still largely an ornate society, using radio and television for direct teaching will not pose a serious communication problem. A beginning must therefore be made to promote aggressive school broadcast in the country.

According to the passage, the major advantages of educational broadcasts may be summarized as