Use Of English 2009 Jamb Examination

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 or 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.

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 schools 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 audiences 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 oral 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.

The standardization processes of Nigerian Pidgin seem to have started during the post-colonial period. Naturally, Nigerian Pidgin appears to be the first choice of most Nigerians in informal situations, especially when they are among those from different ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. Thus, the selection process has tactically taken place. Among all the languages used in Nigeria today, English inclusive, Nigerian Pidgin could be said to be the most widely spoken. Evidence abounds in motor parks, parties, congregations, and most social occasions. There is also ample evidence in the electronic and print media, especially in political propaganda, campaigns, and product advertisements. Thus, in terms of spread and extensive use, Nigerian Pidgin could rightly be called a national lingua franca.

The use of Nigerian Pidgin in contemporary Nigeria could be described as most productive, extensive, and complex. It appears that the standardization processes—selection, codification, elaboration of functions, and acceptance—which started in the post-colonial era, are now being completed in contemporary Nigeria. The reason for this assumption is simple: apart from its complex use as a lingua franca, language of media advertisement, social interaction, unofficial military training, and limited literary output, Nigerian Pidgin has attained widespread acceptability in the media, political propaganda, and campaigns as well as soap operas. It is also the language of radio and television jingles. Most electronic media now use an appreciable percentage of their airtime to cast news and give reports in Nigerian Pidgin. Even though its use in some newspaper columns has declined, especially with the demise of the “Waka About” column in the Daily Times, it is, however, found extensively in some newspaper advertisements.

In places like Warri, Sapele, and Port Harcourt, there were reports that teachers at the lower primary level taught their pupils in Nigerian Pidgin. This unofficial adoption of Nigerian Pidgin as the language of lower primary education by those teachers is justifiable, considering the provision in the National Policy on Education, which states that, in addition to English, the major language in the child’s environment could be used at the elementary level of education. Similarly, Nigerian Pidgin has become a language of religious preaching, especially in Christianity. In most rural and even urban centres where congregations are not all very well-educated, pastors resort to the use of Nigerian Pidgin.

The use of Nigerian Pidgin as a literary language tends to have started in the sixties with the works of Achebe, Soyinka, and others. But it is in contemporary times that it has become most widespread. The number of poems, novels, and plays written and published in Nigerian Pidgin is growing even more rapidly. Many more literary writers now attempt to experiment with the language. Therefore, the evidence of codification, elaboration of functions, and the partial or tactical acceptance of Nigerian Pidgin are clearly visible.