THE ROLE OF TELEVISION IN EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF NTA IBADAN

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   Background to the Study

The level of educational development of a region or a country is often measured by the general level of literacy of the entire populace and not the educational qualification of a certain group of members of that region or country. This is why government always aims at increasing the reading culture of its people even when a great percentage can very well read and write. In Nigeria for instance, millennials can access every kind of information they want on the internet and are very much exposed to world affairs on a daily speed so that it can be said that they can measure up with their counterparts of the rest of the developed and developing world.

However, the same cannot be said for other Nigerians of other generations who are not technologically savvy. Take the average American octogenarian who has the technological know-how to access the internet, use his mobile phone and an iPad. In this case the educational level is very high as the least exposed member of society is comfortably exposed and well educated and can keep up with changing times.

For this reason, educational development will not depend on reading and formal teaching alone.  Educational contents are to be fused into the daily lives of people so that they unconsciously assimilate them.

1.2   Statement of the Problem

With the changing and fast paced global world, formal and class educational settings are inadequate for people to grab the content of education with which they will live in a world that has turned to technology even up to the point of education and information dissemination. Government employs every means available in educating its citizens and keeping them ahead or at least at the same pace and apprised of changes in the world. One of such media used apart from direct formal teaching for educational development is the television. This research will study the role of the television in educational development with Nigerian Television Authority Ibadan as a case study

1.3   Research Questions

1.3.1      what are the roles of television in educational development in Nigeria

1.3.2      What are the features of television that help it in playing this educational developmental role.

1.3.3      How can it be increased in the face of increasing disinterestedness of the youth in national television programmes and channels.

1.4   Objectives of the Study

The objectives of this research includes establishing and describing the various roles of television in the educational development in Nigeria and the kinds of educational materials found on the NTA Ibadan which is our case study. This will be achieved by collecting the various programmes they air on their television NTA channels, analyzing their content and comparing them with those peculiar to other television stations in the country especially other NTA branches in other to find the objectives of these programmes. The research also aims at developing a way of easily finding out how these programmes bear upon the educational development of the different age ranges among the population that their station covers and cater to

1.5   Significance of the Study

This research is of great significance to the producers of the NTA programmes as it would help direct them towards the importance of their work to educational development of the general public. With this in mind they can better be equipped in developing the content they show on air, know the age ranges that benefits the most to their programmes and the ones that are put at a disadvantage which will consequently inform both their language of delivery and their censoring methods.

1.6   Research Hypothesis

This research work assumes that the television and their content play a very important role in the educational development of the masses over and above even the formal classes whose mandate is to tutor on just their disciplines and in its regulated methods and often only in theoretical form as opposed to television content that are very practical and relatable.

1.7   Scope of the Study

The scope of the study while focusing on the Ibadan channel of the Nigerian Television Authority, bases its research on the contents which affect the young and old generation simultaneously and the ones developed with an age range and gender in mind.

1.8   Limitations of the Study

Even though, as we implied earlier that it is very easy to pinpoint the impacts and roles of television on the educational development of the masses, however it is often difficult sifting through other factors that bear upon the educational development of the masses.This is one of the challenges of this research and while it serves as a motivation for it, it has been a limitation in that it in some ways reduces the reliability of our hypothesis.

1.9   Definition of Terms

Educational Development

This refers to all societal development related to the education of its people which includes and isn’t limited to the formal and direct systematized education of the people.