THE ROLE OF THE BROADCASTING MEDIA IN UPLIFTING THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

          Communication is the most vital factor in building and developing  nation. 

Following this, national development in any society cannot be achieved without wide spread education for  children and adults Education is recognized as the most potent instrument for development.  Through education, people assimilate fundamental values and develop new ones.  In addition, certain prescribed goals are realized n areas of economic growth, healthcare,  political and social awareness, political stability, self-reliance, national identity, among other things.

          The mass media, particularly the electronic or broadcast media, become a powerful and effective instrument for achieving these national goals.  Broadcasting  is the transmission of signals through electronic agent wares which convert audio and video signals in a form in which they can be received in the audiences homes.

          Broadcast media includes radio and television .  radio is broadcasting which appeals  to the  auditory   and visual senses.

1.1     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDYS

          The origin of educational broadcasting in Nigeria could be  linked with the introduction of broadcasting services in  the country.  The wired broadcasting services in the country was commissioned in Lagos by the colonial administration.  The broadcasting services involved a  system where by a radio station  received the  British Broadcasting corporation (BBC) prorammes and then relayed same to subscribes through cables connected to loud speakers installed in people homes.  

          In the 40’s, the radio rediffussion was established in Lagos until in 1951 when it was changed to the Nigerian Broadcasting services (NBC).  The Nigerian broadcasting services relayed such programmes as news reviews, sports and religious issues, and it exclude itself when it brought daily account of political news to millions of people during the 1959 general election campaigns.  It also brought news in English and the three main Nigeria languages.  In 1954. It launched a magazine

TITLE THE RADIO TIMES.  

Television broadcasting was established in the country on October 21, 1959 in Ibadan by the government of western Region of Nigeria.  The station  was run luctiauy under the trade name of Western Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Ibadan was the first in television broadcasting followed by the Eastern Nigerian government, Enugu, and others.

          Furthermore, Enugu being the regional capital of the former Eastern Nigeria, and currently Enugu state, occupies a strategic position in the political and social  organization of Nigeria that being the case, there are some broadcast media located in  several parts of the state.

          The Enugu state broadcasting service (ESBS)  the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), the Federal Radio corporation of Nigeria (FRCN)    have a great role to play in the  quantities and qualitative education of the citizenry  their objectives are realized  through the souring of innovative programmes spread around or anchored on the media commissions.  The Enugu state Broadcasting services (ESBS) for instance, has the university of (UNIAIR) programme which is a second chance educational programme organization in collaboration with an educational institution of the tertiary level to educate the masses in the same vein, the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) and the state radio station, both have fashioned out education programmes which are dished out to the public for their viewing and listening pleasure.  The question that comes  to mind is  whether the broadcast media have really helped in educational advancement and perhaps national development.

          Over the years, lots of studies and searchers  have been carried out and consequently many books written and published in order to discover the answer to the above question.  This efforts have been made to find out the relationship between  the media and educational advancement of students in their understanding and retentive ability.  Today, it is accepted that educational programmes as the broadcast media produce some effect in the audience in the areas of retention comprehension and out – spoken ability.  In some cases, the media produced some cases, the media produced some negative influence on the audience.  however,  it would appear that the broadcast media are not living up to their expectation  even through the fault or blame should not be centred around them only.  The government and the entire citizenry also  have their share of the blame and fault.  The problem lies squarely on freedom of  the  press or freedom of expression for the whole country.  Not with standing the problems, broadcast media of Enugu metropolis have as their formal objectives, the following:

1.                 Compliment and support class room education this is possible with the instructional  television on air educational programmes.

2.                 To broaden and deepen knowledge

3.                 To encourage intellectual development 

4.                 To encourage and teach skill acquisition

5.                 To provide tutorials on curricula subjects.

6.                 To provide a forum for education, information enlightenment  and entertainment.

RESEARCH PROBLEMS:

This study, among other things, find out the effectiveness of he broadcast educational advancement.  Again it finds out whether the timing  of educational programme on the broadcast media is suitable for the general public.  The study strives to find out if the instructional television and university of  aim are packaged to stimulate  interest and understanding.  Finally, it finds out if the education programme on the media are more effective in educating  the masses, particularly, the students them the academic activities in schools.  

The importance of education in any society can never be over emphasized.  Development can only be achieved when there is a high level of  literacy in a community.  With this in mind, the objectives of this study are as follows:

a.                 To ascertain the extent the broadcast media have played in educating the populace in Enugu State.

b.                 To find out the effectiveness of the media educational programmes on the masses and know these programmes can be improved upon to suit the target audience.

c.                  To find out the number of people who have benefited from the educational  programmes of the broadcast media, more so, how the media help in educational  advancement.

1.4     SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY  

          This study is imperative considering the fact that the world is ever- changing thus the general public wants to be informed or rather, educated on some necessities  of life, especially those who were not opportune to be enrolled into the various institutions of learning therefore come the broadcast media and their role in learning. It is therefore  important to find out the role of broadcast media in Enugu state  in educating its masses, at the same time, examining the problems encountered in their daily activities.  The study show the extent where by the audience benefit from these programmes or rather, their effects on the masses.  finally,  the results of this study will add to the total body f knowledge beneficial  to the society. 

1.5            RESEARCH QUESTIONS:

1.                 Does the educational programme from the broadcast media stimulate interest in the society?

2.                 Do the media time their educational programme effectively to suit their massive audience in Enugu metropolis?

3.                 Do the media  package the university of the Air and instructional television to enhance understanding ad education?

4.                 Do the broadcast media help in educational advancement in the state?

1.6            STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESES:

The researchers programme from the media stimulate interest in the masses.

Ho:    Educational programme from the masses do not stimulate interest  in the masses.

H2:    The timing of educational progamme on the broadcast media is suitable to the general  public.

Ho:    The time of educational programme is not suitable to the general  public

H3:    The instructional television ad the university of the Air and packaged effectively to enhance understanding and educational  masses.

Ho:    The instructional television and the university of the Air are not packages effectively to enhance understanding and educate the masses.        

H4:    Broadcast media and their educational programmes are more effective in educating  the populace than academic activities in schools.

H5:    Broadcast media ad their educational programmes are not more effective in educating the populace then academic activities in schools.

1.7            SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY:

The study  is an assessment of how the  broadcast media affect the masses and help in educational advancement in Enugu state.  The study was constrained by time, so the researcher does not claim that the study will be 100% reliable taking a look at the above problem, it limited us to the number of people that will be sampled. 

          Another constraint is the finance limitation of covering some named states to obtain a varied result or a poll  of opinion from other states.  Notwithstanding these aforementioned problems, it is expected the a valid result would be obtained that would add to the body of existing knowledge in the area of behavioral change towards education. So that people’s ideas are changed with education.  

1.8            DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

The following terms in the study are here by defined conceptually and operationally:

1.9            ASSUMPTIONS:

In carrying out the study, the following assumptions  were made: 

That the people who composed the sample watched television or listened to the radio that the broadcast educational programmes were effective in the educational advancement of the masses, both old and young rich and poor.

Previous  study has been carried out on this topic, thus there is much research work  gathered in the literature review

REFERENCES

NTA Handbooks, ESBS Corporate Affaires  Division Nwosu, Ikechukwu (1990) Mass Communication and National Development the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English, Oxford University Press.

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