EDUCATION IN NIGERIA: ROLES OF UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES IN LOCATING THE EPICENTRES FOR DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Education sums up the systems of schooling that involves institutionalized teaching and learning in relation to curriculum established according to predetermined aims that hinged on developmental needs or requirements of the society. The quantum of developmental breakthroughs in science and technology, economics, social and political spheres ever recorded in human history were and still continue to be products of education. Abounding in extant literature are documentations that point to the fact that despite the observable benefits of education and training to societies around the world, education in Nigeria is losing ground in its capacity to replicate what other nations have done or set new objectives that would equip societies to respond to the realities and/or requirements of effectively living in the twenty first century. To this extent, contemporary educators, opinion leaders, policy makers, Non-governmental organizations, and library and information science practitioners amongst others are worried and are in search of epicentres to furnish the nation with the scientific knowledge and technological expertise to tackle the myriads of problems that exist in the nation's cultural space for effect. The envisioned education with the universities as epicentres is expected to strengthen and mainstream knowledgeable, skilful, and resilience experts into the process that would sustain development in all facets of the economy through assistive support from libraries. The paper, however, concludes on the way forward in making universities as factual and effectual epicentres.