Library Education in Nigeria :Repositioning for Professional Relevance in the 21st Century

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Date
2016
Authors
Onuoha, U.D
Ukachi, N.B
Aina, R.F
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
De Gruyter Saur
Abstract
The thirst for knowledge has always led humans to seek education, and as such many countries of the world, including Nigeria, place a high premium on the education of their citizens. Adjudged the most populous country in Africa and the eighth most populous country in the world with a population of over 150 million, Nigeria is located on the Atlantic coast in West Africa, bordered by Benin on the West, Niger and Chad on the North, and Cameroon on the East (Academic American Encyclopedia 1994). The history of formal education in Nigeria dates back to the colonial period but has evolved over the years. While the colonial period used a system of decentralization in which educational systems in the Northern, Eastern and Western parts of the country varied, the post-independence era saw a unification of the educational system for the entire country. During the post-independence era, the country has witnessed several educational policies such as the 7-5-2-3educational policy (7 years of primary education, 5 years of secondary school, 2 years Higher School Certificate Levels, and 3 years of university education) which was later revised to the 6-3-3-4educational system (6 years of primary education, 3 years of junior secondary school, 3 years of senior secondary school, and 4 years of university education). The 6-3-3-4system was replaced with a 9-3-4 system in 2009, which called for 9 years of uninterrupted schooling made up of 6 years of primary education, and 3 years of junior secondary, 3 years of senior secondary and 4 years of university education, Recently the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqquayat Rufa'I, as cited by Awoyinfa (2013), affirmed that plans are on the way for the introduction of a 1-6-3-3-4(1 year of pre-primary, 6 years of primary education, 3 years for junior and senior secondary education with 4 years of university education) aimed at giving Nigerians high-quality and pragmatic education. To obtain education in librarianship, one has to pass through the educational system to the university level where it is hoped that one would attain the skills/ competencies needed to contribute positively to libraries and related information service organizations in the country. Although library education can be acquired from colleges of education and polytechnics, the products of such schools are 8 Library Education in Nigeria - 135 not recognized as professional librarians: only a first degree from a university is accepted as the foundation for library professional training in Nigeria (Ogundipe 2005). This chapter therefore focuses on library education from the perspective of universities.
Description
Staff Publications
Keywords
Library Education , Nigeria , Educational Policy , Professional Library Trainning , Information services , Research Subject Categories::SOCIAL SCIENCES::Other social sciences::Library and information science
Citation
Onuoha, U.D, Ukachi, N.B and Aina, R.F (2016). Library Education in Nigeria :Repositioning for Professional Relevance in the 21st Century. Educating the Profession :40 years of the IFLASection on Education and Training.