The Role of Community Facilities in Enhancing Rural Child Education: Part 1 - Libraries

Introduction

         A community should be more than just a dictionary definition. According to Oxford Languages, a community is defined as a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. While accurate, this definition fails to capture the sense of togetherness and solidarity that true communities embody. This concept becomes particularly important when discussing the role of community facilities in enhancing rural child education. This First Part will focus on the significance of libraries.

The Importance of Community Facilities

Community facilities are the public locations which community members sustain for the betterment These facilities provide resources and spaces that can supplement formal education and foster a conducive learning environment. Examples include community halls, recreational centres, museums, libraries, parks and many more. 

The importance of community facilities can be seen in the following ways, aiding Nigeria through:

1. It provides an all-in-one location for development: Community facilities provide numerous benefits under one location. Not only do they offer the opportunity for people to learn; also a safe place for children, women and adults in society. This pertains to traditional education, skill development as well as personal development, social skills, and emotional intelligence.

2. Social Building and Communal Unity: Community recreational centres and such communal spaces provide an environment where people can gather. Such gatherings ultimately allow individuals to gather, unite and forge bonds within their community. This promotes communal growth and stability; especially for youths as it allows them to build their relations outside the basic family unit. 

3. Cultural Preservation and Promotion: Communal centres, museums, and art galleries play a key role in preserving  Nigeria's rich cultural heritage. These facilities offer platforms for education on Nigerian culture, for example, the Badagry Slave Trade Museum which encapsulates the memory of the over 500,000 slaves that were transported through Badagry. 

Also, social services, economic development, environmental stability and even mental health sustenance are some ways in which community facilities are vital to Nigerian communities.

Libraries as a Tool in Enhancing Rural Child Education

The importance of books to a young child cannot be overstated. Books stimulate a child and promote the development of their young brains As highlighted in the 1996 film, Matilda, a library can serve as a starting point in a young child's education. The vast resources in a library have the power to ignite a passion for reading and invoke the ability to self-teaching.

What is a Library? 

A library is traditionally, a collection of books and other forms of materials used for reading or study, or the building or room in which such a collection is kept. In this day of modern technology, this is not only a physical book but includes digital materials, and may be virtual spaces as well as the physical location.

Libraries in rural communities provide access to books, educational materials, and a quiet place for study. They offer resources that might not be available in low-funded schools, such as a diverse range of textbooks, reference materials, and access to technology and the Internet. Though, libraries are not just banks of knowledge; they are catalysts for development at every stage of life.   

A Public library is established to provide unrestricted access to information resources free of charge to all community residents. Nigeria currently has no public library in urban or rural areas that meet the requirements of an ideal public library. 

An ideal public library caters to all members of the community. Such libraries must also have technology and the internet available as that is the modern way to access information. Its entirety should be dedicated to the promotion and accessibility of knowledge to all. The benefit of such a public library is it increases educational equity, i.e., it is an avenue for low-cost learning. Making it possible for youth of all income backgrounds to have access. This is not just to traditional learning by books but also a variety of opportunities which can cause a butterfly effect on the growth of an average Nigerian child. 

The government, non-governmental institutions or private charitable individuals most often fund such libraries. 

Libraries are not a concern of the government of Nigeria in recent years. However, there has been proven movement in the right direction as The Ekiti State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in 2023 ordered the establishment of functional libraries in all public primary schools within the state. This will aid the primary goal of increased educational facilities for students in the community. 

Despite the obvious benefits, there are challenges stifling libraries as a tool for growth in rural Nigeria. Some include our unreliable government, corruption in local public offices, inadequate funding, lack of trained and passionate personnel, stifled resources, poor infrastructure and so on. 

In Conclusion, serve as vital hubs for learning, providing access to a wealth of information and resources that are often scarce in rural areas. Nevertheless, many public libraries in Nigeria face still significant challenges, including a lack of funding, outdated materials, and inadequate infrastructure. Investing in libraries in rural areas is essential for empowering communities, improving literacy rates, and ensuring that every child in Nigeria, no matter their location, has the opportunity to succeed.