The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) on Thursday advised schools in the country to restore regular essay competitions to sharpen the writing skills of their students.
NIPOST’s District Manager for Ilorin branch, Mrs Esther Ugoosuoha, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin.
Ugoosuoha noted that schools and private individuals should consistently organise inter-school essay competitions to help revive the dying writing culture among students in the country.
“The writing culture has disappeared; students are no more motivated and are not ready to improve their writing skills.
“School authorities must wake up and do something quick.
“It is time to stop concentrating only on inter-house sport competitions or inter- school football friendly matches; rather, we also should engage in inter-school essay competitions to improve the students.
“Students can hardly write two paragraphs correctly without spotting errors because they send messages to their friends and parents through their mobile phones.
“They are used to abbreviations and slangs while typing on their phones,” she said.
The manager also advised students to learn to improve on their writing skills, and to emulate the likes of the late Prof. Chinua Achebe, the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, and other great writers.
“A lazy mind cannot attain greater heights in his or her profession; students must be ready to sacrifice their time to be the best among their peers,” she said.
