A Survey of the Reading Habit of Exchange Students of Government Secondary School and Queen Elizabeth School, Ilorin, Kwara state, Nigeria

The focus of this paper is on a survey of the reading habit of exchange students of Government Secondary School and Queen Elizabeth School, Ilorin Kwara State. The students were drawn from seventeen states in Northern Nigeria. Causes of the low reading habit were identified, highlighted and the effects on their academic perfonnance discussed. Questionnaires were administered on 188 respondents. It was recommended that government should implement the provision in the National Policy on Education (1981) by establishing school libraries, and adequately equipping the existing ones. Teachers are to be given in-service training on the organization and management of school libraries. Also both Government and Non-Government organisations in volved in readers hip promotion should collaborate with the National Library of Nigeria in executing the programme.