Abuja — After 12 years of curriculum review, the federal government has said there is no going back in delivering to Nigerians a reviewed curriculum for its basic and senior secondary schools which is aimed at addressing the current learning crisis in the country and the encouragement of the use of more technology.
The Minister of Education, Prof Tahir Mamman, who stated this on Thursday at the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) Stakeholders' Dialogue and High-Level Policy Committee Meeting for the review of Basic Education Curriculum in Abuja, said their commitment is total, nonnegotiable and on the right course.
Represented by the Minister of State for Education, Dr Tanko Sununu, Mamman said Nigeria is one of the countries that is greatly affected by learning crisis and reports have shown that out of five children in the world, one of them is out of school and that one out of five is a Nigerian.
According to him, "The curriculum was last reviewed 12 years ago and it is an understatement to say what we have now addressed the need of the last five years not to think of addressing the current need and the future prospect of Nigeria.
"Report has also shown that out of four children in Nigeria at least one of them suffers poor numeracy level, poor learning level and also poor critical thinking level and these are all factors that retard national development and we must be able to come together address them."
The minister explained that the new curriculum, when completed and introduced will go a long way to address the challenges of poor learning outcomes, depreciating value system and the review is aimed to expose learners at the basic education level various skill development, opportunities including job creating skills.
"This will create tendency in the learners to help them think independently, innovate create and be able to solve various societal problem," he said
While noting that one of the critical aspects of the administration is to revamp the education sector towards creating a vibrant workforce with capability to take up various opportunities within the economic landscape and beyond.
He said the curriculum review is very important because they must go back to change mode of teaching to improve the perception and understanding of the children.
On her part, the Acting Executive Secretary, NERDC, Dr. Margret Lawani, said the current basic education curriculum can no longer meet the needs of their time after 12 years of its development and therefore calls for a review.
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"We recognize that the curriculum is an outcome of the decisions of the people as to what knowledge, skills, values, and competencies students should learn in school for them to live and meaningfully contribute to the development and growth of society," she said.
She said that NERDC has brought in a number of new initiatives that aim to ensure inclusivity and democratization of the curriculum review process to ensure that the curriculum truly reflects the needs and ambitions of all Nigerians.
This meeting is one of such initiatives aimed at collating the views and inputs of critical stakeholders towards the design of a qualitative curriculum for basic education in Nigeria.
"The current curriculum review drive is aimed at designing a globally competitive competency and outcome-based curriculum that will take care of critical emerging issues and provide the platform to instill the 21st century skills in the learners, " she said.
While noting that the meeting is strategic to produce a curriculum that will focus more on what the learners can do rather than what they can know, she said the stakeholders are expected to make suggestions to the review process and ratify the framework and structure, which will then launch them into the technical process of curriculum drafting.
