The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, has said the new curriculum for basic schools will take effect nationwide starting in January 2025.
The Minister of State for Education, Dr. Tanko Sununu had on October 9 disclosed that a new curriculum was underway.
Speaking during a meeting with stakeholders in Abuja on Monday, Mamman stated that under the new curriculum, pupils in basic schools will be required to acquire at least two skills.
He stated that private primary schools are required to adopt the new curriculum, promising that an updated curriculum for secondary schools should be ready by September 2025.
He said, “And the whole idea, as I said there, is that it is our position that by the time children finish school, they should have at least two skills. Students should be able to finish school with at least a minimum of two skills so that they can have a very productive life. The basis for the curriculum is the National Skills Framework, and it has been approved.
“It’s a very big project, it affects all schools in Nigeria, public and private. Whether in the public sector or private sector, all schools are going to implement it. So this is already determined. It doesn’t require anybody’s consent or any institution can depart from it.
“And then we want to use this school year to set off on this, while simultaneously the relevant agencies with the Ministry of Education work on the senior secondary school curriculum along the same line so that from September to October next year, the senior secondary school can be ready, as we are ready with this one, for implementation.
“Our projection is we should be able to conclude on this until December so that in January, schools across the country can now commence implementation. We do not expect comprehensive, full implementation from January. Because when you roll out something new, there’s a lot of preparation that has to take place by the schools, acquiring new things, equipment, you know, small, small things that they will need.”
The minister noted that plans were ongoing to ensure the teachers are well equipped for the new curriculum.
He also said the ministry would meet with stakeholders in the private schools on the successful implementation of the new curriculum.
He said, “There is a need for the preparation of the classrooms and teachers’ development. We are also working on teachers’ support and development for them to be able to implement this. So we want to use the next three months for all these three stages.
“We’ll also do a national stakeholders engagement on publicity, particularly with the private schools. So that’s part of what we will be doing. And then teachers’ capacity, which is going to be ready to meet.”
Explaining one of the benefits of the curriculum, the minister said it would rekindle the desire of parents and students to acquire formal education.
He said, “Some parents do not want to send their children to school. Right now, part of the problem why schooling has become unattractive is because people finish and there’s no change in their lives.
“They cannot be employed. They can’t do anything on their own. So parents question the value of why they are spending money to send their children to school.
“Now it’s going to change that game altogether. And we have seen how these things resonate with parents. When they are successfully implemented, you will see students will want to run to school every morning. Parents want to take their children to school because they are learning practical things while in school.”
The Director of Curriculum Development Centre, Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, said all efforts to have a new curriculum in the last 12 years had been fruitless.
He said, “It’s a very happy moment for Nigeria and for all of us. Because this is something that we’ve been wanting to have for the past 12 years. This will help train our children to be skill-oriented and to have the requisite kind of skills and training that’s globally competitive. And I bet to say that this curriculum will be among the best in Africa.
“It is also aligned with the STEM initiative. That is science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics and the disruptive technology aspect of it in terms of digital literacy has been captured greatly here. Which means then that our children are part and parcel of it.” (PUNCH)
