Tinubu’s Govt Told to Extend Review of Curriculum Beyond Basic Schools

• Adesegun Ogungbayi, a top educator in Lagos state, has said a nation that desires advancement must be ready to review the instruments of all educational institutions
• Ogungbayi stated that this is necessary to meet the apparatuses that will enhance the technological and economic advancement of a country
• In an interview with Legit.ng, Ogungbayi advised the government of Bola Tinubu to extend the review of curriculum beyond basic schools

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering education in Nigeria and worldwide.

FCT, Abuja - The board chairman of Lagos-based MIMS Educational Services, Adesegun Ogungbayi, has said it is not only secondary school that requires review, "but all".

Ogungbayi's comment followed a statement by Professor Tahir Mamman, the minister of education, who emphasised the need for a periodic review of the secondary education curriculum in Nigeria to enable it to meet current realities.

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Mamman lamented that it took 12 years for the present curriculum to be reviewed.

In an interview with Legit.ng on Sunday, March 10, Ogungbayi asserted that "the curriculum all our children from pre-school to university are using must be constantly reviewed or else we will be setting a big trap for our nation".

He said:

I agreed with Professor Tahir Mamman, the minister of education of federal republic of Nigeria, for a yearly review of the curriculum in order to meet the current realities for the secondary schools. However, my own stand is that it's not only secondary school that requires review but all.

It's a clear fact that we all know that the realities we are talking about are affecting all fields of life and educational stages, therefore, the curriculum all our children from preschool to university are using must be constantly reviewed or else we will be setting a big trap for our nation.

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Firstly, we all need to know that our curriculum is too old and that the content is outdated to meet the quest for technological and economic advancement.

Secondly, the curriculum is not teaching the latest skills, and if care is not taken, the purpose of coming to school will be defeated because private institutions are already teaching those skills to put their schools ahead of the government schools that take care of 85% of the education of the students in Nigeria.

Ogungbayi added:

Our infrastructure also remains poor and outdated and still in line with the old curriculum, which is against the global best practices.

The teachers that the ancient curriculum is producing can not equally meet up with the current realities and global best practices, and therefore, focusing on secondary school curriculum while the university curriculum remains unreviewed will still be counterproductive in the long run.

The curriculum we are talking about has also limited our focus on technology and digital literacy compared to the advanced nations.

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Our present curriculum lacks practical skills that can strengthen our students towards technological advancement.

I also noticed through my scrutiny of our nation curriculum, and it's clear it does not care for critical thinking and problem solving.

My appeal to the commander in chief of armed forces of the federal republic of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu, is that if we failed not to ensure that our curriculum from preschool are regularly reviewed the poor enrolment we are witnessing in public school will continue unabated because pupils and parents are now aware of the need for technological skills which the outdated, ancient curriculum, unskilled teachers and poor school infrastructure cannot guarantee them.

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Bayelsa to include Chinese in school curriculum

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Bayelsa state government announced plans to make the teaching and learning of Chinese, French and Ijaw languages a priority in public schools.

The government has also expressed its intention to accord greater importance to science and mathematics.

Source: Legit.ng