The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, has said the newly developed basic education curriculum will take effect by January, next year.
But Mamman declared that the curriculum is mandatory for all public and private schools from Basic 3 to Junior Secondary School,JSS3.
Speaking during a meeting with heads of examination bodies in Abuja on Monday, the minister explained that the revised curriculum aims to provide Nigerian students with a well-rounded education that prepares them for the challenges of the 21st century.
According to him,it will equally stop the growing out-of-school children menace in Nigeria.
The minister said government would partner with all stakeholders to ensure effective delivery of the new curriculum and fine-tune it within the next three months before its implementation in January 2025.
Bee keeping, robotics,poultry,sheep,goat, farming, make-up , plumbing, are among the 15 subjects introduced in the new curriculum by the federal government.
The new curriculum which was formally launched last week, at the opening session of the 68th National Council on Education,NEC Meeting in Abuja, 12 years after the current one was launched,seeks to cater for various trades and skills.
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Some of the subjects were grouped into different sectors including Basic Digital Literacy, Building and Construction, Events Decoration and Management, Services as well as Agriculture and Processing.
Acting Executive Secretary, Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council,NERDC, Dr. Margaret Lawan said 15 different trades or skills were introduced for Basic Education.
She named the subjects under Basic Digital Literacy to include Information Technology, Robotics and others, while Building and Construction has subjects like Plumbing, Tiling, Floor works and POP Installation.
For hospitality and leisure, subjects include Events Decoration and Management, Bakery and Confectionaries, Hair Styling, Make-up and Inner Design, even as Services consisted of the following subjects: GSM Repairs, Satellite/TV antenna/CCTV/Intercom Installation and Maintenance, Solar Installation and Maintenance and Garment Making.
There is also Agriculture and Processing which consists of Crop Production, Bee Keeping, Horticulture Production, Sheep and Goat Farming, Poultry and Rabbit Farming.
Also speaking, the Director Curriculum, NERDC, Dr Garba Gandu, justified the new curriculum, saying it is in line with current realities.
He said:”It is a harvest of a lot of experiences gathered from different countries. It is competency and outcome based. It is aligned with the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) initiative.
“And the disruptive technology aspect of it in terms of digital literacy has been captured greatly here, which means that our children are part and parcel of it. The interesting part of it also is that this is the most democratized curriculum that has happened in Nigeria because it addresses different contexts, stakeholders. It’s a whole representation of the needs that Nigerians are looking out for. I believe this will go a long way in turning around the basic education subsector in Nigeria.”
According to recent report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), a staggering 20 million children in Nigeria are out of school, underscoring the urgent need for interventions.