Our new curriculum makes it compulsory for every student to graduate with 2 skills – FG
The Federal Government said the new curriculum, to be rolled out soon, for Basic and Senior Secondary Education in Nigeria, will make it compulsory for every student to graduate with at least two skills.
This was made known by the Minister of Education, Prof Tahir Mamman, at the 68th National Council on Education (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Thursday, October 10, 2024.
Maman, who spoke on the theme, ‘Innovation, Digital Technology Entrepreneurship: Tools for Educational and National Development in the 21st Century,’ said the new curriculum is designed to incorporate knowledge, skills and values at Basic and Senior Secondary Education levels.
He explained that the new curriculum placed a special focus on skills so that students would be equipped with skills they could leverage to connect with the economy and have a productive life after graduation.
New curriculum to address technological disruption in education
Mamman spoke on the common challenge that the Nigerian educational curriculum is in danger of becoming obsolete due to technological disruption in every industry, including education.
“A well-designed and effective curriculum determines a sustainable development, quality, and the relevance of education. This is the main reason why this administration places priority on the institutionalisation of curriculum development in the overall context of education,” he said.
The minister said his ministry is implementing the Education Transformation Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, designed to comprehensively overhaul the education sector to ensure quality learning, skill development, access and equity.
The Prof reiterated the government’s primary responsibility of protecting and ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels for all learners.
“The government, therefore, is committed to observing all relevant international protocols, conventions and treaties for the protection of our learners, teachers, learning institutions and facilities from attack and any other instrument on education, which the country has domesticated,“ he added.
For his part, the Minister of State for Education, Dr Tanko Sununu, said any nation nursing the desire to grow must in essence embrace the new culture of creative ideas, entrepreneurship and the use of digital technology.
“To meet the challenges posed by new technological development, we must ensure that the educational system is structured and made more relevant to the needs and aspirations of the society,” he stated.
Sununu added new and relevant ideas must be incorporated into the system to enhance national development, noting that education at all levels needs renewal to meet up with the present realities of globalisation.
Similarly, the Chairman Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Muntari Mohammed, stated that digital literacy must be a fundamental component of the curriculum, declaring that the committee leadership remains focused on ensuring stability in the education sector.
