FG announces new education policy, ‘Every Child Counts’
The Federal Government says it has initiated an education policy known as ‘Every Child Counts’, aimed at providing children across the country with quality education.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said the programme is expected to reach at least 2 million children in its first year.
Osinbajo, speaking at the 60th Anniversary of Grange School, Lagos, on Tuesday, said the policy was necessitated by Nigeria’s growing population which comprises mostly young citizens.
The VP said FG was doing all it can to ensure children are kept in school, while he hailed the school feeding initiative as a reason school enrollment had increased in the country in the last two-and-half years.
“This is the curriculum for primary and secondary schools,” he said.
“The core skills the programme will provide include: (1) Coding and Computer Programming; (2) Design Thinking and Computer Generated Imaging, Animation and Graphics Design; (3) Robotics, Networking and basic engineering applications.
“We have a programme called the N-Power programme and about 3,000 of them are currently being trained in animation skills and techniques and we found that people take so easily to learn some of these things.
“In fact, the younger people are, the easier it is for them to learn all of these technology skills.
“So, we think that to develop the kinds of young people who will be able to take on the kind of challenges of the 21st century and get the kind of work that the 21st century is producing already, we simply have to change the way we teach and what we teach.”
He added that the Federal Government was working in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Oracle Academy, Microsoft Cisco Academy and IBM in developing the curriculum.
“The plan also envisions a new classroom structure that permits the cultivation, expression and early adoption of skills that will function in the environment that is already being created – the technology environment that is already being created,” he said.
“The next question we asked is, for whom do we plan? The answer is quite straightforward – it is the Nigerian child.
“Not just the ones in the urban areas or the few that are privileged to afford decent schooling above the weakened standards of public schooling generally.
“The real slogan for us is “Every Child Counts” and that is the name of the policy, which means we have democratised our vision of a qualitative and relevant education to reach every Nigerian child.
“Every Child Counts” ensures that all children, especially the number reported to be out of school now, and in those areas where children tend to drop out of school much faster, all of them deserve to get a decent education, all of them must be reached by this programme,” he said.
