The current Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, has so far taken some steps which give hope of the revival of Nigeria’s education sector in the near future. He recently inaugurated an eight man committee to set up a roadmap for the education sector in the country which he said was in line with the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda of President Bola Tinubu. Among the committee’s mandate is to come up with a curriculum from basic to tertiary level that meets the demands of the current times and needs of Nigerian society. The committee is to also look into the issues of financial autonomy in tertiary institutions, access and equity, research and innovation as well as the government-industry-academic nexus.
The minister emphasised that “One thing I must not fail to add is that we must have an education system that embraces technology and moves into a digital future where our education responds to the demands of society. We need to move away from education for its sake to education for the development, not only of the individual but most importantly, of the society we live in.” Similarly, earlier in the week, the National Universities Commission (NUC) launched a newly restructured curriculum for Nigerian universities, called the Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS). The new curriculum which replaces the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) and is aimed at making university education in Nigeria more responsive to the needs of the society is to take effect from this month.
According to the NUC, the CCMAS is designed to reflect the 21st Century realities, in the existing and new disciplines and programmes in the Nigerian University System and is structured to provide for 70 percent of core courses for each programme, while allowing universities to utilise the remaining 30 percent for other innovative courses in their peculiar areas of focus. Although bodies like the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have kicked against the new curriculum, describing it as a threat to university autonomy and that universities are statutorily responsible for academic programme development “instead of the top-to-bottom model used for the CCMAS”, the minister of education and some other stakeholders in the education sector have applauded NUC’s initiative, saying it is welcomed novel idea which would impact positively on Nigerian Universities.
Knowing Mamman’s pedigree and his track records of excellence in the education sector, there is no doubt that he will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the right teachings are impacted on the Nigerian child and that quality education that will lead to the development of the citizens and the country is achieved. There have been calls for a comprehensive overhaul of the Nigerian education system both from the policy direction and in the area of standard. The introduction of the 6-3-3-4 system over 20 years ago was the last major tweak in our education system and many believed that there is a need to take a critical look at what obtains in our schools and have a system change since the current one has obviously failed.
It is a known fact that many graduates of secondary and tertiary education in Nigeria lack employable and requisite skills to function well in the society. No thanks to the doctrinal curriculum, poor quality of teachers, lack of infrastructure and other challenges bedevilling the education sector. The founder, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), Chief Afe Babalola, recently described the curriculum being used in schools as outdated, lamenting that several attempts at reviewing them over the years have not achieved desired results. However, to achieve the set goal, there is the need to embrace creativity in the teaching profession. The average Nigerian child is encumbered with a lot of learning. In many schools across the country, pupils and students are subjected to several hours of sitting down and listening to teachers talk with rarely an opportunity for practical.
For learning to be impactful a child should be exposed to the practical aspect of it. This makes it important and necessary that teachers should acquire practical skills in order to adequately pass on knowledge to the child. Aside from sitting in rows at desks, dutifully listening and recording what the teachers have to say, it is important that teachers employ the needed skills in offering every child a rich, rewarding and unique learning experience. Experts believe that the role of teachers in a child’s education has been fundamentally compromised, making the education environment go beyond the classroom to the home, the community and the world around. On the other hand, information no longer abounds primarily in books but is now available everywhere in bits and bytes as such following the education curriculum religiously to the end may not be the   major requirement for a child’s development.
Educationists have always emphasised the need for teachers to be more creative in order to impact positively on a child. They say the transformative teacher is a creative teacher; that practical experiences and explanations while teaching tend to stick deeply with children and that it takes a creative teacher to give young people rich experiences that stay with them for life. “A teacher who practicalises his subjects makes it easier for the children to understand. “When the curriculum is followed as it is, without the teacher thinking creatively and engaging the kids, to enable them to relate with the topic, the child will find it difficult to grasp the subject.”
Associate Professor of Childhood Education, Tai Solarin University of Education, Ogun State, Dr Adefunke Ekine, identified ages zero to eight as the most critical in the developmental stages of a child. She said that the psychological makeup of the teacher handling children within this age bracket is very critical. According to her, about 90 per cent of children’s brains are developed within this age bracket; hence the need for a creative teacher or care giver. Why do primary and secondary school students perceive science subjects as abstract and difficult to understand? It is because of the way some teachers teach the subjects. Teachers should therefore, develop problem solving skills and not just teach the subjects as an abstract.
Teachers, especially at primary school level, must influence pupils to love Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) which are critical in instilling passion for innovation. There is also the need for regular training of teachers, prompt payment of their salaries and adequate catering for their welfare to enable them to impact knowledge on the children creatively and enthusiastically. This will also attract qualified hands into the teaching profession. The nation cannot continue to prioritise politics to the detriment of health, education and other sectors and expect the best from them. In the twilight of the immediate past administration, the former Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, disclosed that the federal government had approved a new National Language Policy which would make mother tongue a compulsory medium of instruction for public primary school pupils.
According to him, mother tongue would be used exclusively for the first six years of education, while it will be combined with English Language from Junior Secondary School. He said that the mother tongue to be used in each school will be the dominant language spoken by the community where it is located. Nigerians expect to see this incorporated into the schools’ curriculum that is underway. Nigerians will also want to see a curriculum that deemphasises examination rankings and certificates. Nigeria should toe the line of Singapore where school examination rankings had been abolished. Nigerian schools, especially the private schools should stop making the children see learning as a competition but a self-discipline they need to master for life. Of course, the report book should still contain some form of yardstick and information to allow students to judge their relative performance, and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses but no to exam rankings. Our schools and teachers should rather concentrate on imparting knowledge on the children in the most fun and interesting way. This will pay the children, their parents and the nation more in the long run.

By: Calista Ezeaku