Aug. 22, 2023

Stakeholders in education sector on Tuesday brainstormed on opinions/inputs suggested in the design of the architectural framework for the review of the Senior Secondary Education Curriculum (SSEC) in Nigeria.

The stakeholders met at a ‘Workshop for the Validation of the Senior Secondary Education Curriculum Review Framework and Guidelines’, organised by the Nigerians Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC).

The aim is to bring ideas to make Nigerian system of education to be part of the emerging innovations, life-long learning system which could be infused into the curriculum to place the country among the best nation of the world.

Speaking, Prof. Ismail Junaidu, Executive Secretary NERDC, said the workshop was another stage in NERDC’s efforts to democratise the curriculum development process, anchored on the philosophy of having all stakeholders who had contributed to school programmes.

“This validation workshop is expected to take a holistic look at the guidelines with the intent of providing technically sound suggestions for improvement and adoption, afterwards.

“Specifically in this meeting, you will be expected to bring to bare your experiences and expertise on issues relating to the proposed curriculum structure and the implementation framework, ” he said.

According to Junaidu, NERDC in previous national dialogues had collated and harmonised the views, inputs and suggestions of stakeholders including students to come up with the guidelines and framework for the review of the SSEC.

He said the process had provided a clear roadmap for the review of the SSEC, adding that the development of the guidelines followed through several stages which involved curriculum experts, teachers and policy makers.

Also, Dr Iyela Ajayi, Executive Secretary, National Senior Secondary Education Commission, commended the NERDC management for the workshop, saying that it came at the right time since curriculum was subject to review periodically to meet best global practice.

Ajayi, however noted that having an excellent curriculum was one thing, but its implementation was remained the most important focus.

“Therefore, as we embark on the task of reviewing the curriculum periodically, we must also focus on the important issue of curriculum implementation. ”

In her contributions, Mrs Kadija Liman, Director Educational Management, Ministry of Education, expressed joy over the move by the NERDC to ensure that the nation’s school curriculum was restructured to meet the present global standards.

Liman said NERDC’s action on new curriculum had taken away some of the burden on the curriculum from the ministry, adding that the ministry would do all it could to ensure its implementation.

Mr David Akoji, Director Special Duties/States Operations, National Orientation Agency in his contributions placed emphasis on inclusion of value re-orientation in the curriculum to inculcate value system in the lives of the younger generation.

Akoji, however, suggested the need for Nigerian government to emulate other countries of the world with best education practices which had yielded positive results in the lives of their younger generation.

The workshop drew the present of representatives from ICPC, CBN, UNICEF, FIRS, Professors from different fields and other critical stakeholders in education. (NAN)