The National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE) has begun a five-day workshop in Abuja to review the recently adapted curriculum guides in four subject for the attainment of standards in nomadic education.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the basic subject areas are History, Islamic Religious Studies, Christian Religious Studies and National Values.
Speaking at the opening session of the workshop on Monday, the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Prof. Bashir Usman, said that the review became necessary in order to set goals for the sustenance of standards.
According to him, the effectiveness of any programme required continuous improvement, through updates of relevant educational materials for the attainment of standards.
He said that a curriculum provides a cardinal link between education delivery, set national goals and objectives, and that it must be characterised by relevant issues and the demands of the times.
Usman added that the curriculum must also be relevant with content, shaping and stimulating the minds of learner’s/children of diverse background be it in terms of culture, ethnic, religious and social, for peace and stability.
In his words, “Today, as we are all aware, our nation is plagued by myriad challenges, which are impeding our journey to nationhood, national growth and development”.
“Evidently, there is a sharp decline in the understanding of our collective sense of history, moral values, social cohesion and rich cultural heritage as a people”, he said.
He said, “It is getting worse amongst the youth population in the country, who have relapsed into all manners of social vices, ranging from conflict, insurgency, armed robbery, kidnapping, drug abuse and others”.
”Our country is, therefore, in dire need of a solution to stem the rising spate of these menace that are at the root of our current security challenges, with all its attendant consequences”, he said.
It was against this backdrop that the National Council of Education directed the re-introduction of certain subjects at the basic level, he said.
Prof Gidado Tahir, Chairman, governing board of NCNE, stated that the workshop would re-enforce the efforts of the Minister of education, Mallam Adamu Adamu in providing quality education at all levels.
He said that the outcome of the workshop would further upgrade nomadic curriculum to the standard of the those used in conventional schools.
In particular, it would accelerate the quality of the nomadic education programme in the country, and enable nomadic children to compete favourably with their counterparts in conventional schools.
He said that NCNE had in the past three years, been playing a leading role, in the education of nomads in Nigeria and would continue to do so, to ultimately ensure that nomads were fully integrated in the nation’s development process.
Dr Rose Nwaji, Head of Department, Planning, Research and Statistics, NCNE, in her address of welcome enumerated the objectives of the critique workshop.
She said that the workshop, would among other things, ensure that topics across primary one to primary six were suitable to the needs and aspirations of nomadic pastoralists and migrants fisherfolk/farmers
Nwaji added that it would also ensure that each topic synchronised with the performance objective and evaluation, as well as focused on the appropriate teaching and learning activities
According to her, it will ensure that the adapted curriculum guides meet the national standard of basic education in Nigeria. (NAN).
