ABUJA – Prof. Godswill Obioma, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), on Saturday pledged to restructure the country’s school curriculum.
Obioma told newsmen in Abuja that the curriculum was due for change to accommodate new educational activities.
While unveiling the NERDC’s 2014 agenda, the official said that the council was established to carry out its statutory responsibilities in the area of promoting and coordinating research programmes in the country’s school system.
According to him, the council is mandated to solve language problems for the purpose of carrying out research into such problems and finding solutions to them.
He also stated that the council was charged to promote new techniques and approaches to curriculum development as well as formulate and implement a national policy on book development.
Obioma said that the council had earlier revised the 9-year Basic Education Curriculum (BEC), printed and distributed to schools.
“The revised BEC incorporates security education in order to develop in the learners security awareness and consciousness.’’
Obioma further stated that the council had also placed emphasis on the inclusion of major local languages in Nigeria in the curriculum.
“NERDC will be transformed for greater performance, promoting empirical research which will engender curriculum innovations, public policy in education and strategic educational planning,’’ he said.
The secretary also disclosed that the council had mapped out 12 focal areas, including promotion of educational research for curriculum innovations.
Others were to ensure that school text books met the curricular standards in line with the approved national book policy in education sector.
He pointed out that repositioning of NERDC web site for visibility and making the e-library operational were also a priority.
He further stated that the council would place emphasis on resuscitation of Almajiri education and “Out-Of-School Youth” curricula for South-East and South-South states, as well as promoting Albinism education in the country.
Obioma added that the council had included e-curriculum projects in its effort to standardise the country’s school curriculum.
According to him, this will provide efficient and effective curriculum management solutions for schools to easily access the curriculum and other learning materials.
“E-curriculum implementation agreement has been prepared, approved by the Minister of State for Education,’’ Obioma said. (NAN)
