The Federal Government’s release of the approved subject offerings for Nigeria’s newly revised Basic and Senior Secondary Education Curriculum has stirred mixed reactions among residents and teachers in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State Capital.
Recall that the Federal Ministry of Education, under its National Education Sector Reform Initiatives (NESRI), had announced that the reforms were designed to reduce curriculum overload and ensure positive learning outcomes for pupils nationwide.
Speaking with our correspondent, Uwakmfon Walter, in an interview some residents commended the initiative, describing it as a step towards strengthening Nigeria’s education system. They said the reforms would help pupils focus on core competencies, build employable skills, and better prepare for higher education and global competitiveness.
On their part, however, other respondents opposed the initiative, warning that it could worsen unemployment among teachers. According to them, streamlining subjects may lead to redundancy in certain teaching areas, thereby throwing many educators out of work. They further argued that the government should have widened stakeholder consultations before the approval.
They recommended that the Federal Government should put in place measures to retrain affected teachers, provide alternative job placements, and ensure no teacher is left behind in the reform process.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, NERDC, further stressed that the reforms mark a new phase in Nigeria’s education sector, one aimed at ensuring relevance, flexibility, and practical skill acquisition from the earliest stages of learning.
