FG rolls out basic education curriculum for out-of-school children

The federal government through the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) has rolled out a curriculum for the ‘Accelerated Basic Education Programme’ designed for out-of-school children and adult illiterates across the country.

Ismail Junaidu, executive secretary of NERDC, said at a media briefing in Abuja on Thursday that the Accelerated Basic Education Curriculum is a condensed version of the Nine-Year Basic Curriculum and will be implemented in a three-year cycle with a flexible timetable and learner-friendly centres. He said the aim of the programme is to tackle the menace of out-of-school persons.

According to him, the target group for this programme are those who never started schooling and are over-aged to start from the foundation, and those who are over-aged to continue schooling from where they stopped after a long period.

Others are those whose education had been interrupted due to conflicts, disaster and socio-economic and cultural reasons and; the Internally Displaced Persons, street children from age 10-18, who never enrolled in school or dropped out before completion of their basic education.

Junaidu said the government will set up centres of learning across the country for this programme and the recipients of the education which will be free can be integrated into conventional schools or follow alternative career paths upon completion of studies.

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He said the curriculum selected five strategic subjects to be taught. These are English Language, Mathematics, Nigerian History and Values, Basic Science and Technology and one Nigerian language.

Junaidu informed that the programme was piloted in Borno State with 54 learning centres and over 8,000 learners were enrolled.

“Preliminary result from the piloting shows that programme is indeed a way out of the menace of out-of-school children in Nigeria,” he said.

Junaidu recalled that the programme and curriculum were approved for implementation by the National Council of Education (NCE) at its 64th meeting in 2019.

Minister of Education Adamu Adamu said the national rollout will begin with endemic states like Zamfara, Benue, Ebonyi, among others and to other other states across the country.

The minister, who was represented by the ministry’s permanent secretary, Sonny Echono, said the programme is projected to increase the literacy level in the country to 90 percent in the next five years.

He assured that the ministry will work assiduously with other key agencies to deepen the penetration of the programme to address the problem of out-of-school children, adult illiteracy and ensure inclusive education.

The minister further informed that the government is working to tackle the problem of obsolete curriculum in schools. He said hundreds of subject areas have had their curriculum reviewed in universities and will be launched soon.

Hamid Bobboyi, executive secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), noted that the number of out-of-school children, which is currently 10.1 million, is expected to shoot up following abductions of students and the spate of insurgency. He noted that 75 percent of out-of-school persons reside in the North.

He expressed optimism that the project will tackle the menace.

“We lose our children principally when they transit from primary school to junior school. By the time they reach JSS 1, about 45 percent drop out and we have to address this,” he said.

The programme is funded by the European Union (EU) and its implementation is in partnership with Plan International under the EU-Borno project and other development partners.