According to the new Basic and Senior Secondary Education curriculum, each student must graduate with a minimum of two skills. During the 68th National Council on Education (NEC) meeting in Abuja, Professor Tahir Mamman, the Minister of Education, made the announcement. In order to address contemporary issues, educational reform is desperately needed, as evidenced by the meeting’s theme, “Innovation, Digital Technology, and Entrepreneurship: Tools for Educational and National Development in the 21st Century.” Prof. Mamman said, “Knowledge, skills, and values are all incorporated into the new curriculum, with a special emphasis on skills.” “By doing this, we guarantee that students will graduate with the necessary skills to participate in the economy and lead fulfilling lives.”
The old curriculum has been criticized for not providing students with the practical skills necessary in the quickly evolving world of today. In contrast, the new curriculum represents a substantial departure from this approach. The Minister underlined that the curriculum revision is a component of a larger initiative to ensure that Nigeria’s educational system is future-proof and meets the needs of a technologically advanced, digital economy. “Quality, relevance, and sustainable development of education are determined by an efficient and well-designed curriculum. For this reason, institutionalizing curriculum development is a top priority for the current administration, according to Mamman.
The Education Transformation Agenda is a strategic plan being implemented by the Ministry of Education under President Bola Tinubu’s administration that aims to completely revamp the education sector.
Ensuring equitable education, skill development, and high-quality learning experiences for every Nigerian student is the aim. In order to ensure that Nigerian students can succeed in a world that is becoming more interconnected, the transformation agenda emphasizes how crucial it is to match the educational system with contemporary international standards. The government’s determination to make sure that education serves as a vehicle for economic empowerment is demonstrated by the drive to incorporate skill development into the curriculum. Mamman emphasized that “protecting and ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels for all learners is the primary responsibility of the government.” An initial step in that direction is this curriculum. Dr. Tanko Sununu, the Minister of State for Education, stressed the importance of entrepreneurship and digital technology adoption for any country aiming for development, in addition to the emphasis on skill development. In order to effectively address the challenges presented by recent technological advancements, it is imperative that the educational system be redesigned to better align with the societal demands and goals, as stated by Sununu.
Nigerian students need to be prepared to compete on a global scale because digital skills are becoming a basic necessity in every industry. In order to improve national development, Sununu emphasized that “we must inject new and relevant ideas into the system.” She also said that education at all levels needs to be redesigned in order to keep up with globalization.
The curriculum’s emphasis on entrepreneurship is also a calculated move to encourage young Nigerians to be independent and creative. Students are expected to contribute to job creation and economic growth through the development of entrepreneurial skills. “Our objective is to generate graduates who can not only find work, but also open doors for others to find work,” said Sununu. Muntari Mohammed, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, also commented on the importance of the new curriculum, emphasizing the role that digital literacy plays in contemporary education.
He claimed that digital skills ought to be considered an integral part of the educational framework rather than an optional extra. “A fundamental component of the curriculum needs to be digital literacy. According to Mohammed, “Our leadership is still committed to making sure that the education system is stable and that these reforms are implemented.