Tag: NERDC

  • See the approved subject list by FG for new curriculum

    See the approved subject list by FG for new curriculum

    The Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC)  has released the authentic and approved subject offerings for the newly revised Basic and Senior Secondary Education Curriculum.

    TheNewsGuru.com(TNG) reports that NERDC via a statement on Monday disclosed that the approved list signed by its Executive Secretary, Professor Salisu Shehu, on September 8, 2025, is the only authentic lists, warning schools, teachers, and parents against fake versions being circulated.

    The Council stressed, “We fervently call on all critical stakeholders to disregard any other fake and unauthentic list that is at variance with the authentic and approved list provided above.”

    The NERDC added that nationwide sensitisation and teacher capacity-building programmes will begin immediately to ensure effective implementation of the new curriculum.

    The reforms, according to NERDC is driven by the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) under its National Education Sector Reform Initiatives (NESRI), are aimed at cutting curriculum overload while ensuring “positive learning outcomes” for Nigerian pupils.

    The Council assured stakeholders that the reforms mark a new phase in Nigeria’s education system, prioritising relevance, flexibility, and early skill acquisition for learners.

    PRIMARY SCHOOL SUBJECTS

    Primary 1–3

    Minimum: 9 subjects | Maximum: 10 subjects

    English Studies

    Mathematics

    Nigerian Languages (One Nigerian Language)

    Basic Science

    Physical & Health Education

    Christian Religious Studies (CRS) for Christian pupils / Islamic Studies (IS) for Muslim pupils

    Nigerian History

    Social and Citizenship Studies

    Cultural & Creative Arts (CCA)

    Arabic Language (Optional)

    Primary 4–6

    Minimum: 11 subjects | Maximum: 12 or 13 subjects

    English Studies

    Mathematics

    Nigerian Languages (One Nigerian Language)

    Basic Science and Technology

    Physical & Health Education

    Basic Digital Literacy

    CRS (For Christian Pupils Only) / IS (For Muslim Pupils Only)

    Nigerian History

    Social and Citizenship Studies

    Cultural & Creative Arts (CCA)

    Pre-vocational Studies

    French (Optional)

    Arabic Language (Optional)

    JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL (JSS 1–3)

    Minimum: 12 subjects | Maximum: 13 or 14 subjects

    English Studies

    Mathematics

    Nigerian Languages (One Nigerian Language)

    Intermediate Science

    Physical & Health Education

    Digital Technologies

    CRS (For Christian Pupils Only) / IS (For Muslim Pupils Only)

    Nigerian History

    Social and Citizenship Studies

    Cultural & Creative Arts (CCA)

    Trade Subjects (Choose one):

    Solar Photovoltaic Installation & Maintenance

    Fashion Design & Garment Making

    Livestock Farming

    Beauty & Cosmetology

    Computer Hardware & GSM Repairs

    Horticulture & Crop Production

    Business Studies

    French (Optional)

    Arabic Language (Optional)

    SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL

    5 Core and Compulsory Subjects

    English Language

    General Mathematics

    One Trade Subject

    Citizenship and Heritage Studies

    Digital Technologies

    Science

    Biology

    Chemistry

    Physics

    Agriculture

    Further Mathematics

    Physical Education

    Health Education

    Foods & Nutrition

    Geography

    Technical Drawing

    Humanities

    Nigerian History

    Government

    Christian Religious Studies

    Islamic Studies

    One Nigerian Language

    French

    Arabic

    Visual Arts

    Music

    Literature in English

    Home Management

    Catering Craft

    Business

    Accounting

    Commerce

    Marketing

    Economics

    Trade Subjects (Choose one)

    Solar Photovoltaic Installation & Maintenance

    Fashion Design & Garment Making

    Livestock Farming

    Beauty & Cosmetology

    Computer Hardware & GSM Repairs

    Horticulture & Crop Production

  • NERDC Sec, Prof Junaidu is dead

    NERDC Sec, Prof Junaidu is dead

    The death has been announced of the Executive secretary of the National Education Research Development Council, NERDC, Prof. Ismail Junaidu.

    Junaidu reportedly died in early hours of Thursday in Damaturu, Yobe State, where he was attending the Joint Consultative Committee on Education, JCCE, meeting.

    The cause of his death is still unknown as of the time of filing this report.

    Meanwhile, his corpse is being conveyed to Katsina for burial, later on Thursday.

     

     

  • JUST IN: NERDC executive secretary Is dead

    JUST IN: NERDC executive secretary Is dead

    Prof. Ismail Junaidu, the Executive Secretary of the National Education Research Development Council (NERDC) has reportedly passed away.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) understands that Junaidu died in the early hours of Thursday, July 25, in Damaturu, Yobe State, where he attended the Joint Consultative Committee on Education (JCCE) program.

    Information regarding the cause of his demise, however, was limited at the time of filing this report.

    Daily Trust, however, quoted a source who wished to remain anonymous, stating that the NERDC chief first collapsed and subsequently passed away.

    However, this assertion has been disputed by a representative of NERDC.

    “He did not slump, death just happened,” the official NERDC official told journalists.

    The remains of Junaidu have been transported to Katsina for burial, which is later on Thursday.

  • NERDC lists reasons for secondary education curriculum review

    NERDC lists reasons for secondary education curriculum review

    The Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) has underscored the need for the review of the secondary education curriculum to create opportunities for students to acquire relevant trade and entrepreneurship skills.

    The Executive Secretary, NERDC, Prof. Ismail Junaidu, stated this at a high-level policy committee meeting on the “New Secondary Education Curriculum Structure and Benchmark’’ on Tuesday in Abuja.

    Junaidu said the review became necessary considering that it has been 12 years since the introduction of the current Senior Secondary Education Curriculum (SSEC).

    According to him, the old SSEC is no longer relevant to the overall objectives of education in terms of human capital development, job creation, value reorientation, and poverty eradication.

    “The 2011 academic year witnessed the introduction of the current Senior Secondary Education Curriculum.

    “This came about after we conducted a thorough review of the school curricula starting at the primary school level.

    “Additionally, there was a pressing need to achieve the Education for All (EFA), Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), and the homegrown National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS),” Junaidu said.

    He said the only way to effectively give the children the chance to develop new skills and competencies for thriving in the contemporary world was to give them the necessary learning opportunities through curriculum reform.

    In his remarks, the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman while thanking the leadership of the Council for the initiative, said the review was overdue, saying curriculum review was supposed to be done annually.

    “This is certainly a very important event coming especially at this time when we are doing so much in the area of reforms.

    “To be sure that our students, the society and the country provide the best training and appropriate qualification for pupils, in the primary, secondary and quality graduates at the national level.

    “This is a very important milestone and I want to commend your agency for it,’’ Mamman said.

    He also advised that all relevant stakeholders should be involved, saying when stakeholders are involved, things would not go wrong.

  • Reps ask FG to prohibit use of Queen Primer in schools

    Reps ask FG to prohibit use of Queen Primer in schools

    The Nigerian House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to prohibit the production, importation, and usage of Queen Primer and other educational materials containing content promoting Lesbianism, Bisexuality, and Transgender (LGBT) in the country.

    This resolution followed a motion by Rep. Sulaiman Gumi ( PDP-Zamfara) during plenary in Abuja on Thursday

    Gumi stressed the importance of banning inappropriate educational materials in Nursery and Pre-Primary Schools across the country.

    He said the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) has a crucial role in ensuring quality assurance in national-level book development and local authorship.

    He also pointed out the influx of foreign educational materials that introduce values contrary to the nation’s cherished norms and ethics.

    Gumi specifically called attention to the widely used book, ‘Queen Primer,’ which subtly introduces terms like ‘gay’ and ‘eros,’ propagating sexual perversion and immoral behaviours to innocent children.

    He deemed this exposure as unlawful, unethical, highly immoral, and in direct contradiction to the principles of child upbringing.

    In response to Gumi’s motion, Rep. Fayinka Oluwatoyin (APC-Lagos) proposed an amendment, suggesting that the use of such materials after their ban should be deemed a criminal offense.

    This amendment was unanimously adopted by the House and referred to the House committee on Basic Education.

    The House urged the Federal Ministry of Education, the Nigeria Educational Research and Development Council, and the Education Research Council (ERC) to thoroughly review and censor the content of educational materials used in Nursery and Primary schools.

    The house also said their directive is to ensure that these materials are appropriate and devoid of any connotations of immoral behaviour.

    The committee on Basic Education has been mandated to oversee and ensure compliance with this directive.

  • Sex education: A rejoinder to Adeleye-Fayemi’s letter to the minister

    Sex education: A rejoinder to Adeleye-Fayemi’s letter to the minister

    By Mary Ekemezie

    First, I would like to thank the Hon. Minister of Education for directing that sex education should be removed from the basic education curriculum. In the directive, the Hon Minister acknowledged the inalienable roles of parents as the primary educators of their children. I eagerly await the enforcement of the Hon. Minister’s directive.

    Now, let me respond to Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi’s open letter to the Minister, which was published in The Vanguard Newspaper on 6th November, 2022 (the “Letter”). In her letter, Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi urges the Honourable Minister of Education, to have a rethink about his directive and to consider retaining sex education in the basic education curriculum, albeit with some modifications.

    Before responding to the specific issues raised in the letter, I daresay that it is a good thing that we are having a national discourse on our national values, the role of education, religion and parental rights.

    In advancing the reasons for her support for the inclusion of sex education in the basic education curriculum, Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi recalled the story of Tanwa, the thirteen-year-old girl, impregnated by a neighbour. We must not lose sight of how and why Tanwa got pregnant – a neighbour who abused the trust that she reposed in him abused Tanwa. I sympathise deeply with Tanwa and with every other girl who has been the victim of sexual abuse. It is a terrible thing to be abused by persons who are responsible for you. I do hope she got the support she needed to get past that ugly event and to rebuild her trust in humanity and to forge a fresh path for herself.

    Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi also alluded to the fact that parents are unable to discharge their duties of providing sex education to their children because of the economic situation in the country, which requires them to work round the clock to make ends meet. This is a sweeping statement if there was ever one. This statement does not take into consideration that many parents who, despite their incredibly busy schedule, make time to parent.

    In the Letter, one of reasons she also proffered to the Honourable Minister of Education to support her position that we should leave sex education in the curriculum, is that religious leaders are some of the persons on the sexual offenders list. I have not seen this list, but it is safe to say that not everyone on that list is a religious leader. It is also safe to say that we do not know the moral values of all the teachers in the various schools across Nigeria. In much the same way as she has alluded to religious leaders being sexual offenders, stories abound in the dailies of teachers abusing children placed in their care.
    Do not get me wrong, I am not condoning or excusing the vile act of abusing children physically, or sexually, or in any other manner. I am, however, constrained to point out that not all religious leaders abuse the position of trust conferred on them. There are still many good men and women who serve God with their whole heart and who do the right thing. Should we, then, because of a small percentage of irresponsible spiritual leaders, take away a service that these spiritual leaders provide? To spin-back Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi’s argument to her, how do I know that the teacher in the class is not a paedophile or a sex groomer who has simply not been caught?

    I turn now to an issue the Letter did not speak to – the actual content of the sex education that is being provided to Nigerian children, under the guise of learning. Dear Reader, I crave your indulgence to reproduce some of the texts (a mixture of indoctrination, half-truths and outright lies) of what children are learning in school.

    In the inspire video series, the Balance in Nature video which is meant for students in SS3 encourages sterilisation – the cutting of the sperm duct as a beautiful method of family planning – and the presenter in the video recommends it for all men since it is of a permanent nature.  The video also encourages hysterectomy.  To put it in context, this video will probably be seen by students who are aged 14 to 18 years. I leave it to your imagination to decipher why our educational system is encouraging young children to be sterilised.

    The Active Basic science, 2014 edition, which is meant for Basic 6 (children aged 9 to 11) describes the actual nature (experience) of the sexual act. Why we need this level of graphic detail for children in primary school, I do not have an answer to.

    Stigma, a literature textbook, downplays the dangers of HIV.  This literature textbook suggests that having sex with a condom keeps one safe from HIV. The text does not speak about the fact that condoms are not fool-proof and have been known to fail.  It also encourages kissing HIV patients.  Question – are we encouraging our children to experiment with having sex with HIV patients?

    The Basic Science & Technology for Junior Secondary School 1, which is meant for children aged between 10 and 12 years (maybe 13 years), states that “safe sex” is a way to care for reproductive organs. Arguably, it could be said that this book is encouraging children to have “safe sex” as a way of caring for their reproductive organs. A review of the table of contents of for this book (Basic Science & Technology for Junior Secondary School 1) reveals that of the 30 weeks of study in the academic year, 11 weeks ((more than one-third of the contents of the textbook) is devoted to sex, sexual matters and the reproductive system). I am hard-pressed to understand why we need to spend so much time discussing sex with children whose primary aim at this stage of development is the acquisition of knowledge and virtues to guide their way through life.

    One of the topics discussed in the Basic Science & Technology for Junior Secondary School 2 (a book meant for children between the ages of 10 and 14) is abstinence.  You would think that abstinence means abstaining from sex – which is what the children need at this age -, but I have news for you.  As presented in the textbook, this topic is ambivalent about the moral value of abstinence, and does not convey the importance and rationale for abstinence.  Given the developmental stage of the children, I would expect (as was my experience when I was in school), that the focus of the education would be to teach the children how to make objective judgment calls about the rightness or wrongness of an action.
    Unless the intention of the NERDC and the authors of this textbook is to encourage children to engage in sexual activities, I would expect that the focus of the learning at this stage is to enable the children to cultivate good habits such as delayed gratification, discipline and respect for themselves and others.

    Oh, and I forgot to mention, that as part of learning unfamiliar words in the English Language subject, they introduce children as young as 8 years to the word “masturbation”. Again, I leave it to your imagination to understand why an 8-year-old needs to learn this word.

    I could go on, but I guess I have said enough to enable every reader of goodwill to decide whether we need this kind of sex education in the lives of our children.

    What our children need, in addition to the acquisition of technical and vocational skills, is an education which helps them to understand and to develop healthy habits, good decision-making skills, and a strong sense of meaning and purpose.   They need an education that does not lower the bar for them but calls them to pursue excellence. They need an education that is valued based and recognises our cultural and religious heritage and the place of morals.

    To address the concerns about parents being busy, I propose that as part of the commencement exercises at the beginning of every academic year, a session on sex education is organised for parents who can then pass it on to their children, taking cognisance of their physical, psychological, spiritual and emotional development.

    In addition, we need incentives that support parents to fulfil their parental duties. We need more family-friendly policies and workplaces at the national and state levels, and we should implement these policies in both the public and private sectors. There should also be more opportunities for remote-working to enable parents to spend more time with their children. Finally, and very importantly, the government should provide tax breaks that encourage and afford parents the opportunity to explore the option of not having both parents working full time.

     

    Mary Ekemezie
    Legal Practitioner
    Lagos

  • The case against sex education – By Sonnie Ekwowusi

    The case against sex education – By Sonnie Ekwowusi

    Last week, a group of pro-choice NGOs staged a protest against the Hon. Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu for directing the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) to expunge the current immoral sex education taught in Nigerian schools from the school curriculum. Worried about the immoral content of sex education curriculum in Nigeria and the wrong method deployed in using it to corrupt impressionable secondary school and primary school pupils most of whom are in the age bracket of 5-14 years, the Hon. Minister had directed last week that the immoral sex education should be removed from the school curriculum and that the teaching of sex education should be left in the hands of parents who are the primary educators of their children and religious institutions which are the custodians of morals of young people. Rather than sexualize and damaging the character of our school pupils with a pernicious sex education, the Hon. Minister prefers that parents and religious institutions should teach sex education in order to safeguard the morals of our school pupils.

    But the Hon. Minister’s directive has not gone down well with some pro-choice NGOs. Last week they issued a statement stating, among other things, that the Minister’s directive is a hindrance to progress in providing school pupils and teenagers with factual information and skills on teen safe-sex and reproductive health (otherwise known as abortion) that are necessary for young people to make rational decisions about their bodies. Also faulting the Hon. Minister on the said directive, a wife of a former State Governor, who over the years has gained notoriety as child safe-sex radical activist, has written a letter to the Hon. Minister stating, inter alia, that the Nigerian government should embrace the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) of the notorious pro-abortion foreign NGO called the United Nations Population Funds (UNFPA).

    The government should just ignore the protesting pro-choice NGOs and the wife of the former State Governor. Under the so-called CSE which the wife of the ex-State Governor is prescribing to the government (I have a copy of it right in front me as I scribble this), school pupils in open classrooms are required to touch each other’s genital saying: “I like you”. The pupils are also expected to touch each other’s private parts and find out the differences in their respective private parts. For years now I have been following the corruption and sexualization of the Nigerian kids by the UNFPA. Under the youth peer sexuality education Training Guide/Toolkit, funded by the UNFPA and used in many public secondary schools in Nigeria, (which I also have in front of me at the moment), the students are told to share with other students with whom they feel more comfortable things like: “Your sexual fantasies (fantasies), “Your feelings about oral sex (oral)”, “Whether you enjoy erotic material (X), “Whether you have fantasized about a homosexual relationship (gay-fan),” “Whether you have had a homosexual relationship (gay-exp)”. On page 75 of the Guide, there is a condom relay race activity involving boys and girls. It instructs the peer leader to “Ask two volunteers (participants or co-facilitators) to hold the two penis models” and then to invite two teams to race to put the condoms on the models.

    I remember that in 2014 the same UNFPA organized what it dubbed the third Family Planning Pre-Conference which was held at the Reiz Continental Hotel, Abuja. At that Conference, the UNFPA launched a condom-safe-sex campaign entitled, “No Hoodie No Honey”. This campaign was widely reported in the Nigerian media. The campaign was also posted on Twitter, Facebook and on other social media. The campaign was targeted at young Nigerian girls in the age bracket of 14-18. The campaign was aimed at supplying condoms and contraceptives to these young Nigerian girls and convincing them that “safe-sex” is their right and therefore they shouldn’t be ashamed to practice “safe sex” even if the different Nigerian cultures and religions teach otherwise. For example, one of the inscriptions on the No Hoodie No Honey roll-up stand posted on Twitter read: “Lets push for easy access to the female condom and that a woman may buy condoms without being shamed” First: the campaign was tainted by fraud and deception. While scientific evidence consistently shows that the condoms, which contain naturally-occurring holes, do not protect its user against infections and against HIV and rarely protect against unwanted pregnancy, the UNFPA fraudulently masquerades about the cities of Nigeria and giving the Nigerian youths the false hope that condoms protect from any misdeed.

    It beats the imagination that the UNFPA and others are corrupting Nigerian children with immoral CSE under the watch of the government. The American College of Pediatricians has said that CSE is one of the greatest assaults on the health and innocence of children because, unlike traditional sexuality education, CSE highly and explicitly promotes sexual promiscuity and high-risk sexual behaviors among children and teenagers. CSE programs have an almost obsessive focus on teaching children how to obtain sexual pleasure in various ways. (Please visit this site https://youtu.be/6yTvdCHgEHQ) and view the 11 minute video to see evidence of the harmful elements of CSE . The video provides just 15 harmful elements typically found in CSE curricula. Since each of these 15 harmful elements has the potential of causing long-term negative effects on the health and well-being of children, having even one of these elements should be reason enough to disqualify a CSE program from being taught to children in our schools. CSE harms children in the following ways and therefore should be banned in our schools. Sexualizes children; teaches children to consent to sex; normalizes anal and oral sex: promotes homosexual/bisexual behavior; promotes sexual pleasure; promotes solo and/or mutual masturbation; promotes condom use in inappropriate ways; promotes early sexual autonomy; fails to establish abstinence as the expected standard; promotes transgender ideology; promotes contraception and abortion to children; promotes peer-to-peer sex education or sexual rights advocacy; undermines traditional values and beliefs; undermines parents or parental rights; refers children to harmful resources. These are not invented by me. Please visit: www.waronchildren.org and www.investigateippf.org)

    Aside from the CSE, many textbooks used in Nigerian schools have been corrupted too with lewd matters. You may be well aware that in the last twenty years or so, classical English literature books and novels such as Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Weep Not Child, Things Fall Apart, Zambia Shall be Free, The Man Died, African Child, Akin the Drummer Boy, Mine Boy, The gods are not to blame and so forth have been removed from our school curricula and replaced with sex-related local English literature books containing lewd subject-matters to give the unsuspecting young school pupils the wrong impression that self-control is unnecessary and that casual sex makes them feel good; that they should engage in casual sex before marriage; that ‘safe sex’ is what to aim for in life provided that they don’t get pregnant. And if they do get pregnant they should procure abortion as soon as possible. It is unfortunate that we now live in a highly-sexualized society. And one of the negative consequences of this is the sexualisation of primary and secondary school pupils. At every turn — TV, music, movies, sex education in schools — pre-teen, teens, school pupils and teenagers are daily bombarded with the tragically misguided message borrowed from abroad that safe-sex in all deviant forms, LGBT1+, gay marriage, transgenderism, and bestiality are good for them and that the resultant outcome holds no dangers for them.

    About 16 years ago, an NGO called the Concerned Mothers Association, Lagos, ace broadcaster Adesuwa Onyenokwe and others brought a law suit against the Lagos State government at the Federal High Court, Lagos over the sexualization of the Integrated Science curriculum to include the techniques of kissing, masturbation, breast enlargement, how to do abortion, how girls can sterilize themselves and be having sex without becoming pregnant and so forth I was one of the counsel for the plaintiffs in that suit. The lead counsel in the suit was Mrs. Sylvia Sinaba SAN (of blessed memory). I remember that when the matter was called in court, the judge, who happened to be a female, was completely stunned by the sexualized issues pleaded by the plaintiffs in their Statement of Claim. In her shock, she first took up the Statement of Claim, held it up momentarily in her right hand and queried, “What is this?”. “My Lord, these are what they are now teaching them in schools”, responded Mrs. Sylvia Sinaba SAN. Silence enveloped the courtroom. The judge was dumbfounded. Anyway, to cut the long story short, the matter was amicably resolved out of court. In the spirit of amicable settlement, the Lagos State government at that time yanked off the offensive portion of the Integrated Science curriculum although I suspect that by now it has been brought back into the curriculum.

    Between from March 27 to 29 2017, I attended a Conference which took place at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island, Lagos,. One of the Speakers at that Conference was Ahmed Akanbi, a Muslim parent and a Lagos-based legal practitioner. Midway in his presentation, Ahmed did something which shocked most of the Conference attendees. He carefully dipped his hands into his handbag and brought out two English literature books containing some lewd subject-matters and showed them to the audience. He told us that the two books were recommended books for primary six pupils in the primary school attended by his daughter. The title of the first book authored by Oyekunle Oyedeji is: Tears of a bride, while the second book written by Queen O. Okweshine bears the title: Precious Child. According to Ahmed, his 9-year old daughter in Primary 6 came back home from school one day and engaged him in a conversation that bothered on some sex experiences. At first, Ahmed was utterly stunned that his 9 year old daughter was conversant with sex matters. But after he had regained his composure he asked his daughter where she learned about those sex experiences. It was then that his daughter opened her mouth and narrated to him how their school teacher has been using the aforesaid two books to teach them how to practice “safe sex” and how to gain sexual pleasure. Ahmed read to the hearing of the participants some sexy portions of the two books. The participants rose to their feet in utter shock.

    Seven years ago, some Lagos-based NGOs also filed a law suit at the Federal High Court, Lagos against the Federal Ministry of Education and others over the smearing of the following textbooks used in many secondary schools in Nigeria- New School Chemistry for Senior Secondary Schools By: Osei Yaw Ababio; Revised by: L. E.S Akpanisi Herbert Igwe ; Modern Biology for Senior Secondary School By: Sarojini T. Ramalingam, revised by Lucy I Akunwa and J.BC Obidiwe and the New School Physics for Senior Secondary By: M. W Anyakoha PhD-with the following watermark inscriptions: “I know that My Mother is a harlot and that my Father is a Kidnapper”, “I am a son/daughter of a Harlot and kidnapper”, “I confess that my Family is bad, Evil, and a Disgrace to the Nation”, “My Parents Taught me how to love and smoke Indian Hemp, to kill and practice illegal things”. I was the leading counsel for the plaintiffs in the suit. Guess what happened thereafter? The publishers of the lewd textbooks came all the way from Onitsha to our law firm in Lagos to beg for amicable settlement of the matter out of court.

    Even many English, Mathematics and Social Science textbooks used in many Nigerian secondary schools have been corrupted to include lewd matters in order to sexualize the young students. For instance, in Mathematics, a typical Maths question for primary school pupils is: “20 condoms + 5 condoms-2 condoms equals…”. At the moment in my little office, I have the latest lewd-textbooks or sexualized textbooks used in corrupting our secondary school pupils in Nigeria. They include: Basic science Junior Secondary School Razat Publishers, 2018 edition, (for JSS3). Open pages 78 – 83 to see the harmful contents of the book- lesson on teenage pregnancy, types of abortions students can do, myths & facts about pregnancy, indoctrination of the pupils on terminology of unsafe & safe abortion, six ways to prevent pregnancy with contraceptives, how to enjoy ‘safe sex’ without pregnancy: false information on four types of abstinence of which none is the actual definition of abstinence to be promoted among adolescents. Active Basic Science, 2014 edition By Tola Anjorin, Okechukwu Okolo, Philias Yara, Bamidele Mutiu, Fatima Koki, Lydia Gbagu: See Pages 31- 34. Cry for Justice By Ademola Adefila; See Pages 60-61, 64-65, read the description of having sex and sexual experience. Stigma By Samson O Shobayo, See the pages. The book encourages sexual relationship with HIV patients; kissing. Basic Science & Technology for Junior Secondary School 1, 2 and 3: By W.K Hamzat, S. Bakare: See Pages 29- 47 Page 48-52 Page 64 Pages 67- 73 and Pages 86 of the three books which promote abortion, LGTB, masturbation and safe-sex with condoms. New Concept English for Senior Secondary Schools for SSS2, Revised edition (2018 edition) By J Eyisi, A Adekunle, T Adepolu, F Ademola Adeoye, Q Adams and, J Eto, See Pages 103- 104 that contain obscene and vulgar expressions such as : “small men always thinking small and acting small ”and these vulgar words:. “He swore by the grey hairs of his head and his penis…even by the cunt of his own mother”.

    It is high time Nigerian parents woke up to their parental responsibilities. Parents are the primary educators of their children. They cannot shirk this responsibility under the excuse that they are working hard to eke out a living. Most social vices in Nigeria today are caused by failed parenting. We are in trouble in Nigeria. Failed parenting engenders failed political leadership. This is regrettable. The family institution, unarguably, is indeed the fundamental unit of society. The family is the natural context in which children imbibe those cherished values which form the superstructures for the building of our national ethos. Therefore parents should rediscover themselves and reinvigorate their respective families to enable them to parent their own children to be responsible citizens. Our civilization is imperiled when families are imperiled.

  • NCC cautions parents on children’s uncontrolled online presence

    NCC cautions parents on children’s uncontrolled online presence

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has urged parents and guardians to monitor and manage the engagement of their children online as the uncontrolled exposure to cyberspace is fraught with a lot of negativities to children’s wellbeing.

    Contributing during the recent First Web Rangers Nigeria Summit in Abuja, a Google’s initiative that focuses on developing digital literacy and equipping telecom consumers with the knowledge they require for their online safety, Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, said it is imperative to know what our children are doing in the cyberspace.

    At the Summit, with the theme, “Navigating the Responsibility of Online Safety Between Users, Providers and Regulators”, which discussed measures for addressing challenges posed by online criminal activities as they affect children and the youth, Danbatta, represented by the Director, New Media and Information Security (NMIS), Dr. Haru Alhassan, said that the Commission is committed to supporting the governance and security of the nation’s cyberspace, as well as facilitating the adoption of innovative technologies and acquisition of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) skills.

    He said the telecom regulator is aware of the responsibilities entrusted on it in ensuring safety in the digital ecosystem, which informed its establishment of NCC Computer Security Incidence Response Team (CSIRT) that was inaugurated in 2021.

    He explained that CSIRT responds to computer security incidents to regain control and minimise damage, providing or assisting with effective incident response and recovery, and inhibiting computer security incidents such as malware, virus, and online child threats.

    Alhassan also recalled the Commission’s establishment of the Internet Industry Code of Practice (ICP) in 2019, which is designed to secure the country’s cyberspace against imminent threats from cyber attackers as well as addressing issues such as online child protection, privacy and data protection, among others

    Dr. Alhassan noted that the Commission is a member of the National Committee on the Development of a Unified National Strategy on Child Online Protection (COP) in Nigeria and emphasised that NCC regularly sensitizes parents and children on cybercrime trends such as cyberbullying, phishing, and online identity theft.

    Dawn Dimowo, Manager, Government Affairs and Public Policy, Google Nigeria, stated that the Summit is an opportunity for strengthening the advocacy for digital safety and allowing the youth to share their innovation.

    The maiden web ranger summit was anchored by the Public and Private Development Center (PPDC) through the Digital Inclusion and Safer Internet (DISI) programme.

    As an organisation, the PPDC has successfully pioneered safer internet and digital inclusion practices and activities in some schools and among many stakeholders in Nigeria. Some of these initiatives are the development of the Online Safety Curriculum, the Web Rangers Clubs, online safety training for staff and students, and the annual celebration of safer internet day in collaboration with the Nigerian Education Research and Development Council (NERDC).

  • History curriculum ready for distribution to states – NERDC

    History curriculum ready for distribution to states – NERDC

    The Nigeria Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) says the new history curriculum is ready for delivery to all the ministries of education in the 36 states of the Federation.

    Dr Moses Salau, the Director of Research, NERDC told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Wednesday that the curriculum had been completed and printed.

    Salau recalled that the introduction of history into primary and junior secondary schools was approved by the National Education Council (NEC).

    He said the curriculum would be delivered to all ministries of education and State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEB) across the 36 states any moment from now.

    According to the director, NERDC have instructed the publishers of the curriculum to deliver them to all state ministries and SUBEB any moment from now.

    “We are set for the introduction of History in the 2018/2019 academic session.

    “We have printed the curriculum and any moment from now, they will be delivered to various states.

    “By God’s grace, the teaching of history will start by September, 2018,” he said.

    Salau said that NERDC would start the training of teachers on the new curriculum simultaneously in the 36 states as soon as the curriculum was distributed.

    He said it was the responsibility of state governments to employ teachers to teach the subject.

    The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu had said teaching of history in schools would be used as an instrument of national integration and nation building.

    Adamu also said teaching of history would also enable pupils to appreciate the basis of the unity of Nigeria.

    He explained that the initiative to reintroduce the teaching of history in primary and junior secondary schools was approved by the National Council on Education during its 61st Ministerial session in September 2016.

    The NCE directed NERDC to carry out the disarticulation of history from the Social Studies curriculum.

    The NERDC Executive Secretary, Prof Ismail Junaidu had said some of the concepts captured in the new curriculum include origins of history and peopling, heroes and heroines in Nigeria, political developments in Nigeria,.

    Other concepts listed include geography and environment, economics and trade, cultures and custom of Nigeria.

    The curriculum is divided into three levels; Primary 1 to 3 (lower basic), Primary 4 to 6 (middle basic) and Junior Secondary School 1 to 3 (Upper basic).