Garri and Sand: The Nigerian curriculum

By Yosola Nwangwu | PHOTO: www.guardian.ng

Just because Garri has sand in it does not mean we can't drink it. There are methods we use to sift and make it fit for drinking or for eba. Various methods have been passed down to us to help us learn how to make it fit for consumption and we can expect that someone or people, in the near future, will develop a device for this purpose.

The Nigerian curriculum is very fit for the Nigerian child. Is it old and archaic? I beg to differ. Why? Because it has been able to allow its beneficiaries adapt to the changing world without having any issues. I used to be a proponent of the entire overhaul of the curriculum till I took out time to really examine the curriculum and found out that it really is a well thought out plan.

I think our first question should be what's a curriculum? Acoording to Rhode Island Department of Education, "Curriculum is a standards-based sequence of planned experiences where students practice and achieve proficiency in content and applied learning skills. Curriculum is the central guide for all educators as to what is essential for teaching and learning, so that every student has access to rigorous academic experiences." I would like to add that a curriculum and it's design is solely dependent on the context of the social fabric a child is being raised in.

For example, in a Tedtalk she was featured in, Chika Ezeanya-Esiobu highlights how 'a is for apple' didn't fit our context in Nigeria because we don't grow apples in Nigeria. She further explained how this caused her to be less appreciative of her environment and less appreciative of her ancestry because she struggled to reconcile her formal education with her own reality

This 'a for apple' is part of the sand in our Garri.

True, our curriculum was largely dependent on the British who brought formal education to us However, through the years it has been adapted to fit the conditions surrounding us while we learn. If the curriculum is referred to as archaic because we want it to be replaced with British curriculum or an American one, then it's just all talk without proper research. We cannot raise our kids to go out and thrive somewhere else. We have to raise learners to do well and be leaders in our nation, without having to go anywhere to be trained. This curriculum we have is fit for this purpose but what we lack are methods; in this regard people or researchers to help us enhance the curriculum to better fit our social construct, and administrators to ensure words on paper become actions carried out.

Why should the learning of the three major Nigerian languages in schools be an option? Why don't we have math textbooks in Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa? Why don't we make compulsory the learning of Igbo as a second language in Northern Nigeria and Hausa as a second language in southwestern Nigeria? What're the words for density and upthrust in Yoruba? Have we really considered all the factors that make a lot of youths give up on school? One of them could be, like Chika EzeanyaEsiobu's problem was, reconciling school with everyday life. Why are Nigerians all over doing well after graduating from secondary schools in Nigeria? Our curriculum is great as is but can be better if it's adapted to ensure it is tailor-made for Nigerians to thrive in Nigeria and anywhere else in the world. In our next issue, we'll examine the success of our curriculum as well as the success of others and also areas where it might be lacking

Adeyosola Nwangwu is a Mathematics Teacher with expertise in the British, American, and Nigerian curricula for junior and senior secondary schools and has worked with schools in Lagos and Abuja. She is a curriculum and policy enthusiast whose passion for learning about best practices to implement and improve education in Nigeria has led her to Japan. She recently graduated from the Teachers' Training program at the University of Tsukuba, Japan, where she conducted research on the mitigation of learning loss due to the pandemic and is looking forward to furthering her research on related issues, and was also the president of the Association of African Student(AASUT) at the university. She obtained her first degree in Educational Management from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and is a member of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria. She has worked with teams from South Africa, the UK, and Canada on curriculum mapping and teaching mathematics throughout the span of her teaching career. She is currently the lead teacher at thelessonteacher.com.ng, a private outfit that provides tutoring services for learners of Math, English, and the Sciences in Nigeria and beyond since 2016.

Coding classes for children in Nairobi's Kibera district

With Kenya fast becoming one of Africa's booming tech leaders, teaching young children computer skills has become increasingly important.

Educational experts believe that in the future, many jobs will be carried out through technology and that it is therefore imperative that they start learning the skills at a young age

Anne Njine, an education specialist at the organisation, Opportunity International EduFinance said it is estimated that in the next 15 years, 75 per cent of jobs will require computer skills

"Once we expose children, they are able to feel hopeful for the future because they are moving in the direction that the world of work is moving into," she said.

By the time they start working, they will be "equipped and ready to go into the world of work with the right key skills that are needed for employability".

One organisation that is helping with this task is Code With Kids, a technology-based initiative that works with children in the slums of the

Nairobi suburb of Kibera, teaching them how to code and the concept of robotics

"A free kick to their future” It’s founder, Renice Owino, says the organisation is dedicated to providing affordable and accessible STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education to children and young adults from low-income areas.

The facility in Kibera is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment that includes laptops and robotic kits. The project is partly funded by parents, and partly by charities

"Most kids programmes in Nairobi go for approximately Ksh 5,000 which is around $50. This is way out of the pocket for parents in Kibera. We bring the same programme to the children at the affordable price of Ksh 50 per session," she said.

"Parents are able to pay for this without feeling a strain and the children are able to learn. We are giving these young learners a free kick to their future ”

Owino is particularly proud of the programme's ability to appeal to young girls

"Currently we are seeing more girls coming for the classes. This was a challenge when we started and it was really hard convincing them to come," she said.

When a child joins the programme, they are first taught the basics of how a computer works before advancing to skills such as web development, mobile application design, gaming and physical computing

Through the initiative, they have been able to develop new skills Many of the children have completed innovative projects and some have even created their own websites and applications

Code With Kids began in 2015 with 10 participants and has so far reached over 2,000 children through collaborations with schools in after-school programmes and coding bootcamps

Owino hopes it will make them more equipped and adaptable to Africa's job market - in which coding is a coveted skill.

Senegal: Ziguinchor students fear disruption to education

STORY: www.africanews.com

A dire situation for the ones that need a particular framework to perform as their counterparts

Senegalese students from the town of Ziguinchor fear falling behind on their education as their mayor, Ousmane Sonko, tried for rape earlier this week, has called upon the youth to storm the capital in protest of the trial’s verdict.

Schools in the town had been closed from Friday to Thursday

"The exam is scheduled for July 4th, and it is now May, almost at the end of the month, we do not even know if the State will push the exam or not. If it maintains this, it will be a catastrophe for us Ziguinchor residents because we are not at the same level with the schools in Dakar or Thiès. When we are on strike, when we went out, when we stayed home, they were studying," explained Chérif Samsidine Aidara, student in his last year of high school.

Students at Djignabo Bassene High School have already missed more than a fortnight of classes since the beginning of the year

"I have a hard time understanding the classes in the right conditions even when I am with my teacher or when I am with my classmates. But now I have to manage, do exercises, or repeat the ones I did in class and revise my lessons to not fall behind," added Chérif Samsidine Aidara.

The decision to close the schools is regretted by Aminata Touré, former Prime Minister and ex-president of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council but it was necessary to ensure student's safety

"We lost almost a week and it’s really pathetic but it’s normal that we stop classes, I’m for that, because we are simply not safe. Every time there are demonstrations, we are taken out. The high school, you know it, recently, we have been victims of vandalism," shared Amadou Guissé, professor of History and Geography in Ziguinchor

Ziguinchor was plagued Monday and Tuesday by clashes between young supporters of the opponent and the police

The political tug-of-war opposing Ousmane Sonko and Macky Sall has been making headlines since 2021, causing sporadic unrest in the west African nation.

By Professor Chiedozie Okoro

Most importantly are the effects of fuel subsidy removal on the tertiary public education sector of the polity which has been in comatose for quite some time now. Before the removal of fuel subsidy, some public Universities mooted the idea to charge tuition fees ranging from N120, 000 to N150, 000 (One hundred and twenty thousand naira to one hundred and fifty thousand naira). Obviously, accommodation fees and other sundry charges will as well increase. There are bound to be multiplier effects on students and parents as well. Similar situations would be replicated at the primary and secondary levels of the public education sector

Exploring fuel subsidy removal and the accompanying inflation to advantage for the proper repositioning of the public education sector all depend on the will and focused to identified g Transcendence por teleological entities who are incurably and inadvertently futuristic and optimistic the inherent intellectual and spiritual powers to deliberately project into the future. The future can be likened to the void. Void is a latent formless state or simply a complete state of chaos that throws up boundless possibilities Possibilities challenge human beings to vigorously demonstrate their powers of transcendence by altering adversities into advantages. By this act, we project from the known realm into the unknown realm. Each time we do this, we open up new vistas of hope, we recreate and reinvent. Pointedly, whether the seemingly comatose public education sector would further sink or vibrantly resurrect at this point of fuel subsidy removal, depends on the capacity and sincerity of the stakeholders

This is the period to adopt and invoke the principle of inclusiveness. Pupils, students, parents, teachers, school administrators, religious organizations, private companies, and elected and appointed government officials must converge to deliberate on the way. Inclusive or collective deliberation on new fees to be charged would not raise eyebrows nor exacerbate tempers. Instead, increased fees would become new targets to be accomplished. Once strategies for moving forward have been established and agreed upon, monitoring mechanisms must be instituted to ensure checks and balances tremendously aid indigent students Scholarship schemes should be established to encourage resourceful and brilliant students

Revamping the public education sector to its optimal level requires people’s participation. Huge budget allocation by the government at state and federal levels would be grossly inadequate. This would amount to the old reactionary way of waiting on the government for mobilization and motivation. When government policy and decisions go contrary to the expectations of the people, violent reactions escalate. Besides, a large chunk of the education budget is misappropriated. The way to go is the stakeholder inclusive approach whereby all the interest groups converge to decide the way forward on public education. It is such that education in the country is completely redesigned to promote selfreliance. To be succinct, education in general and public education in particular, should be redesigned to become an industry that generates income for the nation, not one that keeps dwindling the nation’s resources from the University of Lagos in 2002. He is the current Head of Philosophy. He is also the current Chairman Board of Trustees Faculty of Arts Alumni Association (FAAA). He was the Sub-Dean of Arts (2011-2013). He is Member, Philosophical Association of Nigeria (PAN). His current area of research is on Integrative Metaphysics and Phenomenology of Life-force. He has successfully supervised 5 Ph.Ds His email addresses are cokoro@unilag.edu.ng. His telephone number is +2348023153012.