Tension trails implementation of revised secondary school curriculum

By Funmilayo Adeyemi

The introduction of a new secondary school curriculum has sparked anxiety nationwide with stakeholders describing the process as hurried and potentially harmful to students preparing for crucial examinations.

The Stakeholders who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja raised alarm over the rushed implementation of the new curriculum, warning that poor coordination could jeopardise students’ performance in external examinations.

The federal government introduced a revised Senior Secondary School Curriculum nationwide, aiming to make learning more flexible, student-centred and align with global standards.

The reform renamed Information and Communication Technology as Digital Technology and approved six trade subjects, while allowing students to combine science, arts and social science subjects more freely.

The six trade subjects newly introduced to the curriculum include, Solar Photovoltaic Installation and Maintenance, Fashion Designing and Garment Making, Livestock Farming.

Others were, Beauty and Cosmetology, Computer Hardware and GSM Repairs, Horticulture and Crop Production.

In the new curriculum, there is reduction of overall subject load – students now take eight to nine subjects instead of up to 20 in the old system.

Many traditional electives or optional subjects were consolidated or removed to make space for core and trade subjects.

Trade subjects also became part of the core structure, and rather than being peripheral electives, vocational and practical trade skills are now compulsory options within a student’s programme.

Laudable as the initiative is, its hurried rollout without adequate transition measures has drawn sharp criticism from key stakeholders.

Many argued that while the vision behind the reform is commendable, the execution leaves much to be desired.

In separate interviews with NAN, the stakeholders said the curriculum was rolled out across all classes in secondary schools without adequate transition measures for students already in the system.

According to them, the sudden implementation affected the current SS3 students, forcing some of them to drop previously offered subjects and register new ones ahead of their WAEC and other external examinations.