Despite Nigerians’ inability to spot the positive impacts if any that educational policy changes in the country have brought upon her since 1973 when the school calendar year was changed from January-December to September-July, the Federal Government recently announced that it has completed a comprehensive review of school curricula for basic, senior secondary and technical education aimed at making Nigerian learners “future-ready.”
In a statement signed on Friday, the 29th of August, 2025, the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Federal Ministry of Education, Boriowo Folasade told pressmen that the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Ahmad, announced the curriculum changes on behalf of the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Alausa, while speaking in Abuja.
According to the minister, the review that is altering the study system in Nigerian schools was carried out in collaboration with key education stakeholders, including the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, the Universal Basic Education Commission, the National Senior Secondary Education Commission and the National Board for Technical Education.
Though, the new innovation is to commence with effect from the fast-approaching 2025/26 academic session, no mention was made about the state of preparedness of teachers who are saddled with the responsibilities of managing the policy. Since one of the reasons behind the changes, according to the minister is to ensure that pupils leave school with at least two skills, it would have been logical to think that teachers must also equip themselves with ready skills to be imparted on their pupils.
The importance of functional education as the federal government appears set to provide cannot be overenphasised. The United Nations’ Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO defines it as “the process of facilitating learning or acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs and habits”.
Many nations of the world have embraced quality education for their citizens with a view to providing high standards of living. For example, the first five largest economies of the world (USA, China, Germany, Japan and India) are equally known for their advancements in providing high quality education for their citizens.
After the American Revolution (1775-1783), the founders of the United States argued that education was essential for the prosperity and survival of the new nation. Thus, Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, proposed that Americans give a high priority to a “crusade against ignorance.”
Till date, America offers comprehensive free, functional and compulsory education to her citizens to higher school level (12th grade) which is Nigeria’s equivalent of secondary school. Emphases are on learning and acquisition of skills.
Education in the country have been found to be the most effective tool for continually reducing the prosperity gap between the rich and the poor in the society while at the same time promoting development with the spread of knowledge.
In Britain, education is compulsory for all children between the ages of 5 and 16. The Universal Basic Education policy recommends a program comprising 6 years of primary education and 3 years of junior secondary education in all nations of the world.
And in line with the UNESCO policy on education, Nigeria formally legislated on an education pattern that entails the 6-3-3-4 system that ensures compulsory education of her citizens for 9 years from age 6 to 16. This rule came into effect in 1999 even though the practice was actually initiated in 1976.
The purpose of the 6-3-3 curriculum is yet to be accomplished. Many schools do not have the laboratories and equipment for the pursuit of the original intention of those that formulated the program. Instead, parents are left to compete within themselves on whose child makes it to the university before age fourteen and such other irrelevant ambitions.
Meanwhile, the provision of education for the Nigerian Child falls grossly below global expectations.
In 2022, UNESCO placed the number of out-of-school children at about 20.2 million. Bad as this finding is, many more young people are currently dropping out of schools due to heavy burdens of payment of tuition fees. To worsen the matter, even those who are accessing education in the country are becoming very poorly educated due to inability to procure learning tools like computers and relevant textbooks.
Amidst all the challenges faced by the country’s education system, some people are in the fore front of the promotion of education as a scam.
If the anomalies currently bedeviling Nigeria’s educational system such as low motivation of teachers, poor funding and shortage of teachers are not urgently resolved, the innovative introductions may not go further than others that had come before it.
It is therefore not too late for governments at all levels to begin embracing strategies such as training of teachers, increased funding of education, motivation and supervision of teachers and schools amongst others.
