by Adedayo Ademuwagun

Last month, the national confab submitted a 10,000-page report to President Goodluck Jonathan containing hundreds of resolutions. Some of the resolutions had to do with reforming the curriculum for secondary schools.

People have been talking about revising the curriculum for years now. So right now, here are eight things the confab recommended and that students might soon be learning about in secondary school.

• Effective communication skillsToday, young people know how to text and chat on the internet, but some of them can’t speak and write effectively in proper English. Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that only 30% of those who wrote the WAEC this year had a credit pass in five core subjects including English. University professors who teach first year students often see that many of the students coming into university do so without having the communication skills required to function at university level. HR executives looking to hire young graduates frequently notice this flaw while reading application letters, evaluating job test results and holding job interviews. So it’s a trend that continues right on and sets up a number of problems as the student progresses in life. Edward Wilczynski writes, “A student who can’t communicate effectively can’t compete in the modern world. This is why teaching effective communication skills must serve as the cornerstone for any program preparing young people for the 21st century.” Many people agree that the focus needs to shift from English lessons that teach students to ‘fill in the gap’ to those that teach students effective communication. This includes lessons on how to converse, make a presentation and write properly in a way that shows clear thinking and a good grasp of grammar.
• An understanding of Nigeria and its peopleNigeria is a large country with a rich geography and a broad variety of cultures, but most young Nigerians in secondary today barely know about their country and its people. In one survey in Lagos, students in senior secondary were asked simple questions about Nigeria and its people. They mostly didn’t know the answers. For instance, most of them couldn’t mention any six languages, or three major rivers, or five states in the south-east. In fact, in one part of the survey, the students were shown four map sketches and asked to identify the map of Nigeria. One of the sketches was the correct one, while one was a map of Africa and the other two were dummy maps. More than half of the students couldn’t identify Nigeria. “And these are things they’re supposed to know. It’s embarrassing,” says Chigozie, when he learned that his daughter thought Adamawa state is in the southeast.
• Leadership trainingWould it be too early to teach young people leadership in secondary school? At least the confab delegates didn’t think so. A leadership training programme developed and administered well would incline young students to think and lead the way forward. It would also help them develop a sense of responsibility and impart in them the skills that they need to solve problems and work with others in solving problems — skills that would be valuable to them for their entire life.
• Time managementParents often ground their 13-year-olds for spending too much time watching movies and fiddling with their phone. But how about if these young ones were learning time management in school? Time management lessons can help young people prioritise, sort through all the stuff they’re into and develop more self-discipline so they can get more done in less time and maintain a balance. This can help them perform better in school and generally be more productive. It’s definitely the kind of programme that parents would be happy to see introduced.
• Agricultural orientationSchoolchildren in the south-west used to sing a certain vernacular song in the past. The song translates, “Farming is our work. Education without farming lessons is incomplete.” However, that orientation has almost completely vanished in the country today, especially in the urban areas. Now, the confab wants the education authorities to bring back the orientation, and they’ve got the support of the agricultural community. Dr. Comfort Sodiya is at the College of Agricultural Management and Rural Development, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta. She says, “Agriculture is the bedrock of our nation’s development. So no matter what field our youths intend to go into, they should have some background in agriculture. It’s really necessary for our youths to have an agricultural orientation.”
• Understanding Nigerian historyThis is another field where students generally have a wide gap. Most students have only a vague idea about the people and happenings in the past and why they’re important to Nigerian history. 14-year-old Funke says about Obafemi Awolowo, for example, “I learned he’s one of the heroes of Nigeria, but I don’t know anything else about him.” The confab unanimously resolved that the teaching of history should be mandatory in secondary schools to “sustain our historical heritage”. Historians believe this is long overdue. “Let’s teach our young ones about our history,” says Prof. Olayemi Akinwumi, president of the Historical Society of Nigeria. “That way, they can appreciate the current issues better and be more patriotic.”
• Financial managementDragon’s Den star Peter Jones once said that primary school kids should be taught how to run a business. Well, perhaps that’s too early, but would it be all right to start teaching secondary school students about the bottom line? Financial literacy refers to the understanding of how money works in the world, and how to make and manage money. Experts say it’s best to learn early about these things and that young people should be getting some financial education in school. Financial education for students would certainly appeal to entrepreneurial people. However, parents who worry about how their teens are spending their pocket money would also appreciate their teens taking this sort of education.
• Sex educationSome people are against teaching young people about sex in school because they think the setting is not right and the topic is inappropriate for young people, but some people think young ones need to be taught anyway and that schools should teach the subject without crossing moral boundaries. Seun Akin-Fasae is a counsellor with specialty in adolescent and youth counselling. She says, “There are quite a lot of teenage pregnancies these days. If the teens are not properly educated about sex, they’ll learn the wrong things elsewhere and then they’ll make mistakes. It’s not inappropriate to educate students about sex in school. Actually, it’s proactive.”

YEditor