Stella Dimoko Korkus.com: FG Reacts To Controversy Over Alleged Removal Of CRS From Curriculum

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Wednesday, June 21, 2017

FG Reacts To Controversy Over Alleged Removal Of CRS From Curriculum

The Nigerian government has reacted to controversy over alleged removal of key religious subjects from the country’s education curriculum.


In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES Monday, the acting Executive Secretary of Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), Kate Nwufo, denied claims that Christian Religious Studies and Islamic Studies had been removed from the curriculum, or were now studied as a single subject.

“We have developed a curriculum on Religion and National Values to expose pupils to see relationship between moral values – which entails religion, social values – and civic values,” Mrs. Nwufo said.

She said the NERDC developed the curriculum in partnership with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission.

The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, the country’s largest Christian body, had told PREMIUM TIMES that CRS, specifically, had been dropped from the latest curriculum, leaving only Islamic studies.


“If you look at the curriculum, you will see that the religious subjects were removed for unknown reasons,” President of CAN, Samson Ayokunle, told PREMIUM TIMES by phone Monday.

The cleric said CRK was merged with civic studies, saying that was not good for the country.

He linked growing criminal activities in the country to a lack of early religious education for children.

“Criminal activities are growing at an alarming rate all over the country,” he said. “Just last week, we saw somebody’s son that was arrested in Lagos for his notorious kidnapping offences,” Mr. Ayokunle said in reference to the arrest of the notorious kidnapper, Chukwudi Onwuamadike, a.k.a., Evans.

He said the latest curriculum had been in the making for more than two decades before education authorities began tampering with religious studies.

“Especially in Ilorin, there is no CRS in the time table of the concluded examination,” he said.

But Mrs. Nwufo strongly denied the allegations and said the Christian leaders were dissipating their energy on unfounded claims.

“People especially leaders should be careful of the information peddle around and take their time to make findings,” Mrs. Nwufo said.

“We live in a sensitive society therefore we should come together and not destabilise the country as it will affect everybody, we should avoid escalating issues.”


New curriculum


Copies of the curriculum she gave to PREMIUM TIMES showed that Christian Religious Studies remains part of the curriculum along with Islamic Studies.


The curriculum was designed for Basic Education; Primary 1-3, 4-6 and JSS 1-3 and merely created an omnibus subject head called Religion and National Values. Under it are the following subjects:

1. Civic Education
2. Social Studies
3. Christian Religious Knowledge
4. Islamic Studies, and
5. Security Education.

The latest curriculum was adopted in 2012 under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan and is not due for review until 2019, the acting executive secretary said.

Mrs. Nwufo said “teachers across the country have been adequately trained” on how to use the curriculum.

“A teachers’ guide was also handed to them.” she added

She further stated that even then, religious subjects were never directed to be taught together, they are to be taught by different teachers and at different times.

She said CAN was part of the committee that designed the latest curriculum alongside other Islamic leaders.

“We wrote to CAN and they presented two candidates to us in persons of Ray Chukwura of ECWA Goodnews and Dominick Oleagbe from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria,” she claimed.

But CAN denied being part of the committee, saying the education authority had already started designing the curriculum before it raised alarm.

“It was when we raised alarm and went to see the minister of education at the time that we were told that two Christians have been nominated as part of the committee with NERDC,” Timothy Opoola, chairman of CAN in Kwara State said.

Mr. Opoola, a professor of mathematics at the University of Ilorin, told PREMIUM TIMES he was a member of the delegation that met with the minister.

“We told them to allow CAN present delegates but CAN never presented candidates because they did not allow it,” he said.

The cleric also said questions set for Basic Education Certificate Examination slated for next month in Kwara State included separate Islamic-related subjects, while Christian course is absent.

But education authorities in the state rejected the claims.

“I can tell you categorically that we don’t have any separate Islamic studies in our schools,” Musa Yeketi, Kwara State Commissioner of Education, told PREMIUM TIMES Tuesday. “We use the national curriculum.”

But he said there are exceptions in the composition of school curricular in the state.

“All the students take the same course, except those from dedicated Islamic schools.

“We have College of Arabic and Islamic Studies in the state, about five across the state.

“Only students from the school will take the Junior Islamic Studies —in religious knowledge and Arabic language— and Arabic Islamic History.

“The Christian Religious Studies, CRS, and Islamic Religious Studies, IRS, are to be taken by Christian and Muslim students, respectively, alongside the national values subject,” the commissioner said.

Mr. Yeketi said Religion and National Values were not the only subjects merged.

“Basic Science and Technology, for instance, is a composition of information technology, physical and health education, and general science,” he said.

Some junior secondary students told PREMIUM TIMES Tuesday that CRS, IRS and national values’ questions were together in junior secondary school exams, and that they attended the religious studies questions based on their respective religions.

But the national values questions are mandatory for all students.

Musa Musibau, a teacher at Gateway Secondary School, Abeokuta, Ogun State, said Religion and National Values comprised CRS, IRS, social studies, security education and civic studies.

“Christianity and Islam are still taught in schools across the state,” Mr. Musibau, an IRS teacher, said.



*So he didnt find out what it was all about before he ran to the press..IMAGINE!!!


24 comments:

  1. People would just wake up and spin the country into confusion with fake news. I knew it was not true when I read it

    ReplyDelete
  2. Do they want to replace it with Instagram studies? I don't even know what schools are teaching pupils anymore.

    ReplyDelete
  3. But why did they remove @CRK from its former position in the syllabus?


    @CRK is a subject that should stand on it's own



    Thank you my Fellow Debaters

    Accurate time keeper

    Audience


    I hope I am able to "CONFUSE " you



    @Galore

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Help me ask them oo. 5 subjects in 1! Makes no sense abeg. That means CRK and IRK are now mandatory, one's religion notwithstanding??

      Naija!

      Delete
  4. I knew it was not true. I even saw the curriculum yesterday.

    Please can some people just stop causing confusion.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Na wa. CRK should stand on its own.

    Anyway i did not bother to read because i know during my own time CRK is a subject of its own

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. God bless you

      Na small small, Dem go remove am completely


      Abi, no be this government again?



      @Galore

      Delete
  6. We need to know why the then president Jonathan set up the committee to merge everything together because people are made to believe Buhari removed CRK from curriculum of school. Most of the subject have been changed, I just got to konw biology is no longer a general subject for all student especially art class.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ok seen, because we were given a different information concerning this issue.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I want to believe you all read the same article i just read. The NERDC says the subjects are separate but Mr Yeketic from Ilorin and the teacher from Ogun state say the teach them under Religion and national values. The formulators of these policices should take time to put the teachers through on what they are supposed to teach...there is obviously a disconnect between policy formulators and implementers. Dont bunch up subject heads: just CRK or IRS simple...

    ReplyDelete
  9. I want to believe you all read the same article i just read. The NERDC says the subjects are separate but Mr Yeketic from Ilorin and the teacher from Ogun state say the teach them under Religion and national values. The formulators of these policices should take time to put the teachers through on what they are supposed to teach...there is obviously a disconnect between policy formulators and implementers. Dont bunch up subject heads: just CRK or IRS simple...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Who Religious Studies epp sef? If you look closely, most of these politicians thieves and murderers went to missionary schools. How did it make them better persons?
    My advice to parents is that from your children's early years, take them to church, talk with them, and be the best role model that you can be. And leave the rest for God.

    ReplyDelete
  11. We were made to believe that it was removed. They had better mind what they are doing over cos CAN and other Christian bodies would not have raised alarm if there there wasn't a plan on ground.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I read the statement and I said to myself that this cannot be true

    ReplyDelete
  13. Story, that was how they removed history from the curriculum simply because you can't talk about the history of Nigeria without making reference to the Nigerian civil war.
    We know what they are doing. I don't see the significance of merging them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Una too like to dey play the victim @AbaMade!
      What a pity!

      Delete
    2. Tell yourself the truth for once.no one is playing the victim.

      Delete
  14. This Buhari government is playing with fire. Why should they mouldy up religious studies with this their national values. If they're introducing National Values as a subject then it should stand alone........This evil scam change government of clueless mofos should not set the country on fire bikonu......hian

    ReplyDelete
  15. We Christians can stir up trouble stones. They won't see that it was started during GEJs tenure Na just to blame everything in Buhati

    ReplyDelete
  16. @Stella,
    As a seasoned journalist you are, do your own investigations on this
    Government cannot be trusted in Nigeria
    A lot of "water don pass under the bridge".

    ReplyDelete
  17. Sholetoga, go back to the post and read properly? How difficult is it for u to understand from the post that it was during GEJ's time they merged they merged those subjects?

    You were just in a hurry to comment even if it is nonsense. mtcheeeewwwww

    ReplyDelete
  18. I don't know why people don't get their fact right. and some are even accusing Buhari of intentionally Removing CRS without realizing the curriculum was designed in 2012 during GEJ regime, na wa. I wonder how CAN and apostle Suleiman will be feeling now.

    ReplyDelete

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