FG orders reintroduction of History in schools

The Federal Government has on Thursday ordered the reintroduction  of History as a taught subject across basic schools nationwide.

The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, who called for the disarticulation of Social Studies in the current curriculum of basic schools and reintroduction of History as a subject, said this had become imperative given the critical nature of History to the nation’s socio-political development.

The minister made the statement in Abuja on Thursday while addressing delegates at the 61st meeting of the National Council on Education Ministerial Session.

The minister also urged the council to consider making the study of Christian Religious Knowledge (CRK) and Islamic Religious Knowledge (IRK) compulsory for Christians and Muslims to the end of Senior Secondary School.

He noted further that the reintroduction of History as a subject would give the Nigerian child a self-identity of who they really are adding that Nigeria owes present and future generations the responsibility of removing all inhibitions against opportunities of acquiring morals and ethics as taught in religious traditions.

“It is only the study of history, our own history, that can explain and give meaning to our very humanity and that is why we must study it and teach our little ones. And it is also not enough that they merely know who they are, we must teach them about their God.

“Since it is said that if you want to destroy any nation, it is said that first the family must be destroyed, then education is destroyed, and the third are social morals that are destroyed, so in Nigeria we owe both present and future generations the responsibility of removing all inhibitions against making our children acquire morals and ethics,” he said.

The minister also launched the National Teacher Education Policy (NTEP) and the National Quality Assurance Policy (NPEQ) at the council’s meeting

According to the minister, NPEQ is an assurance system for institutions below tertiary level and expected standards of practice in Nigeria while NTEP identifies the pivotal role of qualified teachers in the provision of quality education at all levels.

“The objective is to produce highly skilled knowledgeable and creative teachers who are capable of producing globally competitive students. The policy also seeks to ensure that teachers are recruited, trained and re-trained based on explicit standards,” he said.