AN OPEN LETTER TO THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE HONOURABLE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION, NIGERIA

It is with a great sense of respect and humility I write to vasculate the mind of Nigerian Secondary school teachers and Students.

Without any partiality and sense of discrimination towards any political party or administration I am particularly stretching my point of agitation to the imbecility structure and system of Nigerian Education.

It is of no news again that the integrity and dignity of Nigerian Education is been derailed and miniature just because of incessant and inappropriate system of reviewing Nigerian educational curriculum. 

I join my hands to collaborate with the new generation to corroborate and deliberate on what kind of education we are receiving in our dear country. Till this moment, we have not been able to depict any useful and positive adjective to qualify and quantify it except EPILEPTIC.

The masses have the same mindset that it is as if our leaders are intentionally disassembling already structured education. It was not so during your set and you enjoyed free education with good subject combinations. 

Without any action of permutation, our arguments are only on WHY THE INTEGRATION OF USELESS AND PURPOSELESS SUBJECTS TO THE SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL CURRICULUM.

We refused to dance and buy your self acclaimed reasons. The truth of the matter is, those subjects have never served their purposes of inclusion.

Unlike before, all Science students offered MATHEMATICS, ENGLISH, CHEMISTRY, PHYSICS, BIOLOGY, ECONOMICS, GEOGRAPHY, AGRIC SCIENCE/FURTHER MATHS AND ANY NIGERIAN LANGUAGE

With the above subjects, any science students that doesn't pass Chemistry and physics can still combine Mathematics, English, Economics, Agric or Biology and any Nigerian language to do a particular course without resitting for any other exams. Meanwhile, Yoruba or Igbo or Hausa was among the perquisites for gaining admission into higher institution in Nigeria and even in abroad, but now, it is no where to be found.

Also, during those days, Art students do offer MATHEMATICS, ENGLISH, BIOLOGY, ECONOMICS, GOVERNMENT, LITERATURE, CRS/IRS/GEOGRAPHY, BOOK KEEPING/COMMERCE AND ANY NIGERIAN LANGUAGE SUBJECT.

With these combinations, Art students also had opportunity to deviate to any other course without literature or CRS/IRS.

Commercial students do offer MATHEMATICS, ENGLISH, BIOLOGY, ECONOMICS, FINANCIAL ACCOUNT, BOOK KEEPING, COMMERCE, GEOGRAPHY/AGRIC SCIENCE AND ANY NIGERIAN LANGUAGE SUBJECT.

This means that Commercial students can still do some good science related courses in higher institution with the combination of MATHS, ENGLISH, BIOLOGY, ECONOMICS and GEOGRAPHY.

With a special observation, you could as well depict that SCIENCE, ART and COMMERCIAL students can still meet in the same department in the same school with the five subjects common to all the three departments.

The advents of subjects partitioning due to the integration of CIVIC EDUCATION and UNWORTHY(No equipments) TRADE SUBJECTS has brought about denial of services and detaching of students from selecting their preferred subjects. 

It is very advisable to go back to our way of selecting subjects. Meanwhile, upon all your curriculum reviews, Jamb and examination bodies including higher institutions has never reviewed their requirements for selecting candidates for their courses. 

I think all these trade subjects and civic education should be made optional and not compulsory so that these students will be able to select better subjects to be offered in WAEC and NECO. 

I will also suggest that the integration of COMPUTER STUDIES with equipments will boom and pivot our educational system to the nearest successful empire.

In conclusion, we should know that the role of education in national building can not be over emphasized. Whatever sound you embed into the trumpet will it give out......this world is now garbage in garbage out. Let's work together to bring about good thing from the new generation. Dont just sit down there and formulating useless hypothesis as you do not really know what the teachers and the students are going through. You need the help of the teachers before venturing into any curriculum restructuring and reformation programme.

Thanks for your understanding.

I still remain my humble self;
Ajibode Adekunle (A-CUBE)
ICT Instructor