Hair styling, GSM repair, plumbing… FG to activate skill-driven school curriculum

The ministry of education says a new curriculum for basic education will commence across schools in January 2025.

Tahir Mamman, the minister of education, spoke on Monday in Abuja at a stakeholders meeting on implementing the new curriculum.

Mamman said a new curriculum for senior secondary education would also commence by September 2025.

He said the new curriculum would address a learning crisis among the youth and the challenge of employability affecting graduates.

The minister said new skill acquisition components in the curriculum would equip students with 21st-century skills.

“In the last year, we have worked with stakeholders to develop a skills framework that will inject skills right from the latter part of basic education to secondary education,” he said.

“The whole idea is that, by the time children finish, they should have a minimum of two skills. They can have a productive life.”

Mamman said the new curriculum includes 15 newly introduced trade subjects for basic education.

The subjects cover classes in digital literacy, such as information technology, and vocational entrepreneurship skills, such as building/construction, plumbing, and tiling.

Other subject areas cover hospitality industry skills such as hair styling and make-up artistry.

Also included among the skills to be taught are services such as GSM repair, CCTV installation, and garment making.

Mamman said the meeting was convened to discuss the implementation modality for the new curriculum while giving a timeline for monitoring and evaluation.

He said the next three months would be a preparatory stage to guide teachers on how to use the curriculum.

“The major justification for what we have done has been the inability to implement the 6:3:3:4 system from inception,” Mamman said.

“The minimum academic standard of 1993 shows a reason for 6:3:3:4 and the Act outlined clearly the learning trajectory of schools in Nigeria.

“It was envisaged that by the time learners finished basic education, they would have acquired skills. Unfortunately, we departed from it.”