The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has confirmed that President Bola Tinubu has directed the reintroduction of Nigerian History as a subject in primary and secondary schools across the country.
During an appearance on Channels Television’s End-of-Year Special Review Show on Tuesday, Alausa stated, “President Tinubu has mandated the return of Nigerian History as a subject in basic education.”
In 2009, under the leadership of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, the Nigerian government removed History from the basic education curriculum, citing the subject’s declining popularity and a lack of jobs for History graduates, alongside a shortage of qualified teachers.
However, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the reintroduction of History was officially launched on Thursday by the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, who was represented by the Minister of State for Education, Goodluck Opiah, in a ceremony held in Abuja.
Adamu expressed concern about the national cohesion being threatened by a lack of knowledge regarding Nigeria’s history, particularly as the country faces growing divisiveness due to the absence of the subject.
He stated that the removal of History from the curriculum had led to a retreat into “primordial sentiments.”
The Education Minister also announced that 3,700 history teachers had been selected for the first round of training to enhance the teaching of the subject at the basic education level.
He remarked, “History used to be one of the foundational subjects in our classrooms, but for some inexplicable reasons, it was removed.
This led to its expulsion from subject combinations for both internal and external examinations, leaving students with fewer opportunities to learn about their past.”
Adamu referred to the removal of History as a “monumental mistake,” citing the negative consequences that followed, including a decline in moral and civic values, and a disconnect from the nation’s historical roots.
The focus of the reintroduction initiative, Adamu explained, is on the training and retraining of teachers to enhance their skills in teaching the subject, ensuring that they are equipped with the necessary knowledge to convey the significance of Nigerian history.
At the event, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, the Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), confirmed that 3,700 history teachers had been selected from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for training.
Bobboyi explained that the selection process was done on a pro-rata basis, with each state and the FCT contributing 100 teachers.
This training aims to equip the selected teachers with the necessary skills to teach the newly updated History curriculum.
Following the directive for the subject’s reintroduction, UBEC and the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) quickly began implementing the plan, culminating in the official flag-off of the training program.
