BY TEMI OHAKWE, ABUJA – About 53 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the education sector have criticized the position of the Minister of Education on the removal of sex education from the basic education curriculum.
The Coalition on the aegis of Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA), pointedly said that the move would erode the positive development of 20 years made by the Ministry of Education and other state and non-state actors to provide wholesome education that meets the needs of learners at different levels.
This was as CSACEFA noted that the Federal Government has left key issues of national development in the education sector to individuals who lack credibility, capacity, and character.
The Coalition particularly berated the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, stressing that he has shown a lack of capacity and has been absent on duty thus, the reason why he is complaining on the actions of those he supervises.
It also said that the Nigerian curriculum for basic and post-basic education, does not address the core challenges facing the country as a result of the approach engaged in developing content.
CSACEFA, therefore, called for the unbundling of the basic education curriculum, stressing that the content of the sex education syllabus does not fit into the targeted age group.
National Moderator of CSACEFA, Abdullahi Sule, who stated these while responding to the position of the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu on the removal of sex education in the basic school curriculum, said that in as much as Nigeria is engaging multiple approaches in designing her curriculum to meet global demands and standards, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council NERDC must consider the peculiarities of the nation.
In the words of Sule; “It is important to unbundle the document and see what is in it before we take action. The content is what matters and to our understanding, it does not fit the age group targeted.
“It seems, we have left key issues to people who are out to destroy the nation and lack in credibility, capacity and character thus the results we see. If you look carefully into other agencies, you see such lapses”.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of ‘Education As A Vaccine’, Mrs Toyin Chukwudozie, said that anyone who had interacted with the curriculum would know that it was set to provide support and guidance for adolescents and young people.
She further said; “These young people need to navigate through the changing phases of their lives that are so critical, and most experienced while they go through the basic and senior secondary education.
“This development is very unwelcome and erodes 20 years of progress made by the Federal Ministry of Education and other state and non-state actors to provide wholesome education that meets the needs of learners at different levels.
“It appears, the Minister has not been provided appropriate information and advisory by relevant officials about Nigeria’s Family Life and HIV Education (FLHE) curriculum. The journey towards having this curriculum, and the impact on adolescents, and young people.
“The FLHE curriculum was approved by the same NCE in 2002 because of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the constant rising incidents among adolescents and young people”
“It became imperative to adopt strategies that will centre this vulnerable group at the heart of prevention and response, one of such strategies was the adaptation into the school curriculum,” she said.
Chukwudozie noted that the FLHE curriculum is a planned process of education that fosters the acquisition of factual information, the formation of positive attitudes, beliefs, and values as well as the development of skills, adding that it would help them to cope with the biological, psychological, socio-cultural and spiritual aspects of human living.
