Shortage Of Skilled Hands Threatens Coding, Python, Others In New Curriculum

Nigeria’s ambitious caller nationalist curriculum, which places coding, Python, robotics, artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, and different integer literacy courses astatine the centre of secondary schoolhouse learning, is facing a perchance superior hurdle.

This is owed to a shortage of qualified teachers susceptible of delivering the caller courses accross the implicit 50,000 secondary schools successful the country.

LEADERSHIP reports that portion the program promises to equip students with 21st-century skills, experts fearfulness its afloat implementation whitethorn beryllium undermined by gaps successful quality capacity, peculiarly successful agrarian areas.

Set to instrumentality effect successful September 2025, the program introduces Python basics, Scratch programming, robotics, and net probe for inferior secondary students. Senior secondary learners volition advancement to programming, artificial intelligence, information science, cybersecurity, and integer entrepreneurship. Project-based learning has besides been embedded crossed some levels to promote applicable skills, problem-solving, and innovation.

While the authorities has described the program arsenic historic, moving Nigerian acquisition beyond accepted subjects, insiders archer LEADERSHIP that schools are struggling to hole for the rollout.

A teacher successful a backstage schoolhouse successful Abuja, Collins Uge, revealed that astir schools person not yet formalised plans for the transition, including the schoolhouse wherever helium teaches.

“Our schoolhouse has not yet commented connected the caller curriculum; for now, we are utilizing the aged one. But it volition beryllium hard to get teachers who studied integer literacy courses similar coding, Python, programming, and the rest.

“The lawsuit volition beryllium adjacent much analyzable successful agrarian schools. Most youths who studied these programmes are not consenting to enactment successful villages. The program is simply a invited development, but it needs clip to relation well,” helium said.

Another teacher, Isaac Moji, said the scarcity of specialists is the astir pressing situation successful the caller curriculum.

“Traditional subjects stay mostly unchanged, but emerging courses similar coding, Python, and artificial quality necessitate teachers with circumstantial skills.

“These experts are few, and posting them to agrarian schools whitethorn beryllium precise difficult. This is what could endanger afloat implementation.”

At the inferior secondary level, students volition present survey Mathematics and Measurement, English Language, Integrated Science, Digital Literacy and Coding, Social Studies, Languages, Creative Arts, and Physical and Health Education.

Senior secondary students volition survey precocious Mathematics, English and Communication, Sciences, Technology and Innovation, Social Sciences, Languages, Creative Arts and Innovation, Physical and Health Education, and Research and Project Work, with the integer subjects forming a halfway portion of the curriculum.

Some parents besides pass that without targeted concern successful teacher grooming and incentives to pull specialists, peculiarly to underserved areas, the integer literacy and coding components whitethorn stay mostly theoretical.

A retiree based successful Lugbe, Abuja, Mr Francis Hange, said, the imaginativeness is excellent, but teachers are the lifeline of immoderate curriculum. “You cannot instrumentality coding oregon artificial quality connected paper. It requires practitioners who are comfy teaching those skills, and close present determination are precise few.”

But the authorities insists that the reforms are important to preparing students for a planetary system progressively driven by technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

On Tuesday, the Federal Ministry of Education said the rollout of the program follows extended nationwide consultations that brought each captious stakeholder to the table.

The review, according to the Ministry, was led by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) nether the supervision of the Ministry.

The Ministry stressed that it adopted some competency- and outcome-based approaches to fortify the curricula, saying the betterment was not a rushed workout but a step-by-step and participatory process designed to warrant inclusivity, nationalist ownership, and planetary relevance.

The Ministry’s spokesperson, Folasade Boriowo, said the travel began with a nationwide needs appraisal successful 12 states to place gaps successful the system. It was followed by dialogues crossed the six geopolitical zones, wherever learners, teachers, parents, civilian nine groups, employers, spiritual and accepted leaders, policymakers, and improvement partners each contributed their perspectives.

“Their input helped signifier a caller program model that reflects nationalist policies, improvement priorities, and the aspirations of society. This model was formally ratified astatine the 68th National Council connected Education (NCE) gathering held connected 10th October 2024.

“The meeting, ch...