Lagos Secondary Schools Turn Deaf Ears to Order Bringing History Back into Study Curriculum

 

Art Students attending Public Secondary Schools in Lagos have said they are not taking history as a subject despite having restored history back to the study curriculum, PIJAlance Research and Investigations Desk learnt.

 

Recalled in August 2022, the Lagos State Government directed heads of private schools in the state that the teaching of History as a stand-alone subject has been re-introduced to schools.

 

The directive which came from the Nigerian Education Research and Development Council stressed that the subject has been re-introduced in the national curriculum and the current Lagos State Unified Schemes of Work for primary and junior secondary schools.

 

“You are to note that while the subject (History) is compulsory for both primary and junior secondary school classes, it is an elective subject in senior secondary school.

 

“To this end, I am further directed to inform you that the subject should be taught in primaries one and two and JSS one and two classes in the 2022/2023 academic session,” NERDC had said.

 

However, In a chat with Art students in Ilupeju Secondary school and Ubah secondary school, PIJAlance RID Reporter learnt that the students have yet to start doing History as a subject. This was said to have been since their Senior Secondary School One up to the Senior Secondary School three levels.

 

“I have not done history at all since I was in Ss1 and there are some schools I know that do it they are not in Oshodi they are around Isolo, Mushin, I know of Ajao Estate Senior Grammar school and Unity, you can find out” Students of Ilupeju secondary school had stated.

 

“We don’t do history in our school, we don’t have history teacher In our school” the students of Uba secondary school hinted.

 

Meanwhile, reacting to what the students said the Mushin-based public school teacher who doesn’t want names in print pointed out that only public schools that have history teachers take History as a subject.

 

“It is schools that have history teachers that offer history around and I know of schools that don’t offer history at all because they don’t have the teachers at all”.

 

The Teacher in his comment expresses worries that very soon we won’t even have these teachers at all because they are very hard to find and we need history teachers in our schools to help us have an identity and representation as a people.

 

He advised the government on the need to make provision for these teachers as the knowledge of history is essential in the life of every student and not only art students who are offering history as a subject in secondary schools.

 

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