The Muslim Congress (TMC) Lagos state chapter has lamented the shortage of Islamic Religious Studies (IRS) teachers in public schools.
The congress said this at a visit to the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Abolaji Abayomi at Alausa.
TMC Lagos State Chairman Alhaji Tajudeen Olusesi Yusuf said some Muslim pupils are being forced to take Christian Religious Studies as prerequisites.
Yusuf said: “Based on our findings, we found that most public schools in Lagos State do not have IRK teachers while many schools have two CRK teachers. Our children in Art Departments are being forced to offer CRK as prerequisites for the department they found themselves. We shall be grateful if this can be balanced and offer the Muslim students their fundamental rights of studying IRK in our schools. We urge the state government to prioritise the employment of IRK teachers to imbibe Islamic teaching in our students. Furthermore, we really appreciate campaign for the return of History studies into our schools. Islamic and Christian Religious Knowledge will complement the impact of History studies in our children,” he said.
The congress also called for the review of the curriculum to ensure for quality education.
According to him, an effective curriculum should be dynamic and relevant to the need of the society.
“Thus, the current curricula need to be reviewed to reflect the socio-economic and technological realities of today. By the same token, it has been observed that there is a dearth of qualified teachers. Sir, we would like you to look into these issues as a matter of priority just as we call for the engagement/appointment of more professional counsellors in our schools. This is against the backdrop of the rising cases of mental disorder among secondary school students, occasioned by increase in cult-related activities, substance abuse, indecent dressing and sexualisation of the public space as we are witnessing today in our society,” he said.