As from the 2014/2015 academic session the National Commission for Colleges of Education’s (NCCE) will commence implementation of its reviewed curriculum in colleges of education nationwide.
At present, the commission is holding workshops across the six geo-political zones to rub minds with stakeholders before its eventual take off.
This, however, informed of a three day-workshop co-hosted by the NCCE and Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education which the latter hosted between Thursday and Saturday last week.
The workshop with the theme: ‘Orientation workshop on the new NCE curriculum and college restructuring and quality assurance toolkit for teacher educators and administrators,’ drew participants from AOCOED and the Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka, Lagos.
Acting Director, Department of Programmes, NCCE, Abuja, Mallam Sani Aliyu, spoke of the need to build on the curriculum which he described as ‘outdated’.
He said the old Grade II structure where a teacher would be assigned to a class to handle all the subjects had given way to a new model that allows for specialisation, which in turn requires that a new expanded programme be installed to overhaul old system.
He said: “What informed the workshop is that Nigeria was operating on the outdated curriculum and we have to look into the curriculum seriously with a view to producing competent teachers who can handle primary, junior secondary education, formal and tertiary education. These are the five key areas the new curriculum is based.
“What makes the new curriculum better is that it allows students in the college to read specific courses and this will avail them to teach competently. We have to produce curriculum that will suit all the levels. We hope that the participants will go back and make use of the teachings,” also Aliyu said the new curriculum and the attendant restructuring would address all the lapses in teacher education in Nigeria, upgrade the delivery at the college level to international standard practices adding that all the components for effective take-off of the new NCCE ideas had been taken good care of.
Provost of the host institution, Mr. Olalekan Wasiu Bashorun, assured that AOCOED was ready to implement the curriculum.
Earlier, he said the college had always innovative ideas.
“The college has never lagged behind by ensuring the sustenance of any positive development and innovation in teacher education in Nigeria.
“It is on record that we played a key role in the process of developing the national minimum standards for the Pre-NCE Curriculum produced by NCCE about three years ago. Only two weeks ago, the School of Arts and Social Sciences of this college successfully organised a four-day national workshop on evolving innovative curriculum.”
Bashorun said the college is through with the restructuring of its schools, with a new School of Primary and Early Childhood Education, evolving from the School of Education renamed School of General Education.
He said the college had received NCCE’s approval to run courses in Cultural and Creative Arts and Arabic Language and that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) had been notified of the development.
The courses will draw their first intake of students in the 2014/2015 academic session, he said.
The Deputy Provost, Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka, Lagos, Dr. (Mrs.) Olajumoke Mekiliuwa, who stood in for the provost, Dr Soji told reporters that the new NCE curriculum was an idea which time had arrived.
According to her, the old curriculum has served out its usefulness and that the new arrangement was better and more effective as tools for comprehensive teacher education delivery in which standards and effectiveness would be the watchwords.
The workshop closed on Saturday with the adoption of a communiqué and a unanimous resolve by participants to put into effective use the highlights of the exercise.
