Education stakeholders call for action against learning crisis in Nigeria

he Federal Ministry of Education (FMOE), Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and UNICEF have pledged to take decisive measures against the learning crisis in Nigeria’s education sector.

The commitment followed the two-day National Conference on the Learning Crisis held on 18 and 19 October, 2023 in Abuja.

The current educational landscape revealed a daunting reality where merely 1 in 4 Nigerian children aged 7 to 14 can read with comprehension or tackle simple arithmetic.

he Conference provided a platform for participants to dissect the magnitude of the educational challenge with various driving factors, including the lack of quality in educational investments, the dire need for enhanced teacher training, and the accessibility to superior textbooks in indigenous languages, were spotlighted.

The Conference spotlighted successful educational models such as the Reading and Numeracy Activity (RANA) and TaRL (Teaching at the Right Level).

The former has shown remarkable progress in elevating reading skills for Grades 1-3 students in both English and Hausa languages, catering to formal and Integrated Quranic Schools.

Meanwhile, the latter has bridged learning gaps in Grades 4-6, adopting a unique approach of categorizing children based on learning capacities rather than conventional grading as both models have proven effective in diverse humanitarian and developmental settings.

Strong voices from Federal and State officials, International Donors, Development Partners and the private sector culminated in the creation of a ‘Framework of Action.’

The blueprint aspires to elevate the educational quality, especially for students lagging behind, emphasizing the imperative components of quality education.

The proposed framework underscores the significance of teachers’ training, advanced teaching tools, tech-integrated learning, and performance assessments.

While the specifics of the Framework of Action will be detailed in the coming months, some of the key takeaways included:

Government and stakeholders, led by the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Tanko Yusuf Sununu, and the Nigeria Governors Forum Chairman, Dr. AbdulRazaq AbdulRahman, called for strong political leadership, commitment and collective action to solve the learning crisis.

There was consensus that these efforts must begin with increasing domestic financing of quality education and be galvanized through a jointly developed and agreed Framework of Action.

The conference agreed that a review and reform of Nigeria’s curriculum is needed to align with global standards, placing a strong emphasis on practical skills.

Alongside this, quality, localized content must be co-created with key stakeholders using the language of the immediate environment to support early grade learning.

By Ishola Michael

Read more: https://tribuneonlineng.com/education-stakeholders-call-for-action-against-learning-crisis-in-nigeria/