UBEC Develops Curriculum For Bilingual Education

The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), in collaboration with key stakeholders, has commenced the process of developing a “smart” curriculum for Bilingual Education in Nigeria.

In a statement in Abuja on Monday, Head, Public Relations and Protocol, UBEC, Mr. David Apeh, disclosed that the Commission recently held a workshop for curriculum adaptation for the Bilingual Schools where experts had brainstorming sessions on coming up with the best curriculum for the unique schools.

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He said the Deputy Executive Secretary (Technical) of UBEC, Professor Bala Zakari, who doubles as the Project Supervisor for the Bilingual Education Programme in Nigeria, called for a standardised approach in the development of the Bilingual Education curriculum.

Zakari noted that UBEC is working to ensure the success of the bilingual education programme, right from the construction of the schools in the nine focal States, to the engagement of experts in series of programmes.

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He said Nigeria is very unique given the peculiarity of the nation’s population where the country has more than 7 million learners at the Early Childhood Care Development Education (ECCDE) alone and more than 47 million at the primary level.

Earlier, project coordinator, Islamic Development Bank, Mansir Idris, said the purpose of the workshop was to examine the existing national curriculum alongside the Tsangaya among others and to see how they could be adapted to fit in for the bilingual education programme.

Also, Dr Ibrahim Bakari, ICT Head of Unit, UBEC, noted that there were gaps in the national curriculum, especially in the areas of artificial intelligence, robotics and Coding, which he said could be incorporated in the new curriculum for bilingual education.

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He advocated for a ‘’smart’’ bilingual education curriculum for effectiveness and efficiency in line with global best practices.