The Christian Association of Nigeria have taken their protest to the Senate over the controversial introduction of National Values/Civic Education in
The Christian Association of Nigeria have taken their protest to the Senate over the controversial introduction of National Values/Civic Education in the school curriculum. The controversial curriculum seeks to make Islamic Religious Knowledge and Christian Religious Knowledge compulsory subjects, irrespective of pupils’ religious beliefs.
A delegation from CAN, who visited the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, in his office, criticised the new nine-year Basic Education Curriculum as unfair to Christian pupils.
The leader of the delegation, Prof. Charles Adisa, who represented the National President of CAN, called for the intervention of the National Assembly to ensure genuine respect for the constitution and the abolition of obnoxious laws that infringe on freedom of worship. He alleged that the account of the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ had been distorted in one of the books in the new curriculum.
Adisa said, “There is a portion in the curriculum that encourages the children to disobey the parents if they are opposed to an issue. When an educational programme encourages rebellion in the home, what will be the implication? It is the position of CAN that IRK and CRK should be offered separately, while Social Studies and Civic Education should be merged.”
He also said the federal and state ministries of education should employ more teachers for religious subjects. Saraki, in his remarks, urged stakeholders in the education sector to remain calm on the matter to enable the National Assembly to look into the various issues involved.
He assured the delegation that the Senate Committee on Basic Education would investigate the complaints of CAN against the new curriculum, with a view to making it acceptable and satisfactory to all religions.
Recall that top Christian leaders had voiced their protest about the new curriculum saying that the Federal Government had no right to force students to attend Arabic classes. They added that the government should return the Basic Education Curriculum to its original state with Christian Religious Studies (CRS) as a stand-alone subject.
CAN president, Dr Samson Ayokunle, had stated that the government had an ulterior motive to try to Islamise the country with the new curriculum.
However, Prof. Ismail Junaidu, the Executive Secretary of NERDC maintained that CRK has not been removed adding that all former subjects such as Civic Education, Social Studies, Christian Religious Knowledge, Islamic Studies and Security Education would now come under the Religion and National Values Curriculum.
