Chairman of the Universities Education Curriculum Review Committee, Prof. Peter Okebukola, on Thursday, said that there was no plan to scrap any education programme being run in Nigerian universities.
He was reacting speculations doing the rounds in some quarters, describing them as “fake news and wishful thinking of some mischief makers.”
His position was contained in a press statement in Abuja.
Prof Okebukola, is a former Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission (NUC), and Chairman, Governing Council of the National Open University of Nigerian, NOUN.
The crux of the speculations was captured thus: “There is a universities education curriculum review committee currently sitting which is headed by Prof Peter Okebukola, which is proposing the scrapping of some university undergraduate programmes like Educational Administration &Planning (or Educational Management); Guidance and Counseling and Early Childhood Education/Primary Education, despite the merits of the programmes.”
While describing the information being circulated in some quarters as fake news, the former NUC boss refuted the claims and insisted that there was no attempt to scrap education programmes offered in some Universities in the country.
Prof Okebukola declared that rather than scrapping, all the current programmes in Education were being maintained and strengthened.
Accordingly, he urged members of the public to ignore the unsubstantiated rumours.
He said that since studies had consistently shown that Education graduates who have no teaching subject reflected in their certificates have had challenges with employment and even placement for teaching practice, the Education Curriculum Group after consultations with stakeholders including members of the Nigerian Academic of Education, have agreed to recommend to NUC, that as much as possible and where applicable, Education programmes should have a component of a teaching subject.
The statement read in part: “It is fake news! No programme is being scrapped in Education. All current programmes in Education are being maintained and strengthened.
“Instead, new programmes are being proposed for Education to respond to the needs of our great country for teachers who are nationally relevant and globally competitive. Since studies have consistently shown that Education graduates who have no teaching subject reflected in their certificates have had challenges with employment and even placement for teaching practice, the Education Curriculum Group after consultations with stakeholders including members of the Nigerian Academic of Education, have agreed to recommend to NUC, that as much as possible and where applicable, Education programmes should have a component of a teaching subject.
“The purveyors of the fake news are not aware of these developments and instead of cross-checking the facts, they went about misleading the public in a most disingenuous way.
“Nigerians should await the outcome of the exercise and they will see how far from the truth these mischievous people are. To make Nigeria’s teachers the best, is a task that must be done collectively.”
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