Oyo govt returns history to public schools curriculum

The Oyo State government has reinstated History in all public primary schools in the state to be taught as an independent subject beginning from the third term of 2021/2022 academic session.

Dr. Nureni Aderemi Adeniran, the Chairman of Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board, disclosed this during a monitoring tour of public schools ahead of resumption.

The removal of history from primary and secondary school curricula became effective in 2009. This was supposedly because learners intentionally skipped the subject, graduates didn’t have job prospects and teachers were largely scarce.

Quite a number of experts faulted the decision, stressing that the removal of the subject would disconnect learners from the past and impact negatively on their perception of the present.

However, the Nigerian government directed its return to schools’ curriculum as a standalone subject from 2020/2021 academic session.

Adeniran, who noted that the reinstatement of the subject was in tandem with the new education policy of the State Government, stressed that the curriculum would enable pupils appreciate history as an instrument of national integration and allow them to know the history of the country.

He reiterated the importance of history to nation building, patriotism and human development, adding that more than four thousand, nine hundred and fifty (4,950) history textbooks were being distributed to public primary schools state-wide to deepen the knowledge of pupils in the area.