Nasir M Baba

This paper examines the issue of dualism or diarchy in the educational structure of Northern Nigeria and how various Nigerian governments have grappled with the problem of forging a workable synthesis between Qur'anic school system and Western education without much success. The paper asserts that in recent times, the deplorable conditions of these schools, cases of child abuse/neglect associated with them and the need to expand access to education for all have forced a second look at the future of Our'anic schools. It examines the attempts to integrate Qur'anic school into the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme and raises some conceptual questions on the feasibility and likely consequences of this arrangement.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a Non-Formal Education Curriculum (NFEC) designed by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and UNICEF in integrating students of Traditional Qur'anic Schools (TQS) into the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme. TQS provide early religious socialisation and training focused on the study of the Quran to several categories of Muslim children including many who are also enrolled in formal primary schools. But the most valued students of TQS, in terms of their potentials of contributing to the continuity of culturally valued religious traditions, are the boys that devote full-time attention to the exclusive study of the Qur'an and other Islamic subjects under the tutelage of Qur'anic teachers (malammai , in Hausa). On the other hand, these boys (called almajirai ) are considered by the Nigerian state as largest category of out-of-school children. The problem addressed by this research is how effectively has the NFEC been in mediating these conflicting perceptions of the almajirai and encouraging their participation in the UBE? In order to answer this question, data were collected on three main variables (institutional capacities of the schools, students’ participation rates, & social acceptability) regarding the implementation of NFEC using a questionnaire, classroom observation, and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). These instruments were administered on samples drawn from malammai and facilitators the participating TQS (PTQS) in Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara states. The study found that the effectiveness of the NFEC was hampered by constraints of poor quality of teaching personnel, inadequate supply of instructional resources, and inadequate provision for the welfare of the almajirai. In addition, negative indicators such as high dropout rates, declining enrolment of girls, and low transition to formal schools suggest that PTQS are not enabling the full participation of their students into the UBE. On their part, the malammai showed little enthusiasm for NFEC going beyond providing the almajirai with basic rudimentary knowledge that will enhance their performance of social, economic, and civic routines.

Contents in climate change and disaster risk reduction education are to feature as revolving themes across subjects such as English Studies, Basic Science and Technology, and Religious and Values Education in a new structure of Basic Education (BE) released by Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) in 2012. This paper analyses how basic education curricular can be used to promote global social issues such as enlightening the populace about climate change. The aim is to explore challenges that are involved in doing so. This task is undertaken against the background that implementing the agenda of global dimensions into curriculum realities often has to cope with local resistance and scepticism. One source of resistance, for instance, is how global agenda are generally conveyed in a language and style that makes it difficult for local actors to comprehend how these issues are relevant to their situations. By engaging with major themes of the debate over climate change, the paper analyses the implications of these themes in developing content and resources for the teaching of climate change education at the basic education level. A number of options are also proposed for identifying culturally-responsive pedagogies/resources for teaching climate change at the basic education level in Nigeria.

This paper presents the results of a preliminary study on the experience of proprietors/teachers of Quranic schools in three states in North West, Nigeria with attempts at non-formal integration of contents and processes of public education into their 'minimalist' curriculum focused on Quranic recitation and memorisation. The preliminary stage addressed two research objectives. The first was to lay out the policy, administrative, and curriculum framework that foreground the implementation of integrated education for Quranic schools. The second objective was to survey the range of actors involved in the provision of Islamic education outside of the state bureaucracy and their demographic and ideological profiles. Both objectives were achieved mainly through content analysis of policy documents, a desk review of literature, and interviews & validation meetings with the field staff and officials of key government agencies implementing Integrated Quranic Education (IQE) in Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara states. Findings suggest a crowded policy and administrative framework at the federal and state levels that lack clarity for the roles of the participating state and non-state entities. This has resulted in the existence of multiple curriculum materials that are dormant and unimplemented. But this implementation gap is being filled by international development partners who are the most active participants in the IQE sub-sector.

Islamic schools in Nigeria have undergone transformations from a position of monopolistic control over spiritual knowledge to one of competition and subsequently struggle for survival as they encountered missionary and colonial incursions. The post-colonial state that emerged had to endure weakened Islamic schools which nonetheless retained legitimacy in the eyes of observant Muslims as culturally and religiously valued institutions. This paper describes a fluctuating pattern of mutual isolation, engagement and competition that characterise the relationship between the state, Islamic schools and an influential corps of Islamic clerics (Ulama) operating outside the spheres of state bureaucracy. Northern Nigeria, where these schools are prevalent, has endured a long list of developmental challenges including a low level of educational attainment which places it at a competitive disadvantage in its relationship with Southern Nigeria. The paper claims that although both the state and a ...

This is a survey that investigated flipping the classroom using simple technologies by lecturers in Nigerian Universities. Simple technological tools are day-to-day appliances, services and applications such as smartphones and or laptops, email account, WhatsApp and Facebook accounts, and other social media that have incredible learning potentials when used wisely. Whereas the target population of the study was all lecturers in Nigeria universities, this population was delimited by people’s accessibility and willingness to respond to an online instrument (Flipped Instruction in Nigerian Universities, FINU) widely distributed through the known social media platforms of universities across the country. Using this non-random sampling technique, the researchers were able to reach out to 213 lecturers from 9 Universities who responded to the FINU instrument. The instrument was validated taking into cognizance content and construct components, and a Cronbach Alpha analysis of the data rep...

This paper explores the uniqueness of peace education and how that impacts on the design of curriculum to teach it. It raises the need for teachers and curriculum specialists to approach peace education a little differently from most of disciplinary contents. Whereas, most academic disciplines are analytical and aim to understand the way things are, peace education aims at changing the world once it is understood. These differential emphases between disciplinary content and peace education re-echo familiar tensions between two competing orientations in curriculum design. One that puts the content of a new or revised course at the heart of curriculum design, and the other that focuses on changes in how students view the world and how they behave. While arguing that designing peace education curriculum should lean towards the latter orientation, the paper also acknowledges that many of those who have responsibilities of developing this curriculum are non-education specialists who would be more interested in practical guidance on how to plan for and bring about desirable changes in students’ behaviours that promote lasting peace. Using key questions as a guide, the paper guides participants through the curriculum design process proposed in ‘Bones model’.