Worried about students’ low interest in science and technology subjects, the Federal Government has announced plans to teach them in local languages.
The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, made the disclosure at the weekend when he presented mobile science kits to pupils of Ekulu Primary School, Enugu.
He explained that a research carried out by his ministry showed that the use of foreign language in teaching the subjects was responsible for the low interest.
Onu said the research indicated that a child who lived with his parents in the first five years was likely not to understand science and technology subjects taught in foreign languages.
It was learnt that schools’ curriculum might be reviewed to incorporate the use of local languages in primary and secondary schools. According to him: “Teaching our children in foreign languages would create a serious challenge, especially when they had become familiar with the indigenous languages while living with their parents.
“It is necessary that we review the curriculum in our system. When that is accomplished, the much talked-about challenge would be a thing of the past.”
The Executive Chairman of the Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board (ENSUBEB), Mr. Ikeje Asogwa, explained that the advanced countries in the world developed because they had a sustainable policy on science and technology.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) has identified the failure of colleges of education to implement its prescribed curriculum as the bane of poor quality teachers.
The Head of Quality Assurance of NCCE, Mr. Ayoade Ajao, stated this in a lecture at the Tai Solarin College of Education (TASCE), Omu-Ijebu, Ogun State.
Source: DT
