Concerns As History Lessons Drop In Secondary Schools
https://www.auntydebbysblog.com/2016/02/concerns-as-history-lessons-drop-in.html
"WITHOUT HISTORY IS NO NATION, WITH A NATION, THERE IS A HISTORY" - Aunty Debby.
Commenting on the concerns as history lessons drop in schools, a former
Head of Department, Department of Educational Management, Faculty of
Education, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Prof. Femi Akinwunmi, said
neglecting the study of history was tantamount to taking 10 steps
backwards.
He noted, ‘‘History teaches morals. In
the past, we used to be taught morals on the assembly grounds in the
primary and secondary schools. History explains and defines the past and
gives direction to the present and the future. Pupils used to rush to
history classes because it is an interesting subject. It helps people to
compare their ways to others. ’’
Chairman, National Union of Teachers,
Lagos State branch, Mr. Adesegun Raheem, explained that youths were
integrated into the society based on their knowledge of their society.
He said it was important for pupils to have a deep knowledge of their culture which could be readily attained through history.
Raheem stated, ‘‘Our culture demands
that each individual knows about his society. It is a sad thing that
most of our secondary schools do not have history teachers. History, as a
subject, is going off from the curriculum of pupils in secondary school
and this is sad. If one loses the history of one’s culture, one has
lost everything. Nigeria is moving away from graduates searching for
jobs to creating jobs. Our culture of employment has made this
possible.’’
Also, the Education Rights Campaign which decried the situation, said it was bad for the country’s post-primary education.
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER