Wednesday, July 12, 2017

OPEN LETTER TO GOVERNOR ABDULFATAH AHMED OF KWARA STATE ON THE CURRICULUM CONTROVERSY


Attempts to get answers to some questions bothering on the Kwara State Government’s seeming varying of the Basic Education Curriculum approved for Nigerian schools, to the disadvantage of Christian pupils, have not succeeded. Save for an autoresponder on the Governor’s Facebook Messenger account that says he will get back shortly; there have not been responses to messages sent through his personal and official websites’ Contact Us facilities. Attempts by phone and through Twitter also failed. The questions are therefore being aired openly here in the hope that somebody will see it and draw the attention of the relevant officials of the Kwara State government to this:

Your Excellency, Sir,

You are no doubt aware of the on-going Curriculum Controversy about which the national umbrella body of Christians, the Christian Association of Nigeria has mentioned your state as one of the culprits.

Specifically, CAN accuses your administration of being complicit in the unilateral amendment of the national curriculum to the advantage of Moslems and the detriment of Christians. CAN also says it has evidence that Christian students are being physically tortured to take Islamic Religious Knowledge in your State.

All of which remains in the realm of allegations until it is proven otherwise.
However, the Timetable of the on-going Basic Education Certificate Examinations reveals some worrisome issues which seem to confirm the fears of CAN.

A perusal of the Timetable signed on behalf of the Hon Commissioner of Education and Human Capital Development by Alhaji Sabi Ibrahim indicate the following:
·     On Wednesday, July 12, Religion and National Values (KW/BECE/304) is scheduled for 9-11am; Islamic Religious Knowledge (KW/BECE/204) is scheduled for the next day (July 13) at 10:30am;
·       
    On the same day, Arabic CAIS (KW/BECE/204), Arabic JIS (KW/BECE/205) and Islamic Studies (KW/BECE/407) are scheduled for 9am, 10:30am and 12noon respectively;
·    
     Christian Religious Knowledge is conspicuously missing. Even if it has been subsumed in Religious and National Values, it would be contrary to the national curriculum which provides that CRK and IRK be studied side-by-side within RNV. So, an undue advantage would have been conferred on IRK to the marginalisation of CRK.
·   
     Also, Arabic was supposed to be offered as a substitute to French. French is NOT on the Timetable.
·        
     The status of Islamic History is also a little difficult to understand.

    Your Excellency, you may wish to educate the public on these observations so that the fear being expressed in many circles that this is in pursuit of a national Islamisation agenda, and that Kwara is simply being used to test the waters, is laid to rest.

May I thank you most sincerely for your kind response to this humble inquiry on a matter that is capable of giving you, your government, your state and the political party you belong to, a not-so-savoury image.

Yours Faithfully – in the Service of our Nation,

REMI AKANO
Editor/Publisher,                                                                                                                                        KINGDOMPeople magazine/

KINGDOMWatch News

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