Recent Curriculum Reforms in Primary and Secondary Schools in Nigeria in the new Millennium

Abstract

The world over, education is regarded as an instrument per excellence for effecting social, psychological, economical, political, intellectual, and developmental transformation of a people and curriculum remains the tool for achieving this purpose. This paper therefore started with a brief account of education reform in Nigeria since 1960 and gradually graduated into a detailed account of recent curriculum reforms in pre-tertiary institutions (primary and secondary schools) in Nigeria in the new millennium interspersed with the reasons for the reforms, underlying principles, misconceptions about the reforms and recent review of the nine-year basic education curriculum. The differences between the new curriculum tagged Curriculum 2007 and the old curricula, constraints to the implementation of the new curriculum, and the way forward were extensively discussed.

Keywords: Curriculum reforms, Primary and Secondary Schools, New Millennium, Nigeria