CHILD-CENTRE CURRICULUM SHOLD BE CANVASSED

With educational dynamics changing across the world at great speed, Principal of The Bells Comprehensive Secondary Schools, Ota, Ogun State, Mrs. Tinuade Olufolabi, has stressed the need for the Federal Government to tinker with the country’s curriculum in order for it to address contemporary realities.
Additionally, she said such a development would ensure that Nigerian children are educationally prepared to lock horn equally with their international counterparts.
Speaking during a press conference as part of activities to mark the school’s 25th anniversary, she stressed that the imperativeness of a broad curriculum that was at best child-centred cannot be over emphasized, adding that education was changing globally hence the need for the change, which will in the main help Nigerian youths to maintain a balance in a competitive world.
“The Nigerian curriculum is a bit too narrow; the government should make it broader. When a child that is exposed to Nigerian curriculum is taken outside the shores of this country, it is discovered that they cannot compete favourably,” she noted.
Taking a trip down memory lane, she expressed delight that a school statrted 25 years ago with three girls has, over the years, grown to become an enviable day and boarding school.
According to her, “The initial plan of the proprietor, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, was to have a girls’ school but a wife of the proprietor’s cousin persuaded him to start a boys school and he consented. He however said the school would not be mixed, the boys will receive their teachings separately from the girls and that is how it has been till today. We are the only school in Nigeria where boys and girls are on the same campus but are being taught in different classes.”
Commenting on the school’s achievement she said, “The Bells has crossed several milestones. We have been to China, South Korea, India, United Kingdom, United States to partake in competitions and we have always come back with laurels. I express gratitude to our dedicated members of staff. In our school, we believe no child is unteachable. We also teach the students vocational skills like woodwork, electrical, paper craft, beadworks, catering among others. We prepare them for the world ahead as everything is not about academics only. We also teach the students three international languages: English, French and Chinese.
The principal, who said the school was affordable (contrary to opinion), added that it looked forward to the coming years with excitement and “we position ourselves at a vantage point, where we can make a difference in Nigeria and the world.
She maintained that in line with the school motto, which is “Learn, Live, and Lead,” the students are taught to “live what they have learnt and they go outside the world to lead. We teach them to be entrepreneurs, not job seekers.”