The federal government of Nigeria has lauded a non-governmental organization, Plan International for leading the way in the development of the Accelerated Basic Education Curriculum (ABEC) for the country.
According to a statement issued on Friday by Plan International’s Communications Advisor, Mr. Yunus Abdulhamid, the National Council on Education which is chaired by the Minister of Education gave the commendation in Port-Harcourt at its 64th session which held in November, 2019.
The opening ceremony of the ministerial session was attended by the Executive Governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike, Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, chairperson of the Joint Consultative Committee on Education (JCCE), among others.
A communique issued after the session identified the role of Plan International Nigeria.
“(The) Federal Ministry of Education (FME) through the NERDC with funding support from Plan International led-EU Consortium had developed Accelerated Basic Education Curriculum (ABEC),” it read in part.
The council also approved the curriculum for the implementation of Accelerated Basic Education Programme nationwide.
The Accelerated Basic Education Curriculum is a condensed version of the 9-Year Basic Curriculum to be implemented in a 3-year cycle.
Plan International is leading the consortium that includes; Save the Children and Gender Equality Peace and Development Centre (GEPADC) which facilitated the development of the curriculum with funding from the European Union via the Response, Recovery and Resilience in Borno state project.
The overall objective of the project is to increase resilience of the education system and services in conflict affected Borno state, Nigeria.
Speaking on the endorsement, Acting Country Director of Plan International Nigeria, Dr Oji Ogbureke expressed gratitude to the federal ministry of education “for the partnership and confidence in us to drive this all-important curriculum which has become very important in the face of conflicts across the country.”
He said: “Education indeed cannot wait which is why Plan International will continue to provide support for Nigerian children to access quality education in every situation they find themselves including in emergency to secure a better future.”
