The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has called for the adoption of an agriculture curriculum that places greater emphasis on practical training in polytechnics and colleges of education, with 80 per cent dedicated to hands-on learning and 20 per cent to theory.
Alausa made the call on Thursday in Abuja while receiving the report of a committee tasked with implementing the reviewed agriculture curricula for the institutions.
He said the proposed model represents a major departure from the previous structure, which allocated 70 per cent to theoretical instruction and 30 per cent to practical training, adding that the new approach would better equip young Nigerians with the skills required in the agricultural sector.
“We’re not turning our input into output. And the major reason why we’re not turning our input into output was because these kids were poorly trained.
“You have a lot of schools that have agricultural programmes.
“They don’t even have demonstration farms in their schools. And even if they had demonstration farms, the content they were being taught did not meet the content of today.
“And what we were doing then was also: we’re not training these students, and then telling them these programmes are being delivered to them as skill-based training. And that was what got to this,” he said.
The minister said he was confident that the revised approach would produce a more competent agricultural workforce, strengthen the sector’s human resource base and enable graduates to translate their training into productive ventures that support national development.
He explained that the curriculum review was driven by the need to address shortcomings in the previous training model and ensure that students acquire practical competencies they can apply outside the classroom.
“The three major reasons why we had to review the curriculum of agriculture in colleges of education is because the previous curriculum was mostly theory-based, not competency-based.
“The curricula were antiquated, and the training was not done in a way at the level of skill-directed training.
“And what did we have? We got graduates coming out that were ill-trained, ill-equipped, and not prepared to help improve our food security in the country,” he said.
Alausa called for the broad implementation of the revised curricula and urged relevant stakeholders, including industry operators, academics and teachers, to be adequately sensitised on the objectives and importance of the reforms.
He also stressed the need to train teachers and provide other necessary support to ensure institutions could effectively deliver the new programmes.
The minister said the reforms aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s agenda of strengthening food security, advancing agriculture as a skills-driven sector and encouraging greater youth participation.
The minister said, “You know, as one of the pillars of President Bola Tinubu, the new agenda is food security.
“And we’re seeing that the president invested enormously in agriculture, investing in farming inputs, tractors, seedlings, and also bringing security to our farmlands across various parts of the country.
“Today, farmers are back to the farm, producing food, and also contributing to their local economy, giving them decency of life.
“But then, if we now look at our total agricultural output in this country, you’ll be shocked to know that 80 per cent of our agricultural output is still from subsistence farming.
“The mechanised farming contribution to our food output is just 20 per cent. We can’t continue this way.
“And that’s why we need to change the people we’re training at our polytechnics and colleges of education. And I’m extremely happy today.”
He assured that the ministry would collaborate with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), tertiary institutions, industry stakeholders and other relevant partners to ensure the successful rollout of the reviewed curricula.
Earlier, the Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Ahmad, praised the committee for its commitment to the curriculum review process.
She acknowledged the contributions of the NBTE, skills councils, industry representatives and academics, expressing confidence that the revised programmes would deliver measurable improvements in the agricultural sector.
Ms Ahmad also emphasised the importance of properly engaging stakeholders and the wider public to build understanding and support for the reforms.
Presenting the committee’s report, the Executive Secretary of the NBTE, Idris Bugaje, said the exercise resulted in the development and review of 36 National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) curricula, three National Certificate in Education (NCE) curricula and 31 National Occupational Standards.
According to him, 27 of the occupational standards were newly developed, while four existing standards underwent review.
Mr Bugaje said the assignment had been concluded and the resulting documents reviewed and approved by the relevant regulatory authorities, including the board and the commission.
He added that the complete set of the reviewed curricula would be formally unveiled at a later public event.
