The House of Representatives has disclosed a plan to probe the National
Examination Council (NECO) and the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board
(JAMB).
This followed their alleged involvement in the recommendation of books
considered to have negative effects on students across the country.
In a motion by Mohammed Mahmud, the lawmakers expressed concern that the
books fell short of ethical values and standards, as stipulated by the National
Policy on Education for secondary school examination candidates.
The motion was: “The need for a critical assessment of books recommended
for joint secondary schools and prospective Unified Tertiary Matriculation
Examination (UTME) candidates in Nigeria.”
Mahmud claimed that books such as The Precious Child, The Tears of A
Bride and In Dependence exposed young students to behaviour and practices that
promote social vices and corrupt moral values.
He added that the regular use of obscene language in the description of
events and characters in the books make them unsuitable for use in schools.
According to the lawmaker, the books are capable of eroding the right
type of values, attitudes and national ideals that the country needs to
develop.
The House mandated its Committee on Basic Education and Services to
invite the critical stakeholders to explain the circumstances behind the
recommendations.
Those to be invited are the registrars of JAMB and NECO, the executive
secretary of the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC)
and the minister of education.
The committee was mandated to look into the books used by junior and
senior secondary schools in the country and report back within three months for
further legislative action.
Meanwhile, the lawmakers have directed the Federal Ministry of Education,
the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, JAMB and NECO to
immediately withdraw the books from the various curricula of students and
candidates.
They also urged the Federal Government to sanction those involved in the
recommendation to prevent an abuse of the process.
The House further urged the Federal Ministry of Education to review the
books recommended for use in the secondary schools to determining their
suitability.
He argued that the use of such books in schools had resulted in the
negligence of these bodies in performing their statutory functions.
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