The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has recently announced the introduction of 39 new subjects in its examination curriculum.
The announcement was made at the council’s monthly seminar in Lagos on Friday January 31th 2014 by Mrs. Olayinka Ajibade, Acting Head, Test Development Division, WAEC.
Ajibade, while delivering a paper titled “The New Senior Secondary Education Curriculum in Nigeria: Implications for Assessment”, said the fresh initiative was in accordance with the Nigerian Education Research and Development (NERDC)’s new secondary school curriculum.
The NERDC is the body responsible for reviewing primary and secondary schools’ curricula in the country.
According to her, “The implementation of the new SSCE curricula began in September 2011, meaning that the maiden public examinations based on the new/ revised curricula are expected to be held in May/ June 2014.
“Each WASSCE syllabus is derived from the senior secondary education curriculum. In addition to the 39 new subjects for which NERDC engaged in curriculum development, curriculum review was also carried out for 35 existing subjects.”
Changes in the new curriculum include the addition of four new subjects- Computer Studies, Insurance, Store Management and Office Practice- to the electives category, and another 35 new subjects to the Trades category.
New subjects in the trade category include Painting and Decorating, Photography, Salesmanship, Plumbing and Pipe Fitting, and Upholstery.
Ajibade explained that under the fresh directive, students would be required to take four core subjects, comprising English Language, General Mathematics, Civic Education and Trade/ Entrepreneurial Studies.
The candidates, she added, would be required to choose three or four subjects from Humanities, Science, Technology and Business Studies depending on their potential and interest
She also acknowledged that the implementation of the new directive would likely face a number of challenges, some of which she identified as inadequate teachers, appalling state of facilities in schools and large class size
