House of Representatives
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.
