‘Fake News,’ Deputy Speaker Kalu Says as Website Contradicts Claims of History Being Removed From School Books

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, has dismissed reports suggesting that Nigeria’s history is being removed from school textbooks, describing such claims as “fake news.”

In a post on Tuesday, Kalu clarified that there has been no move to erase or exclude the nation’s history from educational materials. He assured the public that the circulating reports are misleading and do not represent the position or actions of the government.

“Ignore the fake news, there is no exclusion of our history from the books. The Ministry will make a Press release later this morning” the Deputy Speaker stated.

He further announced that the Federal Ministry responsible for education and information would issue an official press release later today to provide a detailed clarification and address any remaining concerns from the public.

A review of the official website of the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) reveals that Nigerian History is included in the New Revised Basic Education Curriculum (BEC), from Primary One to Senior Secondary School 1; however, there appears to be no content for Senior Secondary Schools 2 and 3 as it kept popping up 404.

Meanwhile, the claim that the book “Living History,” authored by J. M. Itsekure, O. O. Olajide, and T. E. Taiwo systematically excludes the teaching of Igbo history across all schools in Nigeria is untrue. The book, approved by the Federal Ministry of Education as stated on their website, titled “Nigerian History,” covers topics such as the Concept of History, Major Early Civilisations of the Nigerian People, and Political Development in Nigeria as its main themes for JSS 1. The foreword was written by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Maruf Alausa, and the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Said Ahmad.

The Agency revealed that its aim is to reform the school curriculum beginning from the foundation to prepare learners for the 21st-century world as the Curriculum is founded on the national values and collective heritage.