Primary and secondary schools nationwide will soon commence teaching of Natural Medicine in order to give pupils and students a head start in the knowledge and efficacy of natural medicine.
This was disclosed by the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), Professor Godswill Obioma at the opening session of the planning and writing workshop for Natural Medicine Curriculum which held recently in Lagos for a week.
According to him, issues in Natural Medicine that are pertinent to the lives of school children will be adequately infused into the curriculum, adding that the curriculum’s contents will be adequate in terms of coverage.
His words: “The curriculum’s objectives will be well stated in simple terms; adequate in scope, measurable to a large extent and exhaustive in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes. The activities of teachers and learners as regards the, curriculum will be comprehensive enough for the topics, it will be hazard free and will recognize the environmental and cultural background of learners”.
He further said: “The teaching and learning materials to be spelt out by the curriculum will be comprehensive, available and affordable, can be improvised and will be appropriate for the age, level and experience of learners”.
The professor of Mathematics Education assured that since Nigerian curricula encourages learning by practicals and self-learning strategies, the content activities of the Natural Medicine Curriculum will be presented in practical – oriented steps and stages that will enable learners see, touch, handle and feel, so that they can internalize what they learn and use it for solving health-related problems.
The NERDC boss, who will be completing his second and last term in office next year, said that the development of the curriculum on Natural Medicine will bring to limelight the contribution of natural medicine to national healthcare delivery services as well as showcase the complementary role which natural medicine plays with western medicine, explaining that the knowledge about the efficacy of natural medicine has been part of the African culture before the re-orientation towards orthodox medicine. He said pupils and students will be taught the use of plants and herbs to promote their well-being.
Obioma revealed that the on-going development of the Natural Medicine Curriculum is in tandem with the current commitment of the Federal Government, to the promotion of Natural Medicine in the country.
According to him, the Senate in April this year passed a bill backing the moribund Federal College of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Abuja, adding that the Senate last month also commenced deliberations on a bill to establish the Complementary and Alternative Medical Council of Nigeria for regulating the practice of Natural Medicine. It was however, disclosed at the meeting that the fund for the development of the Natural Medicine Curriculum was provided by Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.
After the completion of the planning, writing, critique and editorial stages of developing the curriculum, Obioma explained that the curriculum has to be approved by all stakeholders of the education sector before presenting it to the Joint Consultative Council on Education (JCCE) and the National Council on Education (NCE) for scrutiny and final approval.
Experts in natural medicine and specialists in curriculum from across the country participated at the week-long planning and writing workshop.
At the event were the; President, Natural Medicine Promotion Agency (NMPA), Dr. Ayodeji Amoo; Executive Secretary, NMPA, Dr. Chigoziri Moses; Professor Ismail Junaid, Director of Curriculum Development Centre, NERDC Professor Kate Nwufor, Director of Special Programmes Centre, NERDC; Dr. Moses Salau, the Director of NERDC South-West Zonal Office and other dignitaries.
