When a nation begins to draw lines through its classrooms, dividing what should be connected, it risks creating learners who are specialists in ignorance.
Recently, the Federal Government introduced new subject allocation guidelines for primary and secondary schools across Nigeria — a move that was intended to streamline education and better prepare learners for the future. On paper, it appears to be a progressive step. In practice, however, it may be the most limiting curriculum policy yet.
The New Structure: The Great Divide
Under the new guidelines, students are grouped into three broad categories:
Sciences
Humanities
Business
At first glance, this classification might seem logical. But the restrictions attached to it tell another story.
According to the new structure:
i. Students in Sciences are not allowed to take any subject from Business or Humanities.
ii. Students in Business are not allowed to take any subject from Science or Humanities.
iii. Students in Humanities are not allowed to take any subject from Science or Business.
This means a Science student cannot take Government or Economics; a Business student cannot offer Agricultural Science or Government; and a Humanities student cannot choose Accounting or Biology.
Instead of encouraging well-rounded learning, this new policy builds intellectual fences that separate students from knowledge they need to thrive in real life.
1. The Irony of “Educational Progress” That Limits Learning
The new subject policy may have been born out of good intentions — to promote focus and clarity of purpose. But it ends up doing the opposite.
True education connects disciplines; it doesn’t isolate them.
How can a young scientist understand the ethical or social implications of their work without learning from the humanities?
How can a future entrepreneur in business succeed without grasping scientific principles that drive innovation or agricultural productivity?
Education that confines students to one box trains them to see the world through a keyhole.
2. A Misstep in Building Future-Ready Citizens
In a world where problems are complex and interconnected, no single field holds all the answers.
Climate change, for example, is not just a scientific issue — it’s also an economic, social, and moral challenge.
Technology doesn’t thrive on equations alone — it needs communication, marketing, and ethics.
Yet, this new structure encourages narrow thinking — producing scientists who may not understand society, business students who lack scientific literacy, and humanities students who may never grasp the logic of technological change.
“Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.” — Albert Einstein
How will students learn to think critically if we train them to think only in one direction?
3. The World Is Integrating — Nigeria Is Segregating
Across the world, education systems are moving toward integration and flexibility.
In Finland, students engage in phenomenon-based learning — combining science, business, and humanities to solve real-world problems.
In the United States, STEM has evolved into STEAM, adding Arts to Science and Technology to inspire creativity and empathy.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s policy is doing the opposite — encouraging rigid specialization and discouraging cross-disciplinary curiosity.
It’s like locking learners in different rooms and asking them to describe the same elephant.
4. The Human Cost of Policy
Every educational decision carries human consequences.
Imagine a student passionate about both Government and Biology, or Accounting and Government. Under this policy, such a learner must choose — not based on passion or future relevance, but on policy constraints.
This stifles creativity, limits career flexibility, and reduces the joy of learning.
A student who dreams of becoming a development economist, agribusiness entrepreneur, or environmental policy analyst will now find those paths blocked by an outdated classification system.
“An education that disconnects disciplines produces graduates who can solve problems on paper but not in life.” — Anonymous
5. Nigeria’s Future Needs Thinkers, Not Technicians
If education becomes too restrictive, we risk producing graduates who are technically sound but socially blind — people who know how to calculate profit but cannot understand people, or who can run scientific experiments but lack moral and civic depth.
The purpose of education is not merely to prepare students for exams but to prepare them for life.
A balanced mind is one that can think broadly, connect ideas, and adapt to change.
“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
6. A Call for Review
The Federal Ministry of Education should urgently review and refine these guidelines.
Consult classroom teachers, curriculum developers, and educational psychologists.
Encourage flexibility that allows students to explore secondary interests, even outside their main area of study.
Education should open doors, not lock them.
As the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo once said:
“The children of the poor you fail to train today will never let your children sleep tomorrow.”
We must not fail this generation by giving them half an education in a whole world.
Conclusion: Let’s Build Bridges, Not Walls
Nigeria stands at a crucial point in its educational journey.
If we are truly reforming the system, then we must design one that builds bridges between knowledge areas, encourages innovation, and nurtures holistic thinkers.
The world doesn’t operate in silos; neither should our classrooms.
Let’s raise a generation that understands science, appreciates humanity, and drives business — because the future belongs to those who can connect the dots.
Aniebiet Udo
