•Digital Literacy, Entrepreneurship, Practical Learning subjects added
•New framework reduces subject overload, due for rollout this month
The Federal Government has introduced a new curriculum for schools across Nigeria, which will begin in September 2025.
The updated structure is designed to prepare students for modern challenges by adding digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and practical learning to the system.
The list of subjects was made public on Wednesday, showing changes that affect both junior and seior secondary schools.
According to the Ministry of Education, the review was carried out with the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), UBEC, NSSEC, NBTE, and other stakeholders to cut down overload and make learning more effective.
The framework, set for adoption in the 2025/26 academic session, outlines the number of subjects students will take.
Pupils in Primary 1 to 3 will have nine to 10 subjects, those in Primary 4 to 6 will take 10 to 12; junior secondary school students will handle 12 to 14, while senior secondary will offer eight to nine.
Technical schools will cover nine to 11 subjects.
According to a document developed by the Nigerian Education Research and Development Council (NERDC), the six practical skills available are Solar Photovoltaic installation and maintenance, Fashion design and garment making, Livestock farming, Beauty and cosmetology, Computer hardware and GSM repairs, Horticulture and crop production.
According to the NERDC document, the subjects for Primary 1-3 pupils are: English Studies, Mathematics, Nigerian Languages (One Nigerian Language), Basic Science, Physical and Health Education, Christian Religion Studies (CRS) (For Christian Pupils Only) and Islamic Studies (For Muslim Pupils Only), Nigerian History, Social and Citizenship Studies, Cultural and Creative Arts (CCA) and Arabic Language (Optional).
For Primary 4-6, the subjects are: English Studies, Mathematics, Nigerian Languages (One Nigerian Language), Basic Science and Technology, Physical and Health Education, Basic Digital Literacy, CRS (For Christian Pupils Only) and IS (For Muslim Pupils Only), Nigerian History, Social and Citizenship Studies, Cultural and Creative Arts (CCA), Pre-vocational studies, French (Optional) and Arabic Language (Optional).
The subjects for Junior Secondary School 1 – 3 are: English Studies, Mathematics, Nigerian Languages (One Nigerian Language), Intermediate Science, Physical and Health Education, Digital Technologies, Christian Religious Studies (CRS) (For Christian Pupils Only), Islamic Studies (IS) (For Muslim Pupils Only), Nigerian History, Social and Citizenship Studies, Cultural and Creative Arts (CCA), Business Studies, French (optional), Arabic Language (Optional) and one of the six available Trade subjects.
Meanwhile, Senior Secondary School students are to take five compulsory subjects, including one of the trade subjects and the others from their preferred area of specialisation – sciences, humanities, or business.
The compulsory subjects are: English Language, General Mathematics, One Trade subject, Citizenship and Heritage Studies, and Digital Technologies.
Students in the Sciences are to take: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Agriculture, Further Mathematics, Physical Education, Health Education, Foods & Nutrition, Geography, Technical Drawing.
For Humanities: Nigerian History, Government, Christian Religious Studies, Islamic Studies, one Nigerian language, French, Arabic, Visual Arts, Music, Literature in English, Home Management, Catering craft Business: Accounting, Commerce, Marketing, and Economics.
