RESOURCES

The curriculum

What is taught in a Kano classroom, class by class: the basic education core, the pre-vocational strands, the senior secondary streams, how many periods each subject gets, which language it is taught in, and how a pupil is assessed and promoted.

One curriculum, taught in every school

Kano State teaches the Nigerian curriculum as set out in the National Policy on Education, adapted where the policy allows a state to adapt it. The structure is nine years of basic education from Primary 1 to JSS 3, then three years of senior secondary or three years in a technical college, and it applies identically in a public school, an approved private school and an integrated Islamiyyah school. A pupil who moves between the three loses nothing.

The curriculum is not a list of topics. It fixes what a pupil should be able to do at the end of each class, how many periods a week each subject receives, what the teacher must record, and how the class is assessed. The Ministry supplies the scheme of work, the teacher guide and the approved textbook list; the school supplies the teaching. Quality assurance inspections check the two against each other.

A school may add to the curriculum but may not subtract from it. An approved private school that wishes to teach an additional language, an extra religious subject or an international syllabus alongside the Nigerian one applies to the Private and Voluntary Institute, which approves the addition provided the core periods are not reduced.

The structure, stage by stage

Twenty-one class levels, from Nursery 1 through to the third adult literacy level.

Stage	Classes	Typical age	Length	Managed by
Pre-primary	Nursery 1, Nursery 2, Nursery 3	3 – 5	3 years	SUBEB, and approved private schools
Lower and middle primary	Primary 1, Primary 2, Primary 3	6 – 8	3 years	SUBEB
Upper primary	Primary 4, Primary 5, Primary 6	9 – 11	3 years	SUBEB
Junior secondary	JSS 1, JSS 2, JSS 3	12 – 14	3 years	SUBEB
Senior secondary	SS 1, SS 2, SS 3	15 – 17	3 years	KSSMB and STSB
Technical and trade	Trade 1, Trade 2, Trade 3	15 – 17	3 years	STSB
Adult and non-formal	Literacy Level 1, Literacy Level 2, Literacy Level 3	15 and above	9 – 24 months	Agency for Mass Education

The subjects on the Kano curriculum

Twenty-four subjects are examinable across the system. Not every subject is taught in every class — the tables below show which apply where.

English Language
Mathematics
Hausa Language
Arabic Studies
Islamic Studies
Christian Religious Studies
Basic Science
Basic Technology
Social Studies
Civic Education
Agricultural Science
Business Studies
Computer Studies
Physical & Health Education
Creative Arts
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
Further Mathematics
Economics
Government
Literature in English
Geography
Technical Drawing

Basic education: periods per week

A period is 35 minutes in primary and 40 minutes in junior secondary. The school week is 40 periods in primary and 45 in junior secondary.

Subject	Primary 1 – 3	Primary 4 – 6	JSS 1 – 3	Core or elective
English Language	6	6	5	Core
Mathematics	6	6	5	Core
Hausa Language	5	4	3	Core
Basic Science	3	4	4	Core
Basic Technology	—	2	3	Core from Primary 4
Social Studies	2	3	3	Core
Civic Education	2	2	2	Core
Islamic Studies	4	4	3	Core, by faith
Christian Religious Studies	4	4	3	Core, by faith
Arabic Studies	3	3	2	Core in the State curriculum
Agricultural Science	1	2	2	Pre-vocational
Business Studies	—	1	3	Pre-vocational
Computer Studies	1	2	2	Pre-vocational
Creative Arts	2	2	2	Core
Physical & Health Education	2	2	2	Core

The language of instruction

The National Policy on Education directs that a child be taught in the language of the immediate environment for the first three years of primary school, with English introduced as a subject from the beginning and taking over as the medium of instruction from Primary 4. In Kano State that means Hausa is the language of the classroom in Primary 1, Primary 2 and Primary 3, and English is the language of the classroom from Primary 4 upwards.

The transition is deliberate and it is taught, not assumed. From the second term of Primary 3 the teacher runs the lesson bilingually — the concept in Hausa, the vocabulary and the written work in English — so that a pupil arriving in Primary 4 can follow an English lesson rather than merely sit through one. Reading in both languages is assessed separately in the termly record.

Arabic is taught as a subject throughout basic education and is the language of instruction for Islamic Studies and for the religious content in integrated Islamiyyah schools. Christian Religious Studies is taught in English. No pupil sits both religious papers; a pupil takes the one their parent elects at enrolment, and the two are timetabled against each other so neither class loses a period.

Primary 1 – 3: Hausa is the medium, English is a taught subject
Primary 3, second term: bilingual delivery begins
Primary 4 upwards: English is the medium, Hausa remains a core subject
Arabic taught throughout basic education, and as the medium for Islamic Studies
Christian Religious Studies taught in English, timetabled against Islamic Studies

Senior secondary: the four streams

Every candidate offers the four compulsory cross-cutting subjects, then the subjects of one stream, to a minimum of eight and a maximum of nine at the certificate examination.

Stream	Compulsory for all	Stream subjects	Typical additional subject	Where it is taught
Science	English Language, Mathematics, Civic Education, one trade or entrepreneurship subject	Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Further Mathematics	Geography or Agricultural Science	Public senior secondary and science secondary schools
Arts and humanities	English Language, Mathematics, Civic Education, one trade or entrepreneurship subject	Literature in English, Government, Islamic Studies or Christian Religious Studies, Hausa Language	Arabic Studies or Geography	Public senior secondary schools
Commercial	English Language, Mathematics, Civic Education, one trade or entrepreneurship subject	Economics, Business Studies, Government, Computer Studies	Geography or Literature in English	Public senior secondary schools
Technical	English Language, Mathematics, Civic Education, one trade or entrepreneurship subject	Technical Drawing, Physics, Chemistry, Basic Technology	Computer Studies or Further Mathematics	Technical colleges and science secondary schools

How a pupil is assessed

Assessment in every class from Primary 1 to SS 3 is continuous assessment worth 40 per cent and a terminal examination worth 60 per cent. The continuous assessment mark is not a single test: it is made up of two class tests worth ten marks each, assignments and class work worth ten marks, and a project or practical worth ten marks. Every component must be recorded in the teacher continuous assessment register as it is earned, not reconstructed at the end of term.

The terminal examination is set within the school for Primary 1 to Primary 5 and for JSS 1, JSS 2, SS 1 and SS 2, and is moderated by the Education Secretary for the local government area. Primary 6, JSS 3 and SS 3 sit external papers — Common Entrance, the Basic Education Certificate Examination with the Qualifying Examination, and WASSCE with NECO. Scores are reported against the WAEC bands, A1 at 75 marks and above down to F9 below 40.

Termly results are returned to the Ministry on form MOE/RES/01 within ten days of the end of term, and a pupil result slip must reach the parent before the school closes. A parent who has not received a result slip should ask the head teacher for it in writing; the school is not permitted to withhold a result over an unpaid charge, and in a public basic school there is no lawful charge to withhold it over.

Promotion, repetition and transition

What mark does a pupil need to be promoted?

A pupil is promoted on an aggregate of 40 per cent or better across all subjects taken, with at least a pass in English Language and Mathematics. The aggregate is the combined 40 per cent continuous assessment and 60 per cent examination score averaged across subjects. Promotion is decided by the class teacher and the head teacher together and recorded on the pupil record before the school closes.

Can a pupil be made to repeat a class?

Yes, but rarely and never automatically. Repetition requires the agreement of the head teacher and the parent, and the reason must be recorded. Within basic education the policy is to promote with support rather than repeat, because repetition is the strongest single predictor of a child leaving school altogether. A pupil who has repeated once may not be made to repeat the same class again.

How does a pupil move from Primary 6 into JSS 1?

Through the Common Entrance Examination, sat in the third week of March in Primary 6, together with the Primary 6 school record. The examination places the pupil into a junior secondary school and identifies candidates for the selective science and technical intake. Basic education is continuous, so a Primary 6 leaver is entitled to a JSS 1 place whatever the score.

How does a pupil move from JSS 3 into SS 1?

By sitting the Basic Education Certificate Examination in June and the Qualifying Examination in the first week of July. The certificate examination certifies the end of basic education; the Qualifying Examination decides the placement — a public senior secondary school, a science secondary school or a technical college. The current transition rate from JSS 3 into SS 1 across the State is 82.4 per cent.

What is the pre-vocational strand for?

Agricultural Science, Business Studies, Computer Studies and Basic Technology are taught from upper primary so that every pupil leaves basic education with something practical, and so that the choice of a technical college at fourteen is an informed one. In JSS 3 each pupil completes a project in one of the four, which is marked and carried into the continuous assessment score.

Can my child study both Islamic Studies and Christian Religious Studies?

A pupil takes the religious subject their parent elects at enrolment, and the two are timetabled at the same hour so that neither group loses a period. A parent may change the election in writing at the start of a session. No pupil may be compelled to attend instruction in a faith other than their own.

Where do I find the scheme of work for my child class?

Every school holds the scheme of work, the teacher guide and the approved textbook list for each class it teaches, and a parent may ask to see them. Ask the head teacher, or ask at the Local Government Education Authority office for the area. Schemes of work are also distributed to schools each session on the instructional materials circular.

Work out a grade, or check a result

The calculator converts a raw score to a WAEC band and totals an aggregate. The results checker looks up a published examination result by examination number.

Open the grade calculator Check a result