Unizik partners group to develop curriculum for teaching science subjects in Igbo language

Nnamdi Azikiwe University has entered a partnership with a group, Odinala Cultural Heritage Foundation (OCHIE Igbo), for the sustenance of Igbo culture and language.

There have been fears that the Igbo language may go into extinction soon. There have also been a report from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), which listed Igbo language among those that will go extinct before 2050.

But OCHIE Igbo said there is need to sustain the language, and even revive the Igbo culture, and part of ways to ensure this is to develop curriculum for teaching Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in Igbo language.

In a press conference on Thursday, the Executive Director of OCHIE Igbo, Mr Chinedum Benedict Okoro told journalists that the aim is to sustain the Igbo culture, with a belief that teaching in native language accelerates learning.

“We are partnering with Unizik for the OCHIE Igbo STEM Project. STEM means science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“The project is a benign search to harness the gains associated with teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics using the mother tongue.”

Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Prof Charles Esimone who was also at the press conference said the institution will give the project it’s best, saying there are enough scholars in the institution to realize the project.

He said: “Advanced countries have been noted to have curriculum that are compatible with their clime, and that Igbo must develop same. All we need is the readiness to push a project like this, and when the group came to us with the idea, we quickly bought it.”

He assured that the project would enhance learning among Igbo people, adding that once the curriculum is developed, it will be cascaded to the different level of education, including primary and secondary as a way of catching them young.