UNESCO, Coalition seeks inclusion of Media Literacy curriculum in Nigerian tertiary Institutions

By Nneka Nwogwugwu, Abuja

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the Media and Information Literacy Coalition of Nigeria (MILCON) has sought for the inclusion of Media and Information literacy curriculum (MIL) in Nigerian tertiary institutions.

The MIL curriculum which is also supported by the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) is meant to educate Nigerian students on the usage of the media and eradication of fake news and hate speech.

READ ALSO Reps to debate alarming rate of out of school children in March

The Interim Coordinator of MIL, Chido Onuma, represented by Dr. Olunifesi Suraj, said this in an interactive meeting on Monday in Abuja with representatives from Ministries, Government parastatals, Non-government organizations, schools and the media.

Onuma noted that the curriculum has since been set up by UNESCO and other countries outside Nigeria have also adopted the curriculum.

He noted that when fully adopted into Nigeria’s educational system, hate speech and fake news will be reduced.

Onuma also said that MILCON would facilitate building of media and information literacy teachers in Nigeria.

Sri Lanka, China, Europe, Australia among others have adopted MIL and talks are ongoing with National Open University of Nigeria, Noun (NOUN) among others in Nigeria.

He revealed that the MIL curriculum as designed by UNESCO has a total of 11 Modules covering all levels of education with provisions for flexible applicability.

‘’UNESCO will go through the National Teachers’ Training that generates curriculum for primary education since it has to start from basic education to make expected impact,’’ he said.

Also speaking, a representative of National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Umar Adamu, said the MIL curriculum has entered an advanced stage, as preparations are laid down to include the it as part of the General courses (GES) to be taken by 100 level students of Colleges of Education.

In his remarks, the National Professional Officer-CI, UNESCO Regional Office, Abuja, Macauley Olusola highlighted to the participants the core objectives of MILCON, one of which is to educate people on media literacy in order to combat hate speech and fake news.

He also noted that MILCON is fully a Nigerian project but UNESCO will continue to support the coalition to ensure that a national policy on media and information literacy becomes a reality.

Daily Times reports that UNESCO in 2017 inaugurated the Media and Information Literacy Coalition of Nigeria (MILCON).