A Case for a Moral Education Programme in the Nigerian Secondary School Curriculum

Abstract

Moral education has been, in some form, an overall goal of every school in different nations of the world including Nigeria. Education in Nigeria has a specific mission of producing morally balanced individuals who portray high quality of moral standards. Hence, this article examined moral education in Nigeria and its ability to foster moral and character development to create a sound and balanced environment grounded in moral and spiritual values. Firstly, the paper addressed moral education and its functions in general; it discussed social problems among teenagers, educational responses to moral decay, and the need for moral education. This study also explained the probable solutions to the problem of moral dilemma in Nigeria by encouraging the integration of moral education in secondary school curriculum. Library and internet-sourced materials were used as a research instrument to gather useful information needed. The findings revealed that the prevalence of moral decay has greatly hindered advancement in Nigeria and the phenomenon has continued to be a recurrent tale and thus calls for urgent action to enhance moral standards of e youths and teenagers. Therefore, the paper concludes by justifying the need for moral education in the secondary school as antidote to deliver the youths from moral decay and allied social ills prevalent in Nigeria. There is need for a better-planned moral education curriculum capable of preparing students to contribute effectively to national development.