Senate President Bukola Saraki has urged the Christian Association of Nigeria to be calm over the new nine-year Basic Education Curriculum that recently caused an uproar among religious bodies.
He made the call Wednesday while receiving a delegation of CAN in Abuja.
Saraki assured the delegation that the Senate Committee on Basic Education would investigate the complaints by the association on the curriculum to make it acceptable and satisfactory to all religions.
According to him, the process began in 2010 when the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan came up with a series of reforms.
“There were about 20 subjects at that time, and subsequently they were reduced to 12,” he said.
“In the process of implementing those reforms, we have this problem. Why I am saying this is so we don’t leave here and believe that it was done to favour one religion over the other.
“Now the reform is clearly not working. So our responsibility is to look into that reform and make it work.
“I am sure that there was no intention to make one group feel disadvantaged with this new school curriculum.
‘He said the Senate will direct our Committee on Education to look at the reform and find out why it is not working with the relevant stakeholders.
The leader of the delegation, Charles Adisa, who had called for the intervention of the National Assembly to ensure genuine respect for Nigeria’s Constitution, said the body call for the abolition of obnoxious laws that infringe on freedom of worship.
He said CAN wanted Islamic Religious Knowledge and Christian Religious Knowledge to be offered separately, while Social Studies and Civic Education should be merged.