Church leaders in Nigeria are promoting the National Council for Christian Education Bill, which seeks to oversee the development of a Christian education curriculum and monitor what learners are taught in schools.

In a statement, the National Director for Education, Youth and Women Development, a department of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), said that the Bill that has passed the second reading at the Senate is the church leaders’ “token contribution to preserve the sanctity of our faith and the innocence of our children.”

Ozumba Emmanuel Nicodemus calls on Christians “to unite and support” the Bill until it is assented into law.

The official of the entity that includes members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) also urged Christian lawmakers in the West African country “to support the motion at the floors of their chambers whenever it is called for hearing or debate.”

“The Bill has gone through second reading, hoping to be called for public hearing soon. We wish to encourage Christian leaders to prepare their memos in support of the Bill and be ready to present them when called upon to do so,” Ozumba said.

He added that followers of Christ “must be ready to defend what we believe is good for the body of Christ in Nigeria.”

The official of CAN explains that apart from protecting children, the Bill, if passed into law, will help you regulate the operations of “mushrooming” theological schools whose certificates are not recognized beyond the institutions that awarded them.

“This bill will harmonize their operations and set a minimum standard that must be met before awarding certificates to their graduands,” Ozumba said.

He further said that the proposed law seeks to “formalize Christian education as a course of study in our tertiary institutions and accord recognition and validity to the certificates obtained from our Bible and theological schools and other Christian institutions in the country.”

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