Call for Panelists

Decoloniality and Public-School Curriculum in Nigeria

Sponsored by the Enugu State Ministry of Education

The 10th Annual Conference of the Lagos Studies Association
Conference Theme: The State of African Studies in the 21st Century: The Lagos Studies Association @ 10
Format: Hybrid (Lagos and Zoom)
Conference Date: June 16-20, 2026
Abstract Deadline: January 1, 2026

****If selected for this panel, participants will receive transportation allowance, registration fee waiver, and six nights of hotel accommodation, courtesy of the Enugu State Ministry of Education

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Since the demise of imperial rule in Africa, decolonization of the education system has been among the biggest priorities of nation-building efforts because education is one of the strongholds of colonial domination. From calling for an African-centered interpretation of the past, to advocating for the use of African languages in teaching science, decolonizing school curriculum has taken significant strides in accordance with major shifts in African political landscapes. As one remnant of colonial education policies are dismantled or reconstituted to meet African needs, new ones emerge, affirming the deep rootedness of colonial miseducation in virtually all aspects of formal and informal pedagogy.

This panel is particularly interested in attempts by state and federal governments in Nigeria to decolonize public school curriculum since the colonial era. We are interested in theoretically and empirically detailed analysis that explicates how successive state and federal governments have attempted to (re)position school curriculum to meet the needs of the citizens, by undoing policies and actions rooted in colonial domination. What are the roles of development agencies in the paradox of neocolonialism and decoloniality?

Contributions could include specific aspects of decoloniality, such as language, or a general theme that ties infrastructure with curriculum development. The politicization of school curriculum by elected and non-elected state and non-state actors is intricately connected with using education to achieve overlapping goals of attaining power, enhancing major structural changes, and setting distinction. How these have transformed what constitutes quality education has not received adequate scholarly attention.

Deadline is January 1, 2026. Submit your abstract, here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfl-aJaxYThJNItFej0DNYC4uXv1TISozpYzmCJyoy919TyzA/viewform