The Discipline of History; a Quest for Survival in Nigerian Academic Instructions: A Case Study of Academic Institutions in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Abstract

History as an academic discipline is facing extinction particularly in Nigeria. This cannot be attributed to a single factor as several unarguable socio-political and anti-academic challenges are faced by the discipline constantly and continuously. Some of these challenges include British colonial educational legacy, government policy on education, parental attitude towards students' choices of subjects and careers, lack of history teachers, history textbooks and teaching aids, poor admission policy into the Department of History, the latest setback is the fraternization of history with other courses like Diplomacy, Security Studies, International Relations, International Studies and other disciplines. These mergers, though attractive are weakening the core history thus forcing it to struggle for survival. The paper asserts that government policy on education should place history as a core subject for primary and secondary schools and not an elective as it is at present. Also, that history should be taken as a compulsory subject for admission into the Department of History in all tertiary institutions even when history is combined with other courses. In addition, students and parents should be adequately informed on the importance of history to national development.