Prof. Anthony Kila has condemned the Federal Government’s decision to remove mathematics as a requirement for university admission into arts and humanities.

Director of the Commonwealth Institute of Advanced and Professional Studies, Professor Anthony Kila, has faulted the Federal Government’s new policy removing mathematics as a compulsory requirement for students seeking admission into tertiary institutions to study arts and humanities.

Speaking on ARISE NEWS on Thursday, Prof. Kila described the move as “a very bad decision” that undermines the intellectual rigor of university education in Nigeria.

“It’s a very bad move, there’s no other way to put it, from this place of deference, I come also with a very deliberated and clear mind to say to the minister, honourable minister, you’re wrong.”

On issue of Nigeria’s education structure, the professor agreed that foundational learning is weak but insisted that removing mathematics will worsen the decline in academic quality.

“I agree with you that we have a structural problem in the way we structure basic and pre-university education, In a very analytical and math-driven world, we are running away from math that is a retreat, not a reform.”

He urged the Ministry of Education to prioritise better learning facilities and teacher training rather than lowering standards.

“The minister should be getting more chairs into schools, more computers, repairing windows that are not working. If we are going to touch math, what we should be doing is making sure that the way math is learned and taught is improved.”

The scholar argued that rather than removing mathematics because students find it difficult, government should focus on improving the way the subject is taught.

“It’s wrong because the idea of saying because maths is difficult for students and we think they don’t need it is wrong. If you think it’s difficult, you should improve the way in which it is taught and learned,” he said.

According to him, “The idea of saying that they’re going to do arts, you don’t need to count or multiply or subtract, it’s a subtraction from our national sense.”

Prof. Kila emphasised that mathematics is more than a problem-solving tool, calling it a discipline that instills structure, logic, and creativity.

“Mathematics is not just about problem solving, It’s a discipline that shapes rigour, that allows you to know how to reason in a way that even as an artist, your poetry does not become noise.”

He further stressed that all students, regardless of their field of study, should demonstrate a minimum level of mathematical competence before entering university.

“The kind of people that we should allow to go to university should have a certified knowledge of maths up to all cultural levels.”

He explained that mathematics forms part of a student’s intellectual formation, saying, “The proof of having that formation is the credit you have.”

Kila suggested that rather than scrapping mathematics entirely for the humanities, a restructured curriculum should be introduced.

“Let us do a curriculum for humanities. Let us use the kind of arts that we want. Maths for social sciences. Statistics for literature.”

Responding to suggestions that arts or law students do not need mathematics, Prof. Kila maintained that the subject is essential to critical reasoning and professional excellence.

“There is going to be a series of campaigns that will prove why law students and philosophy students need math. They can live without it, but it is going to make them better persons.”

He also warned against using “global trends” as an excuse to dilute academic standards.

“When we talk about the global trend, we should not just follow it, we should lead it. We should produce graduates with the X factor, and one of those X factors is maths.”

On the question of whether the focus should be on access or quality, Kila called for a balance but insisted on maintaining rigour.

“We shouldn’t do one instead of the other, we should try to do both. We should improve our basic education but insist that people get enough maths training, and a documented one, to get to university.”

Finally, the professor cautioned that not every Nigerian must go to university, stressing the need to value vocational and technical education.

“I do not agree that everybody should go to university, We must create different pathways; vocational schools, technical training, trade schools, so that people can still have good lives in their own worlds. But what we should be careful of is not glorifying failure.”

He concluded that the role of leadership is not to lower standards but to raise the nation’s intellectual capacity.

“The duty of society, the minister, and parents is to uplift all, not to come down to their level.” (ARISE NEWS)