Investigation of the Creative Arts Curriculum at the National Institute for Cultural Orientation and Its Alignment with Industry Needs

The National Institute for Cultural Orientation plays an important role in policy-oriented arts education and cultural management training, and examining the alignment between its creative arts curriculum and the needs of the contemporary Nigerian arts and culture industry provides valuable input for curriculum renewal. This study investigated the alignment between the creative arts components of NICO's training programmes and the competency requirements of the Nigerian arts and culture industry, with fieldwork at NICO's Abuja headquarters and outreach offices in Lagos and Enugu. A mixed-methods design was employed, combining documentary analysis of available NICO curriculum materials, structured interviews with ten NICO faculty and programme coordinators, and a survey of 40 creative industry practitioners (graduates and employers) across six sectors including visual arts management, performing arts administration, cultural tourism, and film production. Survey data assessed perceived competency gap between NICO graduate preparation and industry requirements. Results showed that creative entrepreneurship, digital platform management, project financial management, and grant writing were rated as significantly underdeveloped in NICO training by 67.5 percent of industry respondents. Cultural policy knowledge was rated as adequately developed. NICO alumni rated the programme's theoretical content highly but practical skills development as insufficient. The study recommends curriculum reform at NICO integrating practical entrepreneurship components, industry mentorship partnerships, and digital arts management competencies.

Keywords: arts education curriculum, NICO, cultural management, arts industry alignment, creative arts training