The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has unveiled its Digital Transformation and Change Management Roadmap and inaugurated 100 Digital Champions to drive technology adoption and innovation across Nigeria’s basic education sector.

Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr. Aisha Garba, while speaking at the launch and training programme for the Digital Champions on Monday in Abuja, described the initiative as a landmark step towards building a modern, data-driven and future-ready institution capable of delivering quality education services more efficiently.

The 100 Digital Champions were drawn from the headquarters of UBEC and States Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBS).

A Senior Lecturer at the Department of Religion and Human Development at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Rev. Dr Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, has called for the integration of indigenous knowledge systems, civic values and character education into the national curriculum to strengthen the identity and moral development of African children.

He said educational systems across the continent must go beyond preparing students for careers and place greater emphasis on values, ethics and responsible citizenship. "Our educational systems must build values and character, and not just careers," he said.

Rev. Dr Opuni-Frimpong made the call while delivering a paper on the topic, "African Family and Cultural Value Systems in Contemporary Times: Dynamics, Pressures and Resilience Ethics", at the Fourth African Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family Values and Sovereignty held in Accra.

The National Assembly (NASS) and Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) have commenced moves to expand the federal government’s student loan scheme from about 1.6 million direct beneficiaries to seven million students across tertiary institutions and vocational centres nationwide.

The planned expansion, stakeholders said on Monday, was aimed at deepening access to education and driving broader socio-economic transformation through increased support for students and trainees.

The initiative was unveiled during a national sensitisation programme on the student loan scheme organised by Senate Committee on Tertiary Education and TETFund, in collaboration with NELFUND in Abuja.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reiterated its commitment in supporting Imo State to build an inclusive and sustainable Digital learning Eco system, stating the platform has enrolled more than 2.3 million children in 25 states of the federation since its national rollout in 2022.

Additionally, the global body said it would continue to encourage efforts to expand connectivity, increase access to devices strengthen accountability mechanism and invest in teacher capacity so that no child is left behind.

Chief of Field Office (CFO) UNICEF, Enugu, Mrs. Juliet Chiluwe, stated this at the launch of the Nigeria Learning Passport (NLP) held in Owerri, the Imo State Capital, emphasising the programme demonstrates the power of technology to reach children wherever they are.

The release of the 2025 Learning Achievement in Rwandan Schools report offers both encouragement and concern. While the findings show progress in subjects such as Mathematics and Science, they also reveal a troubling reality that too many children are still struggling to understand what they read and learn, particularly in English and reading comprehension.

Education is not simply about enrolling children in school. It is about ensuring that every child can understand, apply, and benefit from the knowledge they receive. The report shows that less than half of Primary Three learners demonstrated the expected level of reading comprehension in Kinyarwanda and English. This means thousands of children are advancing through the education system without fully mastering the foundational skills needed for future success.

The Deputy Minister of Education, Dr Clement Abas Apaak, has called for urgent reforms in Africa’s educational systems to ensure they align with the realities of a rapidly changing, digital and artificial intelligence-driven world.

He said Africa must take full ownership of its educational future by building systems that reflected its values, priorities and aspirations.

Dr Apaak made the call in his closing remarks at the 19th edition of the eLearning Africa Conference in Accra last Friday. Dr Apaak noted that the conference had reinforced a shared message that Africa must become the architect of its own digital education future.

Presenting the Budget Statement in Parliament on Thursday, Mbadi said education remains the single largest recipient of government funding, accounting for 26.5 per cent of the ministerial budget, up from 24.5 per cent in the 2021/22 financial year.

The Treasury CS said allocations to the sector have risen by nearly 49 per cent from Sh526 billion in 2021/22 to the proposed Sh784.5 billion in the next financial year.

A significant portion of the funding will go towards the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), which is set to receive Sh424 billion for teacher salaries and related expenses.

The University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo State, has vowed to address the disconnect between academic training and global labour market demands. The institution disclosed this while unveiling a specialised International Career Centre (ICC) aimed at producing world-class healthcare professionals equipped for cross-border employment.

The centre, established in partnership with the Canadian Education Council (CEC), was described as a shift from theoretical medical education toward competency-driven, internationally benchmarked career preparation.

While speaking at the inauguration ceremony, the country director of the Canadian Education Council, Dr John Adeniyi, explained that the organisation’s core mission in Nigeria is to eliminate the gap between what students learn in lecture halls and what employers demand across international health systems.

Ghana has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening play-based learning as the foundation for quality early childhood education, with stakeholders emphasising that play is how children learn and is essential to their holistic development.

The call was made during the commemoration of the International Day of Play held at the Pantang Presbyterian School Park in Accra on Thursday, where schoolchildren participated in a variety of fun and interactive activities designed to demonstrate the power of play in learning.

The event brought together representatives from the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service (GES), and development partners, including Right to Play, Sabre Education, and Lively Minds, alongside educators, parents, community members, and other stakeholders to celebrate the role of play in shaping children's learning, wellbeing, and future success.

The Registrar of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Dr Ronke Soyombo, has expressed concern about the poor remuneration of teachers in some private schools, noting that some educators still earn as little as N20,000 monthly.

Soyombo, who spoke at the yearly summit of the Conference of Private School Associations in Lagos, said improving teachers’ welfare was essential to raising education standards, reminding that educators remained the foundation of quality education systems.

The summit, themed: ‘Transformation of education in Lagos State,’ attracted proprietors, school administrators, policymakers and other education stakeholders.

Nigerian Breweries Plc has announced the commencement of entries for this year’s Maltina Teacher of the Year (MToY) award competition.

The award aims to identify, reward, and celebrate exemplary teachers in public and private secondary schools nationwide.

For the first time, the grand prize winner will receive a brand-new Honda HR-V, in addition to the traditional N10 million cash prize. The first and second runners-up will receive N5 million and N3 million, respectively, while state champions will get N1 million each.

The overall winner will also receive a plaque, a certificate, and an all-expenses-paid capacity development training. Additionally, the winner’s school will receive a N30 million priority project.

The Federal Government has commenced the upgrading of colleges of education across the country with modern digital tools as part of efforts to strengthen teacher training, improve digital literacy, and enhance access to quality education.

The initiative began with the official handover of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equipment and materials to 15 Federal and State Colleges of Education drawn from the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.

The intervention, facilitated through support from the Government of Japan and the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), is being implemented under the project, “Capacity-building of Teachers to Promote Continuous and Inclusive Access to Safe and Quality Education for Girls in West Africa.”