The National Universities Commission on Wednesday signed additional $65m performance contracts with Vice-Chancellors of participating universities under the World Bank-backed Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement Project, aimed at strengthening procurement, environmental, and social governance standards nationwide.

The signing ceremony, held in Abuja, brought together officials of the NUC, the Bureau of Public Procurement, the World Bank, participating universities, and other stakeholders. “This phase marks not only a continuation of the initiative, but also a renewed opportunity to consolidate achievements, scale impacts, and deepen sustainability measures across the participating institutions,”

Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof Abdullahi Ribadu, said the additional financing phase marked “a new chapter” in efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity in procurement, environmental, and social standards.

The Federal Government has disbursed N3.41bn in monthly stipends to more than 73,000 beneficiaries enrolled in its Technical and Vocational Education and Training programme, as authorities intensify efforts to address youth unemployment and bridge Nigeria’s widening skills gap.

Data obtained from the Federal Ministry of Education showed that the stipend payments formed part of a broader N13.98bn disbursement under the TVET initiative. According to the ministry, while N3.41bn was paid directly to trainees, an additional N10.57bn was released to accredited training centres participating in the programme.

The government also disclosed that more than 1.3 million Nigerians applied for the initiative, highlighting growing interest in vocational and technical education amid rising economic pressures and limited formal employment opportunities.

The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has disbursed N434.5 million as the final tranche of support funds to complete ongoing school projects nationwide. The funds are under the 2023/2024 School-Based Management Committee–School Improvement Programme (SBMC-SIP).

Executive Secretary of the commission, Dr Aisha Garba, disclosed this at the 2025 SBMC-SIP implementation, disbursement and launch of the Learner Retention Programme. Garba was represented by the Deputy Executive Secretary (Technical), Mr Rasaq Akinyemi.

She said the disbursement would support the completion of 11,484 ongoing projects across beneficiary schools in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. She listed some projects, including minor infrastructure rehabilitation, the provision of classroom furniture, and the construction of classrooms and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities, aimed at improving learning environments.

There are moments in the life of an institution when leadership must do more than occupy office; it must clarify direction, restore confidence and awaken a sector to the urgency of its assignment. For the National Commission for Colleges of Education, that moment has come with the emergence of Dr. (Mrs.) Angela Ajala, as Executive Secretary of the Commission.

Her appointment is historic in more ways than one. NCCE records her as the 7th and first female Executive Secretary of the Commission, a defining milestone for an institution that sits at the heart of Nigeria’s teacher preparation system.

But beyond the symbolism of her emergence is the substance of the message she has carried from the beginning: teacher education must be repositioned, teacher preparation must be strengthened, and Colleges of Education must become more attractive, competitive, relevant and future-facing. (ncce.gov.ng)

The Federal Government has moved to put Nigeria’s fragmented education data under one roof with the rollout of the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure, NEDI, a platform designed to track learners from nursery to university, cut the number of out-of-school children, and embed entrepreneurship training across higher institutions.

Speaking at the Stakeholders’ Workshop on NEDI in Abuja, Hon. Minister of Education, Dr. Morufu Olatunji Alausa, said the initiative will serve as “a single, reliable source of educational data” for basic, secondary, and tertiary levels, consolidating inputs from agencies and examination bodies to drive evidence-based policy and accountability.

“For two and a half years ago, all our educational data was fragmented. We don’t even know the number of kids in our primary school,” Alausa said. “Today, that’s gone. I can tell you today, the primary school in the state, the number of students there, the number of boys, the number of girls, the number of teachers, the concentration of those teachers

Junaid Babatunde, co-founder and chief Technology officer of logistics technology startup, Topship, has urged teenagers to embrace AI and digital skills at a technology conference by Ireti Foundation in Lagos.
Speaking at the Tech As A Superpower conference, co-sponsored by Topship, Babatunde said technology would shape future careers and opportunities in industries.

“Tech is the future, guys. It’s not just something you use for games or TikTok, it’s the tool that’s going to shape every single career you might want,” Babatunde told attendees. He introduced participants to AI and prompt writing, which he described as the ability to communicate effectively with AI tools to achieve results.

“Once you know how to write good prompts, you can make AI help you with school work, business ideas, art, music; in fact anything,” he said. Babatunde said technology could provide advantages across professions, from medicine and engineering to music, fashion, and sports.

The Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) has called on the government to urgently reinstate free education warning that rising school fees and worsening learning conditions are forcing thousands of children out of school.

In a statement issued as schools opened for the new term on Tuesday, the student body said Zimbabwe's education system had reached what it described as a "national disaster" due to the increasing cost of schooling.

ZINASU spokesperson Kimberley Timothy Joni said education had been turned into a privilege for the wealthy, rather than a basic right. "Education, which was once free in Zimbabwe after independence, a proud achievement of the liberation struggle, has been brutally commodified and turned into a privilege for the children of the elite," Joni said.

President William Ruto has officially awarded university charters to the Kenya Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), elevating the two institutions to full university status in a move aimed at strengthening Kenya’s higher education and research capacity.

The announcement was made on Thursday at State House, Nairobi, during a formal ceremony that marked a significant milestone in the country’s education sector. The elevation of KAIST is expected to enhance Kenya’s focus on advanced science, technology, and innovation-driven education, aligning with the country’s broader goal of becoming a regional knowledge and technology hub.

Similarly, KEMRI’s transition into a university is set to reinforce medical research, public health training, and scientific innovation, building on its long-standing role as a leading research institution in Africa.

Zimbabwe’s ambitious artificial intelligence (AI) strategy risks becoming a digital white elephant, undone by a key missing piece: faculty readiness. President Emmerson Mnangagwa launched the country’s Al strategy, setting an ambitious target to establish two National AI Centres of Excellence by 2028, UNESCO said in a statement on its website on 25 March 2026.

Designed to be world-class hubs for AI, the centres will offer doctoral and postdoctoral programmes and fund advanced research that connects academic theory with practical, nation-building applications. The initiative aims to expand Zimbabwe’s research capacity dramatically and accelerate its emergence as a major AI player in Africa.

However, experts said that the Al strategy was launched while the country’s data centres are underutilised, and universities produce graduates unqualified to operate them. This could turn the strategy into a mere paper policy.

For the first time in the country’s history, Nigeria has admitted more than one million candidates into its tertiary institutions in a single cycle. This milestone arrived alongside even more measures that will allow easier access into post-school education.

The announcement about the one-million milestone was made this week by Professor Ishaq Oloyede, the registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). This was at the 2026 Policy Meeting on Admissions into Tertiary Institutions in Abuja.

The JAMB policy meeting is the highest-level gathering of education stakeholders in Nigeria, attended by vice-chancellors from 206 universities, rectors of polytechnics, and provosts of colleges of education. Dr Tunji Alausa, the minister of education, presided over the meeting.

Despite the emerging adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in Nigerian tertiary institutions marked by pockets of excellence amid general underdevelopment, the field is witnessing a significant shift from theoretical discussion to active implementation, says Olatunji Sunday Olusanya, a professor of AI and dean of the faculty of computing at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko (AAUA), Nigeria.

Olusanya explained to University World News that some Nigerian universities, including AAUA, the University of Lagos, Nile University and Nasarawa State University, have integrated artificial intelligence into their curricula by creating academic departments, as well as establishing AI laboratories and literacy courses for students and staff.

“However, this development is not yet the norm. Findings from other institutions indicate that AI integration in university administration and lectureship remains low to moderate, often limited to basic tools like chatbots or data analysis. The focus is frequently on foundational capacity-building – for instance, workshops on using AI for research methodology – for equipping academics to leverage these new tools effectively,” Olusanya said.

President William Ruto has directed the Ministry of Education to fast-track the full digitisation of education records across the country within the next two months, in a sweeping move aimed at improving accountability, planning, and transparency in the sector.

Speaking during the Second National Education Conference in Naivasha, the President said the digital overhaul, in collaboration with Konza Technopolis, will also help eliminate cartels and seal loopholes in education financing.

The President revealed that a recent verification audit uncovered major discrepancies in school enrollment data, including 87,000 ghost students in secondary schools, 800,000 fake pupils in primary schools, and 200 non-existent schools across the country.