The federal government has directed that admission to tertiary institutions should not be given to candidates less than 18 years old.

The Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, gave the directive on Monday during a monitoring exercise of the ongoing 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in Bwari, Federal Capital Territory.

He decried the activities of some parents, who were pressuring their underage students to get admission into tertiary institutions,

Efforts to promote trans-national education to shore up the rating of Nigerian Universities has prompted the management of the National Universities Commission(NUC) to pay a visit to the University of Sunderland in the United kingdom.

The visit which is first of its kind was facilitated by the London Academy Business School. It afforded both universities an opportunity to finalise processes for the implementation of the Transnational Education Accreditation (TNE).

The Dean and Chief Executive Officer London Academy Business School, Dr Larry Jones-Esan, disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday, where he reiterated the school’s unwavering commitment to providing quality education with an affordable pricing policy.

AI has a significant positive influence on the field of education, providing tools for the personalization of learning, enhancing accessibility, and improving the efficiency of educational processes.

AI is capable of creating tailored curricula, analyzing educational materials, and providing instant responses to student inquiries, thereby substantially reducing the administrative burden on teachers and enhancing the quality of education.

However, there are also negative aspects associated with the use of AI in education. These include concerns about data privacy, the reduction of interpersonal interactions between students and teachers, and the risk of creating a dependency on technology in the learning process.

In Nigeria, the teacher shortage is alarming. According to figures from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Nigeria’s teacher shortage in public primary schools is 194,876. The teacher shortage in private primary schools will be worse.

There is also a rising teacher shortage in public secondary schools across the country. Consequently, the privatisation of education in Nigeria has led to the establishment of mushroom primary and secondary schools with scant attention paid to recruitment of qualified teachers and quality of teaching.

Even in primary and secondary schools owned by the government, the story is almost the same. Only a few states in the federation have recruited teachers in recent times.

The Learning Place Centre, The Learning Innovation Academy, Lekki, Lagos, and a group of other schools have called on the Federal Government to support children with autism and their educational centres across the country.

Speaking after an autism awareness walk, held at the TLPC, Lekki, in celebration of ‘Autism Awareness Month,’ usually held in April, and titled, ‘Aligning SDGs with Autism: Empowerment, challenges and victories’, Executive Director, TLPC, Mrs Bolanle Adewole, explained that there had been no support for the charitable work the schools and centres gave to autistic children.

“Collaborators were invited to symbolise unity for the cause and to promote collaboration and teamwork leading to the achievement of long-term goals. If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far go together,” she said.

President Bola Tinubu has okayed system-wide policies to comprehensively overhaul the education sector to improve learning and skill development, increase enrolment, and ensure the academic security of the nation’s children.

The approved policies, according to a statement issued yesterday by presidential spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, are captured as DOTS, an acronym representing: Data Repository, Out-of-School Children Education, Teacher Training & Development, and Skill Development & Acquisition.

On teachers’ development and support, the federal government said that under this programme, the Federal Ministry of Education will support and train teachers in digital skills to facilitate the use of technology in classrooms.

The Better Education for Africa’s Rise (BEAR III) project - a joint initiative between UNESCO and the Republic of Korea aiming to strengthen Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) systems is launching its new phase in four beneficiary countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.

The overarching objective of the BEAR III project is to increase the skills and employability of young people in Africa. In line with this main goal, the project is built upon three key pillars. The first one is to make making TVET more relevant to the needs of the economy and the labour market by supporting national actors to develop training curricula that are responsive to the market demand for skills.

The second pillar is to enhance the quality of TVET delivered to trainees by building teaching staff and institutional capacity. The third objective is to improve perceptions of TVET among young people, enterprises, and society to increase its attractiveness as an educational option.

The Education Advocacy Coalition recently concluded a meeting with lawmakers to rally for an increase in the national educational budget from 16.3 percent to 20 percent.

The coalition, consisting of organizations including UMovement, Integrity Watch, Institute for Democratic Africa and Development, IREDD, and YOCEL, funded by USAID through the Civil Society Activity (CSA), aimed to push for an additional 3.7 percent in the educational budget.

The proposed budget increase, from US$105,957,481 to US$129,975,393, is intended to lead to various improvements in the education sector. These include the onboarding of 6,000 teachers onto the Government’s payroll (2 per school), provision of school supplies to 2,813 schools (US$2,600 per school), and upgrading school facilities for 2,813 schools ($1,298.7 per school).

In a move aimed at revolutionising Nigeria’s education sector, President Bola Tinubu has established a national education data system designed to elevate learning standards, foster skill development, and secure the academic security of the nation’s youth.

In a statement released by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President, the comprehensive initiative, encapsulated as DOTS, encompasses data repositories, out-of-school children’s education, teacher training and development, and skill development and acquisition.

Currently, there is a paucity of coordinated, verifiable, and authentic data on all aspects of the education sector in Nigeria, which is critical for planning.

The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, has said the Federal Government was committed to leveraging technology to enhance tertiary education.

He also congratulated Ahmadu Bello University(ABU), Zaria, on assuming the presidency of the International Institute of Online Education (IIOE) for 2024. He described the development as well-deserved.

“ABU’s selection as the 2024 IIOE Rotating Presidency Unit was announced during the institute’s Global Partners Summit held at Shenzhen, China. It takes over from University Putra Malaysia (UPM).

The Government of South Korea, through its development agency, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), is providing support for the establishment of six model Smart Schools in Nigeria.

Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, the Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), disclosed this during a meeting with the Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Kim Pan-Kyu, at the UBEC Digital Resource Centre in Abuja.

During the meeting, Ambassador Kim Pan-Kyu visited the UBEC Digital Resource Centre to inspect the facilities set up for the training of teachers on smart education.

Stakeholders have emphasized the urgent need for educational reform and human resource development in Nigeria.

This they said at the launching of the books titled, “Leadership and Educational Reforms in Nigeria” and “A Festschrift in Honour: Rethinking Human Resource Development” by Dr Bulus Danmagaji, coinciding with his 70th birthday celebration in Abuja.

Philip Hayab, a Research Fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution, Abuja, underscored the pivotal role of education, evoking Nelson Mandela’s famous words: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”