A philanthropist, Adebayo Adeleke, is set to build a N5bn world class Supply Chain Research and Innovation Hub (SCRIH) at Department of Transport Management, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso.

Adeleke, who is the Chief Executive Officers (CEO) Supply Chain of Africa during a courtesy visit to the acting Vice Chancellor of LAUTECH, Prof. Rasaq Kalilu, said the project would be the first Supply Chain, Research and Innovation Center in Nigeria and second in Africa when completed..

According to him, one of the motives behind building of the centre was to foster relationship between government, academia and industries in proffering solution to problem of Nigeria through research and innovations.

The Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile-Ife received 16 of the 85 research proposals earmarked for funding in the 2023 grant cycle. The selected proposals underwent a screening process organised by TETFund, which began in March 2023 with the submission of 4,287 concept notes from potential applicants.

During the ceremony, Prof. Akanni I. Akinyemi, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation, and Development, congratulated the grant recipients and urged them to uphold high research ethics and principles in their work.

He emphasized the importance of pursuing excellence as representatives of the University in their respective fields and assured them of his unwavering support throughout the research process.

Increasingly in Africa, many young girls and women show great interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education as evidenced by the eminent and young female scientists celebrated across the continent. Yet, the under-representation of women in STEM fields persists, globally and across the continent.

Why are women under-represented in STEM education?

This phenomenon can be attributed to several factors such as the entrenched cultural perception that STEM is a male domain and that boys and men are just 'better' at math and science, limited early intervention to get girls and young women excited about STEM, domestic pressures on girls, early marriage and child pregnancy, and lack of STEM female role models.

The Lagooz Schools, Agege, Lagos, has awarded N35.7m worth scholarships to 10 indigents students who performed excellently in its Mathematics competition.

Speaking on Thursday during the presentation of the awards to 10 Primary School Students, Proprietor, Lagooz Schools, Mr Yomi Otubela, revealed that the scholarships was meant to sponsor the secondary school education of indigent children.

The Lagooz Schools Mathematics Scholarship was also the seventh edition and the learners competed in mathematic and other subjects, after which they were screened alongside their parents to ascertain their financial status.

The innovative phone application with the name ‘Juiceitup,’ created by Greensprings School students has won $7.2m scholarships and N2.5m cash prize in the Conrad Challenge.

A statement by the school explained that for the second consecutive year, three students of Greensprings School secured the overall best in Nigeria category at the final stage of the 2024 Conrad Challenge.

The winners, Idara Attah, Imabong Apkan-Chinyere and Mirabel Njoku, competed as ‘Team Lavendaire,’ emerged as the challenge’s winner for creating an innovative phone application with the name ‘Juiceitup.’

Registrar/Chief Executive of Teachers Registration Council (TRCN), Professor Josiah Ajiboye, has asked state governments and other relevant stakeholders to take the welfare of teachers as a fundamental issue in the pursuit of excellence in education.

He warned that neglecting the welfare of teachers is detrimental to achieving quality education and overall societal development.

Ajiboye, who was the guest speaker at the conference in Abuja, organised by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Federal Wing, asserted that teachers are the backbone of any educational system, playing a pivotal role in shaping the minds and futures of generations.

UNESCO Institute for African Culture and International Understanding (IACIU) has disclosed there is a need for cultural entrepreneurship education for young Africans to foster economic growth and enrich the cultural industry.

Director of the institute and former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Peter Okebukola, disclosed this while speaking at a workshop organised for young entrepreneurs by the institute at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta, Ogun State on Wednesday.

Addressing the audience on the theme, “Entrepreneurship Education on the Protection and Promotion of Cultural Goods for Young Creative Artists,” Okebukola disclosed that the workshop was aimed at equipping young creative artists with entrepreneurial skills, to enable them enhance their creative output through digital platforms.

Government in the last seven years, has awarded scholarships to over 5,000 teacher trainees. These scholarships represent more than financial aid and serve as vital lifeline, empowering trainees to chase their educational dreams without the worry of tuition fees.

The Registrar of the Registrar of Scholarships Dr Kingsley Agyeman, announced this when he presented a paper as the keynote speaker at the 28th annual delegates congress of the Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana at Koforidua.

He said he had observed the profound impact that scholarships have had on the lives of teacher trainees, a move that marked a significant milestone in government’s commitment to supporting teacher education.

A prominent Nigerian politician Owolabi Salis, has advocated the adoption of EDUBONDS in financing tertiary education. He explained that EDUBONDS retains the educated citizens to develop the nation.

According to him, it ensures that education reaches everybody. He said: “It is a creative design of a highly efficient and effective financial mechanism which draws resources from diverse sources to enhance the educational capacity of the citizens.

“It is designed for the rich and poor, and focused on three operational keywords: ‘Wish, Capacity and Access’(WCA) which entails that a student who wishes to be educated in a particular field, and possesses the capacity to undergo the desired field of study should have access to funds.”

The teacher shortage in public primary schools in Nigeria has risen to 194,876, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has revealed. This acute scarcity of teachers at the public basic education level was contained in the 2022–2023 UBEC National Personnel Audit report.

According to the report, ECCDE had an enrollment figure of 3,348,112 and required 133,924 teachers but had 257,695 teachers, an excess of 123,771 teachers. At the level of junior secondary school (JSS), students enrolled in about 5,674,796 and required 141,876 teachers, but had 223,387 teachers and an excess of 81,517.

“The problem here lies with their skewed deployment in favour of schools in urban centres. According to the report, this inadequate supply of qualified teachers at the primary school level is contributing to learning poverty in basic education in Nigeria.

With innovation in higher education in discourse, over 300 experts from across Africa expressed the conviction that Nigeria has the potential to spearhead an educational trans­formation that would position the continent to become the glob­al economy’s future manpower resource base.

Such submissions were made at the inaugural African Lead­ership University’s Reimagine Education Conference in Lagos on Friday, March 22, 2024, which deliberated on innovation cap­ital in higher education on the continent. The theme of the one-day conference was, “What a Transformative Education can do for Nigeria”.

In his welcome address, Veda Sunassee, Chief Executive Offi­cer of African Leadership Uni­versity (ALU), organizers of the event, said the importance of higher education in Africa’s socio-economic development cannot be over-emphasized, especially as 40 percent of the global population is projected to be African at the turn of the century.

A coalition under the aegis of School Outreach for Better Education (SOBE) have embarked on an awareness campaign on the need to improve and promote standard of secondary education in Abuja the nation’s capital.

The coalition which is made up of A New Thing International Foundation, Caleb Initiative for Drug Abuse Awareness, Ikio’s Foundation, Julie Education Foundation, notchlens Kingcity Global Solutions, and Hearts and Frames said the outreach is aimed at touching the lives of countless adolescents and young adults.

In a statement signed by the Executive Director of A New Thing Foundation, Ambassador Kenneth Anetor on behalf of the coalition on Thursday said the significance of these outreach programs in curbing secondary school dropout rates attributed to factors like substance abuse, unwanted pregnancies, and poverty.