About 58,820 young Nigerians have signed up for the Youth Data Protection Awareness and Training (YDPAT) Program at the close of registration. The training will be conducted by the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, in partnership with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) and Globe Takers Foundation.

A statement by Director, Information and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Youth Development, Omolara Esan said that in 53 days, a total of 58,820 young Nigerians signed up from all six geopolitical zones, a strong signal of how eager Nigerian youth are to learn about data protection, digital awareness, and personal growth.

Minister of Youth Development, Comrade Ayodele Olawande, applauded the overwhelming response, describing it as proof of the commitment of young people to nation-building. He assured that every single registrant will benefit from the ministry’s broader youth development initiatives.

Teachers in Nigerian schools must possess the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) certification before being allowed to teach in Nigerian schools, according to a new education policy announced by the Federal Government.

The Federal Ministry of Education, which issued the directive, stated that the policy is aimed at raising the level of teaching standards in the country as well as improving professional development that will guarantee a qualitative education nationwide.

According to the Ministry, the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) will oversee in-service training and community-based professional development programmes, while TRCN will focus on the regulation and licensing of teachers across the country.

It must be within our knowledge and bias that Ugandan teachers, especially those in the arts and humanities, have for years complained of salary disparities compared to their counterparts in sciences. The government policy since around 2017 has favoured enhanced pay for science teachers (biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics), leaving art teachers with much lower scales.

This has created a two-tier system within the same profession, despite equal workload, qualification levels, and teaching responsibilities. I may agree with you on the contribution of science & technology in the country’s foundation to develop, but without a critical analysis of development systems, you would think entirely that sciences are its backbone.

Repeated promises by the government to “harmonise salaries” have been slow, inconsistent, or deferred, deepening frustration. For the government to prioritise sciences to spur industrial and technological growth,.it needs to understand that sciences can not thrive in isolation; arts provide critical thinking, communication, governance, and social cohesion skills.

A Liberian teacher currently teaching physics at the Tappeh Memorial High School in Nimba County has won the African Union Continental ‘Best Teacher Award’ for 2025, having been nominated for the competition by the Education Ministry this year to represent Liberia.

Mr. Allen A. Thomas, who earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from the ABC University in Nimba County, was nominated with a female colleague for the competition, as this is the first time Liberia is participating since the intellectual competition was established in 2019. Mr. Thomas emerged as the winner among ten of Africa’s best teachers, with two coming from each region, as every African nation was represented from the preliminary stage of the competition, with two teachers.

Prior to his latest achievement on the African Continent, Mr. Thomas, who has devoted his entire career to teaching with over ten years’ experience in the classroom, was recognized in 2023 by the Ministry of Education as ‘Liberia’s National Best Teacher’, and in 2024, took Liberia to the international stage as a Mandela Washington Fellow.

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has sought for stronger support and collaboration with the National Assembly to ensure that its 25 percent allocation is fully realised and effectively deployed. The implementation of the new development levy will be effective from 1st January 2026. The recently approved National Taxation Act introduced a 4 percent development levy on the assessable profits of taxable companies, excluding small and non-resident companies as well as profits from hydrocarbon tax.

Under this framework, NELFUND is allocated 25 percent of the levy proceeds, representing a significant opportunity to scale education financing and support millions of Nigerian students in pursuing their academic aspirations.

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyer, emphasised that timely appropriation, efficient releases, and broad-based sensitization are critical to unlocking the transformative potential of the funding in expanding access to affordable education loans for Nigerian student aspirations.

The Federal Government yesterday inaugurated the governing councils and principal officers of four newly established federal universities. Education Minister Tunji Alausa, who inaugurated the governing councils, reaffirmed the commitment of the government to expanding access to quality higher education.

The universities are: Federal University of Agriculture and Technology, Okeho, Oyo State, and Federal University of Health Sciences and Technology, Tsafe, Zamfara State. Others are: Yusuf Maitama Sule Federal University of Education, Kano, and Federal University of Education, Zaria, Kaduna State.

Alausa described the establishment of the universities as a strategic intervention by President Bola Tinubu’s administration. The minister explained that the move was aimed at addressing pressing national challenges, such as food security, public health, climate change, renewable energy, and technological innovation.

Pressure group, the Movement Against JAMB Injustice, comprising concerned parents, on Tuesday, described the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s (JAMB) age limit policy in Nigeria as unconstitutional and should be discarded forthwith.

The group, therefore, urged the Federal Government to review the age limit policy and allow candidates who will be 16 years old before the end of the 2025/2026 academic session to seek admission into any institution in Nigeria.

Leading the group on a protest march to JAMB’s office in Lagos yesterday, amid heavy rainfall, Mr Olusegun Steven called on JAMB and the Ministry of Education to consider extending the date to December for the sake of equity and fairness.

For decades Nigerian schoolchildren have lugged bags bulging with textbooks and timetables crowded by fifteen, sometimes twenty subjects. It was a ritual of rote learning, as if breadth alone could compensate for depth. Parents complained, teachers improvised, and pupils memorised their way to the next exam. That weary cycle is now being broken.

Recently in Abuja, the Federal Ministry of Education announced a sweeping overhaul of the national curriculum. Spearheaded by the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, the reform is unapologetically ambitious: fewer subjects, clearer pathways, early trade skills, and an insistence that every child leaves school with knowledge relevant to a changing world.

Under the previous structure, a child in Primary Four could be confronted by 15 or more subjects; by Senior Secondary, the figure could rise to 20. The new arrangement trims that sprawl. Beginning with the 2025/26 academic session, subject numbers will be reduced to 9–10 at lower primary, 10–12 in upper primary, 12–14 in junior secondary, and 8–9 at senior secondary. Technical streams, which once spiralled above 18 subjects, will now stabilise between nine and eleven.

A Lagos-based nonprofit, Access for Youths to Information Technology Initiatives (AYITI), has trained children in coding, design, and robotics in a bid to keep them away from crime and prepare them for careers in technology.

The initiative was founded by software developer, Akinyele Olubodun, who said his own family escaped poverty through programming. The program provides one year of free training for children aged nine to thirteen from low-income communities, combining technical lessons with mentorship and leadership development.

Nigeria continues to face rising cases of youth involvement in internet fraud, child labour, and street violence, driven by poverty, peer pressure, and the appeal of quick money. AYITI seeks to counter those pressures by offering digital skills alongside ethical programming principles and role models who demonstrate community leadership.

In a bid to address the estimated global 600,000 shortfalls of aircraft maintenance technicians (AMTs) by 2042, EncycloAMTs, an advanced e-learning platform, has commenced operation in Nigeria. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the initiative, Air Vice Marshal (rtd) Moses Onilede, told journalists that the company was coming to fill the present and the forecasted gap in the system with its programmes.

Onilede, an internationally recognised engineer with 37 years of experience, expressed that the global aviation industry was facing an urgent challenge with the projected 600,000 aircraft maintenance technicians’ deficit by 2042.

He explained that as fleets expand and safety requirements intensify, the need for accessible, world-class training has never been greater. He emphasised that the advanced e-learning platform was designed to transform how AMTs are trained worldwide.

In another bold move to reform the educational system nationwide, the Federal Government has insisted that secondary school teachers must obtain the proper certification; otherwise, their schools won’t be allowed to serve as examination centres.

In a policy directive issued, yesterday, and addressed to the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed that “the Federal Ministry of Education has directed that to strengthen professionalism in the teaching profession, the accreditation of both public and private secondary schools for the conduct of public examinations, such as WASSCE, NABTEB, NECO, & NBIAS, shall henceforth be contingent on the TRCN certification of teachers engaged in such schools.”

The directive further stated: “Accordingly, effective from March 2027 for WASSCE, May 2027 for NABTEB, June 2027 for NECO & June 2027 for SAISSCE, any school whose teachers are not duly registered and licensed with the TRCN shall be disqualified from serving as an examination centre.”

The federal governorment, through the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, has announced a major revamp of Nigeria’s technical education curriculum to reduce overload, strengthen trade competencies, align with global standards, and prepare young Nigerians for current industrial demands.

In a press release by Boriowo Folasade, the Director of Press and Public Relations of the Ministry of Education, it was announced that “all Federal Science and Technical Colleges (FSTCs) will now operate fully as Federal Technical Colleges starting from the 2025/2026 academic year.

“Each college will offer a minimum of six and a maximum of ten trade courses, while students will now take between nine and ten subjects. These include one trade course, five or six general subjects such as Mathematics, English Language, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Citizenship and Heritage Studies, two or three trade-related subjects, and one elective.”