The Universal Basic Education Commission has attributed the failure of several states to access about N68bn in intervention funds to systemic inefficiencies and outdated work plan templates that have been in use for more than a decade. Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr Aisha Garba, said the challenges had slowed down utilisation of the funds meant to improve basic education across the country.

Speaking in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, at a training workshop for South-South States Universal Basic Education Boards Directors and Desk Officers of Physical Planning on Wednesday, Garba explained that the commission had revised the Basic Education Action Plan template to remove bottlenecks and ensure accountability.

Represented by her Special Assistant, Ibrahim Gold, Garba said the new template, which was officially unveiled in Makurdi on May 25, 2025, was designed to simplify processes for states to access the intervention funds, including matching grants, teacher professional development, and special needs allocations.

Lifeforte International High School stole the spotlight at the Cambridge Outstanding Learner Awards Night, an annual event organised by the British Council to celebrate academic excellence, perseverance, and outstanding achievement among Cambridge students in Nigeria. The school walked away with a staggering 31 awards, cementing its position as one of the top-performing institutions in the country.
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The awards ceremony, held at the Civic Centre in Victoria Island, was designed to recognise students who not only excel academically but also demonstrate consistency, resilience, and the drive to exceed expectations.

The British Council, the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, hosts the event to highlight the achievements of students in Cambridge Assessment International Education programs and encourage a culture of academic excellence.

The Universal Basic Education Commission has disclosed that it has built more than 4,900 classrooms, established 34 Model and SMART schools, and provided over 353,000 units of furniture to improve access and learning conditions in public schools across the country.

The Executive Secretary of UBEC, Aisha Garba, made this known at a two-day retreat for senior staff of the Commission held at Dover Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, between August 28 and 29, 2025. She said, “Together with SUBEBs, we have constructed over 4,900 classrooms, established 34 Model and SMART schools, provided more than 353,000 units of furniture, and positively impacted over 2.3 million learners.”

She explained that the achievements formed part of the progress made under UBEC’s 2025–2028 Strategic Blueprint, which focuses on access, quality, and innovation in basic education. Garba also highlighted the commission’s Teacher Professional Development programme, designed to equip educators with modern tools and methods to improve learning outcomes nationwide.

As part of efforts to improve access to quality education, 47 million pupils and teachers in Smart Schools across Nigeria will receive free laptops and tablets. The initiative is expected to be rolled out this year.
This was disclosed at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and Digital Learning Network in Abuja on Monday.

The Guardian reports that UBEC Smart Schools are special model schools established by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to promote digital learning and 21st-century teaching methods, located in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Speaking at the event, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President, Digital Learning Network, Thomas Lamerna, disclosed that this is at zero cost to both the Federal and state governments. The 47 million devices, he said, will also receive free data.

The Ministry of Education has announced it has completed a review of educational curricula used in basic, senior secondary and technical schools across the country. This was announced in a statement dated Friday and shared by the ministry via its official X handle on Sunday.

The ministry’s press and public relations officer, Boriowo Folasade, who signed the press statement, noted that the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Said Ahmad, revealed this on behalf of the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa.

The minister noted that the ministry reviewed the curricula in collaboration with stakeholders, including the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC), and National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), among other departments within the ministry.

Across the world, academic metrics (journal impact factors, citation indexes and university rankings) are often seen as markers of progress. Framed as tools to ensure transparency, quality and global competitiveness, they form the backbone of many higher education reforms.

However, in authoritarian contexts, these instruments are increasingly repurposed not just to promote excellence but also to consolidate state control over research and academia. Kazakhstan, Russia and China offer three instructive examples of how ‘modernisation’ narratives are used to reshape universities into more compliant institutions.

When implemented without democratic oversight, global performance metrics risk becoming tools of centralisation, eroding academic freedom, marginalising critical scholarship, and aligning research with state-defined agendas.

SANTIAGO, CHILE - As Ministers and education leaders prepare to convene for the World Summit on Teachers (WST) on 28-29 August 2025, the global teaching profession faces an unprecedented recruitment and retention crisis. The world needs 50 million more teachers by 2030 across early childhood, primary, and secondary education, yet qualified educators are fleeing classrooms due to systematic government failures.

The shortage is especially acute in sub-Saharan Africa, which alone accounts for 15 million, and in Southern Asia, with 7.8 million teachers needed to guarantee every child's right to a qualified teacher. Europe and North America are also not spared, facing a shortfall of nearly 5 million teachers.

The WST, convened by UNESCO and hosted by the Government of Chile, brings together ministers, UN agencies, teacher unions, civil society organisations and education experts to address the shortage and advance implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4 - inclusive and equitable quality education for all.

In every corner of the world, educators are making choices that echo across generations - influencing everything from the preservation of forests to the writing of poetry, the building of bridges to the holding of peaceful elections.

Their work, said UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, is "the beating heart of education, the cornerstone of sustainable development, and the guardians of our future." Speaking Thursday at the opening of the UNESCO World Summit on Teachers in Santiago, Chile, Ms. Mohammed called for urgent global action to address the deepening teacher crisis.

"Let us honour their influence with the policies and the respect that teachers need, and future generations deserve," she urged, laying out a five-point plan to support educators and strengthen education systems worldwide.

Achieving a $1tn economy is a tall order. Still, it is achievable with deep commitment, transparency, accountability, and, most importantly, economic planning that takes cognisance of the contributions of and from all sectors of an economy.

A $1tn economy should be driven not by money or rent-seeking activities but by scientific and technological advancements, which only sound education can produce. The report from the 151st meeting of the National Economic Council on Thursday, August 28, 2025, explained that there existed a Renewed Hope Development Plan 2026-2030. The plan looks like a party plan or the President’s plan.

Somewhere in the report, we learnt from the senior special assistant to the President on media and communications (Office of the Vice-President) that the said five-year national development plan (2026-2030) would build on the “existing policies, deepen continuity, and align Nigeria’s growth trajectory with the long-term goal of Agenda 2050”.

The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has opened a strategic retreat for its senior staff with a focus on repositioning the agency for more effective and sustainable delivery of basic education across the federation. The programme is part of efforts to strengthen the commission’s institutional capacity and realign its operations with national education priorities.

Declaring the event open, participants commended UBEC’s Executive Secretary, Aisha Garba, for what was described as visionary leadership in convening the retreat. According to officials, her unwavering commitment to institutional reforms and service delivery reflects a deep understanding of the urgent needs of the country’s basic education sector.

With the theme, “Repositioning UBEC for Sustainable Basic Education Delivery in Nigeria,” the retreat is to assess the commission’s progress, address systemic bottlenecks, and set out new strategies for achieving improved learning outcomes for Nigerian children.

Lead Coach, Glisten Academy, Balig Sadiq, has dismissed fears that AI would make teachers redundant, stressing that the technology should be seen as a tool to support learning. Sadiq spoke when teachers from Enugu, Katsina, Niger, and the Federal Capital Territory converged on Abuja on Thursday for a three-day training programme on artificial intelligence, robotics, drones, and digital technologies.

The training, organised by Glisten International Academy in collaboration with the Miraisha Foundation, was designed to upskill teachers, particularly those in public schools, with the knowledge needed to prepare students for the future workplace.

Speaking at the event, Sadiq said what was imperative was for teachers to optimise the use of AI to make their work as educators more seamless. Sadiq said, “AI will not replace teachers, but it may replace those who refuse to adapt. It is here to make our work easier, not to eliminate us.”

“Until now, cooperation in higher education between Japan and Africa has mainly been centred on a support-type framework but, in recent years, there has been a demand for the transfer of knowledge and technology and for equal partnerships so that African universities can conduct education and research independently.”

This is how the Global Innovation Japan-Africa University Symposium, ‘Imagining the Future of Human Resource Development and Science and Technology Cooperation between Japan and Africa’ was introduced in material about the event. It took place during the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) held under the theme, ‘Co-create Innovative Solutions with Africa’, and ended on 22 August in Japan.

The symposium was set against a background in which Africa’s international importance is increasing, given its growing youth population and potential for economic growth and strengthened by the African Union’s positioning of 2025 as the ‘Year of Youth and Innovation in Africa’.