Ekiti State University and Babcock University have been selected for a British Council-funded project aimed at transforming university curricula in Nigeria to promote entrepreneurship, circular economy, and peacebuilding. The project is being led by Dr Olushola Kolawole, a lecturer in Business Data Analytics, Circular Economy and Entrepreneurship at the University of Bradford, United Kingdom.

As part of efforts to implement the initiative, scholars, curriculum experts, and education stakeholders recently gathered in Lagos for a workshop themed, ‘Curriculum Development on Entrepreneurship, Circular Economy and Peace Building in Nigeria’.

Participants at the workshop brainstormed on how to develop a robust academic framework that incorporates contemporary concepts such as sustainability and peacebuilding into Nigerian higher education.

Prime Minister Dr. Kamil Idris has directed a review of decisions related to higher education and scientific research, to contribute to the development of educational programs that serve sustainable development and achieve comprehensive renaissance.

Dr. Kamil Idris also directed efforts should be made to restore the sound status of university centers abroad and to adopt a clear approach that enhances the role of these centers in supporting the country's education plans. He emphasized that the external centers should open registration for new batches of Sudanese Certificate students for the years 2023 and 2024.

In a related context, the directive indicated the need to support plans to implement the previous decision to gradually bring back universities to their headquarters in the national capital. The Prime Minister also urged university and higher institute administrations to exert maximum efforts and work as quickly as possible to bring students back from abroad, in order to resume the educational process and return it to normal.

Cihan Digital Academy has announced the attainment of two major global accreditations, a significant step in its efforts to lead artificial intelligence education across Africa. The academy has received a formal Institutional Affiliation with the University of Artificial Intelligence and Experiential Education LLC, based in Missouri, United States, and an ISO-certified OICAP-QA Institutional Accreditation.

These recognitions confirm the academy’s commitment to building a strong foundation for AI education and training in Africa. With this development, Cihan Digital Academy strengthens its position as a certified centre for learning in artificial intelligence, data science, robotics, and digital marketing.

“This dual accreditation is a pivotal moment. It’s not just an institutional milestone; it’s a validation of our unwavering mission to cultivate world-class artificial intelligence talent in Africa,” saidDr. Celestine Achi, an AI educator and innovator, and developer of educational frameworks including the TABS-D and AI-PR Maturity Framework.

Artificial intelligence has rapidly become the defining technology of our era. Over the past two years, the global AI market has exploded, with projections estimating growth from $189bn in 2023 to $4.8tn by 2033—a 25-fold increase in just a decade.

This surge is driven by breakthroughs in generative AI, Large Language Models, and Natural Language Processing, which have brought sophisticated tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and GitHub Copilot into the mainstream, fundamentally transforming how businesses and individuals interact with technology.

These tools have reshaped sectors, including healthcare, finance, entertainment, and education, showcasing immense potential and opportunities for innovation. Nigeria has emerged as a surprising leader in AI adoption, with 70 per cent of its online population reporting usage of generative AI, far above the global average of 48 per cent.

The leadership of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) yesterday berated Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke for deploying 1,750 untrained youths as teachers. The Nation recalls that Adeleke approved deployment of 1,750 Imole Youth Corps to schools due to financial constraints that delay planned mass teachers’ recruitment to primary and secondary schools across the state.

NANS Southwest (Zone D) through its Secretary General, Comrade Oluwole Aboke, in a statement expressed disappointment for converting a temporary civic engagement initiative into teachers’ recruitment. Aboke added: “Teaching profession requires passion, proper training, certification and ongoing professional development, none of which were the original prerequisites for Imole Youth Corps.

“The failed teachers’ recruitment exercise remains a painful betrayal. Thousands of qualified young graduates paid to apply for the previously advertised Osun teachers’ recruitment, went through screening processes, and waited in high hopes, only to be ignored and replaced with a politically-motivated scheme.”

Nigeria’s future workforce must be proficient in digital technology, along with leadership capacity, to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world, especially as it taps into the potential of its youthful population, an international training initiative in Lagos has been told.

Educational content oriented towards developing digital skills was, therefore, a focus of the University of Lagos (Unilag) and Professors Without Borders’ (PROWIBO) fourth annual PROWIBO Academy Training Programme, from July 21-25 at Unilag’s law faculty.

This year, the UK-based charity focused on improving equitable access to education brought together 75 students and 40 academic and non-academic staff from various Unilag faculties for intensive workshops themed, ‘Empowering Digital Transformation: Leadership, Innovation & Sustainability’.

A nation’s research output is affected by a variety of factors, including funding and incentive systems, human resource capacity, infrastructure and facilities, collaboration, partnership and networking schemes, as well as knowledge management systems.

While these critical factors are key to the success of a country’s research ecosystem, the overall governance and coordination of the system appear to be more important than the separate, individual factors. As the experiences of many countries show, the improvement in the overall coordination of a country’s research system is crucial to advance research and enhance the national output level.

In many countries, national research councils (NRCs) are set up to play such coordinating roles and have been found useful in supporting, coordinating and funding scientific and academic research. In countries where such platforms or similar statutory bodies are lacking, research is often driven by individual, institutional, or donor interests. Research agendas are not informed by national interests or development priorities. Consequently, weak links exist between academia, government, and industry.

As part of efforts to boost teaching and learning outcomes, Lagos State government has partnered with Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Alumni Association of Nigeria and US Consulate to train 50 public senior secondary school teachers in Educational District 6 on deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in teaching and learning.

In a statement, on Thursday, speaking during the two-day training, the General Secretary of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Alumni Association of Nigeria, Mr. Iyke Chukwu, said the workshop is meant to up skill the participant in using technology to improve teaching and learning outcomes.

“What we are trying to do is to empower these teachers with skills related to the use of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Innovative teaching and learning, so that they can go back to their school and improve the quality of teaching and learning in their respective schools. Educational landscape is changing, technology is virtually taking over every aspect of human endeavours, so why not bring tech into education as well, if it is helping other sectors?

The Federal Government has launched an intensive national campaign to end the learning crisis at the basic level of education in the country. The programme, the national launch of “End Learning Poverty For All in Africa (ELPAF)” is being supported by the African Union (AU) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to address the challenge of children who are in schools and are not learning.

According to a report by UNICEF, Nigeria faces a severe learning crisis with over 70 per cent of children lacking foundational literacy and numeracy skills. The estimated number of children in schools who are unable to read and comprehend a simple sentence by the age of 10.

Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Said Ahmad in her keynote address at the event, said the statistics were a wake-up call in Nigeria, as in many parts of the continent where children are in classrooms, but not necessarily learning.

Recently, Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, issued a firm directive to the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN): “Completely eliminate unqualified teachers from our classrooms” and revoke the licenses of those “who tarnish the dignity of the teaching profession.”

The sentiment is bold—and necessary. Nigeria’s education system needs urgent rescue from mediocrity. Restoring dignity to the teaching profession is not optional; it is critical. But as someone deeply engaged in education reform and grassroots school systems, I urge caution: you don’t fix a broken system by firing its survivors.

Removing thousands of “unqualified” teachers without a deliberate plan for their replacement, retraining, or transition will create a vacuum that deepens existing gaps, especially in underserved communities where access to any teacher is already fragile.

An information technology and vocational training institute, Aptech, has partnered with Germany’s International School of Management (ISM) to create a seamless academic pathway that allows Nigerian tech students to earn globally-recognised degrees.

Through the new arrangement, students who complete Aptech’s Advanced Diploma in Software Engineering (ADSE) could transfer directly into the final year of ISM’s undergraduate programmes in Germany, reducing the time and cost of obtaining an international degree while unlocking access to post-study work opportunities in Europe.

The partnership allows eligible students to complete their studies in Germany by taking 13 additional modules, leading to a B.Sc. in information system. The agreement was officially signed at ISM’s headquarters in Dortmund, Germany, by Managing Director of ISM, Professor Dr. Audrey Mehn; Head of International Business, Ms. Caroline Krabs; Head of Student Intake, Ms. Liu Yue and Executive Vice President, International Business at Aptech, Kallol Mukherjee.

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has assured Nigerian students in tertiary institutions and those seeking to further their education that President Bola Tinubu is committed to the long-term sustainability of the interest-free student loan programme.

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NELFUND, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, while interacting with journalists during a recent maiden media engagement in Abuja, said the vision of the President was to make the loan scheme an enduring legacy that would benefit generations of unborn children.

“This is a transformational initiative by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He is absolutely committed to ensuring the programme starts well, runs well, and remains sustainable. It is really not just about funding education; this programme represents a pillar of change, a revolution if you like, to what this country is seeking,” he declared.