Candidates for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) entrance examinations has recorded unprecedented increase from 7,547 in 2024 to 30,000 in 2025. Dr Mohammed Mohammed, Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) disclosed this, while monitoring the examination at Federal Science and Technical College (FSTC), Uromi, in Edo.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the examination, supervised by NABTEB were held at designated centres nationwide, including the FSTC, Uromi. Mohammed, who was represented by NABTEB Director of Research and Quality Assurance, Mr Pius Osaigbovo, attributed the 300 per cent surge in the examination enrolment to the incentives recently introduced to the TVET by the federal government.

NAN reports that the Federal Government is offering several incentives to boost TVET, including a monthly stipend of N30,000 for technical college students, free tuition, accommodation, and feeding in some cases.

AS we mark two years since President Bola Tinubu assumed office, it is essential to evaluate his administration’s impact on Nigeria’s youth, a vital segment of the nation’s future. From the lens of students and young professionals, several initiatives and policies stand out, particularly the introduction of student loans, grants for technical education students, and the composition of his cabinet.

Student Loan Initiative: Bridging the Education Finance Gap With NELFUND: One of the most anticipated moves by President Tinubu has been the successful execution of the student loan scheme (NELFUND) aimed at increasing access to higher education.

For many Nigerian youths, financing university studies remains a significant hurdle, often leading to prolonged academic timelines or inability to attend higher institutions. The administration’s efforts to establish accessible, affordable loans is revolutionizing higher education financing.

Sterling Bank has announced an over N2 billion commitment for private university scholarships for young Nigerians. Unveiled on Democracy Day, the initiative: Beyond Education, represents a step towards building future leaders by dismantling barriers that keep millions from accessing quality, focused learning.

This is one large private sector investments ever in a single tertiary institution. It extends Sterling’s commitment to the HEART sectors: Health, Education, Agriculture, Renewable Energy, and Transportation. The bank has deployed over half a trillion naira in financing and development programmes in these critical areas.

“Progress is not a spectator sport,” said Abubakar Suleiman, chief executive. “While others talk about Nigeria’s potential, we are investing in it. These scholarships are direct investments in the architects of our future. We are funding the education of future leaders who will build the companies, systems, institutions and solutions Nigeria needs to thrive.”

STEMpower Ethiopia has announced the graduation of trainees who have completed a capacity-building program designed to empower persons with disabilities, thereby enabling them to generate income by establishing their own businesses.

In collaboration with Light for the World and the We Can Work initiative, STEMpower stated that the graduation ceremony for trainees from the We Can Work Entrepreneurship and Business Skills Training Program was held recently.

In a press release sent to The Ethiopian Herald, the charity expressed that the graduation marked the successful completion of a transformative program designed to equip young persons with disabilities with the knowledge and skills to become self-reliant entrepreneurs.

The education sector has emerged as the biggest winner in the 2025/2026 national budget, with a proposed allocation of Sh702.7 billion, while the agriculture sector suffered a significant budget cut. Presenting the budget estimates in the National Assembly, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi described education as a critical sector deserving greater investment.

"I have proposed a total allocation of Sh702.7 billion to the Education Sector. This includes Sh387.2 billion for the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), with Sh7.2 billion for recruitment of intern teachers and Sh980 million for capacity building under the Competency-Based Curriculum," said Mbadi.

The proposal also allocates Sh7 billion for Free Primary Education, Sh28.9 billion for Junior Secondary School Capitation, and Sh51.9 billion for Free Day Secondary Education. Additional funding includes Sh5.9 billion for national examinations, Sh3 billion for school feeding programmes, Sh4 billion for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) projects, and Sh1.7 billion for school infrastructure.

Higher education and labour systems in developing countries, especially in Africa, must urgently adapt to a changing planet by embracing green skills beyond the classroom to enhance sustainable development, according to an expert.

According to Romain Boitard, green skills expert at the European Training Foundation (ETF), climate change, energy transitions, and sustainable development imperatives are reshaping employment. He called for higher education to be reoriented accordingly.

Speaking during an online seminar organised by the NGO Paeradigms and the Swiss Network for Education and International Cooperation, or RECI, on 20 May 2025, Boitard warned of the lag between green-job demand and the real responsiveness of education systems, particularly in the Global South.

Can African universities reimagine their future and adopt new measures to achieve sustainable development and move forward to tackle the challenges that hinder the continent’s progress? That is one of the questions that some African scholars have been trying to answer in their contributions to a new book, Quality in African Higher Education: Development perspectives from selected regions, released recently by Brill Academic Publishers.

In a contribution, ‘Reimagining the Sustainable African University Post-Corona Virus Pandemic’, Dr Alfred Kitawi, the director of the Centre for Research in Education at Strathmore University, Kenya, and Dr Mumbi Maria Wachira, a faculty member at the same university’s business school, argued that while African universities focus on teaching and research, they should also, in equal measure, direct their attention to the well-being of communities where they are located.

Basing their arguments on how COVID-19 impacted communities in terms of health, economics, social, and political aspects, Kitawi and Wachira pointed out that future crises could cause identical or even worse catastrophes.

New research findings conducted by PwC and Lagos Business School (LBS) has provided a roadmap for advanced AI adoption in Nigeria. The research, commissioned by Microsoft, was unveiled recently at the company’s AI Skills Week in Lagos.

The findings note that while developing economies like Nigeria face significant challenges in fully leveraging the advantages of AI, implementing the technology across key sectors could help address some of these issues and significantly reduce inequality

The Microsoft AI Skills Week was a five-day event designed to equip customers, business leaders, developers and end users with the knowledge and hands-on experience needed to drive AI adoption. It combined self-paced learning, live sessions, and interactive workshops to provide a comprehensive learning experience.

Stem-A-School, an edutech initiative focused on democratising access to science and technology, has concluded a multi-campus STEM tour across five universities in Osun State, reaching over 2,000 students with essential tech skills for today’s digital era.

The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) conference tour spanned Obafemi Awolowo University, Oduduwa University, Osun State University, Bowen University, and Redeemer’s University. Students engaged with experts in robotics, aerospace, and artificial intelligence, gaining exposure to the tools and trends shaping the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Founder of Stem-A-School, Victoria Oladosu, said: “The goal has always been to expand to more schools, and once we got that opportunity, we took it. Taking STEM to more universities is crucial if we are going to help create more innovators, and so that we won’t be left behind in today’s global AI race. STEM is the difference between where we are and where we want to be.”

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has emphasised the need for Nigeria’s tertiary institutions to become incubators of creativity, industry and sustainable enterprise. This, he said, aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, which prioritises youth empowerment, economic diversification, and inclusive development.

Alausa stated this in his goodwill message at the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, at a colloquium and inauguration of the Olufemi Okenla Entrepreneur Centre, a facility donated by the Olufemi Okenla Foundation.

Represented by the Lagos State Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Tolani Sule, the minister noted that the country can no longer afford to produce graduates who seek jobs alone; but job creators, innovators, and problem-solvers.

Private school owners, under the aegis of the Association for Formidable Educational Development, on Wednesday, urged Nigeria to embrace African-driven approaches that blend tradition with modern advancements.

The association also stated that for learning to drive sustainable development in Africa, the future must rely on low-cost educational solutions rooted in cultural wisdom, local resources, and innovative practices. Speaking in an interview with journalists, a matron of the association and former wife of Oyo State governor, Dr Bukola Ladoja, said the essence of the gathering was to give affordable and quality education to students.

She also said the association was playing a major role in exposing school owners and teachers to training on the best approach to handle pupils’ problems with reading and understanding.

When Mrs Ifeoma Eze began teaching biology at a public secondary school in Anambra State over 15 years ago, she believed she was answering a lifelong calling. She recalls the excitement of standing before her first class, armed with chalk, boundless passion, and dreams of shaping the future. Today, that fire is fading. Like many educators across Nigeria, she is not tired of teaching; she is simply tired of surviving.

“We’re not losing teachers to better opportunities,” she says. “We’re losing them to survival.” That sentiment reflects a deeper dysfunction in Nigeria’s education sector, one that policymakers have long ignored. Across the country, teachers are exiting the system in droves, not in pursuit of foreign jobs or career changes, but in search of dignity, respect, and sanity.

In a widely shared post on LinkedIn, Olasunkanmi Opeifa, the celebrated Maltina Teacher of the Year and an education advocate, summed it up succinctly: “The most innovative teachers I know are the ones leaving. Not because they weren’t good enough, but because they were too good for a broken system that kept clipping their wings.