The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has boosted funding for quality assurance, raising the allocation from 2 per cent to 5 per cent of the matching grant. This, it said, is to enhance monitoring and evaluation of basic education in Nigeria. Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr. Aisha Garba, stated this Wednesday in Abuja while declaring open a three-day refresher training and strategic meeting.

The Guardian reports that the event brought together Zonal Directors, Quality Assurance Officers, and Directors of Quality Assurance from the 36 states and the FCT to deliberate on the new quality assurance reporting template and related tools.

The Executive Secretary said the increased funding for quality assurance demonstrates the Commission’s strong dedication to boosting learning outcomes in public schools through informed decision-making and enhanced accountability.

The Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) has announced plans to resume funding for the establishment and upgrading of eight colleges of education that have remained stalled since 2017. The Deputy Administrator of the Fund, Alhasan Sualihu Dandaawa, confirmed that contracts had been awarded for the commencement of works in the eight proposed colleges.

He announced this after a seven-day inspection tour across GETFund-sponsored project sites in northern Ghana. The tour covered four regions—Savannah, North East, Upper West and Northern—where a number of long-abandoned educational infrastructure projects were assessed with a view to reactivating and completing them.

It may be recalled that under the first coming of the President John Mahama-led administration, there was a policy initiative to increase the number of public colleges of education by 10, with the goal of expanding access to quality teacher education for basic and senior high schools. In alignment with this national priority, GETFund allocated funding to support the rollout of these new institutions.

According to the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), the Technical University Teachers Association of Ghana (TUTAG), and the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) the government has failed to release the foreign exchange rate based on which the book and research allowances are to based on and paid.

In a joint press statement dated Monday, June 9, the unions expressed frustration over what they described as an "undue delay" undermining their academic work and said they will declare a strike if the government fail to release the exchange rate and pay the allowance.

They argued that the lack of clarity around the exchange rate for this year’s allowance — which supports lecturers’ research and professional development — had caused significant uncertainty and hardship for their members.

The government of Russia has promised to offer not less than 500,000 scholarships to international students, including Nigerians to study in the country. Amb. Andrey Podelyshev, Russian Ambassador to Nigeria, disclosed this while briefing newsmen on Monday night in Abuja, on the sidelines of the embassy’s preparation to commemorate the Russia Day on June 12.

The ambassador reeled out broader educational and diplomatic engagement strategies by the Russian Federation to include a policy to increase the number of African and Nigerian students through studies in various Russian universities.

Podelyshev said, “The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, will increase the number of international students in Russia to 500,000 in the long term. “Currently, the number is less than half of that target with about 32,000 African students enrolled in Russian universities and only about 2,000 from Nigeria. In line with the president’s objective, the current quota will be increased every year to achieve targets.

Corona Schools Alumni Association will hold a Black Tie Gala Dinner on June 14 at Jewel Aeida Event Centre, in Lekki, Lagos. The event will begin with a red carpet meet-and-greet from 5 pm, followed by an evening of celebration, reconnection, and purpose.

The Gala Dinner is a key fundraising event at raising N200 million for two transformative legacy projects: establishment of a state-of-the-art Tech Hub to equip Corona pupils with future-ready STEM and digital skills, and launch of an endowment fund to provide scholarships—ensuring that financial limitations never become a barrier to quality education.

Sola Alamutu, co-chairp of Corona@70 Planning Committee and vice president of Alumni Association, said the event has been over six months of work, creative collaboration, and heartfelt dedication from alumni. “We’ve come together not just to celebrate our shared history, but to chart a bold new future for the next generation of Corona pupils.

The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has said the government is committed to repositioning Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as a first-choice educational pathway and not a backup option.

He emphasised that the long-standing perception of TVET as a lesser alternative must change, and stakeholders must collectively work to elevate its image, value and outcomes. Mr Iddrisu noted that TVET was central to Ghana’s industrialisation agenda and must demonstrate its ability to rapidly produce highly skilled and employable graduates to meet labour market demands.


The minister stated this at the official inauguration of the TVET Week Celebration Planning Committee in Accra. “TVET is not a Plan B. It is a viable and strategic first-choice option that must be treated with the respect, investment and innovation it deserves.

The Tanzanian government has continued to recognize the contribution of teachers in the development of the education sector, as they are the producers of various professionals across all sectors, including health, energy, science, and technology.

Alongside making improvements that will increase teachers' enthusiasm to work diligently, with professionalism, integrity, and prioritizing the nation's interests, the government remains committed to further advancing the sector.

The successes achieved in the education sector are directly attributed to teachers. Therefore, the Tanzania Teachers Union (CWT) plays a significant role in society and the nation as a whole, as in addition to the task of teaching and imparting knowledge, a teacher is a spiritual parent, a thought leader, and a builder of morals in society.

The New Joy Teacher Training Institute (NJTTI), a pioneering educational institution founded by Precious Joy Teeweh, the 2022 inaugural recipient of Liberia’s Presidential National Best Teacher Award, has celebrated the graduation of its first cohort of trained educators. Fourteen teachers received their “C” Certificates in Early Childhood Education during a ceremony held at the Liberia Learning Center in Paynesville.

The event marked a historic milestone for the newly established institute, reaffirming Liberia’s commitment to strengthening foundational learning through quality teacher training. Serving as keynote speaker was Fasam Howard Nyensuah, Assistant Minister for Early Childhood Education at the Ministry of Education. He praised the graduates for their dedication and described the ceremony as more than an academic milestone; it was a declaration of hope for Liberia’s youngest citizens.

“Today is not just another day on the academic calendar, it is a historic celebration,” Hon. Nyensuah said. “This graduation is not about the certificate alone, but about the transformation in the lives of these teachers and the children whose futures they will help shape.”

Microsoft’s new white paper, AI in Nigeria, commissioned by Microsoft and conducted by PwC and Lagos Business School, states 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.

This was one of the key findings unveiled during Microsoft AI Skills Week in Lagos recently. The five-day event was 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.

During the event, experts brought critical insights from the white paper to life, unpacking a more data-driven approach to accelerating AI transformation. “Although AI is still an emerging field with early-stage applications in Nigeria, global advancements and the growing recognition of AI’s transformative power have catalysed a shift in mindset across the country.

According to Ridwan Kolawole, a lecturer at University of Ibadan, “Artificial Intelligence (AI) is like having a second brain, it can provide support, but it cannot replace your own thinking.” However, Kolawole said the problem with many students is that they are now relying solely on AI, ignoring other sources of information.

Research has shown that there is a massive surge in AI adoption among Nigerian students, particularly in tertiary institutions. This is simply because machine learning generative tools such as ChatGPT, and Germini, among others have become indispensable for academic success in the contemporary era.

Nevertheless, in the face of numerous benefits of machine learning tools, stakeholders are worried about the tendency of students’ misuse and the ethical questions surrounding academic integrity. For its 2024 Global AI Student Survey, the Digital Education Council looked at 3,839 student responses across 16 countries.

It is long established that education is a public good that shapes the futures of individuals, communities and society. Schools are where young people gain knowledge, develop skills and grow into active citizens. At the heart of this learning are teachers. Their work is central to student success and the strength of society.

In this context, teacher education is currently under renewed scrutiny, particularly in light of the Council on Higher Education's impending review of initial teacher training programmes in South Africa. The national review presents an opportunity to reassert the public value of teacher education and to ensure that programmes prepare teachers who can meet the diverse and changing needs of learners and schools.

Faculties of education play a crucial role in preparing these teachers. They help future teachers develop strong knowledge, practical skills, and a deep understanding of the social purpose of education. High-quality teacher education supports, not just individual students, but whole communities. Well-prepared teachers create classrooms where every child has the chance to learn and thrive.

African universities must change the structure of PhD training and supervision, produce differentiated graduate training universities, and abandon the single supervisor for committee, joint or collaborative models.

The universities need to increase supervision capacity by having more PhD holders in their faculty, investing in infrastructure and space, and changing from research only to coursework and sandwich doctorate structures, said Professor Tawana Kupe, a higher education strategy adviser and former vice-chancellor of the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

In addition, the universities should invest in robust technologies that allow access to virtual labs and enable remote research for non-science degrees, taking advantage of digital libraries and digital open-access journals if they are to achieve the African Union (AU) target of producing 100,000 doctorates by 2034, Kupe said.