WHEN young children walk into their preschool classrooms each morning, they are not just finding fun and friends, they are simply entering a critical stage of development that will shape their futures in ways they can’t yet imagine.

Experts agree: the early years of a child’s life from birth to age 8, are more than just a prelude to school. They form the foundation for learning, behaviour and health that lasts a lifetime. Studies show that the first eight years of life are the most significant for brain development, with 90 per cent of brain growth occurring during this period.

Neuroscience backs this up. During the first few years of life, over one million new neural connections form every second. These connections are shaped by experiences, positive or negative, which is why quality early learning is so vital.

Scholars International Institute of Technology (SIIT) Africa has called on schools to incorporate technology into their curricula, emphasising the need to expose students to career opportunities in the tech space early.
SIIT spoke during the second tech empowerment workshop by SIIT Africa at Senior State Senior High School in Lagos.

The workshop aims to bridge the knowledge gap by introducing pupils to the possibilities in technology, including programming, web development, data analysis, digital marketing, and more. Senior Frontend Engineer at Quidax, Aremu Oluwagbamila, noted that many traditional careers in Nigeria are becoming stagnant, while tech continues to thrive globally.

“You could be in Nigeria and be managing a product based in San Francisco. But if students are not made aware of such opportunities early, they may spend four to five years in university unaware of the tech careers available to them,” Oluwagbamila said.

The Federal Government’s newly launched Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) initiative has received a massive response, with over 95,000 applications submitted within just three days of its official unveiling.

The programme, which was formally launched by Tunji Alausa, Minister of Education, last Friday in Abuja, is a key component of the government’s strategy to equip Nigerian youths with practical, industry-relevant skills aimed at accelerating the nation’s transition to a knowledge-based economy.

“The Ministry of Education is thrilled by the overwhelming response to the TVET Initiative,” Alausa said. “Over 95,000 applications have already been submitted, an incredible show of interest in skills development across Nigeria.”

An educationist and the Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director of eTutors Nigeria Limited, Adeniyi Ajayi, has stressed the need for innovative online learning platforms to tackle challenges facing Nigeria’s education.

These challenges include overcrowded classrooms, high transportation costs, rising insecurity and limited access to qualified tutors across the country among others. A statement by Ajayi maintained that traditional tutoring methods are insufficient to meet growing demands of students.

He said: “We are here to revolutionise how learning happens, offering a secure and affordable alternative to traditional tutoring and reshaping hi knowledge is delivered and consumed in the 21st century.”

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) said it will expand its Foreign Postgraduate Scholarship Programme to include training in Nigerian universities as part of its efforts to strengthen human capital development in the Niger Delta region.

The NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, spoke during an assessment visit to the venue of the foreign postgraduate scholarship interviews in Port Harcourt. He observed that 600 indigenes from the NDDC mandate states would benefit from the expanded scheme, as opposed to the 200 who benefit from foreign schemes.

Ogbuku in a statement signed by the commission’s Director, Corporate Affairs, Seledi Thompson-Nwakama acknowledged the interview panelists for their excellent work so far and charged them to be impartial in their judgment, ensuring that only the best and most qualified candidates received the scholarship.

One of the United Kingdom’s leading academic institutions, University of Warwick, through the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) Africa Scholarship, has offered Nigerian students seeking to study abroad an opportunity to access up to £20,000 (₦42 million) in tuition support.

The scholarship applies to full-time MSc programmes in high-demand fields like Engineering, Business, Technology, Innovation, and Healthcare at Warwick’s WMG department. The announcement follows a recent visit to Nigeria and Ghana by British-Nigerian academic at Warwick, Dr. Anthony Olomolaiye, who hosted a WMG Information Day in Lagos and engaged with alumni and prospective students during QS education fairs in Abuja and Lagos.

“Our goal is to support future leaders from West Africa with world-class education and practical, industry-ready experience,” said Dr. Olomolaiye. Eligible courses include MSc Cyber Security, MSc Applied AI, MSc Engineering Business Management, MSc Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and MSc Healthcare Operational Management, among others.

Universities should rethink how they lead, teach, research and serve communities, and learning institutions should move beyond institutional silos and national boundaries to embrace a regional identity that is “united by purpose and empowered by institutional leadership”, according to Professor Quinton Kanhukamwe, chairman of the Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA).

Kanhukamwe delivered the opening address at the SARUA conference which took place at the University of Lusaka in Zambia from 21 to 23 May 2025. “We know that higher education plays a critical role in shaping the future of our economies, our societies, and our democracies.

We also know that the challenges we face – social justice for all, climate change, youth unemployment, inequality, digital disruption – are too large, too complex, and too interconnected for any one institution or country to tackle alone. That is why this conference and SARUA matter,” he said.

The university must reclaim its place as the most radical institution in society – a space, not of market-driven efficiency, but of thinking, reading and rigorous critique. That was the central message delivered by Professor Joel Modiri of the University of Pretoria (UP), South Africa, in a stirring Africa Day lecture last week.

Speaking at Stellenbosch University (SU) to a packed audience of students, academics and members of the public, Modiri offered a sweeping defence of the university as a site of epistemic freedom – and a pointed critique of the forces, both internal and external, that threaten it.

“Right-wing, fascist movements attack universities,” he said, “partly because revolutionary possibility begins here – through knowledge.” But universities, themselves, were not blameless, he added. “The university is giving up on its knowledge enterprise. It’s becoming a business. A corporation. Academics are commercialising themselves, and the knowledge project is being commodified.”

Ethiopia envisages remarkable strides in advancing digitalisation through its transformative Digital Ethiopia 2025 strategy. The strategy seeks to align digital transformation with the country’s desire to create ‘decent’ and productive jobs, promote growth that could address poverty and harness the competitive advantages that new digital technologies can bring about in economic growth and development.

Developed as an inclusive strategy for Ethiopia’s prosperity, this national roadmap identifies agriculture, manufacturing, services and tourism as key sectors that could be transformed through digitalisation. In addition to assessing the country’s digital readiness, the strategy establishes the need for short- to long-term foundational projects that can transform the nation.

Following Digital Skills 2025, its sectoral companion, the Digital Skills Country Action Plan 2030 for higher education and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, was launched by the ministry of education.

Young people across Africa are eager for educational opportunities that flow from the internationalisation of education and want to benefit from the same exposure as that enjoyed by their international counterparts outside the continent, despite the lack of concrete strategies for advancing the concept in many universities on the continent.

Besides students, young researchers are also increasingly involved in innovations and in international research networks, calling for the expedited crafting of frameworks to guide internationalisation at continental, regional, national and institutional levels.

This realisation and appreciation for the youth’s clamour for international exposure should be enough motivation to push universities and authorities to quickly craft internalisation masterplans, participants of a webinar on internationalisation policy in African higher education, hosted by the Association of African Universities earlier in May, heard.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said that the number of out-of-school children in Kano State is alarming, with approximately 989,234 children not accessing education. As a result, the UNICEF has called on the Kano State government to implement the Child Protection Law enacted in 2023.

Communication Specialist at UNICEF, Kano Field Office, Samuel Kaalu, emphasised the need for effective implementation to protect children’s rights in the state. He explained that the aim of Kano State Child Protection Law, is essentially to prevent child abuse, neglect and exploitation, while promoting access to education, healthcare and protection from harmful practices.

“Kano face challenges with millions of children out-of-school, the Almajiri system, which is prevalent in the state, often leaves children without access to proper education and healthcare,” Kaalu said. He added that malnutrition is also a pressing issue, with many children suffering from hunger and related health problems.

A Professor of Media and Educational Technology at the Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo State, Ronke Ogunmakin, has urged the Nigerian government to enhance teaching and learning resources at all educational levels.

She also underscored the need for the government to provide learning infrastructure to teachers, stressing that teaching quality should be grounded in structured pedagogy.
Prof. Ogunmakin stated this while delivering the 21st inaugural lecture of Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo State.

The erudite scholar, who doubles as the Dean, Faculty of Education at the institution, emphasised that quality education hinges on well-trained teachers, adequate resources, and effective pedagogical approaches, ultimately benefiting students and the country’s educational system.