In a bid to strengthen educational foundations and spark long-term national development, Strom Infrastructure Investment and Management Company has introduced a new corporate social responsibility initiative titled 100 Bright Minds.

The event, which held at Government Junior Secondary School Apo Resettlement, Abuja, engaged over 100 school children in a one-day mentorship program designed to highlight the role of infrastructure in national development and encourage academic excellence in primary school children.

The initiative, which coincided with Children’s Day celebrations, is part of the company’s long-term vision to build an Africa filled with possibilities by investing in the minds of its future workforce. With a skills gap costing Africa an estimated $3.3 trillion annually, the continent currently ranks lowest in global education indicators, according to the United Nations.

Ministers of Education from across Africa, UK Parliamentarians, and global education leaders convened at a High-level Roundtable on Foundational Learning, held alongside the Education World Forum. With an estimated 90% of 10-year-olds in African countries unable to read a simple sentence or do basic mathematics, the discussion highlighted the scale of the issue, but also the solutions.

The event, hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Global Education, the International Parliamentary Network for Education (IPNEd) and Results UK with support from the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and Human Capital Africa (HCA), showcased tangible progress across eight African countries and explored how to sustain momentum amid shrinking development assistance budgets.

Improving outcomes in foundational learning is not only possible, it has been happening, thanks to country-led innovations and strategic international partnerships. The roundtable was grounded in a shared sense of urgency around solving the issue of children going to school but not learning the basics.

“Universities must move beyond their conventional roles as knowledge providers to become agents of societal transformation. This involves engaging in transdisciplinary research, forming community partnerships, and aligning their missions with global and regional development goals such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and [the African Union’s] Agenda 2063.

“ ‘The university we want’ is one that co-creates knowledge with society, addresses pressing challenges in collaboration with communities, and plays a proactive role in shaping equitable and sustainable futures,” Professor Birgit Schreiber told about 30 institutional leaders, including vice-chancellors, deputy vice-chancellors, academic managers and higher education policy-makers from the Southern African Development Community, in Lusaka, Zambia.

“Universities are now collaborative spaces, and they are now responsive to and engage more with communities. They want to make their research societally impactful and, therefore, the university renews itself, and becomes a partner in knowledge creation,” said Schreiber, who is the Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA) strategic lead on leadership and professional development.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is racing fast, providing opportunities to expand capabilities to augment human intelligence, including developing scientific and expressive creativity, but not all global communities are tapping the potential of this new wave of innovations to improve lives.

For instance, there is a stark divide between low- and middle-income countries, on the one hand, and high-income economies on the other, in terms of the availability of workers with technical expertise and cognitive abilities to work with AI systems.

That is the summary of the Human Development Report 2025, A matter of choice: People and possibilities in the age of AI, released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) earlier in May. So far, the report stated, only 6% of young people in Sub-Saharan Africa meet a global standard of basic skills in mathematics and science.

Several Sub-Saharan African universities have partnered with global institutions, including other higher education institutions, to equip teachers with the skills and knowledge to drive the green economy through the Sustainability Starts with Teachers Leadership (SST-L) project, also known as the Sub-Saharan African Teacher Leadership for Education for Sustainable Development, which was launched recently in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The project is built on the idea that the transition cannot be successful without clear thinking about the processes that drive the green economy, including the carbon footprint, sustainable use of natural resources, and inclusivity.

Dr Manoah Muchanga, who has been working with the geography, climate change and environmental education section at the University of Zambia’s (UNZA) school of education for over 14 years, told University World News that these processes can only be championed with those who have the necessary skills and knowledge.

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has lamented that 85 per cent of Nigerian students sent abroad on government scholarships never returned to contribute to national development. On foreign scholarships, Alausa revealed a shift in policy, explaining that more funds would now be invested in building local capacity.

He also enjoined tertiary institutions nationwide to phase out satellite campuses, describing them as unsustainable and inefficient. Alausa, who spoke at a one-day engagement with heads of institutions, bursars, and procurement directors in Lagos, said the Federal Government was repositioning the funding framework to ensure public resources are used efficiently.

“Our evidence-based analysis showed that 85 per cent of Nigerian students sent abroad on government scholarships never returned to contribute to national development. Many of the programmes they studied could have been handled effectively within our own institutions,” he stated.

In Ghana, however, the education system has historically emphasised formal, academic learning, often at the expense of vocational and technical training. This imbalance has contributed to rising youth unemployment and a mismatch between graduate qualifications and job market demands.

To equip students for a dynamic, skill-driven economy, Ghana must integrate vocational learning into mainstream education, starting from the basic level. By introducing vocational subjects as early as primary school, Ghana can build a generation that balances academic competence with essential life and work skills.

Ghana’s current system places heavy emphasis on exams, theory, and rote learning, leaving many graduates unprepared for employment. According to the Ghana Statistical Service, youth unemployment stood at 19.7 per cent in 2022, a stark indicator of the growing gap between education and employability.

The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on Wednesday night, donated N100 million on behalf of her Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) to the Five Cowries Arts Education Initiative. It was a significant boost for enhancing creative education among Nigerian children.

The donation was unveiled during a charity gala night organised by the Spouses of Heads of Mission in Nigeria at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja to support an arts-based educational programme.

“On behalf of the Renewed Hope Initiative, we pledge N100 million to support the Five Cowries Arts Education Initiative. Your support will help unlock the creativity, talent, and potential of countless Nigerian children who deserve the opportunity to thrive and succeed,” Mrs. Tinubu said.

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has urged African countries to unlock new pathways for youths, by reforming higher education to be more entrepreneurial and relevant to the fast-changing dynamics of the 21st century.

Delivering a keynote address yesterday at the launch of the Centre for African Social and Economic Transformation (CASET) at the University of the West of England, Bristol, Sanwo-Olu said a bold transformation of the educational landscape was needed to harness the continent’s vast youthful potential.

“The transformation we seek is not an abstract ideal; it is real, a call to action, and it is urgent. A call to harness our collective resources, talents and networks to create real opportunities for millions across Africa,” he said.

The United States (US) government has revoked Harvard University’s certification to enrol foreign students, citing the institution’s refusal to comply with a records request from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The decision, which takes immediate effect, marks a sharp escalation in tensions between Harvard and federal authorities.

The revocation of the university’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification means Harvard is no longer permitted to admit international students, and current foreign students must either transfer to another institution or face the loss of their legal status.

According to NAFSA, international students, which included those from Nigeria, contributed an estimated $43.8 billion to the US economy during the 2023/24 academic year, supporting nearly 380,000 jobs nationwide.

The management of the All Nations University (ANU), a privately owned tertiary educational institution in Koforidua in the Eastern Region, has appealed to the government to focus more on the creation of institutes that train critical manpower for national development.

It, therefore, urged the government to stop granting permission for the establishment of new traditional universities in the country. The President and Founder of the university, Rev. Dr Samuel Donkor, who made the appeal, said, what the country needed now was well-trained graduates who were equipped to support the national development agenda.

The delegation, which was led by the Chairman of the committee, Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Akatsi North, was to ascertain the challenges facing the university to help to address such challenges.

The evidence is clear. Quality early learning programmes deliver a 13% annual return on investment through improved health, education, and employment outcomes. Scaling up ECD would create 300,000 jobs and 70,000 new enterprises, primarily in township and rural communities. Investing in ECD isn’t just a moral imperative; it is an economic strategy.

In a dramatic turn of events, the Government of National Unity (GNU) has withdrawn the 2025/2026 National Budget, following deep divisions over the proposed VAT increase. As South Africa prepares for a new Budget to be tabled on 21 May 2025, uncertainty looms. For the early childhood development (ECD) sector, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

For the first time in South Africa’s history, the government proposed a historic R10-billion allocation to expand the ECD subsidy, a R210-million increase for ECD infrastructure, and R336-million to extend nutrition support to our youngest citizens.