The Regent Secondary School, Abuja has been certified by the United Kingdom Department for Education and adjudged outstanding by the British School Overseas Scheme inspectors. The British School Overseas Scheme is the UK Department for Education’s inspection scheme for overseas schools.

Overseas schools describing themselves as “British” are subject to recognition by the British government under the inspection scheme. The intention is to inform parents of pupils in British Schools overseas to measure up to the standards that apply to independent schools in England.

The inspection of the Regent Secondary School was carried out by Penta International and led by Dr Mark Evans. The inspection visit to the school took place in February 2025, according to a statement released by the principal, Philip Reynolds.

Nigeria’s education system has been trapped in a cycle of stagnation for decades, failing to equip students with the skills needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving world. The symp­toms of this failure are everywhere: high youth unemployment, a grow­ing mismatch between education and labour market demands, and an over-reliance on theoretical learning with little emphasis on practical ap­plication.

Despite numerous policies and interventions, the fundamental problems have persisted, mainly due to a lack of political will and execution capacity. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s youth unemployment rate stood at 42.5% in 2023, a stark indication of the ed­ucation sector’s failure to align with economic realities.

This long-standing crisis has made it clear that Nigeria requires a fundamental shift in its approach to education—a shift that Dr. Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Ed­ucation, is now driving. Dr Alausa is proving to be a disrup­tor in a sector long resistant to change.

How can barriers be broken and gender equality be accelerated in African universities? Who is responsible for women’s under-representation in leadership roles and harassment in those institutions? Who can be counted on to advocate for gender social justice and safe campuses in African universities?

Those are some of the questions the guest speakers at a webinar called ‘African Universities Gender Equality Forum’ tried to answer on 13 March. The webinar was hosted by Shared Value Africa, the regional partner of the global Shared Value Initiative, a business network whose primary mandate is to create sustainable economies and societies worldwide.

Addressing attendees on the current state of gender equality in African universities, Mercy Eboh, a lecturer at Nigeria’s Delta State University, in a keynote address, said gender equality concerns, not just the under-representation of women in leadership, but also extends to enrolment issues, safe campuses, the quality of learning experiences, the completion of qualifications, and participation in research activities.

Kenya’s universities are transforming rapidly into debt mills, with recent data revealing a staggering US$208.92 million in student loans compared to a mere US$11.54 million in scholarships. This imbalance raises deep concerns about the growing debt burden on students, especially as living costs continue to soar.

According to President William Ruto’s midterm scorecard, the government has disbursed about US$248 million in student loans and scholarships, highlighting its commitment to supporting higher education.
However, the allocation reveals a significant tilt toward loans: 112,741 students received loans totalling US$97.15 million, and another 151,083 students secured loans worth US$119.46 million.

In stark contrast, only 5,242 students benefited from scholarships amounting to U$11.54 million. This disparity suggests that Kenya’s education financing strategy heavily favours loans over grants. For many Kenyan students, particularly those from low-income households, this scenario means starting their careers with a heavy debt load.

Africa’s development depends on the higher education sector embracing change and producing leaders capable of addressing the complex governance and technological issues that will determine the continent’s future, says Patrick Awuah, the founder of Ghana’s first private university.

“There is a growing cry and a questioning about whether universities are relevant and are doing things that are relevant for society in Africa,” he said. Awuah, who established Ashesi University with the aim of educating a new generation of ethical and entrepreneurial leaders for the continent, argues that, at present, the teaching and knowledge-production at higher education institutions are failing to foster sufficient progress across Africa.

“There is this general feeling that the universities are not engaging with society as strongly as previously under particular historical expectations in terms of preparing the workforce and future leadership; producing scientific advances; and conducting policy-based research for government,” he said.

Tertiary education institutions in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) convened in Johannesburg, South Africa, to initiate collaboration on co-creating a curriculum that aims to transform entrepreneurship through education.

The strategic partnership between eight institutions in South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia and Eswatini, was launched by the Technological Higher Education Network South Africa (THENSA) to enhance graduate employability in the region.

Funded by the Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) programme, the University-Industry Co-Creation (UNIICo-create) project aims to tackle the pressing challenges of low job creation, limited start-up success, and graduate unemployment in the SADC region, according to project lead Dr Sershen Naidoo.

The Minister of Education, Dr. Jarso Marley Jallah, has unveiled key reforms aimed at transforming Liberia's education sector. Speaking at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs, and Tourism (MICAT), Dr. Jallah outlined significant initiatives, including the transition of volunteer teachers to government payroll and the restructuring of teachers' salaries to ensure fair compensation

The Minister of Education, Dr. Jarso Marley Jallah, has unveiled key reforms aimed at transforming Liberia's education sector. Speaking at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs, and Tourism (MICAT), Dr. Jallah outlined significant initiatives, including the transition of volunteer teachers to government payroll and the restructuring of teachers' salaries to ensure fair compensation.

A recent nationwide profiling and audit of volunteer teachers revealed that out of 6,190 individuals, only 3,557 were qualified with proper credentials. To address this, the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the Civil Service Agency (CSA) and the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), has created fiscal space to accommodate 2,000 of these teachers on the payroll by April 30, 2025.

Kenya’s education ministry announced in March 2025 that mathematics would be an optional subject in senior secondary school, which begins in grade 10. Most students in this grade are aged 15 years. The education minister said the mathematics taught from grade 4 to grade 9 was sufficient for foundational “numeracy literacy”.

Maths is a compulsory subject in the first 12 years of basic education in many African countries. This is the case in Mauritius, Nigeria and South Africa, which opted for a choice between maths and mathematical literacy for grades 10-12.

It’s been argued that the change applies to the last two senior years of high school, which was the case in the old system too. For the new curriculum, however, this should not have been a problem as it is competence-based. This implies that what matters is the specific skills and knowledge mastered by a student, and not the examination scores.

Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine K. Ngafuan has raised concerns over the rapid increase in volunteer teachers within the Monrovia Consolidated School System (MCSS), describing it as an issue requiring urgent attention.

In response, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) convened a high-level meeting with the Civil Service Agency (CSA) and the Ministry of Education to address challenges facing public schools. The meeting, chaired by Minister Ngafuan, included Education Minister Dr. Jarso Jallah, who also serves as Co-Chair of the MCSS Board, and CSA Director General Josiah F. Joekai.

The discussions were critical in light of recent student protests. Students have voiced frustration over ongoing teachers’ go-slow actions, which stem from delays in salary payments. Their protest on Tuesday disrupted traffic between the Capitol Building and the Executive Mansion, as they demanded the government place their teachers on the payroll.

Following the election of John Mahama as President of the Republic of Ghana, he is determined to reset Ghana. To take an informed decision regarding education in Ghana, he set up a national Educational Reform Committee to recommend ways of transforming the educational system, especially the Free SHS policy, which has presented serious challenges.

In 2017, the government introduced the free Senior High School (SHS) policy, one of the most transformative educational reforms in recent decades. However, due to very limited infrastructure, most schools had to run the double-track system to enable them to roll out this initiative.

With the government’s commitment to revitalising and resetting free SHS in Ghana, it is recommended that the government set up a Schools Infrastructure Development Department or Authority within the Ministry of Education to ensure, among others, that all schools' infrastructure is modern and fit for purpose and well-positioned to support higher academic performance.

Former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf once described Liberia’s educational system as a complete mess. Apparently, the former president was referring to how students are being treated in various learning institutions across the county.

Liberian students who are referred to as future leaders of the country are going through hardship in their learning process as many sit on bare floor in some schools to acquire education. This is what happening in Rivergee County where students are made to sit on the floor to learn due to the lack of chairs in one of the government-owned institutions.

Activist Martin K. N. Kollie posted on his social media page saying, “This is what happens when hyenas are elected to shepherd a flock of sheep. The 177-year-old country where future leaders sit on the ground to learn while politicians sit in US$45K cars and spend over US$17 million just for legislative meetings.”

The government is investing heavily in Nairobi's education infrastructure, which has been neglected for 60 years, President William Ruto has said. The President pointed out that he is working with leaders in the county to build 3,500 classrooms to address the shortage.

He added that the construction of the initial 500 classrooms has already begun and is progressing well. "We will continue to build classrooms for the next five years until we have enough," he said. "We will also continue hiring more teachers because the greatest legacy we can leave for the future of our country is to make sure that every child in Kenya accesses quality education, and no child is left behind."

The President made the remarks during a Sunday service at Africa Inland Church in Jericho, Nairobi County. Nationally, President Ruto explained, the government has built 1,700 classrooms in the past 18 months. On the Affordable Housing Programme, he said the government is building more than 40,000 units in Eastlands, Nairobi.