For the avoidance of doubt, the Board shall be responsible for determining matriculation requirements and conducting examinations leading to undergraduate admissions and also for admissions to National Diploma and Nigerian Certificate in Education courses, but shall not be responsible for examinations or any other selective processes for postgraduate courses and any other courses offered by the tertiary institutions.”

What section 5 of the JAMB Act reproduced above has done is to place the destinies of candidates in the hands of a government bureaucracy, which partly accounts for the number of youths trooping out of Nigeria for greener pastures.

By including the phrase “by whatever name called” in the reference to tertiary institutions covered by JAMB, it means even universities and polytechnics established and funded by States and private entities have to go through JAMB for admission, through such mysterious criteria like federal character, educationally disadvantaged States, catchment areas, etc.

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and the Nigerian Academy of Engineering have agreed to work in synergy to strengthen Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as part of concerted efforts to bridge skills gaps in the country.

Accordingly, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between TETFund and the Nigerian Academy of Engineering, on one hand, and the Nigerian Society of Engineers, on the other, was consummated at the TETFund headquarters on Monday in Abuja.

The Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arch. Sonny Echono, in his remarks at the event, lauded the Nigerian Academy of Engineering and the Society of Engineers for their commitment and hard work across the country.

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has presented the United Nations Child Protection Handover Protocol to key Nigerian Armed Forces training Institutions, advocating for its inclusion in their training curriculums.

The Document, an “Implementation Plan for Handover Protocol for Children Encountered in the Course of Armed Conflict in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin Region,” was presented on Tuesday to the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, and UNICEF Chief of Child Protection, Nigeria, Ibrahim Sesay.

Delivering a presentation on grave violations against children in armed conflict, highlighted issues concerning the protection of children based upon international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

African universities are increasingly showing a keen interest in innovative governance, internationalisation and collaboration, and are investing resources in technology to enhance teaching, learning and research, says Professor Ernest Aryeetey, the former vice-chancellor of the University of Ghana, who recently retired as the secretary-general of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA).

Noting that the universities on the continent are becoming increasingly ambitious – although still not ambitious enough – Aryeetey argues that their capacity to act autonomously determines the success or otherwise of their efforts to govern in new, progressive ways.

“I have found that the universities that do well tend to be those that are managed quite autonomously. It appears that academic freedom is crucial as a driver of innovation in the management of universities – and the relative absence of such freedom can inhibit innovation in governance,” he says.

At the beginning of 2024, African leaders adopted education as a continental priority under the theme, ‘Educate an African fit for the 21st century: Building resilient education systems for increased access to inclusive, lifelong, quality, and relevant learning in Africa’. As 2025 unfolds, experts say many of the policies and initiatives championed during the year will take time to materialise and will require sustained monitoring and impact assessment to ensure their effectiveness.

In a written response to questions from University World News, authored jointly by members of the Africa-focused education research and advocacy group, Education Sub-Saharan Africa (ESSA) – Rexford Akrong, the research manager; Richard Amoah, the head of research, innovation and implementation and Sandra Adjin, the research assistant – said that, during Africa’s Year of Education, there were notable achievements as organisations like the Association of African Universities (AAU) and the World Bank-funded Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence (ACE), played pivotal roles in advocating for increased enrolment, urging countries to renew their commitment to the African Higher Education Summit’s ambitious target of a 50% enrolment by 2063.

More than nine million Ethiopian children are currently out of school. They are caught in the crossfire of armed conflicts, natural disasters, tribal tensions and economic hardships.In 2023, Ethiopia had a total school-aged population of 35,444,482 children, about 52% of them primary school-aged.

In the same year, only 22,949,597 children were enrolled in schools, leaving over 35% of school-aged children out of school. In the past year, the ongoing humanitarian crisis has worsened the situation, forcing even more children out of school.

Armed conflict erupted in 2020 between the federal government and Tigray regional government. The crisis was compounded by armed resistance to the government in the two largest regional states, Amhara and Oromia. There are also ongoing conflicts between the pastoralist communities of the Afar and Somali regions.

The emergence of cheap or free AI tools is being eagerly embraced by those with smartphones and the ability to get online. As governments and legislators struggle to get their heads around the implications of this powerful technology and work out how to bring in regulations for its safe use, millions of people are enjoying its ability to save time, helping them to transforming raw data into essays, exam answers, or, with a bit more work, even videos and podcasts.

Even in developing countries where electricity and internet access is limited (it’s estimated that over 570 million people in Africa lack electricity), there is enthusiasm for the potential of AI. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), for example, a nation riven by internal conflict, poverty and vast inequality, educators are seeing the impact of AI.

“It is obvious that our country is lagging behind in terms of new technologies for one reason or another,” says Benjamin Sivanzire, a teacher in Beni, North Kivu Province. “Many parts of the DRC do not even have traditional methods of communication, or even radio or television.”

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has urged policymakers and educators to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the country’s education system to enhance learning experience for students. While AI offers great potential for improving educational results, the agency noted that it should be utilised in a way that safeguards and promotes human agency.

In commemoration of the 2025 International Day of Education, themed: ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI) and education: Preserving human agency in a world of automation,’ UNICEF emphasised that by adopting ethical practices, empowering teachers, encouraging critical thinking, and ensuring equitable access, it is possible to develop an educational environment where technology and human values co-exist, thus preparing learners for a future in an automated world.

UNICEF Desk Officer for Education in Cross River State, Benjamin Ukom, said over 300 information management officers have been trained in the state’s 18 local government areas as part of the Nigeria Learning Passport (NLP) programme.

Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has warned that the country could be consumed by out-of-school children menace if concerted efforts are not made to urgently tackle it. Alausa said this informed the federal government’s decision to collaborate with state governors on ways of addressing the problem.

Already, Alausa said the ministry had already met with the state governors, 36 commissioners of education andthe Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to find lasting solutions to the menace. “The number of out-of-school children is mind-boggling and disturbing. It is not in just one geo-political region. It is everywhere. We need to confront it, otherwise we will be consumed by it.We have to engage our governors, and have held meetings with the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) on how to address this,” he stated.

The minister also talked about the Almajiri schools built during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, expressing displeasure that these schools have been abandoned. He called for them to be revived to serve the purpose for which they were conceived and built in the first place.

During the 8th Memorial Lecture at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos (CMUL), a wide range of pressing issues and recommendations were discussed, with a focus on the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into medical education. The lecture aimed to highlight how the rapid evolution of technology is shaping the future of healthcare and the crucial role of education in preparing medical professionals for this transformation.

A central point of the discussion was the necessity of incorporating AI into the medical curriculum. Dr. Emi Membere-Otaji, the guest speaker and CEO of Elshcon Group, emphasised that AI is not a future possibility, but an essential part of the present and future of healthcare.

The medical landscape is evolving at a rapid pace, and healthcare professionals must be equipped with the knowledge and tools to navigate technological advancements. Introducing AI into medical education is no longer optional, but a vital requirement to ensure that the next generation of doctors can adapt and excel in a technology-driven environment.

As the Federal Government mulls converting Colleges of Education (COEs) to Universities of Education, it is believed that it is a reflection of crisis in the sub-system, translating to scrapping them outright. Critics argued that the institutions have outlived their usefulness and significance. However, it remains to be seen if the plan would make education courses attractive to students rather than addressing deep and underlying issues affecting the sub-sector.

The coming of Colleges of Education (COEs) was necessitated by the report of Ashby Commission in 1958, which highlighted the irregularities in the then colonial education in Nigeria. The commission stated that teachers’ training was sub-par and that many were un-certificated and ill-equipped. It then recommended the expansion of intermediate education for teachers. Thus, Advanced Teachers’ Colleges, which became Colleges of Education, were created.

Last week, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, noted that the ministry was considering a proposal to convert all federal colleges of education across the country to universities of education. He wondered if the country still needs them because, according to him, they don’t exist in the United States of America and several other advanced countries.

Nigerian students took the centre state at the Moshood Abiola stadium to showcase their innovations at a robotic championship. The National Robotics Championship was organised by a non-governmental organisation, Coderina Education and Technology Foundation (Coderina Edtech) to highlight the importance of technology in nation building.

Founder, Coderina Edtech, Olajide Ajayi said the application of technological tools such as science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), robotics and a host of other Artificial intelligence (AI) tools will serve as solution to real-time challenges.

He explained that challenges are everywhere but it takes only those who are able to convert those challenges into opportunities that will thrive in the knowledge economy, adding that sadly, Africa has missed out in the fourth revolution but assured that Coderina has created an enabler for students to face future challenges using technology.