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United States-based Digital Learning Network, and National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools Lagos, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding worth $1.2 billion to facilitate educational infrastructure, launch of one laptop per learner, and integration of technology in learning.

Speaking at the signing in Lagos, President of NAPPS Lagos, Alaka Yusuf, noted the agreement is to introduce one-laptop-per-learner, while equiping children with tools for digital education. Alaka said the programme is a commitment to providing every child with tools to thrive in a digital world.

Chief Executive Officer and President of DLN, Mr. Thomas Larmena, said the $1 billion project, funded by DLN Inc., will provide digital learning solutions to over five million private school pupils in Lagos State, including AI-powered platforms, laptops, and digital literacy training.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has raised concerns over alleged plans to abolish the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), warning that such a move would pose a significant threat to Nigeria’s tertiary education system.

ASUU, however, called for increased financial support to TETFund to enhance universities and curb the growing trend of Nigerian students seeking education abroad. This position was made clear by ASUU’s Calabar zone during its zonal conference in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, on Monday.

The zone comprises seven public universities across Ebonyi, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, and Abia States, including Abia State University (ABSU), Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU), Ebonyi State University (EBSU), Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu Alike Ikwo (AE-FUNAI), University of Calabar (UNICAL), University of Cross River State (UNICROSS), and University of Uyo (UNIUYO).

While South Africa has made good progress in expanding education access, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube says government must now focus on improving the quality of the education that learners receive. "Learners must leave our schools with an education and a qualification that allows them to pursue higher education opportunities or enter the job market in order to live lives of dignity," Gwarube said on Monday.

Addressing the announcement of the 2024 National Senior Certificate (NSC) results in Johannesburg, the Minister said too many learners progress through the basic education system without mastering foundational skills, particularly in literacy and numeracy, which are critical for performing well in gateway subjects like Mathematics and Physical Sciences.

"These deficits accumulate over time, limiting learners' abilities to succeed in higher grades and in these gateway subjects and diminishing their prospects of accessing further education and employment opportunities.

The year 2024 for the education sector will go down in history as a period in Nigeria when students felt huge threats to their rights to learn and be educated. It marked a year of extreme apprehension as many parents were caught in the web of evolving strategies to tackle the rising socioeconomic challenges.

As the year rolled to a close, issues that trailed the education sector included the global socio-economic turbulence, astronomical rise, specific challenge of astronomical rise in living costs in Nigeria triggered by the sudden removal of fuel subsidy, upward review of tuition fees beyond the reach of an average family, safety challenges, low funding, proliferation of universities and poor implementation of government policies, among others that made education sector as one of the victims of the year under review.

The actual data on Nigeria’s share of the global out-of-children phenomenon remains controversial. Nigeria, considered by the World Bank as conflict-affected, has one of the highest number of children out of school in the world with an estimated 18 million children missing education, as poverty, insecurity and sociocultural practices and norms that keep children, particularly girls, out of school intersect to affect education.

As 2025 dawns, the Nigerian education system stands on the precipice of transformation. However, the question remains: how do we translate lofty visions into actionable steps? The answer lies in a multi-faceted approach that empowers teachers to lead the charge in redefining education in Nigeria. This journey must begin with a renewed focus on training, technology, collaboration, and advocacy.

The foundation of any educational revolution lies in the empowerment of its teachers. Nigerian educators must embrace continuous learning to acquire the skills needed for a rapidly changing landscape. Programmes and platforms like Coursera, Udemy, the Microsoft Educator Centre, and Google for Education provide valuable resources to equip teachers with knowledge in artificial intelligence, data analytics, and hybrid teaching methods.

These opportunities, many of which are affordable or free, represent a lifeline for educators eager to stay relevant in a world increasingly driven by technology. Partnerships with EdTech companies also offer a scalable solution to the challenges of professional development.

With more than 70 per cent of Nigerian children aged seven to 14 lacking basic reading and mathematics skills, it became necessary to expedite action on the measures to deploy to address what has been termed a “learning crisis”.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), research has shown that schooling does not always translate to learning. It noted that “many children, even if in school, are not learning fundamental skills required for proficiency.”

Thus, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) took a bold step in addressing the issue through the introduction of the Early Grade Reading (EGR) programme. Erstwhile Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, said the commission was determined to turn the situation round by boosting foundational literacy in the basic education sub-sector.

In a significant move to revamp the country’s education system, the Federal Government has unveiled a new curriculum for pre-primary schools. This development is aimed at strengthening the foundation of early childhood education in Nigeria.

This was revealed in the 2025 budget currently before the National Assembly for approval. According to the Appropriation Bill seen by The Guardian, the project is domiciled in the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), an agency of the Federal Government responsible for developing curriculum in the country.

While N22.82m was voted for implementation of one-year pre-primary education curriculum, N30.629m was allocated for review of early child care development education curriculum and implementation. This is even as the Nigerian government has earmarked the sum of N151mfor development of secondary school curriculum.

The second half of the 1980s saw the dawn of today’s eyesore in Nigeria’s education system. Within the context of what obtains now in terms of operational standards, quality assurance and professional ethics, the country’s education system particularly at the basic level is nothing, in the fairest of descriptions, better than a hopeless enterprise.

Basic and secondary education especially in the last two decades of the 20th Century was characterised with consistent abysmal senior secondary school certificate examination results, which was a consequence of a myriad of challenges including poor funding, dilapidated structures, ill-equipped laboratories, obsolete library materials where they exist, and poorly trained and/or unqualified teachers.

These collectively gave rise to the emergence and subsequent proliferation of private schools at that level of the system. At the time they were established, the first generation of private schools were able to fill some gaps left by the failures that then characterised public schools.

Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (KWSUBEB) said it has shortlisted 1,811 applicants for employment following the recent process involving at least 55,713 applicants from across the state.

The breakdown of the successful applicants included 1,500 teachers, mostly from STEM subjects and 311 non-teaching staff comprising drivers, security guards and office assistants for schools in the 16 local government areas.

“Successful applicants with valid phone numbers have since been contacted for their letters. Documentation started on Monday, January 6, with successful applicants from Kwara North, Tuesday, January 7, is for new hires from Kwara South, while Wednesday, January 8, is for successful candidates from Kwara Central,” according to a statement by the KWSUBEB Chairman Prof. Sheu Raheem Adaramaja.

As the unemployment rate and out- of- school children figure continue to increase in the country, the Lagos State government has restated its determination to boost technical and vocational education by establishing more technical colleges across the state to address both challenges, among others.

The state’s Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Mr Jamiu Alli-Balogun, gave the assurance while leading some officials of the ministry on school resumption monitoring on Monday. He said the establishment of more technical colleges and provision of essential equipment and machines in a friendly environment and across local government areas would encourage more youths to key into technical and vocational education.

He said technical skills and competency were the in-thing in today’s economic ecosystem globally, stressing that his own idea of a good technical college is such that trains students and also develops its workshops to generate some income for itself.

CHILDREN caught in the web of the Almajiri system, an unconventional traditional education practice in Northern Nigeria, face uncertain future as they continue to be left out of the country’s formal education system. Many of the affected children are believed to be from rural and underprivileged families.

Saturday Tribune correspondents report the aspirations of some of these hapless Almajiri kids who bared their minds in separate interviews. Many of them expressed the desire to be given Western education with some saying they wanted to become professionals such as medical doctors and teachers.

Umar, a former Almajiri now a diploma holder in Computer Science, gave an insight into how he felt the Almajiri system could be addressed. According to him, there are estimated two million Almajiri children in his local government of origin, Birnin Kudu in Jigawa State.