The United Nations environmental agency UNESCO is calling for more studies and closer working relations between journalists and scientists to ensure the effects of climate change are understood and can be mitigated, especially in poorer African countries, which more acutely feel the pinch of extreme weather events.

On Tuesday, scientists gathered in Pretoria, South Africa, to discuss climate change with journalists from the Southern Africa Development Community region. Meeting under the theme "Building Science Communication Capacity in the SADC Region," the journalists were asked to report more often on climate change to ensure people are prepared before disasters such as floods and droughts.

In an interview with VOA, Martiale Zebaze-Kana, head of the science unit of UNESCO in southern Africa, said more awareness of climate change and studies into how communities can adapt to it are crucial."I think we should focus essentially on really building in the capacity around the whole climate-related issues," said Zebaze-Kana. "And for us, in terms of mitigation also."

A Former Vice Chancellor of Kwararafa University, Wukari, Professor Yakubu Aboki Ochefu, has enjoined Nigeria’s Tertiary Institutions to embrace E-learning as it boosts quality education. The University Don who gave the charge at the 11th Public lecture series of the Federal University, Lokoja, said it also optimized use of infrastructure, promote increased enrollment, data-driven improvements, branding and competitiveness.

The former Vice Chancellor in his lecture Titled: “Blended Learning Models Combining Traditional and Digital Approaches for Holistic Education” maintained that the advantages derivable from e-learning system of education outweigh that of the traditional approaches.

He stated that “E-learning is a transformative tool that benefits all stakeholders, fostering innovation and inclusivity in education while Blended e-learning combines the strengths of traditional and digital education, making it a powerful approach to meet the evolving needs of all stakeholders in academia.”

In a significant move to bridge the digital skills gap in Africa, Binance, a prominent global cryptocurrency exchange and the continent’s leading platform, has announced a collaboration with AltSchool Africa. This partnership will provide full-tuition scholarships for 500 aspiring young Africans from January to December 2025.

The initiative aims to facilitate specialized education in vital fields such as software engineering, cybersecurity, sales, and content creation, thereby equipping learners with essential skills for today’s fast-paced job market.

The scholarships will allow participants to engage in structured programs at AltSchool Africa, which are designed to cultivate in-demand digital competencies and prepare African youth for success within the global digital economy.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the Global Partnership for Education Accelerated Funding (GPE-AF) project, has announced plans to support two million out-of-school children in Northeast, Nigeria.

The initiative will help the children enroll in school and access quality learning opportunities. Safiya Yoba Akau, Communications, Advocacy, Media, and External Relations officer at UNICEF, in a statement, highlighted the project’s goal of addressing the region’s ongoing education crisis.

The project will work alongside the Federal Ministry of Education, the Government of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe States, and the Global Partnership for Education, to strengthen the education system and improve educational access for displaced children.

The Minister of State for Education, Hajia Suwaiba-Said Ahmad, has reaffirmed that education remains the foundation for unlocking individual potential, achieving self-actualization, and driving sustainable national progress.

Speaking at the 2nd National Education Awards Programme (NEAP), which honored the top-performing students in the 2023 West African Certificate Examination (WACE) and National Examination Certificate (NECO), the Minister emphasized the critical role of education in national development.

The event, co-organised by the Federal Ministry of Education, was themed “Incentivising Learning and Reading Processes for Optimal Performance.” The Minister highlighted education’s capacity to strengthen social cohesion, cultivate leadership, break poverty cycles, and position Nigeria competitively on the global stage.

The Oyo state government has announced plans to onboard 5,600 newly recruited teachers, starting with a verification exercise scheduled from December 5 to December 16, 2024. Speaking in Ibadan, the Executive Chairman of the Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board (OYOSUBEB), Dr. Nureni Adeniran, said that the verification would take place at the board’s headquarters in Agodi, Ibadan.

He explained that the exercise, spanning eight working days, aims to confirm the credentials of the first batch of recruits approved by Governor Seyi Makinde. Dr. Adeniran emphasised the administration’s commitment to teachers’ welfare, noting that the verification process would involve relevant stakeholders.

He added that candidates are required to present documents such as certificates of local government of residence, birth certificates, National Identification Number (NIN), original academic and NYSC certificates, and other relevant credentials.

At the ICLED annual conference on cyber-security in Abeokuta, scholars and experts have urged educators, parents, and policymakers to prioritize equipping girls with the skills to navigate the digital world securely.

Prof. Chinedum Babalola, immediate past Vice Chancellor of Chrisland University, represented by Dr. Adedoyin Oyinlola, highlighted the serious impact of cyberbullying on young girls and called for creating a supportive online community.

Prof. Olajumoke Adeosun-Familoni, President and Provost of ICLED Business School and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Global Initiatives for Entrepreneurship and Capacity Development, emphasized the critical role of education in fostering a culture of cyber-security awareness among young women.

Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE) has identified teachers’ absenteeism as one of the major obstacles to basic education in Kaduna. PLANE’s State Team Lead, Diana Agabi, stated this in Kaduna during the Learning Outcomes Data Dissemination Workshop organized by PLANE and the Kaduna State Ministry of Education.

While highlighting the workshop’s core focus on enhancing teacher capacity and providing essential learning materials, Agabi said, “Our focus is to improve learning outcomes from day one by equipping teachers with effective pedagogy and providing learners with books, guides, and mentorship.

“The irregularity in teacher attendance has eroded parents’ confidence in the education system. When parents are unsure if teachers will be present, they often stop sending their children to school altogether,” Agabi said,

President and Chairman Of Council, The Chartered Institute Of Bankers of Nigeria, Prof. Pius Olanrewaju, said educational institutions must evolve to provide curricula that address the practical demands of innovation and sustainability.

Speaking at the 2024 Annual Conference of the Faculty of Management Sciences, Lagos State University, Ojo, Olanrewaju, in his presentation titled, ‘Global Innovation and Sustainability: Building Future-Ready Managers For A Dynamic World,’ explained that the learning environment should encourage creativity, problem-solving, and digital proficiency, making students industry-ready upon graduation.

“Educational institutions must evolve to provide curricula that address the practical demands of innovation and sustainability. ”A strong partnership between academia and industry is vital, ensuring that students acquire theoretical knowledge and develop practical skills and insights into real-world challenges.

The UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa (UNESCO ROSA) has started an initiative to strengthen quality assurance in higher education across countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The initiative falls under UNESCO’s Campus Africa project, a flagship education programme which aims to build integrated, inclusive and quality tertiary education systems and institutions for the development of inclusive and equitable societies on the continent.

In an interview with University World News, UNESCO ROSA Head of Education Dr Peter Wells said the quality assurance programme will be implemented in nine Southern African countries: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Imperial College London has launched its first African hub in Ghana, becoming the first UK university to have a permanent base solely focused on science and technology (S&T) in Africa aimed at strengthening collaboration in research, technology, education and entrepreneurship.

Known as the Imperial Global Ghana, it is the third hub to have been launched by Imperial College London outside the United Kingdom. The hubs enable Imperial to expand its activities worldwide. These include entrepreneurship programmes, startup accelerators, student placements, and programmes aimed at delivering new technology.

“We already have existing hubs in Singapore and San Francisco in the United States which opened earlier this year, and we are due to open one in India next year,” Stephen Johns, international communications manager of Imperial College London, told University World News.

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the country lacks coordinated, verifiable, and authentic data on all aspects of the Education Sector. Speaking at the Basic Education in Nigeria Boot Camp (Ben-B) summit 2024 in Lagos, Alausa revealed that due to the absence of data, interventions by governments and partners had been sporadic, isolated, and based on existing models.

The three-day summit, which started on Monday, was titled, ‘Improving Access to Inclusive Quality Education for All children in Nigeria, Addressing the Challenges of Out-of-School Children.’

He explained, “A typical example is the citing of different figures for out-of-school children by governments and various bilateral partners. Also, there is the acclaimed regional variation in learning capacities and the state of learners across the country. Such data will assist in the determination of the trends, patterns, inclusiveness, and clear weaknesses in the System and enable appropriate high-level decision-making.”