Over 1,000 members of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) marched through the streets of Accra on Tuesday in protest against unresolved issues affecting their welfare. The teachers are demanding swift action from the government to address these issues which continue to impact heavily on their welfare.

The demonstration sought to draw the government's attention to the non-implementation of allowances for teachers in deprived communities, non-payment of Tier 2 pension contributions, delays in promotion, placement and upgrading, disparities in the Single Spine Pay Policy and challenges with salary reactivation for teachers.

The protest, which started at 8 a.m. from the former Obra Spot at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, proceeded to the TUC Head Office and ended at the Ministry of Education, where the teachers presented their petition.

A social media company, GSMNS Global, said it empowers students to finance their education through content creation. The firm focuses on assisting young Nigerians, particularly students who face challenges funding their education, by teaching them how to create and monetize content on social media platforms.

In a statement, GSMNS Global shared that it had supported hundreds of content creators, enabling them to earn money for tuition, living expenses, and other financial needs by leveraging the growing opportunities in the content creation industry.

CEO of GSMNS Global, Ijaola Samuel, stressed how the company had nurtured many creators into becoming influencers. He said, “We consult, advise, and guide them on how to maximise their content on social media because creating content that attracts views and engagement is a challenging job.”

As the world marks World Teachers’ Day on October 5, the Nigeria Union of Teachers and All Nigeria Conference of Principals of Public Schools, have called on the government to provide infrastructure, learning materials for basic and secondary schools across the country.

The duo insisted that despite the numerous challenges they face in the profession and the country at large, they remain committed to celebrating their resilience and perseverance in working under difficult conditions.

According to a statement on The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation website in 2024, World Teachers’ Day will focus on the theme “Valuing teacher voices: Towards a new social contract for education.”

The Secretary General of Association of African Universities (AAU), Accra Ghana, Prof Olusola Oyewole, has said problems of infrastructural deficits such as high costs of data, unreliable networks, skill gaps and funding are among the challenges affecting the implementation of E- learning in Africa.

Oyewole, a professor of Food Science & Technology, who is working in the interest of developing Higher education in Africa said African students pays triple of the cost of accessing data than their counterparts in developed countries.

He said the challenge of funding has created abject poverty and inadequate resources, which makes education avoidable as many learners are poor and may not afford to for it. The don however, stressed that there is need to promote E- learning because it is the solution to many challenges of education in Africa such as access to schools and educational infrastructures, quality education and inadequate teachers among others.

On the dawn of Nigeria’s 64th Independence Day, the nation, with its rich tapestry of history, culture, and diversity, stands at a significant crossroads. Over 200 million people echo their dreams, aspirations, and challenges.

The challenges are manifold, but those facing the education sector are alarming. The role of educators in the transformation of education and to advance SDG 4 (Sustainable Development Goal) cannot be understated. Teachers are the backbone of any educational system.

Unfortunately, UNESCO and the International Teacher Task Force’s recently published Global Report on Teachers (2024) rang the alarm on a global shortage of teachers and massive growth in teacher attrition rates. 44 million additional teachers need to be recruited globally to meet universal primary and secondary education in 2030, of which 15 million are needed in Sub-Saharan Africa alone.

Ghana is one of 15 countries out of 198 member nations of UNESCO that has successfully integrated artificial intelligence (AI) into its school curricula. The current Standards-Based Curriculum (SBC) for Computing in Primary Four to Six, primarily focuses on the practical applications of AI.

“Thus, it includes some foundational concepts of AI ethics, it also introduces students to databases, AI techniques, programming and algorithmic thinking. From JHS One to Three, students delve into computational thinking, encompassing the sub-strands of Programming, Algorithms, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence.

“These sub-strands are supported by detailed content standards, indicators and exemplars to guide teachers in effectively achieving the curriculum objectives,” the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Dr Eric Nkansah, said.

Public and private industry role-players say infrastructure, teacher training and curriculum reform are currently the top three priorities in the education sector. Executive director of education, arts and culture Sanet Steenkamp on Wednesday said the ministry's biggest need is more schools - not just classrooms.

"We need primary and high schools to be built in a much shorter time frame than the current medium-term expenditure framework cycle, where it takes years for a school to be constructed," she said. This infrastructure also includes libraries, resource centres, laboratories, sanitation facilities, and school dining halls.

Teachers Union of Namibia (TUN) secretary general Mahongora Kavihuha yesterday said efforts towards digitalisation should start with policy reforms. "Any action should be informed by policy direction, and the policy direction is not something you suck out of your thumb. Policy direction should be informed by a comprehensive analysis and commitment which should come from the budget," he said.

A report from African leaders, the African Union, and Global Development warns that the World Bank estimates a staggering $21 trillion in lost productivity globally if the ongoing learning crisis is not urgently addressed.

The statement was released following a conference at the UN General Assembly in New York, where it was emphasised that improving children’s learning could add $6.5 trillion in global value by 2030.

The report said that the crisis was most severe in Africa, where nine out of ten children were currently unable to read with comprehension or perform basic math by age ten. The gathering underscored the transformative impact that prioritising foundational learning could have across the continent.

The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, has described corruption as a cancer that has negatively impacted the performance of the education sector.

Dr Aliyu made this known at a three-day workshop organised by the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN), the training and research arm of ICPC for staff of State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEBS) and Federal Capital Territory Universal Basic Education Board (FCT-UBEB). The training, which began Tuesday at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja is being organized to promote Transparency and Accountability in the management of basic education in Nigeria.

Speaking on the benefits that the participants would gain from the workshop, the ICPC boss said, “It is expected that the knowledge gathered from this workshop will help you discharge your duties more effectively, so that you do not run foul of the law but become more transparent and accountable in your dealings.

The National Library of Nigeria has called for the reintroduction of reading hours in timetables of schools nationwide. The agency said the proposal, alongside many others, forms part of the plan to ensure that there is no dearth of reading culture in Nigerian society.

The Chief Librarian, Prof. Veronica Anunobi, stated this during the launch of the 2024 Annual Readership Promotion campaign which was declared open by the Minister of Education, Prof Tahir Mamman in Abuja with the theme: ‘Reading Without Boundaries: A Renewed Hope.’

She said: ‘In a bid to “Catch Them Young", this campaign prioritises pupils and students in secondary and primary schools, as well as those in Hard-to-Reach Communities. “Our efforts in reinvigorating reading among Nigerians are multi-faceted. We are advocating for the institution of a National Reading Day and the reintroduction of reading hours into the timetables of all basic and secondary schools across the country.”

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has called for more investment in Nigeria’s basic education. Michael Banda, the education manager, UNICEF Field Office, Kano, made the call in Zaria, Kaduna, during a media dialogue on children’s advocacy priorities for programme managers drawn from Kano, Katsina and Jigawa states.

According to Banda, more investment is still needed in the primary school sub-sector, adding that the country still faces the challenge of universal enrolment. “So, the first problem with education in Nigeria is spending too little money on education. Nigeria spends 1.2 percent of its GDP on education.

“The international benchmark is 4-6 percent and even the available funds are not being spent well,” he said. Banda said that presently a huge amount of money was being spent on higher education, “when children in primary school cannot read, write and count.

The African Union (AU) has emphasised the urgent need to transform education systems in Africa toward providing resilient and quality education for all. This came during a high-level meeting held on Wednesday under the theme 'Investing in Tomorrow: The African Union Year of Education Catalysing Progress for Africa and the World', the AU said in a statement.

Addressing the meeting, Chairperson of the AU Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat underscored the critical need to guarantee access to quality education for all Africans, with a particular focus on the marginalised and most vulnerable groups, mainly young girls and people with disabilities, Xinhua news agency reported.

Noting that the education sector in Africa is often the most affected by instabilities caused by conflicts, Faki called for the protection of educational facilities and emphasised that education should serve as a beacon of hope and an engine of progress.