E-Business
HP, Others Recommend Building Skills for Next Generation of Teachers
Building the right foundation for children’s future learning in Africa begins with building the right skills for the next generation of teachers.
HP convened the #NextGen Educators Forum with that exact future in mind – sharing insights and discussions relevant to the African education sector on how to equip teachers with the necessary skills to take education on the continent forward.
The forum took place ahead of World Teacher’s Day today Wednesday, 05 October themed: “The transformation of education begins with teachers.” The panel of influential education sector voices participating in the forum included:
- Simi Nwogugu: CEO at Junior Achievement Africa
- Brian Schreuder: Former Superintendent General at the Western Cape Education Department: Specialist Advisor
- Folawe Omikunle: Chief Executive at Teach for Nigeria
- Mayank Dhingra: HP’s Senior Education Business Leader for Africa, Middle East and Eastern Europe
The discussion focused on a range of thought-provoking topics aimed to propel the discourse around the future of education forward.
Themes discussed included innovative technologies and pedagogies at the frontier of education in Africa; empowering educators to define new ways of learning for pupils; and digital equity: implementing digital transformation in the areas of teaching and effectively substituting the traditional learning confined to four walls.
Simi Nwogugu stated, “Educators need to understand that their traditional role as expert imparting knowledge has evolved to that of guide facilitating knowledge-acquisition, design thinking and critical reasoning skills in their students.
To do this effectively, educators themselves need to be equipped with these and other emotional intelligence skills to be able to continually adapt to the needs of the students under their charge. Forums like this help steer all of us in the education sector in the right direction for how best to empower teachers to be more effective in the classroom.”
HP recently revealed the results of its first education-focused survey in Africa, which shed light on teachers’ skillsets and how the profession can be improved in South Africa and Nigeria.
Understanding the realities of 21st-century teaching, 10 skills were identified in the study as crucial to future proofing classrooms for educators. Across the board, teachers surveyed deemed these skillsets important, with 70% saying “soft skills” such as creative, innovative, critical, and entrepreneurial thinking, as well as digital literacy are very important.
Furthermore, one in three teachers say they could benefit from additional training to improve the above-mentioned skills and that the development would have an enormous impact on the pedagogy.
Omikunle says, “The only way African countries can reach their full potential is by investing in education. By investing in teachers, we are investing in our children’s futures, and inevitably that of our continent. We know there are numerous challenges educators face, and these discussions will help in providing African solutions to African challenges.”
Speaking on the impact brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, Schreuder noted that if anything the disruption of the pandemic proved about the sector, was that it is resilient.
“We witnessed teachers implementing innovative strategies to keep learning at critical points of the schooling year. Armed with even better tools and relevant training, African teachers can transform this sector,” he says.
The world of education is evolving, and teaching must be transformed to better meet the needs of a digital learner. That is why HP launched its Innovation and Digital Education Academy (HP IDEA), which plays a critical role in bridging the skills gap and forms part of HP’s goal to accelerate digital equity for 150 million people by 2030.
This immersive teacher development programme is designed to enable educators to develop and access new learning modalities in select schools in South Africa, Nigeria, and other 15 markets across Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia.
“The time to rethink and reshape the future of Africa’s education sector is now. The past few years have thrust the sector into dramatically new ways of learning.
It has shown us that we need to empower teachers with the right tools to ensure that learners have the best chance at future-proof outcomes,” says Mayank Dhingra- HP’s Senior Education Business Leader for Africa, Middle East and Eastern Europe.
Nigeria recently launched a new joint case team to step up its response to cybercrimes that affect people and businesses at home and abroad.
The ‘Joint Case Team on Cybercrime’ brings together Nigeria’s key justice and security agencies to work as one, making it easier to detect, investigate, and prosecute digital offences.
It is supported by the UK National Crime Agency, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and the Commonwealth Secretariat, as part of a wider effort to promote international cooperation on cybercrime.
Speaking at the launch in Abuja, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, minister of justice and attorney general of the federation described the initiative as “a bold and transformative stride in Nigeria’s justice system.”
He said that although Nigeria has a national legal framework to address cyber offences, laws alone are not enough.
Nigeria is among the countries most affected by cybercrime around the world, with increasing financial losses.
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the establishment of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Division within its ICT Department.
This marks a significant stride toward enhancing electoral integrity, efficiency, and innovation in Nigeria’s democratic process.
This decision was reached at the Commission’s regular weekly meeting held in Abuja, following a series of consultations and engagements on the global and continental impact of AI on elections.
In a statement issued by Sam Olumekun, national commissioner and chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, INEC underscored that the growing relevance of AI in electoral matters necessitated a proactive institutional framework to manage both the risks and opportunities it presents.
“Our interactions with electoral bodies across Africa highlighted both the risks of AI—such as fake news and content manipulation—and the vast potential it holds for data-driven decision-making, risk mitigation, automated voter services, and geo-spatial intelligence for logistics,” Olumekun noted.
According to him, the newly created division will centralise the Commission’s AI efforts, ensuring a harmonized approach to deploying intelligent systems that enhance decision-making, improve voter engagement, and boost the credibility of the electoral process.
“The creation of this division puts the Commission at the forefront of institutionalizing AI capabilities in electoral management.
It is also part of our ongoing reforms in areas where administrative action is sufficient to drive change,” he said.
He added that the AI Division will help INEC better coordinate its existing technological investments while providing safeguards against the misuse of AI technologies.
“We are positioning ourselves to maximise the positive impact of AI while mitigating its negative implications. This step strengthens the credibility and transparency of elections in Nigeria,” Olumekun concluded.
The initiative, INEC emphasised, reflects its commitment to embracing innovation in safeguarding democracy and improving electoral services nationwide.
Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in partnership with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has unveiled a new Application Programming Interface (API) integration system to allow private firms access company data from the Commission’s database.
Hussaini Ishaq Magaji (SAN), registrar general of CAC, who spoke in Abuja at the unveiling said the system would give selected private organizations access to CAC services through technology-based companies, called “super agents.”
“This is a practical step to show that the Commission is committed to meeting the expectations of our customers,” he said.
Magaji explained that the integration allows the agents to retrieve data from the CAC database for use in specific client requests, outside the standard services provided by the Commission.
“Before now, only a few government agencies had this integration, especially those involved in investigations, anti-money laundering, and terrorism financing. Now, private companies that meet the criteria can also access it,” he said.
He said the system complies with the Nigerian Data Protection Act 2023, and information such as residential addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth may be restricted.
“This is a call to law firms and companies with the right technology. We’ve started with NIPS because of their credibility. Embassies and banks can now authenticate company records directly through them.”
“There are prescribed fees. We already collect them on our portal, and now customers can also pay through these agents,” he explained.
He named NIPS, MoneyPoint, and OPE as some of the companies involved.
“OPE and MoneyPoint handle only registrations. But NIPS has moved further into validation and verification,” he said.
Ngover Ihyembe-Nwankwo, executive director at NIBSS, who represented Premier Oiwoh, managing director, said the service allows secure and efficient data verification.
“This is the result of years of effort to connect our systems with CAC. It will help users verify data within the limits of data protection laws,” she said.
She said the move is a way to lower costs and promote interoperability across the financial sector.
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