… calls for overhaul of teacher training, classroom delivery
The Nigerian Academy of Education (NAE) has called on the Federal Government to urgently review the National Policy on Education and overhaul teacher training and classroom delivery methods to address emerging challenges in the country’s education sector.
The Academy also urged the government to ensure equitable access to digital technologies in classrooms across the country, irrespective of geographical location, as part of efforts to reposition the education system for the demands of the digital age.
President of NAE, Emeritus Professor Olugbemiro Jegede, made the call at the opening of the Academy’s 2026 Annual Congress in Abuja, where he disclosed that the Federal Government had designated the Academy as Nigeria’s apex national institution for digital literacy and the development of leaders for a future-ready economy.
The event was attended by the Minister of Education, members of the national and state assemblies, heads of educational parastatals and other stakeholders in the education sector.
Jegede described the National Policy on Education as long overdue for review, insisting that the country could no longer afford gradual or cosmetic reforms in an education system confronted by rapidly changing technological and economic realities.
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He also called for strict compliance with existing laws, provisions, and regulations governing the composition of governing boards of educational institutions and parastatals.
On teacher education, the NAE president advocated a fundamental restructuring of teacher training and professional development, alongside a comprehensive overhaul of instructional delivery methods to improve learning outcomes.
He stressed the need for coordinated action among the Federal Ministry of Education, State Ministries of Education, the Legislature and other relevant institutions to achieve meaningful transformation of the sector.
According to him, the Academy’s new national mandate places it at the centre of efforts to develop Nigeria’s national digital skills framework and shape policies for preparing the country’s future workforce.
He said its priorities would include integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI), emerging technologies, innovative pedagogies and evidence-based approaches into education policy and practice.
“Nigeria stands at a volatile crossroads where obsolete educational paradigms collide with an unforgiving 21st-century reality. The era of comfortable, incremental reforms is over. As the newly designated intellectual engine for Nigeria’s future-proof economy, the NAE will no longer issue polite, reactive advisory notes. We are here to intentionally disrupt the archaic architectures holding our nation back,” he said.
Jegede urged members and Fellows of the Academy to translate their academic standing into practical contributions to national development, particularly in addressing the country’s pressing educational challenges.
“The Academy has no room for sedentary scholars or armchair theoreticians. Nigeria requires your raw intellect and your immediate, unyielding involvement to reshape our pedagogical destiny,” he declared.
The 2026 Annual Congress also featured the investiture of four distinguished academics as Fellows of the Academy.
Among them was Professor Josiah Olusegun Ajiboye, First Vice-President of the Academy, in recognition of his contributions to education.
The Congress also paid tribute to deceased members and family members of Fellows, with special recognition of the late Professor David Adamu Baikie, one of the Academy’s founding members, as well as the late Mrs Lassa and Mr Omotayo Olarinoye.
The Academy reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining the legacies of its departed members through academic excellence, educational advancement and national development.
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