Nigerian Govt. to Enhance Education By Infusing AI into the Learning Process

According to the Federal Government of Nigeria, Nigeria’s education system now uses artificial intelligence (AI) to improve instruction while maintaining human agency.

During a ministerial press event in Abuja to celebrate the International Day of Education with the topic “AI and Education: Preserving Human Agency in a World of Automation,” Education Minister Dr. Tunji Alausa revealed this effort.

Speaking about the ministry’s efforts to integrate AI into teaching and learning, Dr. Alausa, through Dr. Ejeh Usman, Director of Polytechnics, stated that the ministry has integrated platforms that offer thorough information on postsecondary institutions and admittance across the country.

“Ignite for Teachers assists teachers in creating lesson ideas, while Inspire for Students fosters a closer learning environment in the classroom.

As part of data digitization, a gateway called the Tertiary Information System (TIS) was created to hold undergraduate student data in postsecondary institutions.

“Nigeria Learning Passport is intended to give primary, junior, and secondary school students free access to over 15,000 learning resources nationwide,” he stated.

The minister also revealed that academic record examination and accreditation are now computerized, greatly streamlining the procedure.

“We have digitalized services as well; the accreditation and evaluation procedures for academic records are now automated, which makes the process less onerous,” he said.

For a balanced integration, he underlined the necessity of a well-rounded strategy that uses AI to improve educational results while giving human engagement top priority.

Prioritizing human agency in education is essential as we traverse the quickly changing field of artificial intelligence (AI). We must make sure that AI complements educators’ crucial role in forming children’s minds rather than takes its place.

Our goal is to use AI to enhance education while preserving the distinctive characteristics that define humanity.

In order to enable students to prosper in a world where automation is becoming more and more common, we want to develop an educational system that smoothly incorporates AI,” he said.

For more extensive uses of AI in education, Dr. Alausa further describes the possible uses of AI in education that the ministry is prepared to adopt.

• The use of assistive technology

• Augmented and virtual reality

• Analytics for prediction

• Gamification

• insights based on data

• Astute content production
• AI chatbots for individualized education

The government intends to create an AI in Education Task Force to guarantee the success of these projects by creating standards and guidelines for AI implementation and teacher training.

In order to match Nigeria’s initiatives with worldwide best practices, the minister further promised to work with stakeholders, education specialists, and foreign partners.

Also in order to modernize the examination system and solve current issues, the Federal Government intends to completely deploy computer-based testing (CBT) for all national examinations by 2027.

Additionally, the government is dedicated to combating test misconduct, such as identity theft and exam leaks. This will entail implementing new fraud-reduction strategies and enhancing oversight.

Three important identifiers—national ID number, picture, and birthdate—will be included on new examination certificates beginning with the May, June, and July tests. The purpose of this modification is to lessen fraud and guarantee the validity of the findings.

As Rosalia Ozibo of Nariametrics shared this article to the general public to understand the transformations going on in the educational sector.