Dr. Akin-Olusoji Akinyele, Group Managing Director, NewGlobe Education delivering the opening remarks at the event
7th December 2023 FCT Abuja, Nigeria: Further to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and NewGlobe entering into Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in September 2023, both organizations held the 2023 Education Summit for all 36 state commissioners for education to catalyze positive change in the Nigerian education landscape.
The summit acknowledges the crucial role education plays in nation-building and sustainable development. This summit is a manifestation of their commitment to fostering collaboration among key stakeholders, as well as seeking practical solutions to the complex challenges facing the education sector in Nigeria.
Stakeholders converged to promote collective wisdom leveraging collaborative spirit to pave the way for innovative solutions, forging a path towards a brighter, more inclusive educational future for the nation. This summit signifies a commitment to excellence in education and underscores the importance of unity and collaboration in overcoming the challenges facing Nigeria’s education sector.
Established in 1999, following a multi-party conference attended by all 36 democratically elected State Governors of Nigeria, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) stands as a non-partisan association uniting the elected governors of all 36 states in Nigeria. Its core mission is to foster unity, promote good governance, enhance mutual understanding and cooperation among states, and establish a healthy and productive relationship between the states and other levels of government.
NewGlobe is an education expert and a global leader in learning with a mission to ensure all education systems are inclusive, equitable & transformative. NewGlobe supports visionary governments to transform public education systems, the cornerstone of a prosperous, equitable, and peaceful society. Employing a unique combination of technology, data-driven training and coaching, scientifically-based learning materials, and technology-equipped support teams to significantly enhance learning outcomes at a large scale. NewGlobe’s holistic systemic approach has proven effective in improving learning outcomes across various socioeconomic backgrounds, aligning with the broader vision of education as an engine for accelerated and equitable economic growth.
The theme, “Promoting Education at the Subnational Level,” underscored the urgency for collaborative action in tackling Nigeria’s learning crisis. During his address, Dr. Akin-Olusoji Akinyele, Group Managing Director, NewGlobe, emphasized the calls for increased efforts to address the learning crisis prevalent in our country with over 70% of Nigerian children struggle with basic reading comprehension by age 10, while only 1 in 4 aged 7 to 14 can effectively read or perform simple arithmetic, as per UNICEF reports.
Dr. Akinyele went further to share hope in the midst of these challenges with existing state level educational transformations programs like EdoBEST, EKOEXCEL, KwaraLEARN, and BayelsaPRIME, standing as exemplary blueprints for Nigeria’s progress. These programmes, built on four core aspects: digital learning platforms, adaptive instructional content, robust teacher training and coaching, and comprehensive support systems, have revolutionized public-school education. Leveraging technology and data, they’ve elevated learning outcomes, placing children on par with the international standards of an upper middle-income country, which is a stark contrast to previous levels.
These proven solutions were further substantiated in a study spearheaded by Nobel Prize-winning economist Professor Michael Kremer in 2019, which recorded them as the largest gains in learning outcomes ever measured globally.
To replicate these successes nationwide, extensive collaboration among all states is imperative. NewGlobe’s partnership with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum Secretariat aims to engage with other pivotal stakeholders in Nigeria’s education sector. This summit serves as a clarion call to all stakeholders, urging us as parents, citizens, policymakers, and leaders to join hands in scaling the solutions seen in Edo, Lagos Kwara and Bayelsa to the rest of Nigeria.
