NCCE pushes reforms to prepare teachers for AI-driven future

Nigeria’s teacher education system is undergoing a major transformation as the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) pushes sweeping reforms aimed at preparing educators for a rapidly changing, technology-driven world. Speaking at a media parley in Abuja on Friday, the executive secretary of the NCCE, Dr Angela Ajala, said the traditional approach to teacher […]

Nigeria’s teacher education system is undergoing a major transformation as the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) pushes sweeping reforms aimed at preparing educators for a rapidly changing, technology-driven world.

Speaking at a media parley in Abuja on Friday, the executive secretary of the NCCE, Dr Angela Ajala, said the traditional approach to teacher preparation could no longer meet the demands of modern classrooms and the global economy.

“Today’s teacher must be digitally competent, emotionally intelligent, entrepreneurial, inclusive, innovative and globally aware,” she said, stressing that Nigerian teachers must be equipped to prepare learners for an AI-driven, knowledge-based and skills-powered economy.

Ajala warned that, “Nigeria cannot prepare teachers for today’s children with yesterday’s tools,” adding that the commission was repositioning colleges of education into centres of excellence, innovation, research and professional development.

She said the reforms include a revised curriculum focused on digital literacy, artificial intelligence awareness, entrepreneurship, climate education, emotional intelligence, child safeguarding and competency-based learning.

She explained that the reforms were necessary because classrooms, learners and labour market realities had changed dramatically over the years, while teacher preparation models remained outdated.