A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) has taken the bull by the horn in the education sector of Oyo State. It is helping secondary school students to understand the importance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the future of education as well as how they can project their future with this technology, IBIDAPO OLOWOLAYEMO writes.
It is called Next Frontier AI Initiative. It is a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO). What is unique about this organization is that it basically focuses on the real future of Nigeria – education. Public affairs analysts have variously submitted that most of the problems bedeviling the country stem from lack of adequate or right education for the youth.
Thus, it is safe to say Nigerian governments, especially at the state level, can learn a thing or two from its activities.
Over the past months, this NGO has been visiting schools across Oyo State, delivering practical and relatable sessions on Artificial Intelligence, the future of work, ethical usage, and how students can leverage AI for learning, creativity, and career clarity.
One would expect that this is an area where governments across Nigeria would have been see to be visibly interested. Why not assuming that governments are not focusing on technology in secondary schools, such focus ought to have been as visible as what this NGO is doing.
Founder and Lead of the Next Frontier AI Initiative, Akinade AbdulMalik, said the NGO is “an education-focused movement teaching AI literacy to secondary school students across Nigeria.”
The group, led by AbdulMalik himself, has spoken to over 6,000 students across seven secondary schools. Every one of those sessions has been documented through photos and short videos.
The organisation also claims that some schools had given it recommendation letters and endorsements, acknowledging the impact of the sessions on both their students and teachers.
Where the need for various state governments to take up such initiative as this arises is that this group observed that most of the teachers in the schools where the training had held were also learning about AI really for the first time.
AbdulMalik had said: “The students have been extremely engaged; and many teachers have described the sessions as ‘the first time we clearly understand AI.’”
He said the focus of the NGO was to expand the training beyond the shores of Oyo State, particularly to other states in the South-West.
“The vision is much bigger than these first few months. We want to expand our physical outreach to Lagos and Ogun states next year. We will build a digital platform that allows students across Nigeria to learn AI basics for free. And we plan to establish AI Clubs in schools.
“Also, we will train teachers on how to integrate AI into learning,” he added.
In many countries of the world today, the use of Chatbots in education is even obtainable from the primary school level. But a teacher in one of the secondary schools in Ibadan, Oyelade Akintunde, expressed the opinion that it was better late than never.
“Yes, I agree that such technology should have been introduced from the primary level. But we are starting late; it is not a bad idea to begin with secondary schools. AI is fast becoming the future of education. If we are starting late, and we are starting at all, it is not a bad idea,” he said.
Recently, the Oyo State government made a call that NGOs and other stakeholders needed to come to the aid of government in deepening the educational sector.
The government, in a release by the Press Officer, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Omotoso Olukemi, also appealed to philanthropists to contribute their quotas, adding that government alone could not shoulder the responsibility.
“The Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Prof. Salihu Adelabu, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Zone II, Miss Yemi Ojo, made this appeal during the presentation of school packs by Karma Agric Feeds to pupils of St. Andrews Basic School, Ara Oje, in Oluyole Local Government Area.
“Adelabu highlighted the government’s recent recruitment of teachers for both primary and secondary schools under Governor Seyi Makinde’s leadership, aimed at enhancing educational standards and securing a better future for young learners.
“He commended Karma Agric Feeds for their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative and urged other well-meaning individuals and organizations to collaborate with the government to invest in the education sector,” Omotoso had said.
This Next Frontier AI Initiative appears to be a heed to such calls. It is a laudable initiative, to say the least.
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