Nigeria’s National Dialogue Signals Renewed Commitments to High-Quality Teacher Education

As Africa advances continental conversations on rebuilding resilient and future-ready education systems — most notably through The Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 26–35),  adopted by the African Union in February 2025 and most recently showcased at the 2025 ADEA Triennale in Accra, Ghana — Nigeria complemented these regional efforts with its own national dialogue held in September, focusing on the core of educational transformation: teacher education and aligning national reforms with global and continental visions for resilient learning systems.

Convened against the backdrop of urgent learning challenges and ongoing reforms within the National Certificate in Education (NCE) curriculum, the engagement sought to harmonize evidence from multiple research initiatives, particularly those supported by the  Global Partnership for Education’s Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (GPE KIX), a joint endeavour with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). 

During the dialogue, participants included representatives from the Federal Ministry of Education, State Ministries of Education, Colleges of Education, teacher-training institutions and groups, development partners such as UNESCO, UNICEF, IICBA and INEE, civil society organizations, private sector actors, parents, students, and the Governor’s Forum. This engagement highlighted the understanding that resilient teacher education systems cannot emerge from isolated interventions; rather, they require co-ownership, policy coherence, and multi-sectoral collaboration.

In her welcome address, Dr. Uchenna Uba, Director of Colleges of Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, emphasized that the engagement marked “a decisive step” toward translating evidence into curriculum, policy, and practice. She called on participants to build a modernized, uniform, and research-driven teacher education framework capable of responding to contemporary realities.

Partners’ goodwill messages reinforced Nigeria’s strategic role within global education transformation efforts. Albert Mendy, UNESCO’s Head of Office in Ghana, emphasized teacher education as the foundation for achieving SDG 4 and highlighted ongoing EU-funded collaborations to strengthen resilience in teacher capacity. Dr. Quentin Wodon, UNESCO IICBA’s Director, echoed this, expressing optimism that the dialogue would yield actionable recommendations to inform Nigeria’s integration of the new CESA 26–35, while Japan’s Ambassador, Suzuki Hideo, reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s reforms, noting that “teachers stand at the heart of every successful reform.” 

Key presentations explored the urgent need for innovations in pedagogy, inclusivity, digital literacy, and curriculum efficiency. In a keynote address, Prof. Paulinus Okwelle, Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), situated Nigeria’s teacher education challenges within continental trends. He called for a transition from rote learning to learner-centered, competency-based approaches emphasizing critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and digital skills.

Prof. Okwelle further noted the importance of aligning curriculum reforms with national and continental development agendas, including SDGs, CESA 16–25, and  Nigeria’s Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI). With Nigeria’s policy, digital, and data ecosystem beginning to strengthen, through initiatives such as Nigerian Educational Data Initiative (NEDI), Teacher Registration Council Of Nigeria (TRCN) reforms, and digital literacy drives. Prof. Okwelle argued that resilient teachers would serve as catalysts for resilient education systems. 

Multiple GPE-KIX-funded projects informed the dialogue. Presentations showcased scalable innovations capable of driving systemic transformation:

•  The Sydani/CEBAR 4-in-1 preservice model which integrates jigsaw learning, microteaching, problem-based learning, and TPACK, demonstrated promising results in shifting teacher training from theory to practice while promoting inclusive and gender-responsive pedagogy.
• Accelerated Education Program (AEP) research from West Africa provided strong evidence for the reintegration of out-of-school children (OOSC), particularly in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. Findings showed transition rates exceeding 90% and highlighted community-led teacher recruitment as a sustainable strategy.
• Research for Scaling Education innovations in Emergencies and fragile, conflict and violence-affected areas in Nigeria, as presented by Dr. Adamu Wudil, CSEA researcher, emphasized the need to integrate trauma-informed and inclusive pedagogy into the NCE curriculum to serve learners in displacement and FCV contexts.
• The BRIDGE-IDAs project addressed the psychosocial well-being of internally displaced adolescents, showcasing the transformative potential of contextualized Life Skills Education for trauma recovery and educational reintegration.
• ERICC findings presented by Mrs. Aborode spotlighted the need for legislative reforms ensuring fair recruitment, recognition, and retention of teachers—especially displaced educators working in crisis zones.
• TaRL Africa’s Check for Understanding (CFU) research demonstrated how simple, low-cost formative assessment tools can significantly enhance learner outcomes while highlighting gaps in teacher digital literacy.

Across these initiatives, a common thread emerged: evidence-based, context-responsive innovations must be embedded into teacher training systems, not implemented as stand-alone projects.

The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad, stated that the success of Nigeria's recently revised basic education curriculum depends on adequate teacher preparation. She called for streamlining the NCE curriculum to focus on core pedagogical priorities while mainstreaming cross-cutting issues such as values, climate change, safety, and gender into teacher training.

Representing the Minister at the event, Prof. Ali Idris, Senior Special Assistant, emphasized the government's drive to harmonize various research insights into the ongoing curriculum review. He linked these teacher education reforms to broader national achievements, including free TVET programmes, reintegration of millions of out-of-school children, and digitization of education data through NEDI.

By the close of the dialogue, the call was clear: Nigeria must forge a teacher education system that is resilient, inclusive, evidence-driven, and aligned with both national aspirations and continental strategies.

Delivering the vote of thanks, Dr. Claris Ujam, KIX Focal Person, confirmed these insights would inform ongoing curriculum reviews. The initiative represents a critical step toward building a resilient, evidence-driven teacher education system that positions teachers as the backbone of sustainable educational change across Nigeria.