Dr. Ismaila Temitayo Sanusi, a Computer Science Education researcher with a specific interest in artificial intelligence (AI) and data science education advocates for advancing AI education for youths in Nigeria.
He highlights why AI education matters, opportunity for Nigeria and gaps including call for action. Why AI Education Matters Artificial Intelligence (AI) is swiftly revolutionizing our world, sparking innovation in various sectors, boosting efficiency, and changing how we live and work.
Currently, AI technology is applied in diverse contexts, from industry to leisure, such as in medicine for disease diagnosis, in banking for fraud detection, and in music recommendation.
Due to technological advancements and the heavy reliance on AI technologies for economic growth, countries worldwide must prepare their citizens for an AI-enabled future.
These citizens, especially the youth, need to be equipped with the necessary AI skills and competencies required for the ongoing AI revolution and future technologies.
AI’s impact on all facets of daily life and society is transforming the world, making AI literacy essential for everyone.
Therefore, AI concepts should be increasingly integrated and taught in both school and out-of-school systems. Policymakers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and researchers internationally recognize the need for AI education.
AI literacy has recently been identified as a critical skill that young children require to succeed as future creators and innovators.
As such, researchers and relevant stakeholders continue to grapple with the standards, frameworks, and guidelines for integrating machine learning into school education.Learning AI and using AI in schools have been recognized as approaches for enhancing digital skills and competencies for digital transformation.
The value of AI education is seen in relation to knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to AI and data use.
Knowledge involves awareness of AI’s use in society and its impact on various aspects of human life.
Skills focus on the need for citizensArtificial Intelligence in Nigerian Classrooms: Igniting Young Minds for a Digital FutureDr. Ismaila Temitayo Sanusi, a Computer Science Education researcher with a specific interest in artificial intelligence (AI) and data science education advocates for advancing AI education for youths in Nigeria. He highlights why AI education matters, opportunity for Nigeria and gaps including call for action. Why AI Education Matters Artificial Intelligence (AI) is swiftly revolutionizing our world, sparking innovation in various sectors, boosting efficiency, and changing how we live and work. Currently, AI technology is applied in diverse contexts, from industry to leisure, such as in medicine for disease diagnosis, in banking for fraud detection, and in music recommendation. Due to technological advancements and the heavy reliance on AI technologies for economic growth, countries worldwide must prepare their citizens for an AI-enabled future. These citizens, especially the youth, need to be equipped with the necessary AI skills and competencies required for the ongoing AI revolution and future technologies.AI’s impact on all facets of daily life and society is transforming the world, making AI literacy essential for everyone. Therefore, AI concepts should be increasingly integrated and taught in both school and out-of-school systems. Policymakers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and researchers internationally recognize the need for AI education. AI literacy has recently been identified as a critical skill that young children require to succeed as future creators and innovators. As such, researchers and relevant stakeholders continue to grapple with the standards, frameworks, and guidelines for integrating machine learning into school education.Learning AI and using AI in schools have been recognized as approaches for enhancing digital skills and competencies for digital transformation. The value of AI education is seen in relation to knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to AI and data use. Knowledge involves awareness of AI’s use in society and its impact on various aspects of human life. Skills focus on the need for citizens to interact with everyday technologies that rely on AI, and attitudes concern understanding the need for caution, as many AI systems collect interaction data to improve services or manipulate user behavior. Dr. Sanusi, in his research on AI education for K-12, which was conducted across different regions and contexts, including North America (e.g., United States, Dominican Republic), Europe (e.g., Finland), Asia (e.g., Hong Kong), and Africa (e.g., Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia) found numerous values in teaching about AI in schools. Benefits of including AI education in schools includes career readiness, critical thinking, preparation for future learning, support for learning other subjects, citizen empowerment, and social good.Nigeria’s Opportunity Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa and the sixth globally, has one of the youngest populations among all continents. This youthful demographic promises a larger emerging workforce and increased opportunities for innovation and economic growth. It is crucial to equip this population with AI skills to prepare them for workplaces where human-AI collaboration is the norm.By investing in AI education, Nigeria is not only preparing its youth for an AI-driven future but also fostering innovation and economic growth within the country.According to a recent UNESCO report on K–12 AI curricula, government-endorsed AI curricula do not exist in African countries. To benefit from AI’s potential in Africa’s unique context, the teeming youth, who represent the highest percentage of the young population across all continents, could be leveraged. Thus, this demographic would be prepared with the critical mass of AI skills required for an AI-ready society. There are indications that governments within sub-Saharan African countries have begun to recognize the value of AI by developing national AI strategies. The Nigerian government has launched several AI initiatives recently, including the National AI Strategy (NAIS) draft, the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, the country’s first multilingual large language model, and a free AI Academy for Nigerian youths and civil servants to acquire cutting-edge AI skills.Gaps and Call to Action Currently, in Nigeria, both the use of AI in classrooms and the teaching of AI in schools are not widespread. According to the NAIS draft, the educational infrastructure in Nigeria is not yet robust enough to support widespread AI education. The document further noted that many schools lack the resources to effectively teach AI-related courses, including technology and trained educators. Furthermore, given that nearly half of Nigeria’s population is rural, a significant number of students and teachers do not benefit from the global AI revolution and may be ill-prepared for future skills. To address the challenge of uneven access to AI education, the government should deploy more resources to schools in low-resource settings. A public–private partnership model could also be adopted, leveraging international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and partnerships with tech companies. There is also a need to create funding facilities and instruments to support researchers and instructional designers in providing evidence of implementable learning materials, tools, and resources to ensure effective integration in schools. To meet current realities, curriculum developers need to revise the current school curricula to accommodate AI tools, encouraging teachers to adopt curriculum requirements.In his effort to uncover principles that support AI for all, Dr. Sanusi created and implemented AI curriculum activities during his doctoral research, woven with an ethical orientation to facilitate AI concepts in the context of school education. The central goal of his doctoral dissertation was to explore pedagogical designs effective for promoting young children’s learning of AI across learning contexts. His work, implemented in Nigeria and the United States, facilitated AI education among young learners and suggested guiding principles for implementing the subject in and out of schools.To achieve the goal of developing AI competency, which will provide students with the essential knowledge and skills to succeed in a digital world, it is crucial to establish comprehensive teacher training and workforce development resources. This will ensure that every child has the chance to learn about AI from the beginning of their education through to higher education levels, fostering a mindset of creativity and analytical thinking that will bolster the nation’s position as a leader in an AI-powered future. AI-focused professional development programs will equip educators with the skills and confidence needed to navigate and teach this intricate and ever-changing domain to their students.Although AI education from kindergarten through high school is essential, it is equally important to provide resources for lifelong learners to acquire new skills in response to a dynamic job market influenced by technological advancements. Since teaching AI is now considered one of the approaches for enhancing digital skills and competencies for digital transformation, Nigeria, among other countries, should embrace this initiative.
Dr. Sanusi continue to develop AI software tools and competency models to promote the integration of AI into the K-12 education system, including resources and strategies that provide comprehensive AI training for educators and facilitate students’ early exposure to AI ideas and technology, in order to foster an AI-ready workforce and the next generation of AI innovators. to interact with everyday technologies that rely on AI, and attitudes concern understanding the need for caution, as many AI systems collect interaction data to improve services or manipulate user behavior.
Dr. Sanusi, in his research on AI education for K-12, which was conducted across different regions and contexts, including North America (e.g., United States, Dominican Republic), Europe (e.g., Finland), Asia (e.g., Hong Kong), and Africa (e.g., Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia) found numerous values in teaching about AI in schools. Benefits of including AI education in schools includes career readiness, critical thinking, preparation for future , support for learning other subjects, citizen empowerment, and social good.Nigeria’s Opportunity Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa and the sixth glo learningbally, has one of the youngest populations among all continents.
This youthful demographic promises a larger emerging workforce and increased opportunities for innovation and economic growth. It is crucial to equip this population with AI skills to prepare them for workplaces where human-AI collaboration is the norm.By investing in AI education, Nigeria is not only preparing its youth for an AI-driven future but also fostering innovation and economic growth within the country.According to a recent UNESCO report on K–12 AI curricula, government-endorsed AI curricula do not exist in African countries.
To benefit from AI’s potential in Africa’s unique context, the teeming youth, who represent the highest percentage of the young population across all continents, could be leveraged. Thus, this demographic would be prepared with the critical mass of AI skills required for an AI-ready society.
There are indications that governments within sub-Saharan African countries have begun to recognize the value of AI by developing national AI strategies. The Nigerian government has launched several AI initiatives recently, including the National AI Strategy (NAIS) draft, the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, the country’s first multilingual large language model, and a free AI Academy for Nigerian youths and civil servants to acquire cutting-edge AI skills.Gaps and Call to Action Currently, in Nigeria, both the use of AI in classrooms and the teaching of AI in schools are not widespread. According to the NAIS draft, the educational infrastructure in Nigeria is not yet robust enough to support widespread AI education.
The document further noted that many schools lack the resources to effectively teach AI-related courses, including technology and trained educators. Furthermore, given that nearly half of Nigeria’s population is rural, a significant number of students and teachers do not benefit from the global AI revolution and may be ill-prepared for future skills.
To address the challenge of uneven access to AI education, the government should deploy more resources to schools in low-resource settings.
A public–private partnership model could also be adopted, leveraging international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and partnerships with tech companies.
There is also a need to create funding facilities and instruments to support researchers and instructional designers in providing evidence of implementable learning materials, tools, and resources to ensure effective integration in schools.
To meet current realities, curriculum developers need to revise the current school curricula to accommodate AI tools, encouraging teachers to adopt curriculum requirements.In his effort to uncover principles that support AI for all, Dr. Sanusi created and implemented AI curriculum activities during his doctoral research, woven with an ethical orientation to facilitate AI concepts in the context of school education.
The central goal of his doctoral dissertation was to explore pedagogical designs effective for promoting young children’s learning of AI across learning contexts. His work, implemented in Nigeria and the United States, facilitated AI education among young learners and suggested guiding principles for implementing the subject in and out of schools.
To achieve the goal of developing AI competency, which will provide students with the essential knowledge and skills to succeed in a digital world, it is crucial to establish comprehensive teacher training and workforce development resources.
This will ensure that every child has the chance to learn about AI from the beginning of their education through to higher education levels, fostering a mindset of creativity and analytical thinking that will bolster the nation’s position as a leader in an AI-powered future.
AI-focused professional development programs will equip educators with the skills and confidence needed to navigate and teach this intricate and ever-changing domain to their students.Although AI education from kindergarten through high school is essential, it is equally important to provide resources for lifelong learners to acquire new skills in response to a dynamic job market influenced by technological advancements.
Since teaching AI is now considered one of the approaches for enhancing digital skills and competencies for digital transformation, Nigeria, among other countries, should embrace this initiative.Dr. Sanusi continue to develop AI software tools and competency models to promote the integration of AI into the K-12 education system, including resources and strategies that provide comprehensive AI training for educators and facilitate students’ early exposure to AI ideas and technology, in order to foster an AI-ready workforce and the next generation of AI innovators.
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