As part of attempts to modernise teaching and professional standards across the country, the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria is creating an artificial intelligence-powered lesson system to provide teachers with classroom tools.
The council is working with a few instructors from public and private schools throughout Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones to create uniform lesson plans for the effort.
Following talks between the organization and TRCN over the use of AI throughout Nigeria’s educational system, GMind Academy revealed this in a statement released on Tuesday.
The TRCN Registrar, Dr. Ronke Soyombo, stated in the release that the standardised lesson plans would help teachers and serve as the basis for an AI-powered system that could produce educational resources.
In order to adapt to new technologies, especially the growing use of AI in education, TRCN is reviewing its professional standards and regulatory framework.
However, Soyombo emphasised that rather than replacing teachers, the use of technology in classrooms should help them.
She stated, “AI is here to support teaching, not to replace teachers.”
She clarified that while instructors will still be in charge of giving students the human and emotional support they need, AI might help with class planning and individualised learning.
“The Council is also developing standardised lesson plans through a collaboration involving leading teachers from public and private schools across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones,” the statement went on. According to Soyombo, the lesson plans would help teachers and serve as the foundation for an AI-powered system that could produce educational materials.
The revelation came when Soyombo and Dr. Success Ojo, the creator of GMind Academy and co-founder and CEO of GMind AI, met in Abuja on Monday to discuss a possible collaboration on the use of AI in education.
GMind Academy promised to teach 774 AI Adoption Specialists—one specialist for each of Nigeria’s 774 local government areas—for free as part of the proposed partnership.
The experts are supposed to act as local advocates for the adoption of AI, helping educators, educational institutions, and other stakeholders in education comprehend and use AI in teaching, learning, and school administration in an ethical manner.
“We have a straightforward vision. Someone qualified to assist schools in navigating AI should be present in every local government region, according to Ojo.
Each participant would also get two months of free access to GMind’s AI platform, according to the company, so they could learn useful skills, try out AI apps, and show how they might be used in classrooms.
The organization claims that the national effort would expand on its current training program, which has generated 684 AI specialists.
Through GMind Academy’s Certified AI-Ready Teacher program, the proposed alliance would also increase teacher-specific AI training.
Along with ethical technology adoption, the curriculum teaches educators how to use AI for teaching, learning, evaluation, and productivity.
Subject to TRCN clearance and current legislation, Ojo suggested that teachers who successfully complete the curriculum be eligible for recognised professional development credits that would count toward their needs for continuing professional development.
The statement claims that instead of approaching digital skills training as a one-time intervention, such an arrangement may incorporate AI capability into teachers’ ongoing professional development.
Ojo praised TRCN’s efforts in teacher registration, licensing, accreditation, and ongoing professional development and stated that AI preparedness should be included in the ongoing transformation of Nigeria’s educational system.
In addition to AI, TRCN is implementing reforms in the areas of exam administration, child protection, and teacher certification.
Soyombo revealed that the council has made safeguarding training mandatory for aspiring teachers wishing to register as professionals by incorporating child-protection and safeguarding certification into its Professional Qualifying Examination.
In order to improve child safety in schools, the council is also collaborating with the Nigeria Police Force and other organisations to create a framework for criminal records.
In order to facilitate complaints about teachers and school safety and to enhance public access to the regulator, TRCN has also established a toll-free reporting line.
Regarding its examination system, the registrar stated that the council has increased the capacity of its digital testing infrastructure, with certain centers now able to hold up to 5,000 candidates at once.
Compared to the prior ceiling of roughly 120 candidates per exam session, this is a substantial rise.
As TRCN shifts more of its professional certification procedures online, the updated exam platform also includes remote-proctoring technology.
In addition to strengthening the enforcement of professional registration regulations, the council is concurrently implementing its Accelerated Teacher Professionalisation Pathway, which will allow more teachers to fulfilll licensing requirements.
According to GMind, the planned collaboration with TRCN would extend practical AI knowledge beyond IT experts and integrate it into educational communities, including schools outside of large cities.
If the 774-specialist initiative is put into action, it would create an AI adoption network that would encompass every local government area in the nation. This network would offer teachers and schools local support as the education sector responds to the challenges and opportunities that come with artificial intelligence.