‘It enhances teaching’ — Kwara commissioner backs AI literacy drive for schools

The Kwara state government has backed the Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative (BBYDI)’s AI literacy programme, describing it as a critical intervention that aligns with the state’s long-term vision for digital education and workforce readiness.

The endorsement came during a two-day artificial intelligence literacy workshop organised by BBYDI for teachers in Ilorin, the state capital, under the organisation’s AI Literacy for Everyday People project, supported by the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation.

Delivering the government’s goodwill message, Lawal Olohungbebe, commissioner for education and human capital development, said the state is “fully committed” to mainstreaming AI competence among teachers and students.

He noted that modern classrooms require digital thinking, data skills and familiarity with emerging technologies, areas BBYDI’s programme has been systematically addressing.

Olohungbebe praised BBYDI as “one of the most impactful NGOs” working on teacher empowerment in the north central region. He said the state government is serious about AI adoption in education, adding that he personally uses AI daily to enhance administrative efficiency. He urged teachers to see AI as a tool that enhances teaching rather than replaces it.

The workshop brought together 50 teachers from across Kwara state, introducing them to AI-powered tools such as Gemini, NotebookLM and Copilot. Participants learned to create lesson notes, literature reviews, assessments, children’s stories, animations and classroom slides using AI — tasks that many said previously took hours of manual work.

Teachers also used BBYDI’s AI flashcards and storybooks, which simplify AI concepts through age-appropriate storytelling. The materials were widely praised as timely and innovative, with teachers saying they would improve pupils’ comprehension and digital readiness.

One teacher, Alli Barakat, described the workshop as “a rare opportunity that opened endless possibilities for modern teaching,” noting that the hands-on exercises helped demystify AI and strengthened her confidence in integrating digital tools into the curriculum.

Another participant, Wahab Abubakar, commended the initiative as “one of the best training programmes for teachers in recent years,” adding that AI would improve student engagement when used appropriately.

The training also exposed how extensively teachers already rely on AI tools in their daily work without fully recognising it, from grammar correction and research to exam preparation and digital content creation. Facilitators used this insight to deepen understanding of safe, ethical and responsible AI use, especially around student data, plagiarism and misinformation.

Speaking at the event, Sanni Alausa-Issa, BBYDI communications director, said the programme is focused on ensuring that teachers, who shape the next generation, are not left behind in global technological shifts. “We cannot prepare children for an AI-powered world if our teachers are not empowered first,” he said.

“Our vision is to build a digitally ready workforce starting from the classroom.”