Special Adviser to the Minister of Education, Dr Adetola Salau, has stressed that Nigeria must urgently reform its education system to shift classroom learning away from rote memorisation towards critical thinking, innovation and problem-solving.
Salau made the call on Wednesday at the 10th anniversary of the Bunmi Adedayo Foundation in Lagos, where she said the country risks falling behind if its education system fails to adapt to global changes driven by technology and innovation.
Speaking at the event held at the Shell Hall, MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos, Salau said teaching methods must evolve to reflect modern realities.
“We are living in a rapidly changing world which is being defined by technology, innovation and constant disruption,” she said. “The jobs of tomorrow are evolving faster than our classrooms.”
She said the current system still rewards memorisation over understanding, routine over curiosity and conformity over creativity, stressing that the approach must change.
“This must change,” she said.
Salau said classroom learning must be restructured to make students active participants in the learning process rather than passive recipients of information.
“Students must experiment, not just memorise. Teachers must facilitate, not just instruct. Learning must be hands-on, not just textbook-based,” she said.
“A mathematics class should be an exploratory session, not one that students dread. Technology should be accessible, not distant.”
She added that education must be repositioned as a tool for national development, adding that STEM should no longer be treated as a narrow academic pathway but as a framework for problem-solving and innovation.
“STEM has become a way of thinking,” she said. “It is about being curious always, experimenting, solving problems and iterating solutions endlessly.”
Salau said the goal of STEM education is not only to produce scientists and engineers, but to raise a generation of critical thinkers capable of adapting to a changing world.
“STEM education is not about producing more scientists alone. It is about raising a generation of thinkers,” she said.
She added that government reforms are focused on building a coordinated national education architecture, including AI readiness for teachers and students, a national STEM pathway from learning to employment, data-driven policy systems and stronger public-private partnerships.
Salau stressed that teachers remain central to any meaningful reform in the sector.
“No curriculum, no policy, no innovation can succeed without empowered educators,” she said. “When we empower teachers, we empower nations.”
She, however, noted that the government cannot drive the reforms alone.
“Government alone cannot do this. Neither can the private sector. Nor civil society in isolation,” she said. “The future of education in Nigeria depends on collaboration.”
The event had dignitaries, including Senator Daisy Danjuma, Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, and media entrepreneur Dele Momodu.
Earlier, Chairman of the Executive Council of the Bunmi Adedayo Foundation, Prof Oluwole Atoyebi, said the foundation’s interventions over the past decade had impacted more than 550,000 learners and 7,800 teachers across Lagos, Ogun, Osun and Rivers States.
He said the foundation’s work was anchored on improving foundational learning and strengthening educators’ capacity.
“Each initiative represents transformed lives, strengthened educators and renewed hope within communities,” he said.
Executive Director of the foundation, Oluwakemi Odedeyi, said the organisation was entering a new phase focused on scaling impact and strengthening systems.
She said targets for the next decade include training over 10,000 teachers, expanding digital learning and improving literacy and numeracy outcomes.
“Education is not charity; it is infrastructure,” she said. “It is the foundation upon which every other sector stands.”
She added that sustained collaboration would be essential to achieving long-term reform in the education sector.
“No organisation transforms an education system alone,” she said. “The scale of this ambition requires intentional partnerships.”
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