Olateju: Why Governments, Stakeholders Must Collaborate to Build Adaptive Education Systems

Dr Modupe Adefeso Olateju, founding Managing Director of The Education Partnership Centre, in this interview with Funmi Ogundare, explains why education must remain people-centred to deliver meaningful outcomes and why the regulation of artificial intelligence in education should be inclusive, involving all key stakeholders. She calls on governments and organisations to work together to build adaptive and resilient systems, stressing that with trust in local expertise, sustained investment in people, and a strong focus on learning, poor educational outcomes can be reversed

What does the impact report say about the evolution of education reform efforts in Nigeria and across Africa?

When I founded The Education Partnership (TEP) Centre in 2013, the Millennium Development Goals were still in view, and the discourse on education in Nigeria and across much of Africa was still largely framed around access. The dominant question was whether children were in school and how to ensure that they were. Very few were asking whether the children whose enrolment we were prioritising were actually learning in school. Over the last decade, where we have seen the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) take centre stage, our journey has mirrored a wider global and continental shift, from a focus on enrolment to addressing the outcomes of the learning process. The TEP Impact Report captures that evolution clearly. In 2014, we began a quest to foster greater accountability in the education sector by using data as a reliable mirror through which the entire education ecosystem could determine the return on our collective investment in education. We therefore collaborated with representatives of the government, civil society, communities and educators to design and commence the LEARNigeria initiative. Through a fully participatory approach, we assessed the foundational learning skills of over 40,000 children in 21,600 households and 2,000 schools, generating the first nationally representative data on foundational literacy and numeracy in Nigeria. That initiative fundamentally changed conversations with governments, parents, local communities, and development partners. Across Africa, similar citizen-led and system-focused approaches have been implemented, signalling a shift from isolated interventions toward reforms grounded in evidence and focused on accountability and systems-level shifts

Why do you think it is important for this initiative to remain African-led?

This initiative needs to remain Africa-led because the stakes are deeply personal for us. African-led reform is a practical necessity. At The Education Partnership (TEP) Centre, we have seen time and again that reforms work best when they are rooted in local realities: language, culture, governance structures, and the everyday experiences of teachers, parents and families. Over the past decade, we have delivered more than 50 large education projects, supported over 5,000 educators, and engaged more than 100,000 households. We have contextualised and localised programmes supported by international actors, including FCDO, the World Bank, UNESCO Institute of Statistics, Gates Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and many more, but we have also supported initiatives by our very own Oando Foundation, Corona Schools, Lafarge Nigeria, and several state governments. Tools which we developed locally have been leveraged by international organisations, including UNICEF, and we bring our lived reality into the networks that we belong to, including the global PAL Network and the regional Daara Network. Our work succeeds because it is designed and led by people who understand the system from the inside. African leadership ensures relevance, builds trust, and creates solutions that communities are willing to sustain long after project funding ends. It also rebalances power, placing African knowledge and expertise at the centre of global education conversations.

You raise critical ethical questions around artificial intelligence. What opportunities does AI present for education in Africa?

Technology has always shaped our work in the education sector, but we must approach it with caution and clarity. Artificial Intelligence presents real opportunities for African education systems, particularly in strengthening planning, assessment, and teacher support. When used responsibly, AI can help educators and education systems identify learning gaps faster, support personalised instruction, and make sense of large volumes of education data that governments often struggle to use effectively.

What risks or power imbalances worry you most as AI becomes more embedded in education systems?

What concerns me most is not inequality alone, but the quiet erosion of human judgment and educational agency. Education is not just a technical exercise. It is deeply relational, contextual, and ethical. As AI becomes more embedded in education systems, there is a real risk that decision-making shifts away from teachers, school leaders, and communities toward opaque systems that prioritise efficiency over understanding. At TEP Centre, our work has consistently shown that learning improves when teachers are empowered to interpret data, reflect collectively, and adapt instruction through assessment-informed instruction and teacher capacity development programmes that have impacted over 5,000 educators. My concern is that poorly governed AI could deskill teachers, standardise learning in unhelpful ways, and reduce complex educational decisions to automated outputs. If we lose sight of education as a human endeavour, we risk undermining the very outcomes we claim to pursue.

How should governments and civil society regulate the use of AI in education to protect equity and inclusion?

Regulation must start with purpose. Governments need to be clear about why AI is being used and what problem it is meant to solve. Civil society must play a strong watchdog role, asking difficult questions about data privacy, bias, transparency, and access. Through platforms like the Nigerian Education Innovation Summit (NEDIS), which has convened over 2,500 stakeholders and more than 70 expert speakers across eight years, and the EdMeets Series, TEP Centre has seen the power of inclusive dialogue. Regulation works best when teachers, researchers, technologists, parents, and young people are part of the conversation.

What role should young people play in shaping how technology is used in education?

Young people must be central to these decisions. Africa has the youngest demographic of people in the world, and nearly 60 per cent of our population is under 30. Designing education technologies without young people at the table is both short-sighted and unjust. Across our work, from community engagement under LEARNigeria to youth participation in convening and research, we have seen young people bring clarity, urgency and innovation. They understand both the promise and the pressure of technology. Their role is not just to adapt to new tools, but to help define how those tools shape learning, opportunity and identity in Africa.

You emphasise elevating voices often pushed aside. How can education systems better serve children with disabilities and marginalised youths?

Inclusion has to be intentional. Education systems cannot serve marginalised learners by accident. At TEP Centre, our data-driven work consistently shows that children who struggle the most are often invisible in policy design – children with disabilities, out-of-school youth, and learners in low-income or rural communities.

Programmes like the LEARNigeria Remedial Programme demonstrated what is possible when systems respond to real learning needs. In Kano State, for example, the proportion of children unable to identify syllables dropped from 71 per cent to 34 per cent after just one month of intervention. Inclusion requires this kind of targeted, evidence-informed action, not blanket solutions that ignore context.

What gives you hope despite Africa’s education crisis?

My hope comes from a profound belief in the work that we do. Over the past decade, TEP Centre has reached over one million children directly and indirectly, trained more than 5,000 educators, and supported learning across over 40 organisations on five continents. These are not abstract numbers – they represent real children learning to read, teachers gaining confidence, and systems beginning to respond.

Beyond the data, I am hopeful because of the people. Educators who keep showing up. Young leaders who refuse to accept learning poverty as inevitable. Communities that still believe education is worth fighting for. That collective resolve is powerful.

What should governments prioritise over the next decade to reverse poor learning outcomes?

Governments must prioritise learning, not just schooling. This means investing in literacy and numeracy, supporting teachers continuously, and using data to guide policy decisions. Over the next decade, reforms must move from announcements to implementation, from pilot projects to scale. As TEP Centre looks ahead to its next 10 years, our vision is shaped by what we have learned over the last decade. Having reached over one million children, engaged more than 100,000 households, delivered 50+ projects, and contributed evidence that has informed policy at state and national levels, we know what works. The next phase is about scaling with integrity. Our aim is to support five million learners, equip 50,000 teachers, and strengthen education ecosystems across Africa without losing our grounding in evidence, equity, and African leadership. Looking forward, governments and organisations like ours must work together to build systems that learn, adapt, and endure. If the next 10 years are defined by trust in local expertise, investment in people, and a relentless focus on learning, then reversing poor outcomes is inevitable.