Stakeholders urge schools to produce adaptive learners

Nigerian schools should ask students not only what they know, but what they can do with that knowledge, education stakeholders said at a seminar in Lagos.

The call came during the 2026 Total School Support Seminar and Exhibition in Oregun, which included a panel discussion and training for educators from different parts of the country. The event focused on technology, sustainability, creativity and culture in a changing world.

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The biggest thing that I see that we really need to make a shift with is going from ‘what do you know’, because right now we’re still so focused on what do you know, we assess for what do you know, but we need to move to ‘what can you do with what you know?’

Adetola Salau, the education minister’s special adviser on STEM, said schools needed to move away from an excessive focus on memorisation. “The biggest thing that I see that we really need to make a shift with is going from ‘what do you know’, because right now we’re still so focused on what do you know, we assess for what do you know, but we need to move to ‘what can you do with what you know?’” she said.

Salau said learners should develop the ability to think, create, collaborate and communicate. She urged schools to encourage students to apply knowledge to challenges involving education, transportation, culture and climate change.

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They cannot just continue to memorise information. We need for them to think, we need for them to create, we need for them to collaborate, we need for them to communicate.

Educationist Susan Babatunde said pupils should gain global competencies without losing their Nigerian identity. She called for folklore, history, music and other elements of the country’s heritage to become part of learning. Babatunde said her school, Blooming Greens School, had partnered with the Confucius Institute to teach Mandarin while using a blended British and Nigerian curriculum, cultural events, folklore and art exhibitions.

Wunmi Ogunde, convener of the seminar, also advocated adaptive minds rather than conformity among Nigerian learners.

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We must always showcase these things to them. It’s not enough to just say, ‘This is how we are.’ Practise it, and ensure that some of these things are student-led.