World Bank Begins Education Programme on Generative AI in Nigeria

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja 

In one of the pioneering efforts to leverage free Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to enhance educational outcomes in a context where it is most needed, the World Bank has commenced an experiment in Edo State.

Generative AI involves the creation of new content and ideas, including conversations, stories, images, videos, and music.

AI technologies attempt to mimic human intelligence in non-traditional computing tasks like image recognition, natural language processing (NLP) and translation. 

In a blog post titled: “From chalkboards to chatbots in Nigeria: 7 lessons to pioneer generative AI for education,” the World Bank disclosed that under its Education for Global Development initiative, between June and July 2024, 800 first-year senior secondary students attended after-school English classes in computer laboratories twice a week.” 

Each session, it noted, began with a teacher introducing the week’s topic, followed by students interacting with Microsoft Copilot, a generative AI tool powered by ChatGPT, to master the selected topics comprising both grammar and writing tasks. 

Acting as “orchestra conductors” of the pilot, the teachers guided students in using the large language models (LLMs), starting each session with a suggested prompt, it revealed.

According to the blog, as the students interacted with the AI, the teachers mentored them, offering guidance and additional prompts.

They also led brief reflection exercises at the end of each session.

“Forty years on, with the rapid advent of generative artificial intelligence, many countries have an opportunity to reach the ideal of one-to-one tutoring. Today, large language models (LLMs) can interact with students personably and adapt to their learning needs.

“While recent studies highlight AI’s potential to enhance learning outcomes, they often fall short in two key areas. First, they focus predominantly on developed countries. Second, they rely on specialized but unaffordable software. 

“However, unlike traditional AI, which excels at pattern recognition and prediction, generative AI can create new human-like content, opening up broader possibilities for application in education.

“Building on this potential, a recent experiment in Edo State, Nigeria, represents one of the pioneering efforts to leverage free generative AI tools to enhance educational outcomes in a context where it’s most needed,” the blog said.