Mbah urges teachers to use AI as a partner in education
Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah has urged teachers to regard artificial intelligence as a means of improving teaching rather than a threat to employment. Addressing the Nigeria Union of Teachers’ national conference, he called for safeguards, data protection, ethical standards and continuous training alongside adoption of the technology.
Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah has said artificial intelligence should support teachers’ work rather than replace those who teach. He made the remarks on Tuesday in Enugu while addressing the 59th National Conference of Delegates of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT). The conference focused on whether technology and AI would diminish the role of teachers in classrooms.
Mbah said the question was timely because of the rapid changes brought by emerging technologies, but argued that resistance was not justified. According to the governor, AI could help personalise learning, prepare lessons, identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge and widen access to information. He said technology could improve productivity and effectiveness in education when deployed as a practical tool rather than treated as a source of job losses.
Mbah said teachers retained qualities that technology could not provide, including the ability to inspire, mentor, understand individual circumstances, build character and encourage ambition. He described the future as one in which teachers work with technology, rather than compete against it. He called for ethical standards, data protection, responsible regulation and continuing professional development for teachers.
Mbah said these safeguards were necessary to ensure that AI benefited both educators and learners, adding that teachers should be positioned as principal beneficiaries and drivers of the transformation. The governor also outlined education measures by his administration. He said the state had recruited 6,850 teachers and other education personnel to improve the student-teacher ratio, while education had received 33 per cent of the state’s budget in each of three budget cycles.
Mbah added that the government was establishing fully equipped, technology-driven Smart Green Schools across Enugu State’s 260 wards. He said the investment reflected the administration’s view that a high-quality education system required a properly equipped and motivated teaching workforce.
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