By Remi Johnson
The Executive Chairman of the Nasarawa State Universal Basic Education Board (NSUBEB), Dr. Kasim Mohammed Kasim, has commended the Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK), for its contributions to educational development after receiving an Award of Excellence from the institution.
He gave the commendation during an interview on the sidelines of a conference organised by the Department of Educational Management, Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK), for its Master’s and PhD students, with the theme, “Leveraging AI Usage in Education in the 21st Century.”
Dr Kasim, who also pledged to champion the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) among teachers in the state, assured that educators would be trained to harness the technology to improve teaching and learning without compromising human intelligence and critical thinking.
The NSUBEB chairman, who was among the recipients of the Award of Excellence for his contributions to educational development, emphasised the need for teachers to strike a balance between the benefits and limitations of Artificial Intelligence in the education sector.
“I commend the department that this is one of the best conference so far that I have attended and I want to encourage them to continue to do so and call on other departments to emulate this. I am not a usual award receiver, I have declined so many awards, but I find this one so important because it’s coming from the institution where I was a president and also an institution where I also graduated. “
Dr Kasim encouraged teachers to embrace AI as a supportive educational tool while ensuring that it does not undermine their professional responsibilities or the quality of basic education.
According to him, the technology is important in some aspects of education but must be approached with caution and proper understanding to achieve the desired results.
Dr Kasim commended the organisers for what he described as one of the best conferences he had attended, urging other academic departments to emulate the initiative.
He also expressed appreciation for the recognition, noting that receiving the award from an institution where he had served as president and also graduated made it particularly meaningful to him.
On plans to integrate AI into teaching and learning in Nasarawa State, he assured that teachers would receive the necessary training to enable them to understand and apply the technology responsibly, while also guiding students in its appropriate use.
Dr Kasim maintained that while AI can enhance research, lesson preparation, classroom delivery and learning outcomes, it must never become a substitute for teachers, independent reasoning or critical thinking.
Ultimately, Dr Kasim said technology should strengthen the capacity of educators and learners, not diminish their ability to think, question, create and make informed decisions.
Similarly, the representative of the Nasarawa State Commissioner for Education, Dr. John W. Mamman, said the state government would embark on extensive sensitisation and capacity-building programmes to equip teachers and school principals with the knowledge required to use AI effectively.
Mamman, who represented the Commissioner at the event, observed that AI was increasingly being overused by both students and teachers, stressing that the major lesson from the conference was that artificial intelligence could augment, but not replace, human intelligence.
“The issue of AI is very important and it’s worth discussing. But the issue now is it has been overused by both students and their teachers. However, what we learned here, I think the major takeaway is AI cannot replace human intelligence, but can only augment.”
He said the government would take the sensitisation exercise across the state’s local government areas to educate teachers on the importance, benefits and responsible application of AI in the classroom.
He maintained that empowering teachers with the right knowledge would enable them to maximise the opportunities presented by emerging technologies without allowing them to replace the essential human role in education.
Some participants, including Mr. John Owgime, Remi Johnson and Idris Salamatu, described the conference as an eye-opener, noting that the discussions had broadened their understanding of the opportunities and challenges associated with AI in education.
The conference underscored the growing reality that Artificial Intelligence has come to stay and will continue to shape the future of education. However, its successful integration must be guided by responsibility, ethical application and human oversight.
“The issue of AI is very important and it’s worth discussing. But the issue now is it has been overused by both students and their teachers. However, what we learned here, I think the major takeaway is AI cannot replace human intelligence, but can only augment.”
This is the major takeaway for both of our students and our teachers to use it wisely. Thank you so much.
First Speaker: Now, how is, how is Nasarawa State, uh, government, since you are a representative of the commissioner of education, how is Nasarawa State government applying AI so that it will not replace our teachers?
Second Speaker (Dr. John W. Mamman): Very wonderfully, we will do that by massively educating our own teachers and principals on how to use AI. We will educate them, we will go around all and clean each local government to tell our teachers the importance of AI and also the advantage of AI and how to use it wisely. We will do that.
Interviewer: Your name on record, please.
Second Speaker (Dr. John W. Mamman): I would introduce myself again. My commissioner is Dr. John W. Mamman. Thank you.