AI, Automation: African Varsities Urged to Revamp Teaching Methods

Funmi Ogundare 

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, has called on African universities to overhaul their teaching methods and curricula to prepare graduates for a rapidly changing world shaped by Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation and emerging societal challenges.

She stated that higher education institutions must move beyond traditional teaching and examination methods to prioritise critical thinking, creativity, ethical judgment, problem-solving and practical application of knowledge.

She said this in her keynote address at the International Week of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), themed,  ‘Re-imagining Pedagogy and Teaching for Higher Education in the 21st Century’. 

Amfo argued that universities must reconsider their purpose and the capabilities they seek to develop in students, rather than focusing primarily on the use of technology in teaching.

According to her, the rapid advancement of AI, climate change, public health threats, migration, demographic shifts and geopolitical uncertainties are transforming professional fields faster than universities can update their curricula.

She noted that African universities face the additional challenge of responding to these changes while addressing longstanding development problems, widening access to education and managing limited resources.

“Before asking how we should teach, we should ask, what is higher education for in the 21st century? What should it enable our graduates to become? And what responsibilities do universities have to the societies that sustain them?” she asked.

The VC acknowledged that university education remained an important pathway to professional employment, social mobility and intellectual development, particularly in African societies where families often make significant sacrifices to educate their children.

While stressing that employability remained important, the VC maintained that universities must also cultivate intellectual independence, adaptability, cultural understanding and a commitment to the public good.

She said graduates should be able to interrogate information, investigate problems, develop solutions, work with people of diverse perspectives and continue learning beyond formal education.

“For African universities, there is an additional responsibility. Our institutions must help produce the knowledge, leadership, and capabilities needed to address the continent’s challenges, from health systems and food security to environmental sustainability, inequality, democratic governance, and technological inclusion,” she stressed.

In her remarks, UNILAG  Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, called on universities to rethink traditional teaching methods and embrace innovative, technology-driven approaches that will equip students with the skills required to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

Ogunsola who declared open the university’s International Week, said higher institutions must move beyond conventional lectures and rote learning to teaching methods that promote critical thinking, creativity, innovation, problem-solving and adaptability.

She said the growing influence of AI and other emerging technologies had fundamentally changed the higher education landscape, requiring universities to reconsider how they teach, assess and certify students.

According to her, the question is no longer whether students have access to AI tools, but how institutions can ensure that learning remains meaningful and prepares graduates for the demands of the workplace.

“Our students have access to information on the internet and AI tools that can summarise, calculate, translate and even draft essays in seconds. The question therefore is no longer whether these tools exist, but what it now means to teach, assess and certify learning in their presence,” she said.

Ogunsola noted that employers were increasingly seeking graduates with competencies beyond the ability to recall facts and figures, including AI and machine learning literacy, analytical and critical thinking, problem-solving, adaptability, effective communication, emotional intelligence, creativity and innovation.

Also in her remarks, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in Nigeria, Ms Elsie Gyekyewaa Attafuah, urged Nigerian universities to reform their student assessment systems, faculty promotion criteria and research funding mechanisms to encourage innovation, entrepreneurship and practical solutions to national challenges.

She stated that universities must align their institutional incentives with the demands of the future to ensure that investments in infrastructure translate into meaningful innovation and development.

She stressed the need for institutions to reward innovative thinking, interdisciplinary collaboration and research that demonstrates public value, warning that without deliberate changes to existing academic structures, universities risk investing in new facilities while continuing to reward conventional approaches that may not adequately promote innovation.

“There is a risk of placing new facilities within systems that continue to reward the same old ways of working,” she stated.

To illustrate how universities could encourage innovation, Attafuah cited University College London, which recognises enterprise and external engagement in its academic career frameworks, and the University of Cambridge, where inventors and their departments share revenue generated from research licensing.

She charged Nigerian universities to consider similar approaches by giving greater recognition to innovation, interdisciplinary research and initiatives that translate academic discoveries into practical benefits for society.

She also advocated the provision of small, accessible grants to enable students and faculty members to experiment, test ideas and improve their solutions.

According to her, “universities should explore ways to support innovation hubs and other platforms where ideas developed through original research could be tested and refined.”

She added that rigorous testing and a clear contribution to knowledge should remain central to academic research, including doctoral studies.

“The opportunity is to align our incentives with the future. We want our universities to create while upholding academic rigour,” she stated.