Education
FG Approves Agric Institute in Nasarawa
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has approved the establishment of the Agricultural Machinery and Equipment Development Institute in Nasarawa State to boost industrialisation in the Northern state.
This disclosure was made by Governor Abdullahi Sule in Lafia on Saturday at the opening ceremony of the Lafia City Mall, a subsidiary of Wave Mart Group of Companies.
Mr Sule said the agric institute would be located in Lafia as a step forward in terms of industrialising the state, adding that it also indicated the readiness of the state to maximize the diverse opportunities in the agriculture sector especially agriculture mechanization.
“We are ready here in Lafia. Lafia is attracting a lot in the area of agriculture industrialization. I am very happy.
“In fact, I woke up this morning extremely happy because last night, I receive the approval from Mr President for the setting up of the Agricultural Machinery and Equipment Development Institute right here in Lafia.
“I want to use this opportunity to extend my greatest appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari. Just a few weeks ago, we realized that there are going to be about three or four institutes that are about to be established.
“I now wrote for the establishment of the institute in the state and just yesterday, Mr President approved it and we are going to establish that institute right here in Lafia,” he said.
Mr Sule added that aside from the institute, the state government had also recently signed an agreement with the Gurku-Kabusu community in the Karu local government area of the state for the commencement of an industrial zone on 13,000 hectares of land in the area.
He explained that the choice of the area was due to its close proximity to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, which thereby offers a huge market potential to the investor in the zone.
He said that it also made the business initiative beneficial to the state, the industrialists and the host community.
“Today, we concluded by signing with the people. Gurku-Kabusu is just five kilometres from Maitama. With that type of opportunity that we have, that will be mutually beneficial to the state, the community and the industrialists, we are ready now for industrialization in that area,” he said.
The governor also revealed that in line with his policy to engage youths in skills acquisition, an institute for skill acquisition has been completed with equipment being procured for the various skill offices in the centre.
He then thanked Wave Mart Group of Companies for setting up the mall, adding that other investors who indicate interest to invest in the state would have no regrets.
“I want to thank you, the CEO of Wave Mart Group for your continuous belief and trust in Nasarawa state and I want to thank you also for giving us the opportunity to prove to the world that Nasarawa state is set for investment.
“Any investor that is interested, that is coming to Nasarawa state, there is no better time to come than now,” he said.
In his address, Mr Emmanuel Umoru, Chairman of Wave Mart Group of Companies, said the Lafia City Mall was not the first but the third investment of the group in the state.
He said given the investments and the years spent investing in the state, he has been able to convince other investors to come for themselves and inspect the security situation with the option of also investing in the state.
Mr Umoru then disclosed that the Lafia City Mall which so far has gulped about N678 million would employ more than a hundred staff with most of the staff been indigenes of the state.
“The reason for establishing this kind of facility is not just for making money but to give employment to our teeming youths.
“This is a state we have invested in for almost about seven years now and to the glory of God, we have no reason to regret. On this note, I make bold to say that we shall come again. We appreciate your drive for investment in the state,” he said.
On his part, the Emir of Lafia, Sidi Bage appreciated the private sector drive of the governor and also lauded the Wave Mart Group of Companies for choosing Lafia to locate their investment.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
An organisation known as Jesin Games on Monday, April 7, 2025, launched a new educational game, AfriTrivia, in Lagos.
The trivial game was designed to promote facts about the African continent, improve awareness about Africa, even among Africans themselves, and to better connect the African Diaspora from all over the world to their continent of origin, according to the chairman advisory board of Jesin Games, Professor Soji Adelaja.
It was stated that AfriTrivia would amuse and challenge everyone with a host of intriguing questions for beginners and experts.
The game will also be launched in Marrakech at the African Heritage Concert and Award Ceremony this weekend, while that of United States launch will come up in few weeks to come.
“Many Africans know little or nothing about the rest of their continent, and many people in the diaspora have little opportunity to learn what they lack about their continent because they are left relying on books written by historians or other means of learning not presented by Africans,” Mr Adelaja stated.
He described AfriTrivia as more than just a trivia game but an educational tool that can be used to “discover all the cultural and historical diversity in Africa through different topics.”
The chief executive of Jesin Games, Mr John Esin, on his part, said, “AfriTrivia is a game that challenges you to test your knowledge on some of the most interesting categories like Quotations, History, Sports and Entertainment, Arts and Culture, Government and Politics, and People and Places about some of the historical sites such as the Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela, to The Great Pyramids of Giza.
“It is meant for families to play together, friends to play with each other, and classrooms to become “creative centres of learning about our world.”
A former Governor of Cross Rivers State, Mr Donald Duke, while speaking at the unveiling of the product, praised the organisation for the initiative.
“AfriTrivia Jesin Games will fill the void of lack of knowledge about the African continent,” the former presidential candidate remarked, urging the developer to make it available for schools in Nigeria so that they can know more about Africa.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigerian students interested in getting funds for their tertiary education can now apply for the scholarship programme of MTN Foundation.
In the past 15 years, MTN Foundation has awarded 14,728 scholarships worth over N3 billion to students as part of its ongoing investment in education.
The scholars have been given platforms to acquire relevant skills and practical knowledge to thrive in today’s evolving job market.
This gesture has been done by the organisation to encourage excellence in academic pursuit, deepen diversity and inclusion by empowering blind students in Nigeria.
The main objective is to strengthen the development of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in the country.
The scholarship is in three categories, the Science and Technology Scholarship (MTN STS), which is for all 300-level Science and Technology students with a minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.5 (Second Class Upper or its equivalent); the MTN Scholarship for Blind Students (MTN SBS), which caters to the educational needs of blind students in 200-level with a minimum CGPA of 2.5 or its equivalent; and the Top 10 UTME scholarship for top 10 scoring candidates of the UTME, as announced by JAMB.
The application process is straightforward and conducted online, making it accessible for students nationwide. Eligible candidates are encouraged to visit mtn.ng/scholarships/ and apply before the application deadline on April 25, 2025.
Awardees are given N300,000 annually for three years until graduation, provided they maintain the minimum grade point requirement.
“Education is the backbone of national development, and at MTN Foundation, we are committed to ensuring that no bright mind is left behind due to financial constraints.
“This scholarship is not just about funding education; it is about investing in Nigeria’s future leaders, innovators, and problem-solvers,” an Executive Director of the MTN Foundation, Odunayo Sanya, stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Berkeley-based startup, SigIQ.ai, has emerged from 18 months of stealth with $9.5 million in funding to transform education through personalized AI tutoring that delivers elite-level instruction at affordable cost.
SigIQ.ai’s AI tutor came into consciousness when it took India’s UPSC civil service exam last June and achieved the highest score in the exam’s history, beating 1.3 million human candidates in under 7 minutes.
The seed round was co-led by House Fund and GSV Ventures, with participation from Duolingo, General Catalyst India (Venture Highway), Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia India), Calibrate Ventures and angel investors, such as Mr Andy Konwinski (Co-founder, Perplexity), Mr Christian Storm (Co-founder & CTO, Turnitin), Prof. Trevor Darrell (Berkeley AI Research, UC Berkeley), Prof. Jitendra Malik (Berkeley AI Research, UC Berkeley), Prof. Srini Devadas (MIT), Prof. Sharad Malik (Princeton) and others.
According to a statement shared with Business Post, the investment will accelerate hiring top talent, enhancing AI models, and scaling platforms to educational systems worldwide.
SigIQ.ai’s technology directly addresses “Bloom’s Two-Sigma Problem” – the research finding that students receiving one-on-one tutoring perform two standard deviations better than those in traditional classrooms.
According to the company, this educational disparity has persisted for decades, with personalized tutoring remaining a luxury reserved for the privileged few. The company’s revolutionary approach shifts the cost of personalization from human labor to AI computation, making world-class instruction accessible at unprecedented scale.
“We’re at a pivotal moment in education where modern GenAI can provide a personal 1:1 tutor to every student and reduce the cost of one-on-one learning from hundreds of dollars an hour to the cost of computation,” said Dr Karttikeya Mangalam, CEO and co-founder of SigIQ.ai noted.
“We’ve started by first creating a tutor that itself can ace the very exam students are preparing for. This is a necessary step to ensure accuracy and quality in teaching delivered. And will set a new benchmark in personalized education, making the highest-quality education accessible to everyone, regardless of geography or socioeconomic status, at a fraction of the traditional cost,” he added.
The company was founded in July 2023 by Dr Karttikeya Mangalam and Professor Kurt Keutzer, a distinguished Professor in the Berkeley AI Research (BAIR) Lab.
Growing up in Muzaffarpur, Bihar – a region where educational opportunities are limited – Dr Mangalam experienced firsthand the stark divide between small-town India and elite Western academic institutions. After completing his education at IIT Kanpur and then at UC Berkeley, he founded SigIQ.ai to democratize access to world-class education globally.
In just 18 months, SigIQ.ai has launched two products with remarkable traction. PadhAI, focused on UPSC exam preparation in India, has attracted over 200,000 learners in just six months. On June 16, 2024, moments after the actual 2-hour UPSC Prelims exam had finished, PadhAI’s AI tutor solved the entire paper in a live demonstration in under 7 minutes at The Leela in Delhi. It achieved a score of 175/200 – not just the highest score in 2024, but the highest score ever achieved in UPSC prelims history, far exceeding the typical qualifying score of 100/200. This historic achievement was covered by over 70 news outlets across India, including The Hindu and The Times of India.
The company’s newer offering, EverTutor.ai, designed for GRE preparation in the US market, has already gained more than 10,000 users since launching three months ago.
“SigIQ.ai isn’t just a regular EdTech startup — they’ve built an AI system that publicly demonstrated its ability to outperform both humans and leading commercial AI models on one of the world’s most challenging exams. This redefines what’s possible in personalized education,” said Mr Jeremy Fiance, Managing Director of The House Fund.
The company said SigIQ.ai is different from other educational AI tools in its approach to personalization. Unlike basic conversational AI that offers scripted or limited interactivity, SigIQ’s systems are highly interactive, responsive to follow-up questions, and capable of personalized instruction and feedback – not just chat.
Sharing some results, it said the technology replicates the behavior of a real tutor. Students using the platform report a 30-40 per cent increase in effective study hours while improving performance by 18 per cent in the first month, with over 75% feeling more confident tackling difficult topics within just three weeks.
Looking ahead, SigIQ.ai plans to expand its reach with EverTutor, supporting more GRE takers in the upcoming spring and fall and beyond standardized tests, SigIQ.ai envisions a future where their technology transforms education broadly, creating a new era where high-quality learning isn’t limited by geography, language, or economic status.
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