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This paper aims to report the initial findings of a project aiming to re-establish basic education in conflict-ravaged states in Northeastern Nigeria and to improve education providers' ability to plan and deliver basic educational services. The authors present a preliminary analysis of Nigerian teachers' access to information communication technology (ICT), their technology skills, as well associated national ICT policies.

This case study uses results from two co-designed tools, administered using KoboToolbox to Education Managers in the first instance, and teachers in the second. The data from the tools form the basis for analysis.

In the first instance, educational managers reported a lack of access to technology, the internet and to training and professional development. In the second instance, teachers reported issues present in the classroom environment, including poor infrastructure, a lack of resources and over-crowded classrooms. Very few teachers had access to computers or to the internet.

The 33 educational managers represent a small sample size and may not be fully representative of the region covered. The ICT Capacity Audit tool listed Excel in two different areas – basic Excel skills and using Excel for data analysis – which could have caused confusion for participants. The data collection should be repeated, expanded and compared for consistency. For the team, changes to the proposed (SENSE) box content meant that we were not able to deliver low-tech tools, such as Boogie Boards, or high-tech tools, such as tablets, to schools.

Despite seemingly insurmountable challenges, the research team identified low-tech tools as a feasible resource in the classroom. Existing tools, such as teachers' smartphones and use of the WhatsApp application, can be used for sharing educational resources and providing teacher training. This paper argues that Nigeria needs up-to-date national ICT policies to guide in-country efforts to develop implementation of information technology initiatives for education.

Recent socio-economic trends have made Artificial intelligence (AI) a vital institutional force driving development among countries with optimal opportunities and costs. Among researchers in this domain, the benefit of AI is highly espoused, having been underexplored in Africa. However, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to strengthen the education sector, given that many schools have migrated their teaching and learning online. While face-to-face teaching was the norm, the transition to online teaching has brought about the need to rethink the use of Information Technology to strengthen teaching and learning. To proffer solutions for the implementation of AI in Africa, there is the need to understand the challenges. Therefore, in this chapter, we explore the possible challenges that hinder the implementation of AI in Africa. Further, we propose solutions for the implementation of AI in the education sector, especially in this era of the COVID-19 pandemic. The solutions stem from rethinking the role of AI in the education sector. Finally, a conceptual framework that synthesises the problems and the proposed solution is developed. We envision that the proffered solutions can mitigate the deepening misconceptions and challenges bedevilling AI implementation in Africa.