Gov’t hails Ecobank’s trailblazing AI-assisted education transformation drive.

The positive declarations were made in Yaounde, Saturday October 19, 2024. This was during the Ecobank Grand Conference.

It was organised to commemorate the 11th edition of Ecobank Day, a long-running initiative introduced by the people-friendly continental financial heavyweight to give back to its communities. 

The conference focused on how AI can be used in transforming the teaching-learning process as a crucial tool in shaping the future of education on the African continent. 

The programme was part of the bank’s Transforming Africa Through Education initiative, launched by the financial institution last year. 

The event was fronted by the Managing Director of Ecobank Cameroon, who doubles as the institution’s head for the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa, CEMAC, Gwendoline Abunaw. 

It was attended by several government authorities and representatives, including the Secretary of State to the Minister of Basic Education, Asheri Kilo, who represented the ministers of Basic and Secondary Education.

Also present was the representative of the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Dr Winfred Mfuh. 

The gathering was punctuated by a panel discussion on AI and education. Focus was on how teachers and learners can effectively and legitimately use the tool in improving the teaching-learning exercise, resultantly placing the system as a gateway for a sustained overall improvement of the sector. 

It was animated by stakeholders in the AI and education sectors. 

Among them, Tekoh Palma Achu, an AI engineer and lecturer at the ICT University and Dr Dzounesse Bruno, Programme Specialist on AI in Education at UNESCO. 

It was also graced by the Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of Ecobank Foundation, Elisa Desbordes. 

The event was also spiced by a practical presentation on how AI can be used by teachers and learners in the educational sector.

Ecobank lauded

In separate outings at the conference, the Secretary of State to the Minister of Basic Education, Dr Asheri Kilo, the representative of the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Dr Winfred Mfuh, and other participants all hailed the Ecobank Group for the initiative.

Dr Asheri Kilo said the Ecobank project falls in line with government’s plans and efforts to transform the country’s education system. She lauded the bank for using AI; notably by prioritising timely investments and fronting technological development. 

She said the efforts made by the Pan-African financial institution through the Transforming Africa Through Education scheme stands out as a pacesetting stride in that regard. 

Dr Asheri Kilo noted that the bank’s move will open doors for more bold steps to be taken in tackling the technical, infrastructural and human resources challenges that are presently hindering the introduction of the tool in the education system like stated in recent years by global institutions like UNESCO.

“It is very important that we understand the networking that needs to be done for this to be effective. All stakeholders have to be involved. We are grateful that Ecobank is taking the lead,” Dr Asheri Kilo said.

She added that: “All I want to say is thank you to Ecobank and to the other stakeholders who are willing to join the government in making sure that Cameroon does not stay below the average line of the use of AI in the education system”.

AI not redundant, harmful tool 

Dr Asheri Kilo, in a bid to further restate the timeliness of the Ecobank initiative, debunked what she termed as the misleading presentation of the AI.

She was categorical that the tool is not redundant and harmful to the education system and to humanity at large. 

Dr Asheri Kilo said initiatives like that fronted by the Ecobank Group are crucial and help present AI as a tool that adds more impetus in the teaching and learning processes. 

“It is a teaching tool to help teachers make learning easier for both the students and themselves. They have practically shown us how we can detect a student who has plagiarised or just copied everything from the internet. We think that is a very interesting part so far as all the discussions that we have been having on AI in Cameroon are concerned,” she said.

She, however, insisted on the need for experts in the AI sector in the country to contextualise the tool to reflect the Cameroonian reality for more efficiency. 

Teachers, learners…share the same view

In an interview at the end of the conference, school proprietors, teachers and learners expressed similar views about the AI. 

The Founder of the Groupe Scolaire Bilingue Juniors in Yaounde, Sophie Engome, and a lecturer at the Catholic University of Central Africa, Amougui Pulcherie, said the Ecobank event helped in further changing their narratives about AI. 

Engome said the learners in her institution have always embraced the use of the tool but insisted that the Ecobank initiative motivates her and her institution to want to do more in ensuring that girls in particular, are empowered using the tool.

“I am very happy because even in my school, I see how girls are always very happy when we study the programme. They can find solutions around them. While there, there is no longer any gender issues and this is really an opportunity for the country to improve,” Engome said.

On her part, Amougui said students can use the tool in not only “complementing their courses but generally better their knowhow which will permit them to improve their competence”. 

Cueing in, a student of the Mario Academy Complex in Yaounde, Nji Macfield, expressed gratitude to the Ecobank Group for the initiative.

He said the conference has helped him to better understand that “Artificial Intelligence is not here to replace human beings” but to help “make our work easier”. 

Gov’t providing platform for AI

In a keynote address at the conference, Dr Winfred Mfuh, who represented the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, said government is making strides in ensuring that the usage of the AI is fully effective in the country. 

He said the state is investing heavily on providing the quality of internet service that is needed for the smooth functioning of the system.

This, he said, is done by regulating the actions of the two private telecommunications companies in the country; MTN and Orange and empowering the state corporation, CAMTEL, with the capacity they require to lead the technical activities of the sector.

“The quality of internet connections is very important for the development of AI solutions. It is for this reason that the quest for a reliable, affordable, quality and inclusive internet is at the very heart of the mission of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications,” Dr Mfuh said. 

The P&T ministry official said such moves will create space for the state and stakeholders to develop indigenous solutions for the country’s needs and give way for the nation to take advantage of the opportunities in the AI sector. 

Ecobank at the heart of sustainable dev’t

The Ecobank Day, according to the financial institution’s Cameroon Managing Director and CEMAC Head, Gwendoline Abunaw, is a day that has been reserved for the Group’s employees present in all the over 33 countries in which it operates, to give back to its communities in various ways.

Per Abunaw, the institution has as part of activities marking the commemoration of the Day, which was introduced in 2013, executed several projects in a bid to promote the wellbeing of the population. 

She said the project has had the institution investing in “creating awareness campaigns for mental health, maternity, education and also giving back in the form of gifts such as portable water sources, equipment for medical institutions and equipment to schools”. 

Abunaw said the bank has, through the initiative, touched more than 10,000 lives. 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3266 of Monday October 21, 2024