Prof Asha Kanwar, President and CEO of the Commonwealth of Learning, met with senior officials in Abuja on 29 July 2016 to discuss joint education efforts.

At an initial meeting, Prof Kanwar met with senior officials including the Honourable Minister of State Professor Anthony Anwukah, the Permanent Secretary Education Dr Shade Yemi-Esan, the Director of Education Support Services Mrs J. N. Ibe, and COL Focal Point Mrs Mary Ameh, who serves as the Assistant Director, Bilateral Agreements, Commonwealth & African Affairs Branch in the Federal Ministry of Education. Prof Kanwar briefed them on COL and its work in Nigeria, and they discussed teacher education, which the Honourable Minister indicated was one of his priorities.

In a later meeting, Prof Kanwar met with the Honourable Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, and the Vice Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Professor Abdalla Uba Adamu. They discussed how COL can support the Honourable Minister’s priority to bring out-of-school youth back to education.

Prof Kanwar was in Nigeria to deliver the inaugural lecture of the Distinguished Lecture series initiated by NOUN. She spoke on the topic “Can ODL reach the unreached? Lessons from the Commonwealth“.