The Abia State government says education remains a tool that transforms the human mind and equips them to become decent and responsible members of the society.
The Secretary to the State Government, Professor Kenneth Kalu who disclosed this during a conference to mark this year’s International Day of Education with the theme :”Equipping Abians through Education to Thrive In the AI era organized by the Ministry of Tertiary Education held at the Secretariat hall Ogurube layout Umuahia said education provides skills, knowledge and competence required to thrive in the AI era.
Professor Kalu, noted that the education friendly Governor of Abia State Dr Alex Otti has given much emphasis on the education sector in the state by allotting twenty percent of the budget to the education sector, making basic education in the state free and compulsory to ensure that Abia children acquire basic education.
He explained that although Artificial Intelligence promotes efficiency, emphasis must be laid on human agency for the progress of the society and challenged all to put into consideration the power of human social relations,values and ethics in whatever they do in this digital era.
In her remark, the commissioner for Tertiary Education Prof. Uche Eme Uche, said that education is the bedrock upon which our state’s prosperity is built and the key that unlocks the potential of our youth, empowers our communities and drives innovation.
She advised as our generation navigates the complexities of the AI era, education must remain at the forefront of our priorities.
Presenting a paper on the theme:”AI and Education, preserving human agency in the world of automation”, the Rector Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic Aba Abia states Engr. Dr. Okoro Christopher maintained that the challenge of the fifth industrial revolution which according to him is human centric is to look for ways to mitigate the negative impact of AI and embrace the positive values.
Dr. Okoro, decried the rate at which technology is now doing the work of humans and called on researchers to rise up to the challenge of finding ways of taming these machines to ensure that every device will be human centered adding that the polytechnic has introduced AI as a course of study for all students in the institution.
In his keynote presentation , The Director, Center for Embedded Artificial Intelligence MOUAU Prof. Lawrence Oborkhale, stressed that the AI revolution presents both opportunities and challenges adding that there should be a collective responsibility to ensure that citizens are equipped to thrive in this new landscape.
The event attracted the presence of stakeholders in the education sector among other dignitaries.
![GoodGirl LA redefines what it means to be a ‘Good Girl’ [Review]](https://storage.googleapis.com/ova-news.appspot.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/5ec7cbb0-0d7d-4622-b1e9-175d5d2fd4a4-biLT8w.jpg "GoodGirl LA redefines what it means to be a 'Good Girl' [Review]")
