Google plans to extend its free artificial intelligence (AI) training programme to teachers in Nigeria in 2027, as the technology company steps up efforts to equip educators across Sub-Saharan Africa with skills to integrate AI into classroom teaching and learning.

The expansion, according to the technology company, will bring Nigerian educators into the Google AI Educator Series, an initiative designed to help teachers use AI responsibly to develop lessons, personalise instruction, improve classroom delivery and reduce administrative workloads.

Google said the programme would initially launch in South Africa in partnership with the South African Council for Educators (SACE), before expanding to Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana in 2027.

The training will combine virtual and in-person sessions, with a curriculum developed around the practical needs of teachers and the growing application of AI in education.

Google noted that more than 60% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population is under the age of 25, highlighting the scale of the region’s young population and the potential for technology-enabled education to improve learning opportunities.

“The curriculum is designed by educators, for educators,” Google said, describing the initiative as a practical training programme to help teachers incorporate AI into their professional activities.

The curriculum will cover how educators can use AI to create engaging lessons, streamline administrative responsibilities and adapt teaching materials to accommodate students with different learning needs.

Teachers participating in the programme will also earn micro-credentials as they progress through the training, providing recognition of the AI competencies acquired.

Google said it would work with local partners, including Ubuntu Hub, to engage educators and support the planned expansion into additional African markets.

The initiative comes as technology companies increasingly explore the application of AI in education, particularly across regions where large classrooms, limited teaching resources and varying student learning needs present challenges to effective instruction.

Google noted that more than 60% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population is under the age of 25, highlighting the scale of the region’s young population and the potential for technology-enabled education to improve learning opportunities.

Google backs AI tools for African classrooms

Beyond teacher training, Google is supporting the development of locally tailored AI-powered educational tools aimed at strengthening foundational literacy across African schools.

The company announced a partnership between Google DeepMind and Fab AI, a non-profit organisation focused on education in low- and middle-income countries, to support local innovators developing AI applications for education.

The initiative, backed by joint funding from Google.org and the Gates Foundation, will bring together a cohort of innovators from Kenya, Ghana and South Africa to develop educational solutions using Google’s open Gemma AI models.

Google DeepMind will provide computing credits and technical expertise to support the development of these applications, with an emphasis on using AI to improve teaching practices and learning outcomes.

The proposed tools will address three areas of classroom instruction: helping teachers prepare high-quality lessons aligned with national curricula, providing timely diagnostic feedback and assessments for students, and delivering practice-based coaching to strengthen teaching methods.

Google said small language models (SLMs) could make AI-powered educational applications more accessible in resource-constrained classrooms because they can operate on lower-cost devices and be adapted to local languages and national curricula.

The approach is intended to address some of the limitations associated with deploying larger AI systems in environments where reliable infrastructure and access to expensive computing resources may be constrained.

The first phase of the programme aims to support up to 500 teachers and 15,000 students, with the potential to reach more than two million learners over time.

Google also plans to make the resulting datasets, evaluation suites and open-source models publicly available, allowing researchers, developers and other organisations in the education ecosystem to adapt and scale the solutions.

What Google’s AI education plans mean for Nigeria

Although the initial AI tool development programme will focus on Kenya, Ghana and South Africa, Nigeria is among the countries scheduled to benefit from the expansion of Google’s teacher training initiative in 2027.

The planned rollout could give Nigerian educators access to practical AI skills at a time when schools and education stakeholders are exploring how emerging technologies can improve teaching methods, learning experiences and educational outcomes.

The emphasis on curriculum-aligned lesson planning, student assessment and personalised instruction also points to applications of AI that extend beyond generating educational content.

For Nigerian schools, however, the impact of the initiative will depend on how effectively teachers translate their newly acquired skills into classroom practice. Access to suitable digital devices, reliable internet connectivity and relevant educational resources will also influence how widely these tools can be adopted.

The distinction between training teachers to use AI and developing AI tools specifically for African classrooms is significant. While the educator series seeks to strengthen teachers’ capacity to work with the technology, the Google DeepMind and Fab AI partnership is designed to support locally developed applications that respond to specific educational needs.

Together, the initiatives reflect Google’s broader effort to place educators and local innovators at the centre of AI adoption in African education, combining professional skills development with technology designed around local classroom realities.

Google said stronger local partnerships and continued learning beyond initial training would be important in helping educators translate their AI knowledge into meaningful classroom practice.