In its quest to push climate change education in schools, EcoSmart Club, a youth-led initiative committed to equipping young Nigerians with the knowledge and skills to lead climate action in communities, has trained 52 teachers across 28 schools in Oyo State.
The training, held under the EcoChampions programme with support from SOS Children’s Villages, aimed to build teachers’ capacity to integrate climate education and green skills into secondary school curriculum.
“The global transition to sustainability presents a significant opportunity to address unemployment in Nigeria. For instance, Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan projects the creation of over 840,000 green jobs by 2060,” said Hannah Omokhaye, founder of EcoSmart Club.
Omokhaye said the goal of the training is to prepare Nigerian youths for the global green economy and bridge the knowledge prevalent amongst many young people in the country.
She disclosed that despite this potential, there remains a critical skills gap.
“According to LinkedIn’s Global Green Skills Report, demand for green talent is growing twice as fast as supply. Yet, 77 percent of young people lack the practical skills needed to access green jobs,” she noted.
“Compounding this challenge, only one in eight education systems worldwide explicitly includes climate change in their curricula, while Nigeria’s education policy still lacks structured green skills training in secondary school.”
According to her, students need more than just theoretical knowledge; they need climate awareness, critical thinking, and eco-innovation skills to thrive in tomorrow’s economy.
She further stressed that teachers are crucial to shaping those attitudes and aspirations. “Environmental sustainability must be embedded in schools’ curriculum.”
Similarly, Ajiboye Oladapo, deputy director of the Department of Quality Assurance, Oyo State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, commended the initiative.
He emphasised the pressing impacts of climate change on human lives, ecosystems, and livelihoods. He urged teachers to embrace green education and inspire students to pursue sustainability-related careers.
Reflecting on the workshop, Adeyemo Ibrahim, a geography teacher, was excited about the programme: “Initially, I thought this would be a theoretical discussion on climate change.”
“But this training opened my eyes to the intersectional issues of climate change. I now see how to better prepare my students for green careers through practical education,” she added.
Another participant, Tolulope Fasanya, a teacher of computer science, added: “Going forward, I am not just forming the EcoSmart Club in my school; I’m also committed to empowering my students to pass the message to their peers.”
The two-day workshop was designed to be inclusive, welcoming participation from teachers in schools with disability units, such as the Methodist Grammar School Deaf Unit in Oyo.
The programme aligns with EcoSmart Club’s commitment to leaving no one behind in the green transition and ensuring that young people of all abilities can lead and benefit from the green economy.
