In January 2025, Governor Monday Okpebholo appointed Dr. Emmanuel Idiagbon Paddy Iyamu as the Commissioner for Education in Edo State, succeeding Joan Osa Oviawe. From the outset, Dr. Iyamu has embodied the governor’s vision of “A New Edo,” delivering transformative reform across digital infrastructure, teacher training, and skills integration.
A Digital Foundation: Modernising Access & Infrastructure
Within his first 100 days in office, Dr. Iyamu helped launch Edo Cert 2.0, a digital platform granting students seamless online access to their certificates—ending the old, manual chase for hard-copy transcripts. Alongside, a sweeping renovation of derelict schools—from Eweka Primary to New Era Girls Secondary—has brought safe, modern learning environments to communities across the state. Additionally, the government approved the recruitment of 500 new teachers, filling gaps and ensuring quality instruction across public schools.
In May 2025, Dr. Iyamu painted a vivid vision for digital learning in a compelling multimedia feature, urging that “digital education is not a luxury—it is essential.” He launched EdoSET, a digital certification system, and emphasized that technology should be fundamental in teaching and learning—especially coding, AI, robotics, and e-records—not just supplementary tools.
Bridging Skills and Education: Enter SkillUp Naija
Parallel to the digital push, Edo State continues its partnership with SkillUp Naija, a non-governmental empowerment organization. Back in 2024, SkillUp Naija launched the Edo Teens’ Enterprise Campaign (EDOTEC – “Project: Catch Them Young”), aiming to skill, guide, and empower 50,000 graduating secondary school students. This cutting-edge initiative includes distribution of the “Skills to Wealth” Entrepreneur’s Manual, six-month mentorship and entrepreneurship training across all local governments.
SkillUp Naija also partners with the Edo State Skills Development Agency, EdoJobs, in the popular EdoCraft competition, a teen creative innovation challenge encouraging STEAM learning through robotics, crafts, woodwork, drones, and more.
A New Chapter: Virtual Training for Teachers
In alignment with the state’s new Skills Integration Policy, the Ministry of Education, under Dr. Iyamu’s guidance, has embarked on a bold collaborative initiative with SkillUp Naija: a virtual training program for over 6,000 teachers across Edo State. The aim? To empower them in six key 21st-century modules:
-
Coding and Programming
-
Artificial Intelligence
-
Web Development
-
Video Editing
-
Social Media Management
-
Vlogging and Blogging
Upon successful completion, these teachers will be certified and appointed as SkillUp Edo ambassadors—with at least six ambassadors stationed in every school across Edo. This marks a watershed moment: rooting digital and entrepreneurial literacies at the very core of classroom leadership.
Meanwhile, Governor Monday Okpebholo’s broader education profile—including Project Edu Rescue, aimed at enrolling out-of-school children back into schools—aligns seamlessly with these skills initiatives.
Impact and Vision in Motion
-
Empowering educators, multiplying influence: Training 6,000 teachers and deploying ambassadors across schools creates dynamic multipliers—peer support ecosystems that nurture students’ digital competencies from the grassroots.
-
Cultural transformation: Dr. Iyamu’s leadership shifts teaching paradigms from rote instruction to agile, tech-enabled learning—bridging the analog-digital divide in public schooling.
-
Combining skill sets and infrastructure: Digital tools like Edo Cert 2.0 paired with retrained educators multiply student opportunities and relevance.
-
Anchoring innovation early: SkillUp Naija’s EDOTEC and EdoCraft campaigns ensure that creativity, entrepreneurship, and STEAM values are instilled in youths before they reach tertiary education or the workforce.
-
Securing future-ready students of Edo: The synergy between digital access, teacher capacity, and youth-oriented skills pipelines sets a firm foundation for student adaptability in a rapidly evolving global economy.
Dr. Emmanuel Paddy Iyamu’s tenure as Commissioner for Education is defined by an energetic and coherent push: modernizing systems, uplifting educators, and inspiring students through skill-driven engagement. His collaboration with SkillUp Naija—particularly the virtual training of teachers—positions Edo State as a forward-thinking pioneer, merging digital infrastructure with real classroom transformation.
Together, they are not just changing how education is delivered; they are changing what education means.
