Ex-NUC boss urges music educators to embrace AI for enrollment boost

A former Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission, Prof Peter Okebukola, has urged the music educators to utilise the potentials in Artificial Intelligence to boost students enrollment for music training across the nation’s tertiary institutions.

Okebukola disclosed this on Thursday while giving his keynote address entitled “Artificial Intelligence: Application and Implication in Music Education during the 20th Anniversary of the Society for Music Educators of Nigeria held at the Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta.

He explained that available data still shows that the number of students seeking to study music at the country’s higher institutions are still very low but leveraging on technological innovations such as AI can really help to make studying music more attractive and therefore boost enrollment.

The former NUC Executive Secretary said “One area that I think AI will help a lot to improve  has to do with low enrollment of students for music education.

“Available data suggests that the number of students applying to study music in Nigerian Higher education is very low. This is influenced by limited programmes availability, societal perceptions of music as a career.

“Many students who eventually graduate with music degrees did not initially intend to study music but have to switch over because they were not offered their preferred courses.

“However, artificial intelligence if properly harnessed can be helpful in attracting and retaining more students for music and to pursue a career in it”

He explained that the integration of Artificial intelligence is altering the paradigm in music education by introducing tools that support and enhance music learning experiences.

Okebukola said that with some AI applications in music some tasks which might take hours or days involving arranging, producing, brainstorming can be done in minutes adding that AI algorithms can equally generate harmony, melody or rhythm allowing students to focus on creativity and not repetitive tasks

He urged the music educators to therefore embrace curriculum training that prioritises innovation leveraging on AI technology to change the narrative of music education in the country.

Speaking with journalists at the event, the Chairman, Local Organising Committee of the conference, Dr Deborah Lawal however said that the decision of the popular hip-hop artiste, David Adeleke, fondly called Davido to go back to school to study music as well as the support of other musicians like Ebenezer Obey has helped to improve on the enrollment of students for music

Dr Lawal, a music lecturer with FCE, Osiele, Abeokuta said that, “Yes, because of what musicians like Davido, Alabi, Dr Ebenezer Obey and even Dr Daniel Olukoya of Mountain Top University are doing with music, some of them are sponsoring and giving scholarship to students, we now have significant improvement in the number of students applying to study music.

“Because they have seen Davido going back to school to study music, many people are now also coming around to learn the basics, they now believe that they have to go to school to hone their raw talent and this is good for profession”.

She said that the annual conference provides a platform for the music educators to come around once in a year, share ideas, examine the growth of the profession and chart a new course to ensure that the Nigerian students are also up to date with their counterparts across the world.

The Chairman Board of Trustees of SOMEN, Dr. Ifeoluwa Olorunsogo, explained that the theme of the conference is influenced by the need to be in tune with the prevailing technology.

Olorunsogo stated that the conference would no doubt further open the eyes of the music educators to utilising technological innovations to advance teaching of music across the country.

Source: Punch