Nigeria, July 21 -- Walk into almost any public school in Nigeria, and you feel the weight of history pressing down on the desks. Much of the system still operates to the rhythm of colonial-era regulations and syllabuses, which were conceived for a world that no longer exists. The design, the assumptions, the teaching style-all of it points backwards. Students memorise facts to pass exams, teachers rush to "complete the syllabus," and education officials track school success by the number of children registered, not by what or how they learn. The result is a production line that manufactures certificates but struggles to produce thinkers, innovators, or adaptable workers.

Across the country, you hear the same complaints from employers: g...