Labour Party in the UK warns that schools in England face a creativity crisis with the number of creative arts students and teachers down by as much as a fifth in some subjects after a decade of underinvestment.

Pupils’ engagement in the creative arts is considered by many to be a key factor in their recovery from the pandemic yet, according to Labour, specific government funding for music, arts and cultural programmes will equate to just £9.40 per pupil this year.

New analysis of government data shows that the number of GCSE music and drama students has fallen by a fifth over the last decade, Labour says, a trend mirrored by a drop in the number of drama teachers.

Labour’s analysis has shown in addition, one in seven music teachers and one in eight art and design teachers have left the profession.

School reforms have caused pupils to move away from arts subjects such as dance, music and art, and towards more traditional academic subjects such as geography and English.

There was an outcry in May from artists and musicians who accused the government of neglecting the country’s “cultural national health” after becoming aware of plans for a 50% funding cut to arts subjects at universities, which could come into effect from this autumn.

The shadow schools minister, Peter Kyle, said the government’s refusal to back school arts threatened children’s recovery from the pandemic and the country’s future prosperity.

He said creative industries contribute £11bn to the UK economy, but warned that this would be under threat if fewer pupils had the chance to learn such skills.

The study of music is an area of particular concern, with critics warning that it is increasingly becoming the preserve of wealthier families.

Earlier this week, a report by the schools watchdog, Ofsted, said the study of music was in decline not only at GCSE and A-level, but also earlier in a child’s education.

The report finds that music provision for children in key stage 3 (ages 11-14) has been reduced and primary-level trainee teachers are offered shrinking amounts of musical training.

A Department for Education spokesperson said the proportion of young people taking at least one arts GCSE since 2010 had remained stable.

Responding to a parliamentary question from Labour last week, the school standards minister, Nick Gibb, said the government had delivered the largest cash boost for schools in a decade. He said: “This government values the arts and supports the creative arts throughout the education system.

Dedan Kimathi University of Technology in Nyeri has been closed indefinitely after students staged violent demonstrations over fee increment.

The institution’s vice-chancellor, Ndirangu Kioni, stated in a memo to all students that the University senate had suspended all in-person lectures following disruption of learning.

The University vice-chancellor directed all students to vacate the main campus immediately and not later than July 15, 2021.

Earlier, there was heavy police presence at the university’s main campus as students barricaded the Nyeri – Mweiga highway, bringing traffic to a standstill.

The move comes a day after police in Nairobi arrested three student leaders from the University of Nairobi (UoN) after they took part in protests against the recent fee increment.

The students demonstrated in two groups, one at the Kenyatta National Hospital and another along Uhuru Highway near the main campus.

The Government of Lagos State says public and private schools in the state will resume for the first term (2021/2022 academic session) on Monday, September 13, 2021.

A statement signed by the public affairs officer, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Emmanuel Olaniran, said this was in line with the mandate of the Lagos State Ministry of Education to ensure a harmonised academic school calendar for both public and private schools.

The OEQA reassured stakeholders of prioritising harmonised instructional days of learning for all schools in the state.

The academic calendar also reflected the introduction of Staff Professional Development for all schools, which is a five-day capacity development for teachers prior to the first week of resumption.

The statement read in part, “As schools will be resuming for the First Term (2021/2022 academic session) on Monday 13th September, 2021, the Lagos State Government through the OEQA has reassured stakeholders of prioritising harmonised instructional days of learning for all schools in the state.”

In another development, Director-General, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, has advised the recently trained OEQA evaluators to apply the knowledge they have garnered to provide quality and effective education to learners in the state.

Speaking while presenting certificates to the OEQA evaluators who participated and completed the Right Teacher Online Training on, ‘Impact and Influence of the 21st Century Teacher,’ she urged them to reflect the new knowledge in their basic primary assignment and perform competently in their respective duties.

Seriki-Ayeni explained that the importance of training and retraining in the education sector was key to achieving all round quality education and effective performance as stated in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

The Convener, Right Teacher Academy, Abimbola Ogundere, said the Right Teacher Academy was a ten-week programme.

Thirty Nigerian students have received from the United States Consulate General in Lagos, fully funded scholarships totaling $4.35m to attend American universities and colleges for the 2021/2022 academic session.

U.S Consol General, Claire Pierangelo, made this known while receiving the US-bound students under the Opportunity Funds Programme, urging them to maximise the opportunity.

Pierangelo was quoted as saying, “I congratulate each one of you on your tremendous success. Your success is evidence of your leadership, academic performance, and the great potential young Nigerians hold for the future of this country.”

She said the 30 departing students; six undergraduates, three masters and 21 doctoral candidates, would be studying a variety of majors, including Neuroscience, Biomedical Engineering, Bioinformatics, Computer Science and Engineering.

The statement added that their impressive list of acceptances includes Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University, Princeton University, Purdue University, University of Pennsylvania, among others.