The Federal Government has announced a major digital education initiative aimed at removing the cost of internet data for millions of students in senior secondary schools and tertiary institutions who access approved educational platforms.
The initiative, launched by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, is being implemented under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and is designed to make digital learning more accessible to Nigerian students, particularly those from low-income households and communities with limited access to conventional educational facilities. (Channels Television)
Speaking at the launch of the Initiative for Zero-Rated Access to Educational Platforms and Content in Nigeria, Alausa said the intervention would help ensure that poverty, geographical location and the cost of internet connectivity no longer determine who has access to quality education.
The Minister said the initiative was not merely about providing connectivity but about putting learning within the reach of children who might otherwise be unable to afford the data required to access educational resources.
According to him, a mobile phone, tablet or computer could effectively serve as a classroom, library and gateway to opportunities when the cost of connectivity is removed, especially for learners from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Alausa said the programme forms part of the broader transformation of Nigeria’s education sector through the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), which places data and digitalisation at the centre of education reform.
He explained that the government was also strengthening the planning, management and delivery of education through the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure, the Digital Nigeria Education Management Information System and the Learner Identification Number.
The Minister, however, stressed that the success of Nigeria’s digital transformation would ultimately be measured by its ability to reach learners and improve the quality of education.
Beyond access to educational content, Alausa announced that the Federal Government was also working towards regulated internet access for every child below the age of 16 as part of measures to protect Nigerian children from threats in the digital environment.
He said President Tinubu’s commitment to the welfare of every Nigerian child required the government and other stakeholders to remain vigilant against cyberattacks and other forms of online harm.
The Minister noted that the telecommunications industry was assuming an increasingly important role in education, with internet connectivity becoming as essential to learning as classrooms, textbooks and laboratories.
He therefore called for sustained collaboration among the Federal Ministry of Education, state governments, the Nigerian Communications Commission, telecommunications operators, technology companies, development partners, educational institutions and teachers to ensure that digital education in Nigeria remained accessible, safe and relevant.
Alausa further stated that the country must move beyond producing young people who merely consume technology, stressing the need to develop a generation capable of creating technology, innovating, solving problems and competing globally.
In his goodwill message, the Chairman of the House Committee on Communications, Hon. Peter Akpatason, commended the Nigerian Communications Commission for the initiative.
Akpatason described the high cost of data as one of the most pressing obstacles to learning in the digital age and reaffirmed the commitment of the House of Representatives to policies and legislative measures that would use technology to bridge the education gap, particularly for learners in underserved and hard-to-reach communities.
Similarly, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Senator Mohammed Muntari Dandutse, emphasised the importance of ensuring that no Nigerian child was excluded from access to knowledge and educational opportunities.
Dandutse commended the telecommunications industry for its contributions, including corporate social responsibility initiatives aimed at supporting children and expanding access to learning.
He noted that access to knowledge remained fundamental to Nigeria’s progress.
The Minister assured that the Federal Ministry of Education would continue to work with the Nigerian Communications Commission, state governments, telecommunications operators, educational institutions, development partners and other stakeholders to ensure that the initiative translates into lasting benefits for Nigerian learners.
