National Coordinator of NEDI at the Ministry of Education and member of the National EdTech Strategy Task Force,Dr Abubakar Isah, says Nigeria’s first National Education Technology Strategy will modernise classrooms, expand connectivity, and ensure no learner is left behind.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE News on Friday, Dr Isah said the strategy is built on “access, quality, equity, innovation, and aligning talent with the digital economy,” and is designed to overhaul the country’s learning system from primary to tertiary level.
“We’re not starting from ground zero. We’re already somewhere, and what we need to do is to build on it,” he said. “It’s not going to be a dead journey. It will take a little while, but we’re confident that we are going to do it, and that’s why we have to have a strategy and a roadmap.”
Addressing concerns about limited connectivity and the high cost of data, Isah said the government is developing its own digital backbone for schools.
“The ministry is building its own internet exchange point. We’re going to build our own cloud infrastructure that will support the entire educational ecosystem,” he explained.
“Once we do that, the MNOs will have zero-rated access to it. It’s an amazing plan that will revolutionise how we have access to the educational system.”
He added that more than 70 per cent of Nigerian schools are already within areas covered by at least 2G networks.
“Even with 2G you can have minimal internet access and access to information. And you heard the Ministry of Communications—they are building an additional 4,000 towers to cover the entire country,” he said.
Isah suggested that an “educational community” could enable subsidised data for learners, whether through government support, telecoms CSR, or other facilities.
The national strategy, he said, covers every level of learning.
“Everybody is benefiting from it. From primary to tertiary,” Dr Isah stated.
He noted that the Nigerian Education Research and Education Network (NG-REN), designed to link tertiary institutions nationwide, is being revived.
“If I’m a student in ABU and I find myself in UNI—once I log in, I should have access to the same network and the same resources,” he said.
The strategy’s development is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2026, with public input invited through a dedicated website.
Dr Isah said teacher development is one of the strongest pillars of the strategy.
“Technology will never replace teachers. It will only make teachers’ jobs easier,” he emphasised.
A new government teacher-training portal will go live in January.
“All you need is your TRCN number. Log on, take your courses online. We’ve created a community of practice where teachers can engage based on their subject,” he explained.
Ensuring access to devices for teachers, he added, is “a major, major focus.”
The EdTech strategy also targets Nigeria’s out-of-school population.
“The focus is not to leave any child behind,” Dr Isah stressed. “We have mapped out more than one million kids. We know where they are, which community they come from, who their parents are, and we mapped the nearest school to them.”
The system also tracks whether children actually attend when enrolled.
“This is all technology-driven. I can see where a kid is, where he was identified, and which school he’s likely to be sent to,” he said.
For overage children who have never attended school, alternative pathways will be created.
“You can’t take a 12- or 13-year-old who has never been to school back to primary one. So can we give him a trade skill? Once he gets that, he can live a meaningful life. But we also want to teach literacy and numeracy,” he explained.
Dr Isah insisted funding will not hinder implementation.
“Federal government is funding a lot. Really, there is enough funds to do this,” he said.
The biggest obstacle, he noted, will be resistance to digital transition.
“We are doing it digitally. People are not used to that,” he said.
He added that the ministry already has unprecedented visibility of the country’s school system.
“My minister has a dashboard where he sees every school in this country. We have a national school register that identifies every school. And we are building a system where every child will have a national learner identity,” he revealed. “By the first quarter next year, that will be done.”
Dr Isah reiterated that the reforms have one core objective: ensuring that every Nigerian child has equal access to quality learning powered by technology.
“We’re building a complete system. Of course, there will be challenges, but we are confident we will get it done,” he said.
Boluwatife Enom
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