The Federal Government has moved to remove the cost of internet data from access to approved educational platforms for millions of Nigerian learners, as Education Minister Maruf Tunji Alausa unveiled a zero-rated digital education initiative designed to make online learning more accessible to students across senior secondary schools and tertiary institutions.
The intervention, which was launched on Thursday in Abuja forms part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Federal Ministry of Education’s broader digital transformation programme under the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI).
Speaking at the launch of the Initiative for Zero-Rated Access to Educational Platforms and Content in Nigeria, Alausa said the government was determined to ensure that the price of internet data no longer determines who can access educational opportunities.
The minister said the policy was designed to tackle one of the most significant barriers to digital learning, particularly for students from low-income families and communities where conventional educational infrastructure remains inadequate.
According to him, once data costs are removed from access to approved educational content, a mobile phone, tablet or computer can effectively become a classroom, library and gateway to opportunities for learners”Poverty, geography and the cost of connectivity” must no longer determine access to quality learning, Alausa said, stressing that digital transformation would only be meaningful if it ultimately improved the learning experience of individual students.
The Minister said the zero-rating initiative goes beyond simply expanding internet connectivity. It is intended to ensure that learners can use approved educational platforms without the additional financial burden of purchasing data for those services.
Alausa said the initiative was part of a broader effort to reposition Nigeria’s education system through data, digital infrastructure and technology-driven planning. He identified the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure, Digital Nigeria Education Management Information System and the Learner Identification Number as key components of the government’s education digitalisation strategy.
The systems, he said, are being deployed to strengthen how learner information is captured, education policies are formulated and resources are allocated.But the Minister cautioned that the success of digitalisation should not be measured by technology deployment alone.
He said the ultimate test was whether the technology reached the learner, removed barriers to education and translated into improved quality and outcomes.While opening wider access to digital education, the government is simultaneously preparing to tighten protection for children operating in the online environment.
Alausa disclosed that there would, at some point, be regulated internet access for children below 16 years of age, as part of measures to protect Nigerian children from online threats.
The Minister said President Tinubu’s commitment to the welfare and dignity of Nigerian children required the government and other stakeholders to confront risks associated with the digital environment.
He cited cyber attacks and other forms of online harm among the threats requiring stronger safeguards as Nigeria expands digital learning. The emerging policy therefore seeks to balance two competing imperatives opening the internet wider as a learning resource while strengthening safeguards around children’s online activities.
Alausa also placed the telecommunications sector at the centre of Nigeria’s education transformation, arguing that reliable and affordable connectivity is increasingly as important to learning as classrooms, textbooks and laboratories.
Leave a Reply