Abuja: The Federal Government says it has taken steps to connect all schools through reliable internet services nationwide. It said the move was to strengthen digital learning and expand access to modern educational tools. This is contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja by Folasade Boriowo, Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Boriowo said the initiative was discussed at a high-level meeting involving the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, and the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani. Boriowo quoted Alausa as saying that the initiative followed a directive by President Bola Tinubu to expand digital infrastructure across key sectors, including education. Alausa said the initiative would help harness technology, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), to improve Nigeria’s education system and expand access to digital learning resources for students and teachers.
Alausa further explained that the plan is to develop a coordinated framework to ensure connectivity across all levels of education, from foundational and secondary schools to universities and colleges. He mentioned that the initiative would build on previous connectivity efforts through the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN), which supported broadband access for tertiary institutions under a World Bank-funded programme. The earlier programme recorded progress in connecting universities but slowed after the initial funding cycle ended, necessitating a renewed and expanded strategy.
The minister stated that the current effort seeks to revive the programme and extend internet connectivity across all levels of the education sector. He emphasized that connectivity is not limited to broadband fibre alone but also involves telecommunications towers, satellite systems, and other digital infrastructure required to provide reliable internet access across the country. Alausa said the federal government was deploying about 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic broadband infrastructure across the country and added that about 3,700 telecommunications towers would be installed, particularly in rural and underserved communities, to strengthen nationwide connectivity.
Alausa highlighted the plan to ensure schools are deliberately connected as broadband cables are laid and towers deployed nationwide. He mentioned that the governing council of NgREN would be expanded to include representatives from foundational and secondary education to improve coordination. According to him, two technical working groups have also been established to drive implementation across tertiary institutions and foundational and secondary schools. Alausa expressed optimism that the first phase of the initiative would begin to produce visible improvements within three months.
He noted that improved connectivity would enable students and teachers to access digital learning platforms, global knowledge resources, and emerging technologies such as AI. The minister added that expanded digital infrastructure would also support examination reforms through the gradual transition to Computer-Based Testing (CBT) for national examinations. Also speaking, Tijani, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, emphasized that technology-driven education could not thrive without reliable connectivity. He pointed out that although Nigeria hosts about eight international subsea internet cables, the highest number in Africa, the key challenge lied in distributing that capacity inland through extensive fibre networks capable of reaching communities nationwide.
Tijani remarked that most of the internet capacity enters Nigeria through submarine cables landing in Lagos, but without sufficient inland fibre infrastructure, that capacity cannot effectively reach schools and communities across the country.