Alausa launches zero-rated access to educational platforms, announces internet controls for under-16s
The federal government has launched an initiative to remove data costs from access to approved educational platforms for learners in senior secondary schools and tertiary institutions across Nigeria.
Tunji Alausa, minister of education, announced the initiative on Thursday during the launch of the initiative for zero-rated access to educational platforms and content in Nigeria.
Alausa said the intervention was designed to ensure that poverty, geography and the cost of internet connectivity no longer determine access to quality education.
He said the initiative would make digital learning more accessible to students, particularly those from low-income households and communities where access to conventional educational infrastructure remains limited.
According to him, a mobile phone, tablet or computer can serve as a classroom, library and gateway to opportunities when the cost of data is no longer a barrier.
The minister said the initiative is part of the broader transformation of the education sector under the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), with data and digitalisation at its core.
He said the federal government was strengthening education planning, management and delivery through the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure, Digital Nigeria Education Management Information System and Learner Identification Number.
Alausa, however, said the success of digital transformation would ultimately be measured by its ability to reach learners and improve the quality of education.
The minister also announced plans for regulated internet access for children below 16 years as part of measures to protect Nigerian children from online threats.
He said the welfare and dignity of children must remain central to Nigeria’s digital education drive, adding that government and stakeholders must remain vigilant against cyberattacks and other forms of online harm.
“At some point, there would be regulated internet access for every child below the age of 16 years,” Alausa said.
He also highlighted the growing role of the telecommunications industry in education, saying connectivity was increasingly becoming as essential to learning as classrooms, textbooks and laboratories.
Alausa called for sustained collaboration among the Ministry of Education, state governments, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), telecommunications operators, technology companies, development partners, educational institutions and teachers.
He said Nigeria must move beyond producing young people who merely consume technology to developing a generation capable of creating technology, innovating, solving problems and competing globally.
Peter Akpatason, chairman of the House Committee on Communications, commended the NCC for the initiative, describing the high cost of data as one of the major barriers to learning in the digital age.
Akpatason said the House of Representatives remained committed to policies and legislative measures that leverage technology to bridge the education gap, particularly for learners in underserved and hard-to-reach communities.
Mohammed Dandutse, chairman of the senate committee on tertiary institutions and TETFund, also stressed the need to ensure that no Nigerian child is left behind in accessing knowledge and educational opportunities.
Dandutse commended the telecommunications industry for its contributions through corporate social responsibility initiatives that support children and expand access to learning.
He said access to knowledge remained fundamental to Nigeria’s progress.
Alausa assured that the Ministry of Education would continue to work with the NCC, state governments, telecommunications operators, educational institutions, development partners and other stakeholders to ensure the initiative delivers lasting benefits to learners.
He said the initiative would help break barriers to learning and expand opportunities by ensuring that geography does not determine a child’s future and poverty does not prevent access to knowledge.
