By Dayo Adesulu
In the 21st century, digital access is no longer a luxury—it is a lifeline. Yet in Nigeria, millions of students remain excluded from this essential tool of learning. From rural schools without power supply to urban slums where families can’t afford data, the nation’s digital divide in education is vast, deep, and consequential.
According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), over 80 million Nigerians—more than a third of the population—lack internet access. Most of them are in rural communities. This gap, though technological on the surface, reflects deeper inequalities in infrastructure, policy, poverty, and governance.
The Reality on the Ground: Where Learning Ends with the Bell
In Gidan Bature, a village in Sokoto State, 14-year-old Fatima Musa walks 7km daily to attend her local public secondary school. Her classroom has no electricity, no internet, and no computers. Chalk and talk is still the default mode.
“I have heard about Google, but I have never used it,” she says. “We are told it can help you learn anything. But how can we learn if we have never even touched a computer?”
A 2023 UNESCO report found that over 70% of public schools in Nigeria lack basic ICT facilities. The situation is worst in the northern states, where ongoing insecurity, displacement, and poverty compound the digital gap.
Case Study: Lagos Slums—Access, But Not Inclusion
In Ajegunle, Lagos, 17-year-old John Nwachukwu lives just miles away from the tech hubs of Victoria Island. Yet, the contrast could not be more stark.
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“I share one smartphone with my two siblings. We can’t afford Wi-Fi, so we buy ₦200 data cards when we can,” he says. “Online classes are for the rich. We just copy notes from WhatsApp when the teacher uploads them.”
A survey by Paradigm Initiative in 2024 found that while mobile penetration is high in urban centers, true digital learning remains elusive. Only 22% of secondary school students in low-income urban communities had consistent access to learning platforms during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Why the Divide Persists: The Policy-Implementation Gap
Nigeria has launched several digital access literacy programs over the past decade—the School Connectivity Project, the Nigerian Education Cloud, and the Digital Bridge Institute, among others. Yet the results remain underwhelming.
Dr. Jummai Umar, an education policy analyst, explains:
“Most programs are donor-driven or announced with pomp and pageantry but collapse from lack of maintenance or political continuity. We don’t have a national framework that sees ICT access as a right, not a project.”
Worse still, education budgeting has consistently failed to prioritize ICT infrastructure. In 2023, only 2.5% of the education budget went to technology-driven initiatives.
Teachers Without Tools
It’s not just students who suffer. Teachers, especially in public schools, are left behind.
Mrs. Elizabeth Adegbite, a teacher in Oyo State, says:
“We were trained once on using Google Classroom during COVID-19, but the internet café where I could access it shut down. We don’t have computers in the school. How do I teach digitally without the tools?”
The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) reports that over 65% of teachers lack the capacity or digital access to integrate ICT tools into their teaching.
The Cost of Disconnection
The global education landscape is moving rapidly towards AI, remote learning, and digital credentials. Yet millions of Nigerian students are missing out.
A 2024 Brookings Institution report warned that students without early exposure to digital tools are likely to earn up to 40% less in their lifetime compared to their digitally literate peers.
In Nigeria, where youth unemployment hovers around 33%, the consequences of this digital illiteracy are profound.
Global Comparisons: What’s Possible
Countries like Kenya and Rwanda have invested heavily in digital education—even at the primary level. Kenya’s Digital Literacy Programme has distributed over 1 million tablets to public school pupils since 2016. Rwanda’s Smart Classrooms project has installed over 10,000 laptops in secondary schools nationwide.
Nigeria has the capacity to do the same—its tech talent is globally recognized, and local edtech companies are innovating solutions. But the political will remains elusive.
What Needs to Happen
- Universal School Connectivity: The federal government must work with telcos to deliver broadband to every public school by 2030.
- National Digital Literacy Curriculum: ICT must be integrated across subjects from primary to tertiary level.
- Subsidized Devices for Students: Partner with local manufacturers to produce low-cost tablets and laptops for students.
- Teacher Training and Support: Establish regular, practical digital skills training with follow-up support.
- Public-Private Partnerships: Collaborate with tech firms for infrastructure, content development, and innovation hubs.
Conclusion: No Child Left Offline
Digital access is not just about tech. It is about justice, equality, and national development. As the world moves ahead, Nigeria cannot afford to leave its students behind—not because they lack intelligence or ambition, but because they were born in a place where cables never reached and policies never landed.
We must act now—because a disconnected classroom today will be a disconnected country tomorrow.
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