By Gabriel Ameh
ABUJA — The Federal Government has announced a major initiative aimed at connecting schools across Nigeria to reliable internet services in a bid to strengthen digital learning and expand access to modern educational tools.
The initiative is part of broader efforts by the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu to expand national digital infrastructure and ensure key sectors such as education benefit from ongoing broadband and telecommunications investments.
To advance the plan, the Minister of Education, Maruf Tunji Alausa, and the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, held a high-level meeting in Abuja with stakeholders to coordinate efforts toward connecting schools nationwide.
The discussions focused on developing a framework that will ensure internet connectivity reaches institutions across all levels of Nigeria’s education system, including primary schools, secondary schools, universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
According to Dr. Alausa, the initiative builds on previous connectivity programmes implemented through the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN), which supported broadband access for tertiary institutions under a World Bank-funded project.
While the programme made progress in linking universities and other tertiary institutions to broadband services, the momentum slowed after the initial funding phase ended, creating the need for a renewed and expanded strategy.
The new plan aims to revive the initiative and extend connectivity across the entire education sector.
Dr. Alausa explained that internet connectivity involves a combination of digital infrastructure, including fibre optic broadband networks, telecommunications towers and satellite systems that together ensure reliable nationwide coverage.
He noted that the Federal Government is currently implementing major connectivity projects, including the deployment of approximately 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic broadband infrastructure, installation of about 3,700 telecommunications towers, particularly in rural and underserved communities, and expansion of satellite capacity to strengthen internet coverage.
According to him, the goal is to ensure that as broadband cables are deployed and towers installed across the country, schools are deliberately connected to the expanding network.
The meeting also produced several implementation steps designed to accelerate connectivity in the education sector.
These include expanding the governing council of NgREN to include representatives responsible for foundational and secondary education, thereby improving coordination across the education system.
Two technical working groups have also been established to drive implementation. One group will focus on connectivity for tertiary institutions, while the other will focus on primary and secondary schools.
Dr. Alausa described the engagement between the ministries as an action-oriented collaboration aimed at delivering practical results rather than routine policy discussions.
He expressed optimism that the first phase of the initiative could begin producing visible results within the next three months.
Improved internet access, he noted, will allow students and teachers to access digital learning platforms, global knowledge resources and emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, which are increasingly shaping modern education systems.
The minister added that improved connectivity would also support ongoing reforms aimed at strengthening examination integrity through the gradual transition to Computer-Based Testing for national examinations.
He said that within the next two to three years, major examinations conducted by West African Examinations Council and National Examinations Council are expected to transition fully to computer-based testing, similar to the system currently used by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.
Also speaking, Dr. Tijani emphasized that technology-driven education cannot thrive without reliable connectivity.
He noted that Nigeria currently hosts about eight international subsea internet cables, the highest number in Africa, which bring large volumes of global internet capacity into the country.
However, he explained that the major challenge lies in distributing that capacity inland through extensive fibre networks capable of reaching communities nationwide.
According to him, most internet capacity enters Nigeria through submarine cables landing in Lagos, but without sufficient inland fibre infrastructure, it cannot effectively reach schools and communities across the country.
The ongoing national fibre expansion project, he said, is designed to address this challenge by extending broadband connectivity to all local government areas.
He added that the planned deployment of 3,700 rural telecommunications towers will further extend connectivity to underserved communities, with many of the towers strategically located near schools.
Both ministers reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to collaboration between the education and communications sectors to ensure that digital infrastructure investments translate into improved learning outcomes.
They noted that expanding connectivity across Nigeria’s education system will help equip students with digital skills needed to compete in a technology-driven global economy while ensuring broader access to quality education.
