The federal government has initiated plans to connect schools across Nigeria to the internet.

In a statement on Wednesday, Folasade Boriowo, director of press and public relations at the ministry of education, said the initiative was discussed at a high-level meeting involving Tunji Alausa, minister of education; and Bosun Tijani, minister of communications, innovation and digital economy.

She said the move was aimed at strengthening digital learning and expanding access to modern educational tools.

Boriowo quoted Alausa as saying 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.

He underlined 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.

According to him, 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 minister said the earlier programme recorded progress in connecting universities but slowed after the initial funding cycle ended, necessitating a renewed and expanded strategy.

He stated that the current effort seeks to revive the programme and extend internet connectivity across all levels of the education sector.

“Connectivity is not limited to broadband fibre alone. It also involves telecommunications towers, satellite systems and other digital infrastructure required to provide reliable internet access across the country,” the minister said.

Alausa said the federal government is deploying about 90,000 kilometres of fibre-optic broadband infrastructure across the country.

He added that about 3,700 telecommunications towers would be installed, particularly in rural and underserved communities, to strengthen nationwide connectivity.

The minister said the plan is to ensure that schools are deliberately connected as broadband cables are laid and towers deployed nationwide.

He said 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 said 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 emphasised that technology-driven education would not thrive without reliable connectivity.

He said although Nigeria hosts about eight international subsea internet cables, the highest number in Africa, the key challenge lies in distributing that capacity inland through extensive fibre networks capable of reaching communities nationwide.

“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,” he added.

By Imoleayo Oyedeyi

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