The Federal Government has launched a new initiative aimed at connecting schools across Nigeria to reliable internet services in a move designed to expand digital learning and integrate modern technologies, including artificial intelligence, into the country’s education system.
The programme is part of broader efforts to strengthen digital infrastructure nationwide and ensure that the education sector benefits directly from ongoing investments in broadband expansion and telecommunications development. Officials say the initiative is intended to enable students and teachers to access digital learning platforms, global academic resources, and emerging technologies that are increasingly shaping modern education systems around the world.
The initiative follows a directive by President Bola Tinubu to accelerate the expansion of national digital infrastructure and ensure that key sectors, particularly education, benefit from ongoing broadband and telecommunications investments.
As part of efforts to implement the directive, the Minister of Education, Maruf Alausa, and the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, recently held a meeting in Abuja with key stakeholders to coordinate strategies for the nationwide school connectivity programme.
The meeting focused on aligning efforts between the education and communications ministries to ensure that schools across the country are effectively integrated into Nigeria’s growing digital infrastructure network.
Details of the discussions were contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Federal Ministry of Education and signed by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Folashade Boriowo. According to the statement, the meeting centred on developing a framework that will ensure internet access reaches institutions across all levels of the education system, including primary schools, junior and senior secondary schools, universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
The government noted that ensuring connectivity across these institutions would create opportunities for improved teaching, research collaboration, and access to digital educational tools.
Providing further insight into the programme, Alausa explained that the initiative builds on earlier work carried out through the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN), which had previously supported broadband connectivity for tertiary institutions under a project funded by the World Bank.
According to the minister, that earlier project recorded progress in linking universities and other higher institutions to high-speed internet services but eventually slowed after the completion of the initial funding cycle, making it necessary for the government to revive and expand the initiative to cover the entire education sector. He said the renewed programme is intended to ensure that internet connectivity extends beyond universities to include all educational institutions across the country.
Alausa emphasised that the concept of connectivity within the initiative extends beyond traditional fibre broadband infrastructure and involves a broader ecosystem of digital infrastructure needed to support reliable internet access. According to him, “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.” He added that the government is currently implementing several large-scale connectivity projects designed to significantly improve nationwide access to digital services.
Among the projects currently underway, the minister said the government is deploying an extensive fibre optic network across the country while also expanding telecommunications infrastructure in underserved areas.
According to him, these efforts include “the deployment of approximately 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic broadband infrastructure, the installation of about 3,700 telecommunications towers, particularly in rural and underserved communities, and the expansion of satellite capacity to strengthen nationwide coverage.”
These initiatives, he noted, are intended to ensure that even remote communities are able to access reliable internet services as part of the country’s digital transformation agenda.
The minister further explained that the government is deliberately planning the expansion of broadband infrastructure in such a way that educational institutions are automatically connected to the network as it grows.
He said schools will be integrated into the national connectivity plan as new broadband cables are laid and telecommunications towers are installed across different parts of the country. “We are planning proactively so that as broadband cables are laid and towers deployed across the country, they are strategically connected to our schools from primary and junior secondary schools to senior secondary schools and all tertiary institutions,” Alausa said.
As part of the implementation strategy agreed during the Abuja meeting, the governing council of NgREN will be expanded to include representatives responsible for foundational and secondary education, a move aimed at strengthening coordination across the entire education system. Officials say the expansion will ensure that policy decisions and infrastructure planning reflect the needs of institutions at all educational levels rather than focusing solely on tertiary institutions as in previous initiatives.
The statement also disclosed that the Minister of Education has approved the creation of two separate technical working groups to accelerate the implementation of the connectivity programme.
According to the ministry, one of the groups will focus specifically on improving internet connectivity for tertiary institutions, while the other will concentrate on expanding internet access to foundational and secondary schools across the country.
The working groups are expected to coordinate technical planning, implementation timelines, and collaboration between relevant government agencies and stakeholders in the telecommunications sector.
Alausa expressed confidence that the first phase of the programme would begin to produce measurable improvements within the next few months as the technical teams commence work on expanding connectivity to educational institutions.
He said improved internet access would enable both teachers and students to engage more effectively with digital educational platforms and global knowledge resources while also gaining exposure to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. The minister said these developments are expected to transform teaching methods and learning experiences within Nigeria’s schools and universities.
He also noted that improved connectivity will support broader reforms currently underway in the education sector, particularly efforts to improve the integrity and efficiency of national examinations through the gradual adoption of computer-based testing systems.
According to Alausa, “We plan that within the next two to three years, major examinations such as WAEC and NECO will transition fully to Computer-Based Testing, similar to what is currently being implemented by JAMB.” The transition, he explained, will require strong digital infrastructure to ensure that examination processes are secure, efficient, and accessible across the country.
Also speaking on the initiative, Tijani emphasised that technology-driven education cannot thrive without reliable internet connectivity and digital infrastructure capable of supporting modern learning tools.
According to him, although Nigeria already has significant international internet capacity, the main challenge lies in ensuring that the connectivity is effectively distributed throughout the country. He said, “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.”
Tijani explained that Nigeria currently has about eight international subsea internet cables landing on its shores, the highest number on the African continent, but that infrastructure alone does not guarantee widespread connectivity. According to him, the ongoing national fibre expansion programme is designed to address this challenge by extending broadband infrastructure to all parts of the country.
He said the project involves the deployment of approximately 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable across Nigeria, with the goal of ensuring that every local government area is connected to the national broadband network.
The communications minister added that the planned deployment of about 3,700 rural telecommunications towers will also help expand connectivity in communities that currently lack adequate digital infrastructure. Many of these towers, he said, are expected to be installed close to educational institutions in order to ensure that schools benefit directly from the improved connectivity.
By combining fibre broadband infrastructure with telecommunications towers and satellite coverage, the government hopes to create a comprehensive digital ecosystem capable of supporting modern educational technologies.
Both ministers reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening collaboration between the education and communications sectors to ensure that investments in digital infrastructure translate into meaningful improvements in teaching and learning outcomes across the country.
Officials noted that expanding connectivity across Nigeria’s education system will not only improve access to educational resources but will also equip students with the digital skills required to compete in an increasingly technology-driven global economy.
The government stressed that integrating schools into the country’s growing digital infrastructure network is a critical step toward improving access to quality education nationwide and preparing Nigerian students for the demands of the modern digital world.