“Technology is the key to unlocking the potential of education, but limited access to technology in Africa means that millions of children are being left behind in the digital age.” -Strive Masiyiwa, founder and chairman of Econet Wireless
The global reach of information and communications technology (ICT) offers developing countries a unique chance to participate in a global economy that was previously inaccessible. ICT has become a crucial driver of economic growth for both developing and advanced nations serving as a fundamental infrastructure that fosters the development of various sectors, including health, banking, insurance, defence, industry, agriculture, transportation, tourism, and education. In recent years, similar to other developing countries, Nigeria has seen numerous infrastructure investments and digital literacy empowerment initiatives launched by the government and other agencies. These efforts aim to enhance the nation’s ICT infrastructure and bridge the digital divide between Nigeria and the developed world.
Although studies have shown that Nigeria remains Africa’s largest ICT market with 82 per cent of the continent’s telecom subscribers and 29 percent of Internet usage, a recent World Bank report states that more than 50 per cent of Nigeria’s over 200 million population do not have digital skills and therefore cannot use data services. This divide manifests in the disparity between urban and rural areas regarding access to digital resources, internet connectivity, and educational opportunities. In layman’s terms, the digital divide is a 62 year-old-man who does not know how to use his credit card, it is an 8-year-old learner who cannot participate in a state-wide competition because of the low internet connectivity in his community. The digital divide is simply the new illiteracy.
Internet penetration in Nigeria has unarguably influenced the digitisation of various socioeconomic sectors including education. However, common among most digitisation efforts in different sectors including e-governance, e-energy and e-transportation, etc is the fact that younger citizens, the nation’s future, who make up 70% of Nigeria’s population are often excluded as they are required to have reached the 18-year mark to be permitted to use certain digital platforms. As validated by the Covid-19 pandemic, education technology (edtech) has a great potential to promote accessibility to learning for all including the 20 million out-of-school children within the country, while cutting out on the need for physical school structures and teachers to cater to this. This awakening has measurably influenced the growth of the edtech sector in Nigeria going by edtech use in classrooms and the number of edtech solutions developed so far.
EdTech Initiatives in Nigeria
In the past few years, we have experienced a surge in the number of EdTech organisations in the country addressing different learning and school administration needs from tutoring and test prep to learning management systems to vocational and STEM education, to mention a few. Some of these EdTech solutions and initiatives include;
Computer-based Testing: In addition to international examinations, since 2013, the gradual transition from paper-based testing to 100% computer-based testing of the compulsory Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination has challenged young people in Nigeria to acquire basic computer literacy skills. The country has also witnessed an increased interest in CBT by other examination bodies such as the West African Examination Council (WAEC) amongst others.
EduTAMs: an integrated cloud-based school management system that helps school administrators digitise learning, gain better insight into the management of their schools and give teachers, students, and parents the platform to interact in teaching and learning activities. In 2023 alone, EduTAMS was able to reach 322,829 learners.
Curri Ai: is an AI-powered app designed to support 21st-century teachers with the creation and curation of lesson plans, offering access to a vetted question bank and diverse curricula for fun, interactive and engaging classes.
Newglobe: Newglobe supports national and state governments by creating powerful technology-enabled education systems. In Nigeria, they have collaborated with various State governments to deliver state-wide technology-backed basic learning through various initiatives including Kwara LEARNS (Kwara State), Edo BEST (Edo State) and Eko EXCEL (Lagos State).
Alt School Africa: is an innovative educational technology company that is revolutionising skill and capacity development for young Africans. The startup offers a comprehensive suite of educational tools and services, including a learning platform that offers various technical skill development resources. The platform enables individuals to learn different in-demand skills, particularly in the tech and development fields.
Ulesson: is an Edtech startup championing online and remote learning adoption in West Africa. The company operates an advanced Edtech platform which hosts a diverse range of subjects, test preparation materials, and skill development courses for primary and secondary school students. uLesson’s platform is a store of countless expertly curated video lessons, quizzes, and interactive assessments designed to adequately prepare students for the next level of their education.
Safe Online with Meta: is a digital literacy and online safety campaign designed to empower Nigerians with digital literacy and online safety skills to use digital platforms safely and responsibly. In partnership with Co-creation Hub, since 2018, Meta trained 95, 193 Nigerians including learners, teachers, school leaders, parents, youths, and stakeholders from various organisations.
Laudable as these EdTech solutions and initiatives are, with immense impact on closing the digital divide is the need for both the government and private organisations to provide an enabling environment to scale this impact across the country. Some challenges that hinder EdTech growth in Nigeria include;.
Challenges
- Policy: In a 2020 report by the EdTech Hub, the National ICT in education policy was still aspirational a year after it was launched, with very little progress made in translating the policy into concrete action. The report further states that although both the National ICT in education policy and ICT in education policy suggest that State Ministries of Education (SMoEs) were involved in the development of the policy and implementation guidelines, there is little clarity on their roles in implementing sub-strategies and activities. While the Nigerian government has put certain policies in place that will strengthen ICT development and ultimately improve EdTech adoption, the lack of measures to ensure that policies are implemented to achieve the desired results makes them ineffective.
- Affordability of Digital Devices: The cost of purchasing digital devices for teaching and learning has also posed an entry barrier to many Nigerians across various income levels. For instance, the average cost of smartphones on Jumia (arguably Nigeria’s biggest consumer goods e-commerce retail platform) has dropped by 43 per cent from $216 in 2014 to $95 in 2018. This is high for a country where the minimum wage is #30,000 and 40.1% of its citizens living in poverty.
- Connectivity: In 2023, Nigeria’s internet penetration rate stood at 55.4%, leaving almost 45% of the population unconnected. In rural areas, 61% of the population remains disconnected from digital services, while in urban areas, this figure is around 40%, highlighting a stark rural-urban divide. When indexed against the minimum wage, the average cost of one gigabyte of mobile data estimated at $2.22 is roughly 2.6 percent of monthly income; a figure higher than the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI)’s affordability target of one gigabyte of data not costing more than 2 percent of average income.
- Funding: There is limited government funding for EdTech as nearly all EdTech initiatives are led by NGOs, startups and international organisations. However, in recent years, we have witnessed an increase in funding for viable edtech solutions by international donors, validating the importance of edtech financing to grow the industry, digitise learning and improve learning outcomes.
We have witnessed more forms of political will to improve digitisation efforts in the country such as the National Information Technology Development Agency’s (NITDA) aspiration in 2023 to achieve a 60% digital literacy rate by 2025 and 90% by 2030 as detailed in the National Digital Literacy Framework, highlighting the role of and benefits to the education sector among others. The Ministry of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy also announced recently, an approval to build 90,000km of terrestrial fibre optic cable in the country to complement existing connectivity infrastructure. As laudable as these policies and political efforts are with respect to addressing other digital inclusion challenges including connectivity, accountability structures must be put in place to clearly outline the responsibilities of various stakeholders by the stated timelines. In addition to this, the annual budgetary allocation to education should also make explicit provisions for EdTech development and adoption in the country. Finally, given that most original equipment manufacturers are based outside the country, an enabling environment in the form of moderate taxation should be upheld to promote the affordability of digital devices to citizens.
This article has shown the potential of EdTech to close the digital divide in the country and the leadership efforts of various actors to grow the EdTech industry. For EdTech to achieve its true potential, foundational challenges such as weak political accountability structures and weak infrastructure (affordability, connectivity and electricity) need to be addressed. This calls for increased, deliberate support and investment to develop the EdTech industry in Nigeria.
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