News Highlights:
- FG Targets 95% Digital Literacy by 2030
- UBEC, NITDA, and NERDC Join Forces to Embed Digital Skills in Basic Education
In a renewed drive to transform Nigeria into a digitally proficient nation, the Federal Government has intensified its campaign to embed digital literacy at all levels of education, with a bold target of achieving 95% digital literacy by 2030 and 70% by 2027.
This was reaffirmed by the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, during a high-level collaborative session with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).
Speaking at the meeting, Inuwa said the effort aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s broader reform agenda, which prioritises economic diversification and inclusive growth through innovation, manufacturing, creative arts, and digitisation.
“We started this journey in 2023 when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came on board and he made it clear that economic diversification and inclusivity are part of the administration’s agenda,” he stated.
“And the president outlined this in 8 priority areas to achieve the vision, with priority number 7 specifically focused on accelerating industrialisation, digitisation, creative arts, manufacturing, and innovation,” Inuwa added.
To advance this national digital vision, NITDA has developed the National Digital Literacy Framework (NDLF), a comprehensive blueprint tailored to equip Nigerians with relevant digital competencies across all levels of fluency, a development Inuwa explained aligns with international best practices but has been adapted to suit Nigeria’s unique context.
“The framework incorporates six core competency areas,” he explained, “including device and software operations, information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, content creation, safety, and problem-solving.”
He noted that the goal is to make digital skills accessible to every Nigerian, whether in primary school or the professional workforce, by providing foundational, intermediate, and advanced-level training.
Despite limitations in formal data gathering, Inuwa revealed that NITDA estimates the current digital literacy rate in Nigeria stands at around 50%, a steady increase from 44% recorded in 2021, as extrapolated from the World Bank’s Better Life Report.
The NITDA DG also disclosed that the agency has been working with key educational institutions, including the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), to develop a digital literacy curriculum suitable for integration into Nigeria’s formal education system.
“This visit,” he said, “is part of our ongoing engagements with the Federal Ministry of Education, the National Universities Commission (NUC), and NERDC, all aimed at advancing digital literacy across all levels of learning.”
Expanding on existing efforts, Inuwa mentioned the agency’s recent collaboration with Coursera, leveraging AI-driven tools to train educators and provide scalable online learning, and also highlighted the DL4NSUK initiative launched in partnership with CISCO and Nasarawa State University to equip university students with globally competitive digital skills.
But Inuwa stressed that the path to full implementation requires a collective national effort: “This is not a journey we can walk alone; we must bring everyone on board, education stakeholders, technology providers, state governments, and international partners.”
In response, UBEC Executive Secretary, Hajiya Aisha Garba, welcomed the curriculum co-developed by NITDA and NERDC, noting that the Commission had commenced internal reviews.
She described the curriculum as “robust and forward-looking,” but noted the need to simplify it for young learners and overburdened teachers. “We’re committed to working with NITDA and NERDC to refine the curriculum, train teachers, and ensure effective delivery. Let us align the technical vision with grassroots realities to make a lasting impact,” she said.
While acknowledging challenges such as curriculum overload, limited teacher capacity, and poor infrastructure, Garba pledged UBEC’s commitment, together with State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs), to begin equipping schools with computers and solar-powered infrastructure to support real-world learning.
To anchor the vision in action, the meeting concluded with the establishment of a joint inter-agency committee tasked with developing strategic implementation plans for the nationwide rollout of digital literacy programmes, ensuring that young Nigerians are well-prepared to thrive in the rapidly evolving digital economy.