By Aliyu Oyewole
The Federal Government has announced that Nigerian students will receive 100 megabytes of free data daily from October 1, 2026, under a new initiative aimed at expanding access to digital education.
The programme, known as the Initiative for Zero-Rated Access to Educational Platforms and Content in Nigeria, will allow eligible students to access approved educational websites and digital learning platforms without paying data charges.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja during the launch of the initiative.
Alausa said the programme would initially cover students in public senior secondary schools and tertiary institutions, with plans to extend it to other categories of learners.
“Let me let out the secret. This will be made available to Nigerian students from October 1st, 2026,” the minister said.
Under the arrangement, participating mobile network operators will provide a daily 100MB zero-rated data allowance for access to government-approved educational platforms.
The Federal Ministry of Education and the Nigerian Communications Commission will jointly determine the platforms that qualify for the zero-rating programme.
According to the NCC, eligible platforms will include learning management systems, digital libraries, educational repositories, teacher development platforms, as well as technical and vocational training platforms.
The initiative is being implemented in collaboration with participating telecommunications operators, including MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria and Globacom.
Alausa said the government was introducing the intervention because the cost of internet data remained a major barrier to digital learning, particularly for students from low-income households.
He said the government’s ambition was to ensure that no Nigerian learner was prevented from accessing quality educational content because of an inability to afford data.
The NCC Director of Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis, Ayuba Shuaibu, said the framework would provide students in public secondary schools and tertiary institutions with access to selected learning resources at no cost.
He added that the initiative would operate within existing telecommunications regulations, with safeguards covering cybersecurity, consumer protection, child protection, data protection, net neutrality, fair competition and inclusivity.
The NCC Executive Commissioner for Stakeholder Management, Rimini Makama, said millions of students had been unable to access digital learning platforms because of affordability challenges.
She said the initiative was designed to ensure that learners were not excluded from educational content because of their location or household income.
The Minister of Education also disclosed that the Federal Government was expanding the digitalisation of the education sector through initiatives including the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure, Digital Nigeria Education Management Information System and Learner Identification Number.
He added that more than 240,000 schools had been geo-mapped and geolocated across the country, while the government was digitising the Annual School Census to collect data on enrolment, teachers, classrooms, laboratories, libraries, connectivity and school safety.
Meanwhile, the government is also working on measures to regulate internet access for children below the age of 16, with Alausa saying further details would be announced.
The minister stressed that digital education content made available to children must be appropriate, credible, safe and aligned with Nigeria’s educational objectives and curriculum.
