By Peter Onyekachukwu 
By Peter Onyekachukwu
The Federal Government has unveiled a digital empowerment scheme aimed at providing Nigerian teachers with affordable smart devices and free internet access to boost teaching quality and professional development.
Tagged Zero-Rated Data Access and Subsidised Devices Initiative, the programme is supported technically by the UK-funded Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE) and aligns with the National Digital Learning Policy (NDLP) under the Education Public-Private Partnership (ePPP) framework.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, who led a high-level roundtable with government officials, private sector leaders and development partners in Abuja on Thursday, said the initiative will help make teachers more digitally compliant.
“It will be foolhardy to ask teachers who are poorly paid to use their money to buy data, and that is why we are partnering with private individuals and organisations to bridge that gap. We need our teachers to be 21st-century compliant for them to impact the students well,” Alausa stated.
To ensure effective implementation, the minister inaugurated a Coordination and Implementation Committee (CIC) comprising representatives from key government agencies and private partners.
Members of the committee include the Federal Ministries of Education; Innovation, Science & Technology; and Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy; as well as the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
Private partners and development organisations such as PLANE, the British Council, Airtel, MTN, the United Bank for Africa, REVRICA, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Gradely, Tuteria, 1 Million Teachers, Oasis, EdTech Hub and UNICEF are also part of the initiative.
Over 8,000 teachers drawn from all six geopolitical zones will benefit from the pilot phase scheduled to run from December 2025 to July 2026. They will have free access to the Federal Government’s eLearn platform and other approved digital resources without data charges.
Commending the initiative, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad, represented by Mrs. Elizabeth Afape, described it as a timely intervention to improve teachers’ digital competence.
On her part, TRCN’s Registrar, Dr. Ronke Soyombo, said: “The initiative to provide zero-rated data access to educational platforms is a bold and commendable step toward democratizing digital learning and empowering both teachers and learners across Nigeria.”
Mr. Ian Attfield, Senior Education Adviser at the British High Commission, reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s education technology drive. He urged stakeholders to “promote scalable, locally adapted solutions that leverage technology to improve teaching quality, learner engagement and national education equity goals.”