Better data, better schools

•Tech transforming Nigeria’s education sector

From Fred Ezeh, Abuja

Federal Government has said the modernisation of education management and administration through digital innovation is because for many years, policies and programmes were formulated and implemented without accurate or near real-time data to guide decision-making.

The data relates to personnel, classrooms, infrastructure, teachers, students enrolment, age and gender distribution, among other indicators.

For instance, in a rural community in Northern Nigeria, a school may be struggling with a shortage of teachers. Hundreds of kilometres away, another school may have enough teachers but insufficient classrooms to accommodate its growing students population.

Elsewhere, because education is on the concurrent legislative list, policymakers may be allocating resources without having access to up-to-date information on where the needs are greatest. For decades, such gaps have been among the biggest obstacles to improving education outcomes across Nigeria.

The challenge has often not been a lack of commitment to reform, but a lack of reliable and timely information to guide decisions.

Experts said the government’s decision to adopt data-driven solutions in the education sector is a step in the right direction, stressing that the biggest beneficiaries could be learners in classrooms across the country.

The goal

Government is seeking to revolutionise how education data is collected, analysed and used. At the heart of the initiative is the Digital National Education Management Information System (DNEMIS), a platform that stakeholders in the education sector believe could significantly improve planning, resource allocation and service delivery across the sector.

Stakeholders argued that the main objective is to ensure that every Nigerian child has a better chance of learning in a well-supported school environment even though the technology may seem far removed from the daily experiences of students.

The fault lines

Hitherto, discussions on education policies and reforms often focus on infrastructure, curriculum development, teacher training and increased funding. Yet experts say none of these interventions can achieve their full impact without accurate data.

An Abuja-based educationist, Effiong Thelma, said: “Obviously, the previous administrations have approached the problem wrongly while expecting positive results.

“They should be asking questions such as how many children are enrolled in school? Where are the highest dropout rates? Which communities lack adequate teachers? Which schools require urgent infrastructure upgrades? Without reliable answers to such questions, governments risk making decisions based on assumptions rather than evidence.”

She argued that for years, education administrators across many developing countries relied heavily on fragmented records, manual-reporting systems and delayed data collection processes. As a result, information often became outdated before it could be used for planning. The consequences can be significant.

“Resources may be deployed to the wrong locations, emerging problems may go undetected and interventions may fail to reach the children who need them most. Perhaps, this is precisely the challenge DNEMIS was designed to address,” she said.

A teacher, Bukola Oyewusi, reminded government of the need for sustainability asking the Minister for Education to put in place measures to ensure the dream does not die when he perhaps leaves office at the end of his time in office.

He made reference to 2018 Personnel audit conducted by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) that failed to provide the needed solution to the persistent data-management challenges in Nigeria’s basic education system.

Global outing

At the recent District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS2) annual conference in Oslo, Norway, Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, showcased the ongoing transformation in the education sector through data-based reforms.

He told the audience that the Digital National Education Management Information System (DNEMIS) has enabled near real-time collection and management of education data from across the country, thus creating a comprehensive picture of the sector that can support evidence-based policymaking.

He highlighted the role of digital innovation in driving reforms under the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), adding that the goal is to improve efficiency, accountability and measurable outcomes throughout the education system.

Alausa noted that, more importantly, the system provides decision-makers at all levels with the information they need to identify gaps and respond more quickly to emerging challenges.

The expectations

A school proprietor in Katsina State, Musbau Charanchi, said: “For the average Nigerian parent, education data may sound like an abstract concept. Yet its impact can be felt in practical ways.

“Accurate data can help authorities determine where new classrooms should be built, where teachers should be deployed and where learning materials are most urgently required. Additionally, it can reveal communities where children are dropping out of school and help governments design targeted interventions to bring them back into classrooms.

“It can also support monitoring efforts to ensure that education investments are producing measurable results. In essence, better data creates the foundation for smarter decisions that can lead to better schools.”

Similarly, others argued that the real value of digital platforms like DNEMIS lies not in the technology itself but in their ability to improve educational opportunities for learners. “When policymakers know precisely where challenges exist, they are better positioned to solve them,” they said.

Alausa, recently stated that Nigeria’s progress in education data management is attracting attention well beyond its borders. He noted that DNEMIS, which is built on the District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS2), a globally recognised open-source platform widely used in health information systems around the world, has attracted interest from African countries:

“The numbers tell a compelling story. Of the 45 million education records currently hosted globally on the DHIS2 education platform, approximately 32 million come from Nigeria. This makes Nigeria the largest education user of the platform worldwide and places the country at the forefront of efforts to harness digital technology for education sector management.

“The achievement has drawn interest from other African countries looking for practical models to strengthen their own education information systems.

“Nigeria’s experience demonstrates that robust education data systems can be developed and institutionalised in ways that are both scalable and sustainable.”

Partnerships behind DNEMIS

DNEMIS was developed through partnerships involving Federal Ministry of Education, UNICEF, HISP, the National Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI) and the University of Oslo. The ministry said the institutions helped to create a platform capable of generating timely, credible and actionable education intelligence.

Alausa said the invitation extended to Nigeria to present its experience at the DHIS2 conference in Oslo underscores the growing international recognition of the country’s achievements in digital education management. The engagement created opportunities for deeper collaboration in research, innovation, capacity development and knowledge sharing.

Prioritising the learners 

While discussions about digital platforms often focus on technology, officials insist that the true measure of success will be seen in classrooms. Observers said the ultimate objective is not merely to collect more data but to use information more effectively to improve learning outcomes: “Whether it means identifying underserved communities, tracking enrolment trends, improving teacher distribution or ensuring resources reach the schools that need them most, the goal remains the same: creating a more responsive and equitable education system.

“For millions of Nigerian children, that could translate into better-equipped schools, more qualified teachers and improved opportunities to learn and succeed.”

The road ahead

In recent years, the Federal Government disputed UNESCO’s estimates of the number of out-of-school children in the country, highlighting the longstanding challenge of obtaining reliable education data. While the government maintained a figure of 10 million, UNESCO insisted the figure was far more than that.

Ministry officials, however, noted that Nigeria’s education challenges remain substantial. While millions of children are still out of school, infrastructure gaps persist and learning outcomes continue to concern policymakers and stakeholders. Yet the growing emphasis on evidence-based decision-making offers reason for optimism.

Government stated that by investing in systems that generate accurate and timely information, the country is laying the foundation for more effective reforms and better educational outcomes.

As Nigeria continues to expand and strengthen DNEMIS under the broader education renewal agenda, one message is becoming increasingly clear: data alone cannot transform education, but without it, meaningful transformation becomes far more difficult.

As Nigeria embraces data-driven education management, the success of the reform will ultimately be measured not by the volume of information collected, but by its impact on the millions of children whose futures depend on the quality of education they receive.

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