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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Federal Government will tomorrow officially launch the Digital National Education Information Management System (DNEMIS), a nationwide education database that has already captured more than 32 million students in what officials describe as a major step towards strengthening planning, transparency and accountability in the education sector.
The National Project Coordinator of the Special Programmes Operations and Implementation Unit in the Office of the Minister of Education, Mr. Adebayo Onigbanjo, in a statement, on Monday, disclosed this ahead of the platform’s official unveiling on July 1.
He said the platform serves as the backbone of the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI), an initiative under the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), aimed at providing reliable, timely and integrated education data to support planning, budgeting, policymaking and service delivery.
According to Onigbanjo, DNEMIS is designed to replace fragmented education data systems with a unified digital platform that captures information on learners, teachers, schools and government investments in the sector.
“For many years, education planning relied on fragmented systems, inconsistent reporting structures and limited access to reliable data. DNEMIS changes that by ensuring that every learner, every school, every teacher and every investment in education is captured within a system that supports evidence-based decision-making.”
He described education data as a strategic national asset capable of improving governance across the sector through greater transparency and accountability.
Onigbanjo noted that the availability of accurate data would also enable the government to better address the challenge of out-of-school children by identifying learning gaps, tracking student progression and directing investments to areas where they are most needed.
“If you don’t measure, you can’t get a good sense of what the data is. Today, we already have 32 million students on the platform, and that gives us an indication of where learners are.
“We are also understanding their journey from when they start school and when they drop out. That gives us insight into their challenges and where investments need to go. Every school becomes visible, every student gets counted, every teacher is known, and every government expenditure in education becomes trackable. To a greater extent, this will stop wastage.”
He explained that the long-term goal is to provide government with complete visibility into every learner’s educational journey from enrolment through graduation, thereby improving planning and learning outcomes nationwide.
Addressing concerns over data privacy, Onigbanjo assured that the platform was developed on globally recognised digital architecture with robust safeguards to protect personal information.
He said sensitive information would be masked, while secure digital identity profiles would enable authorised users to access relevant data without exposing personal details.
Also speaking, the National Coordinator of the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI), Abubakar Isah, said the platform fully complies with Nigeria’s data protection regulations and incorporates internationally accepted data security standards.
He said schools and state governments would have access to their respective data, while communities, alumni associations and development partners would be able to access non-sensitive school information to support educational development and promote accountability.
“The idea is to allow communities to know what their schools need so they can contribute to improving them, while also holding government accountable,” he said.
Earlier, Special Adviser to the Minister of Education on Digital Communications and E-Learning, Mojoyin Adebajo, described DNEMIS as a landmark in Nigeria’s digital education transformation.
She said the platform, built on the globally recognised DHIS2 infrastructure, would digitise the annual school census and provide reliable nationwide data on schools, teachers, learners and education infrastructure.
Adebajo also announced that Wednesday’s event would feature the launch of the public DNEMIS portal, providing researchers, journalists, civil society organisations, development partners and members of the public with access to selected official education data through an interactive online platform.
She said the initiative reflects the Federal Ministry of Education’s commitment to strengthening evidence-based planning, enhancing transparency and leveraging technology to improve educational outcomes.
The ministry acknowledged the technical support of UNICEF and the University of Oslo in developing the initiative and invited stakeholders to participate in Wednesday’s official launch of the platform and the inauguration of DNEMIS state implementation teams.
