The Federal Government has called on state governments, local government education authorities and private school proprietors to enrol in the Digitalised Nigeria Education Management Information System (DNEMIS), describing comprehensive and reliable education data as essential for effective planning, policymaking and improved learning outcomes nationwide.
The appeal was made on Wednesday in Abuja by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, during the official unveiling of the digital platform, which is designed to serve as Nigeria’s central repository for education data.
According to the minister, dependable statistics remain the foundation of meaningful reforms in the education sector, stressing that governments cannot adequately address existing challenges without credible information.
“You have to get the data right. Data allows us to monitor, design interventions, evaluate outcomes and plan proactively for the future. Without accurate data, meaningful development is impossible,” Alausa said.
The DNEMIS platform is expected to provide real-time information on schools, classrooms, teachers, learners, computer laboratories, water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, electricity supply and other critical infrastructure required for planning, monitoring and resource allocation.
Alausa explained that the platform would transform the collection, analysis and use of education data by enabling governments to identify infrastructure deficits, improve teacher deployment, monitor enrolment patterns and channel investments to communities with the greatest needs.
He added that commissioners for education, local government education authorities and school administrators would have access to up-to-date information to support evidence-based decisions and improve service delivery across the country.
The minister said the initiative forms part of efforts to strengthen planning within one of Africa’s largest education systems.
Data released through the Federal Ministry of Education’s Digitalised Nigeria Education Management Information System showed that Nigeria has 213,235 schools, although only 124,548 institutions have submitted information, representing a reporting rate of 58.4 per cent.
So far, the platform has captured records of 40,130,454 learners, 1,193,877 teachers, 730,447 classrooms and 607,508 toilets, reflecting both the size of Nigeria’s education sector and the significant information gaps the government intends to close.
For years, education experts have argued that fragmented and inadequate data has undermined effective policymaking, leading to poor teacher distribution, uneven infrastructure development and inefficient use of limited resources.
The Federal Government believes DNEMIS will resolve these shortcomings by creating a unified national database for education planning.
Alausa disclosed that although implementation of the project encountered delays, support from development partners accelerated its completion.
“We were ready to invest whatever it took because without data, we would not know where development is needed.
Our partners helped us overcome significant challenges and shortened the implementation timeline considerably,” he said.
He praised development partners, including the World Bank, the European Union, the Norwegian Government, UNICEF and other international organisations, for supporting the development of the platform.
The minister also commended ICT experts and international collaborators for helping Nigeria build what he described as an integrated and sustainable education information system.
He assured stakeholders that the Federal Government would continue working closely with development partners to keep the platform functional, inclusive and beneficial to all segments of the education sector.
Addressing private school proprietors, Alausa encouraged them to register and upload their data, assuring them that the exercise was not intended to introduce additional taxation.
“When you saw the demonstration, almost 90 per cent of public school data had been captured, but private schools were only at about 50 per cent. I want to encourage every private school to register and upload its data.
Do not worry, the government is not collecting this information to tax you. We recognise the critical role private schools play in Nigeria’s education sector,” he said.
He noted that private institutions now account for a significant share of Nigeria’s basic education system, making their participation vital for generating accurate national education statistics.
“Nearly three-quarters of junior secondary schools are privately owned, and that number continues to grow. We need every school to be part of this system because education planning must reflect the realities on the ground,” he added.
According to the minister, information from about 90,000 public schools has already been uploaded to the platform, while efforts are continuing to achieve full coverage of both public and private institutions.
He also urged state governments to intensify awareness campaigns and mobilise schools within their jurisdictions to participate in the exercise.
“We are building a system that will support policy decisions, improve accountability and strengthen education delivery across the country.
Every stakeholder has a responsibility to ensure the information is complete and accurate,” he said.
Alausa stressed that with more than 50 million learners in Nigeria’s education system, accurate and timely data is indispensable for planning future investments and reforms.
The renewed drive for a comprehensive education database comes amid growing concerns over the country’s education indicators. UNICEF estimates that Nigeria has about 18.3 million out-of-school children, one of the highest figures in the world.
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The World Bank also estimates that about 70 per cent of Nigerian children cannot read and understand a simple age-appropriate text by the age of 10, describing the situation as “learning poverty.”
Education stakeholders have consistently maintained that tackling these challenges requires not only greater investment but also reliable, up-to-date information to guide policy decisions, monitor progress and evaluate interventions.
In recent months, the Federal Government has intensified reforms aimed at improving foundational literacy and numeracy, expanding digital learning, strengthening technical and vocational education and enhancing accountability across the education sector. Officials say DNEMIS will provide the data needed to drive those reforms.
Also speaking at the event, the Director-General of the National Bureau of Statistics, Semiu Adeniran, pledged the agency’s support for the initiative, describing the platform as Nigeria’s future single source of credible education data.
“We just want one true source of data for education, and we are going to link the NBS platform with the ministry’s system so we can produce and disseminate reliable education statistics with wider national coverage,” Adeniran said.
He explained that the bureau would integrate its statistical systems with the education database to strengthen planning, policy implementation and monitoring across the sector.
The NBS boss added that the agency would support the initiative by mapping out-of-school children through household surveys while deploying its Small Area Estimation data to verify information generated by the platform.
“The data that comes from our Small Area Estimation will help validate and cross-check what is on the education platform,” he said.
He further noted that linking the NBS database with DNEMIS would provide policymakers with more dependable statistics for education planning, resource allocation and programme evaluation.
Officials expressed confidence that broad participation by state governments, local authorities and private schools would establish DNEMIS as Nigeria’s authoritative education database, strengthening evidence-based policymaking and improving learning outcomes for millions of students across the country.