The Federal Government is set to introduce a nationwide digital platform aimed at transforming education data management and addressing years of fragmented information that have hindered effective planning and decision-making in the country’s education sector.
Known as the Digital National Education Management Information System (DNEMIS), the platform will be officially launched on Wednesday alongside the unveiling of the Public DNEMIS Portal and the inauguration of DNEMIS State Implementation Teams.
Addressing journalists during a pre-launch briefing in Abuja on Monday, the National Project Coordinator of the Special Programmes Operations and Implementation Unit in the Office of the Minister of Education, Mr Adebayo Onigbanjo, said the initiative was created to resolve persistent challenges caused by unreliable and disconnected education data systems.
He said, “For many years, education planning and administration relied on fragmented systems, inconsistent reporting structures and limited access to reliable and timely data.
These challenges constrained effective planning, weakened accountability and limited the sector’s ability to respond to emerging realities.”
According to Onigbanjo, the Federal Ministry of Education established the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI) as a unified national framework to harmonise, coordinate and strengthen education data management across all levels of the sector.
“At the centre of this transformation is DNEMIS, a flagship component of NEDI and a major milestone in Nigeria’s journey toward a modern, integrated and digitally enabled education management system,” Onigbanjo said.
He explained that DNEMIS would serve as a central database containing information on learners, teachers, schools and public education investments, while providing accurate and timely data to improve planning, budgeting, policymaking, monitoring and service delivery.
Onigbanjo noted that the initiative demonstrates the Federal Government’s resolve to ensure education reforms are guided by credible data rather than projections.
“The progress recorded through NEDI and the implementation of DNEMIS reflects the Ministry’s broader commitment to ensuring that reforms are not only announced, but effectively coordinated, implemented and measured,” he said.
He added, “Data is no longer a back-office function. It is becoming the engine of education reform in Nigeria.”
Also speaking at the briefing, the Special Assistant to the Minister of Education on Digital Communications and E-Learning, Miss Mojoyin Adebajo, said the system was built on the globally recognised District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS2) platform to modernise education management and support evidence-based policymaking.
She explained that DNEMIS would digitise the Annual School Census, replacing the predominantly manual method of collecting education data with a more efficient digital process.
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“By digitising the Annual School Census process, the platform will provide government with timely, reliable and accessible education data to support planning, budgeting, policymaking and improved service delivery across Nigeria’s education system,” she said.
According to Adebajo, the platform will enable authorities to access updated information on schools, teachers, learners and educational infrastructure, thereby improving resource allocation and strengthening oversight of education programmes.
She also identified the Public DNEMIS Portal as one of the initiative’s major features, noting that it would make selected official education data available to researchers, journalists, policymakers, civil society organisations, development partners and members of the public for the first time.
According to her, “This represents an important step toward expanding access to information and encouraging broader participation in conversations that shape the future of education in Nigeria.”
The officials further acknowledged the technical contributions of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the University of Oslo toward the development of the platform.
Nigeria’s education sector has for years grappled with fragmented and largely manual data collection systems, making it difficult to obtain reliable information on schools, enrolment, teachers and infrastructure.
These shortcomings have affected planning, budgeting, teacher deployment, infrastructure development and the monitoring of educational outcomes, while limiting the government’s capacity to make timely, evidence-based decisions.
Stakeholders in the education sector have consistently advocated the establishment of a unified national database to improve transparency, accountability and coordination among federal and state education institutions.
As a key component of the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure, DNEMIS is expected to bridge these gaps by digitising education data collection, including the Annual School Census, and providing real-time information to support reforms under the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative championed by the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa.