The Federal Government has announced plans to introduce a nationwide digital platform designed to tackle the long-standing challenge of fragmented education data, in a move aimed at strengthening planning, policymaking, and service delivery within Nigeria's education sector.
The platform, known as the Digital National Education Management Information System (DNEMIS), will be officially unveiled on Wednesday alongside the launch of the Public DNEMIS Portal and the inauguration of DNEMIS State Implementation Teams.
Speaking during a pre-launch media 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 address years of inconsistent and unreliable education data that have hindered effective governance of the sector.
"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," Onigbanjo said.
He explained that the Federal Ministry of Education established the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI) as a national framework to harmonise, standardise, and strengthen education data management at all levels.
According to him, DNEMIS is the flagship component of NEDI and represents a significant milestone in Nigeria's transition to a modern, integrated, and technology-driven education management system.
"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," he stated.
Onigbanjo said the platform would provide timely, reliable, and easily accessible data to support planning, budgeting, policy formulation, monitoring, and service delivery. He added that the system would ensure every learner, teacher, school, and public investment in education is captured within a unified national database.
He stressed that the reform demonstrates the Federal Government's commitment to developing education policies based on accurate data rather than estimates.
"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 further noted that, "Data is no longer a back-office function. It is becoming the engine of education reform in Nigeria."
Also speaking, the Special Assistant to the Minister of Education on Digital Communications and E-Learning, Miss Mojoyin Adebajo, said DNEMIS was built on the globally recognised District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS2) platform to modernise education administration and strengthen evidence-based decision-making.
She explained that one of the major features of the platform is the digitisation of the Annual School Census, replacing the largely manual process of collecting education data with a more efficient and integrated digital system.
"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.
Adebajo added that the platform would generate up-to-date information on schools, teachers, learners, and education infrastructure, enabling better allocation of resources and improved monitoring of educational programmes nationwide.
She also highlighted the Public DNEMIS Portal as a major innovation, noting that it will, for the first time, provide researchers, journalists, policymakers, development partners, civil society organisations, and members of the public with access to selected official education data.
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 also acknowledged the technical support provided by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the University of Oslo in the development of the initiative.
Nigeria's education sector has long faced challenges arising from fragmented and largely manual data collection systems, with information on schools, teachers, student enrolment, and infrastructure often gathered through disconnected reporting processes.
These inconsistencies have complicated planning, budgeting, teacher deployment, infrastructure development, and the monitoring of learning outcomes, while limiting the government's ability to make timely, evidence-based decisions.
Education experts have consistently advocated the establishment of a unified national education database to improve transparency, accountability, and coordination between federal and state education institutions.
As a core 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 ongoing education reforms under the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative led by the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa.
ADEDEJI TOLU
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