Education
KADUNA State has been commended for its data driven education reforms during the launch of the Digital National Education Management Information System (D-NEMIS).
The President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Audu Amba, described Kaduna as a model for digital education governance.
Amba said Kaduna was making remarkable progress through technology driven leadership at the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).
He praised Kaduna SUBEB Chairman, Mr Mubarak Muhammad, describing him as one of Nigeria’s youngest and most digitally-oriented education administrators.
According to him, Kaduna’s success should challenge other states to embrace digital reforms and strengthen collaboration with NUT chapters.
The commendation came during the official launch of D NEMIS and inauguration of state coordination teams in Abuja.
The event attracted Minister of Education, Dr Maroof Tunji Alausa, commissioners, SUBEB chairmen, development partners, teachers and civil society organisations.
Alausa said the new platform would replace fragmented manual education data collection with real-time digital reporting.
He stressed that education planning must rely on credible data rather than assumptions.
“The future of education is not guesswork. It is data, evidence and action,” the minister said.
He urged states to upload accurate school-level data for planning, resource allocation and effective monitoring.
Alausa disclosed that about 38 million learners had been captured on D-NEMIS nationwide.
He, however, expressed concern over declining learner transition from primary to junior and senior secondary schools.
According to him, about 24 million pupils in primary schools reduce to five million in Junior Secondary School One.
He attributed the gap to inadequate infrastructure and structural challenges within the education system.
The minister said Nigeria had about 90,000 public primary schools but only 15,000 junior secondary schools.
He also criticised the separation of junior and senior secondary school administration, describing it as detrimental to learning outcomes.
Alausa said six digital modules had been developed to monitor learners, teachers, infrastructure, school safety and learning assessments.
He announced that Nigeria’s first national learning assessment in five years had commenced and would hold every three years.
The minister commended UNICEF, the World Bank, the European Union, Norway, FCDO and HISP, University of Oslo, for supporting the initiative.
UNICEF Country Representative, Wafaa Abdelatef, said D-NEMIS would make every Nigerian child visible within the education system.
She said the platform would support early identification of school dropouts and improve education planning.
Director of Basic Education, Mrs Folake David, described D-NEMIS as a unified platform for education data nationwide.
She urged states to eliminate estimates and ensure credible education statistics.
Officials said the initiative marked Nigeria’s transition from manual education reporting to digital accountability.(NAN)
Tags: Data Platform Digital education