The Federal Government has announced plans to launch a nationwide digital platform that will track schools, learners, teachers and education resources across Nigeria in a bid to improve planning and decision-making in the education sector.
The platform, known as the Digital National Education Management Information System (DNEMIS), is scheduled to be unveiled on Wednesday alongside its public portal and the inauguration of state implementation teams.
Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja, the National Project Coordinator of the Special Programmes Operations and Implementation Unit in the Office of the Minister of Education, Adebayo Onigbanjo, said the initiative is designed to address years of poor and fragmented education data that have affected effective planning and service delivery.
According to him, Nigeria’s education system has relied on inconsistent reporting and outdated data collection methods, making it difficult for policymakers to accurately plan, allocate resources and monitor progress across the sector.
He explained that the Federal Ministry of Education developed the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI) as a unified framework to standardise education data management nationwide, with DNEMIS serving as its flagship digital platform.
Onigbanjo said the system will create a single national database containing information on every learner, teacher, school and public investment in education, providing government with accurate, real-time data for budgeting, policymaking, monitoring and improved service delivery.
He added that the initiative reflects the government’s commitment to making education reforms evidence-based rather than relying on estimates.
Also speaking, the Special Assistant to the Minister of Education on Digital Communications and E-Learning, Mojoyin Adebajo, said the platform was developed using the internationally recognised District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS2) to modernise education administration.
She noted that DNEMIS will digitise the Annual School Census, replacing manual data collection with a more efficient digital process that will improve the accuracy and accessibility of education statistics.
Adebajo said the platform will also provide updated information on schools, students, teachers and infrastructure, helping authorities make better decisions on resource allocation, teacher deployment and education programmes.
She added that the newly introduced Public DNEMIS Portal will allow researchers, journalists, civil society organisations, development partners and members of the public to access selected official education data, promoting greater transparency and accountability.
The Federal Government acknowledged the support of UNICEF and the University of Oslo in developing the initiative, which is expected to strengthen Nigeria’s education reforms by providing reliable data for improved governance and long-term planning
