Public High Schools, Tertiary Students To Receive Free 100 Megabytes Daily From Next Month
Public high schools and tertiary students in the country will from next month receive free 100 megabytes (MB) daily to access selected educational websites and digital learning platforms.
The initiative, which is the brainchild of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and will be done in collaboration with telecommunication companies and the Federal Ministry of Education will be kick started on October 1, 2026.
Team@orientactualmags.com learned that the Minister of Education, Mr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Thursday during the launch of the Initiative for Zero-Rated Access to Educational Platforms and Content in the country in Abuja.
‘Let me let out the secret. This will be made available to Nigerian students from October 1st, 2026’ he said.
The minister added that this will help to address the cost of internet access, which has prevented students from low-income households from fully participating in digital education.
Telecommunication companies involved in the programme will according to him provide eligible students with 100MB daily to access government-approved educational websites and digital platforms without incurring data charges and this will initially focus on public high schools students and tertiary students before being expanded to other categories of learners.
‘Our ambition must be that, ultimately, no Nigerian learner should be denied access to quality educational content simply because he or she cannot afford data’ he added.
This initiative, he added, can transform smartphones, tablets and computers into classrooms and digital libraries by giving students access to learning materials without the burden of data costs while disclosing that the government is also considering measures to regulate internet access for children below the age of 16, with further details expected to be made public.
This is to ensure that only appropriate, credible, safe contents that align with ‘our educational objectives and our curriculum’ are made available to the young children.
NCC Director of Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis, Ayuba Shuaibu, said the commission and the Ministry of Education will jointly determine the educational platforms that wll qualify for zero-rated access under the programme while listing categories that will benefit from it to include learning management systems, digital libraries, educational repositories, teacher-training platforms, and technical and vocational education platforms.
‘The framework also adopts the operator’s consult model for the initial rollout of the initiative. Under this model, a daily zero-rated data allowance of 100 MB will be provided by the participating MNOs for usage on approved websites and platforms’ he said-Team@orientactualmags.com Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08035023079, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com. Thank you
