FG Launches National Education Data System for Planning and Accountability

FELICIA ONAH, Abuja

The Federal Government has unveiled a unified education data platform aimed at improving planning, budgeting and policy implementation across Nigeria’s education sector.

The platform, known as the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI), was launched in Abuja on Thursday by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa.

According to the minister, the system will serve as a central database covering schools and students from the basic to tertiary levels, providing government and stakeholders with accurate and reliable information for decision-making.

Alausa described the initiative as a major step toward addressing long-standing challenges associated with fragmented educational data across institutions and agencies.

“NEDI will become the single source of truth for education in Nigeria,” he said.

The minister explained that the platform would enable federal and state governments to better identify areas requiring intervention and ensure that resources are directed to sectors and regions with the greatest needs.

He expressed concern that a large proportion of educational investments by development partners over the last decade had been concentrated in only two geopolitical zones despite those areas recording low school enrollment figures.

According to him, the new system would help government and donor agencies align investments with verified national priorities and measurable educational outcomes.

Alausa also disclosed that the initiative would introduce a National Learner Identity Number (NLIN) for every student in the country.

The unique education identity, he explained, would be linked to each learner’s National Identification Number (NIN) and connected to the school attended by the child.

“With this, we will know whether a child is enrolled in school, making progress or has dropped out,” he said.

The minister noted that the system would improve transparency, monitoring and accountability within the education sector while strengthening long-term policy planning.

Earlier in her remarks, Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, said one of the major obstacles confronting the sector over the years had been the lack of an integrated and reliable data management structure.

She observed that educational data generated by institutions, examination bodies, agencies and development partners often existed in isolated systems, making comprehensive analysis and planning difficult.

“This has made it difficult to obtain a comprehensive, reliable and timely picture of the education sector,” she stated.

According to her, NEDI was established to bridge that gap by creating a unified national platform bringing together information from basic education, secondary schools, technical and vocational institutions, admissions, scholarships, examinations, student funding and graduate outcomes.

“The ultimate goal is to build a reliable, transparent and integrated educational data ecosystem that supports planning, accountability, policy formation and decision-making,” she said.

Prof. Ahmad added that the initiative should not be seen merely as a technology project but as a broader reform mechanism for the education sector.

Also speaking, Chief of Education at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Vanessa Lee, commended the Federal Government for the initiative and pledged the organisation’s continued support toward improving education management and data systems in the country.

She noted that credible and accessible data remained critical to addressing educational challenges and improving learning outcomes.