Education Ministry, NIMC Move to Link 80m Learners to National Identity Database

The Federal Ministry of Education and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) have deepened their partnership to integrate nearly 80 million learners into Nigeria’s digital identity system as part of efforts to establish a unified national identity database.

The initiative, the Federal Government said, is expected to strengthen education planning, improve data accuracy and enhance transparency in the delivery of government interventions across the education sector.

Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Thursday while receiving the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NIMC, Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, and her management team during a courtesy visit to his office in Abuja.

Alausa said the collaboration aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s vision of deploying technology to improve governance, accountability and service delivery, assuring that the ministry would fully support NIMC in building a reliable national identity system.

He praised the commission for what he described as significant progress in modernising Nigeria’s identity management infrastructure.

“I am delighted that NIMC, under the leadership of Engineer Abisoye Coker-Odusote, is setting standards that are comparable with the best anywhere in the world in identity management,” the minister said.

According to him, the recently signed NIMC Act has provided a stronger legal framework for ministries, departments and agencies to work together towards creating what he described as “a single source of truth” for identity management in the country.

“Let me assure you that we in the education sector are your strongest partners. We will support everything your agency is doing to strengthen trust and credibility in Nigeria’s identity management system,” he added.

The minister explained that the education sector holds one of the largest repositories of citizen data, with about 67 million learners currently enrolled in basic and post-basic schools across the country.

He said the figure rises to almost 80 million when students in tertiary institutions and technical and vocational education are included, representing nearly one-third of Nigeria’s estimated population.

Describing the collaboration as critical to Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure, Alausa revealed that the ministry had already developed the National Learners’ Identification Number, which is now being aligned with the National Identification Number (NIN).

He said the integration would harmonise learner records with the National Education Management Information System, enabling government to verify identities, generate credible education statistics and improve policy formulation and implementation.

“This gives us access to credible biometric information linked to each learner’s NIN. We can now verify every learner’s identity and determine whether the individual is a Nigerian citizen or a legal resident with a valid identification number,” he said.

Responding, Coker-Odusote commended the minister for the ongoing reforms in the education sector, describing them as transformative.

“On behalf of NIMC and indeed all Nigerians, we commend you for the remarkable work you have done. The transformation you have brought to the education sector is truly outstanding,” she said.

She reaffirmed NIMC’s commitment to supporting the ministry in strengthening identity management across the education sector.

“As the custodian of Nigeria’s identity system, NIMC will continue to support your efforts to strengthen identity management within the education sector,” she said.

The collaboration forms part of the Federal Government’s broader digital transformation agenda under the Renewed Hope Agenda and is expected to eliminate duplicate learner records, improve transparency in government programmes and promote evidence-based policymaking through the integration of the National Learners’ Identification Number, the NIN and the National Education Management Information System.

The initiative also supports the implementation of the new NIMC Act, which seeks to improve interoperability across government databases and establish a trusted national digital identity framework.