The Federal Government has announced plans to regulate internet access for children below the age of 16 as part of measures to strengthen online child protection in Nigeria.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Thursday at the launch of the Initiative for Zero-Rated Access to Educational Platforms and Content in Nigeria.
Alausa said the growing use of digital platforms by children made it necessary for the government and other stakeholders to address threats in the online environment, including cyberattacks and other forms of harm.
He said, “At some point, there would be regulated internet access for every child below the age of 16 years as part of measures to strengthen online child protection.”
The proposed regulation adds a child-protection dimension to the Federal Government’s wider digital education agenda, which is also focused on expanding access to online learning resources.
Alausa said the government’s efforts to increase children’s access to technology must be accompanied by measures to protect them from dangers in the digital environment.
FG removes data costs for educational platforms
The minister also announced a major digital education intervention aimed at removing data costs for Nigerian students accessing approved educational platforms.
The Initiative for Zero-Rated Access to Educational Platforms and Content in Nigeria is designed to make digital learning resources more accessible to learners across the country.
Alausa said the programme, implemented under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, would help remove one of the barriers limiting the expansion of digital learning.
According to him, “This initiative goes beyond connectivity. It is about putting learning within reach of children who may otherwise be unable to afford the data required to access it.”
The minister said poverty, geography and limited access to conventional educational infrastructure should not prevent Nigerian learners from accessing educational opportunities.
He explained that a mobile phone, tablet or computer could serve as a classroom, library and gateway to opportunities when the cost of accessing educational content was removed.
Digital divide remains a challenge
The intervention comes against the backdrop of Nigeria’s persistent education crisis and a widening digital divide that has left many children and young people without reliable access to learning opportunities.
UNICEF has reported that millions of Nigerian children remain out of school, while inadequate connectivity, electricity and digital literacy continue to constrain access to digital learning, particularly in rural communities.
Nigeria has previously introduced zero-rated access to some educational content.
UNICEF has reported that data costs were removed for users accessing the Nigeria Learning Passport through whitelisting on an Airtel SIM, while connectivity was also extended to schools in hard-to-reach communities.
The Nigeria Learning Passport was developed by the Federal Government, UNICEF and other partners to provide digital curriculum content to learners and teachers and expand access to education beyond the conventional classroom.
Alausa said the latest intervention formed part of broader efforts to transform the education sector through digitalisation under the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative.
He said the Federal Ministry of Education was strengthening education management and delivery through initiatives including the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure, Digital Nigeria Education Management Information System and Learner Identification Number.
However, Alausa stressed that the success of the government’s digital reforms would ultimately be measured by their impact on learners.
“The real measure of digital transformation would be its ability to reach the learner and improve the quality of education,” he said.
FG seeks collaboration on digital education
Alausa called for sustained collaboration among the Federal Ministry of Education, state governments, the Nigerian Communications Commission, telecommunications operators, technology companies, development partners, educational institutions and teachers.
He said Nigeria must move beyond producing young people who merely consume technology to developing a generation capable of creating technology, innovating and solving problems.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Communications, Peter Akpatason, commended the initiative, describing the high cost of data as one of the major barriers to learning in the digital age.
Akpatason said the House of Representatives remained committed to policies and legislative measures that would leverage technology to bridge the education gap, particularly for learners in underserved and hard-to-reach communities.
Similarly, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Senator Mohammed Muntari Dandutse, stressed the need to ensure that no Nigerian child was left behind in accessing knowledge and educational opportunities.
Dandutse commended the telecommunications industry for its contributions to education, including corporate social responsibility initiatives aimed at supporting children and expanding access to learning.
Alausa assured that the Ministry of Education would continue working with the NCC, state governments, telecommunications operators, educational institutions and development partners to ensure that the zero-rated access initiative translated into lasting benefits.
He said the government’s goal was to build an education system where “geography does not determine a child’s future, poverty does not close the door to knowledge,” and every Nigerian learner had an opportunity to realise their full potential.
