FG, Ondo State unveil plans to modernize education sector through technology
The federal government and Ondo State Government have reaffirmed their commitment to repositioning Nigeria’s education sector through digital innovation, data management, and professional teacher development. The declaration was made on Friday at the 69th National Council on Education (NCE) meeting held at the International Centre for Culture and Events (The Dome), Akure.
Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa described education as the most powerful tool for social mobility, national unity, and sustainable development. Highlighting Ondo State’s long-standing legacy in education, he noted the state’s investments in digital learning, teacher welfare, and school infrastructure. “Our goal is to make education not just accessible, but meaningful and transformative. Every child in Ondo State deserves a fair chance at learning and success,” he said.
The Governor commended President Bola Tinubu for initiatives like the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, which has supported over 624,000 students, and praised the Minister of Education, Dr. Olatunji Alausa, and Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Sa’idu Ahmad, for championing innovation and accountability in the sector.
Emphasizing the meeting’s theme, “Quality Education Data and Professionalisation of Teaching: Tools for Enhanced National Development”, Aiyedatiwa stressed that quality data underpins effective policy decisions, resource allocation, and performance tracking. He also called for improved welfare, merit-based recognition, and continuous professional development for teachers, describing them as “the bedrock of national progress.”
Under Ondo State’s OUR EASE education policy, over 2,100 teachers have been recruited and trained, annual examination fees paid, more than 75,000 textbooks distributed, and classrooms and laboratories built or rehabilitated across the state. Additional interventions include bursaries, scholarships, digital skills centres, free school shuttle buses and boats, and regular payment of teachers’ salaries, pensions, and gratuities.
Minister of Education Dr. Alausa announced the approval of the National Education Repository and Databank (NERD), a platform for preserving academic records, and the National Credential Verification System to curb certificate fraud. He revealed that 21 states had uploaded data into the Digital Nigerian Education Management Information System (DNEMIS), and smart interactive boards will be provided to commissioners and SUBEB chairmen for real-time monitoring.
Dr. Alausa added that TRCN had been fully digitized to ease teacher registration and license renewal, with over 60,000 tablets distributed nationwide. He also highlighted infrastructure achievements, including 4,900 classrooms built, 3,000 renovated, and 34 model schools established, reaching over 2.3 million learners. More than one million out-of-school children have been digitally mapped, with over 15,000 enrolled under ABEP, while 577,000 girls have benefited from AGILE scholarships.
Professor Suwaiba Sa’idu Ahmad and Ondo State Commissioner for Education, Professor Igbekele Ajibefun, called for stronger stakeholder collaboration and praised the state’s efforts in digitizing school data to enhance transparency, planning, and governance. Governor Aiyedatiwa expressed confidence that the NCE deliberations would yield transformative outcomes capable of reshaping Nigeria’s education system.
