FG begins free education data access Oct. 1

September 11, 2026 12:48 am

Sami Tunji and Deborah Tolu-Kolawole

The Federal Government has set October 1, 2026, as the start date for free access to approved educational platforms for Nigerian students, while announcing plans to regulate internet access for children under 16.

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, held at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.

Under the initiative, participating mobile network operators will provide beneficiaries with 100 megabytes of free data daily to access approved educational websites and platforms.

Announcing the commencement date, Alausa said, “Let me let out the secret. This will be made available to Nigerian students from October 1st, 2026.”

The minister also disclosed that the government was preparing a separate measure to regulate internet access for children below 16, with further details expected to be announced in the coming days.

“The content made available to our children must be appropriate, credible, safe and aligned with our educational objectives and our curriculum,” he said.

Alausa added, “At this point, I’m just going to give a sneak preview of what will come that will be announced by the security people in the coming days or week. It will regulate internet access for children below 16 years old.”

He said further announcements on the planned measure would be made, adding that “there will be regulated access to the internet for every child in Nigeria that’s below the age of 16 years.”

The minister did not give further details on the nature of the planned regulation or how it would operate.

On the zero-rated education initiative, Alausa said it would initially cover learners at senior secondary schools and tertiary institutions before being expanded to other categories of learners across the country.

He said the cost of data remained a major barrier to digital education, particularly for children from low-income households. “A digital platform has little value to a child who cannot afford the data required to access it. An excellent online lesson cannot transform the life of a student who is unable to connect to it,” he said.

According to him, allowing learners to access approved educational platforms without paying for data would remove one of the significant barriers to digital learning in the country.

“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,” Alausa added.

The Director of Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis at the Nigerian Communications Commission, Ayuba Shuaibu, said the initiative would provide zero-rated access to public secondary schools and public tertiary institutions through the collaboration of mobile network operators under the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria.

Shuaibu said the Federal Ministry of Education and the NCC would jointly approve educational platforms to be whitelisted under the programme.

According to him, eligible platforms include learning management systems, digital libraries, educational repositories, teacher development platforms and technical and vocational training platforms.

He said, “The framework also adopts the operator’s cost 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 added that the framework contained provisions on telecommunications laws, cybersecurity, consumer protection, child protection and data protection, as well as safeguards for net neutrality, fair competition and inclusivity.

In her welcome address, the NCC Executive Commissioner for Stakeholder Management, Rimini Makama, said millions of students were unable to access online learning platforms because of affordability challenges.

She said online courses, digital libraries and virtual classrooms had become increasingly important to education, making connectivity an essential part of learning.

“The Zero-Rated Access Initiative exists to erase that line. Its principle is simple: no learner should be shut out of educational content because of where they live or what their family earns,” Makama said.

She explained that the initiative was developed by the NCC, participating mobile network operators under ALTON, the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, the Federal Ministry of Education and other stakeholders.

The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, represented by the Director, National Frequency Management Council Secretariat, Adetunji Adeyemo, said the initiative represented a step towards making digital education more affordable, accessible and inclusive, particularly for learners in underserved communities.

He assured the NCC and other stakeholders of the ministry’s continued support for programmes promoting digital inclusion, innovation, affordable connectivity and access to knowledge.

In his closing remarks, the NCC Executive Commissioner for Technical Services, Abraham Oshadami, thanked ALTON and the chief executives of MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria and Globacom for supporting the initiative.

He said the operators had committed to providing free data allowances for learners to access approved educational platforms.

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