FG to launch digital education data platform July 1, enrolls 32 million students
By Uji A. Iliyasu Abuja
The Federal Government has announced Wednesday, 1 July, 2026, as the date for the official launch of the Digital National Education Information Management System (DNEMIS), a pioneering digital platform designed to modernise education administration and drive data-led governance across Nigeria’s education sector.
National Project Coordinator of the Special Programmes Operations and Implementation Unit in the Office of the Minister of Education, Mr. Adebayo Onigbanjo, disclosed ahead of the launch on Monday in Abuja that more than 32 million students have already been enrolled on the platform.
Onigbanjo explained that it forms the backbone of the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI), an initiative under the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), developed to provide reliable, timely and integrated education data for planning, budgeting, policymaking and service delivery.
“For many years, education planning relied on fragmented systems, inconsistent reporting structures and limited access to reliable data. DNEMIS changes that by ensuring that every learner, every school, every teacher and every investment in education is captured within a system that supports evidence-based decision-making,” he said.
He described education data as a strategic national asset, stressing that the platform would strengthen governance, transparency and accountability sector-wide.
On how DNEMIS would help address Nigeria’s out-of-school children crisis, Onigbanjo said accurate data would enable the government to identify learning gaps, monitor pupils’ progress and channel targeted investments where they are most needed.
“We are also understanding learners’ journey from when they start school and when they drop out. That gives us insight into their challenges and where investments need to go. Every school becomes visible, every student gets counted, every teacher is known, and every government expenditure in education becomes trackable. To a greater extent, this will stop wastage,” he stated.
On data privacy concerns, Onigbanjo assured that the system was built on globally recognised digital architecture with robust safeguards, adding that sensitive information would be masked while digital identity profiles would permit authorised users to associate data securely without exposing personal details.
The National Coordinator of NEDI, Abubakar Isah, corroborated this, stating that the platform fully complies with Nigeria’s data protection regulations and incorporates internationally accepted security standards.
He added that while schools and state governments would have access to their own data, communities, alumni associations and development partners would also be able to view non-sensitive school information to support educational development and hold government accountable.
The Special Adviser to the Minister of Education on Digital Communications and E-Learning, Miss Mojoyin Adebajo, described DNEMIS as a landmark in Nigeria’s digital education transformation. She said the platform, developed on the globally recognised DHIS2 infrastructure, would digitise the Annual School Census and deliver reliable data on schools, teachers, learners and education infrastructure nationwide.
Adebajo also announced that Wednesday’s event would feature the unveiling of a Public DNEMIS Portal — which will, for the first time, grant researchers, journalists, civil society organisations, development partners and the general public access to selected official education data through an interactive online platform.
The Federal Ministry of Education acknowledged the technical support of UNICEF and the University of Oslo in developing the initiative and invited stakeholders to attend the official launch and the inauguration of DNEMIS State Implementation Teams.