15 Colleges of Education Receive FG ICT Support to Boost Digital Learning

By Omoyeni Ojeifo

In a major push to upgrade teacher training and expand digital literacy, the Federal Government has distributed ICT equipment and critical instructional materials to 15 Colleges of Education across Nigeria.

The initiative also aims to bolster school safety and guarantee inclusive access to quality education for young girls.

Persecondnews reports that the intervention is part of a broader regional project spanning six African nations: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Nigeria.

The domestic rollout is being implemented in partnership with the Government of Japan, the African Union, and the UNESCO-International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (UNESCO-IICBA).

Speaking during the handover ceremony in Abuja on Tuesday, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad, Minister of State for Education, said the initiative aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda and national priorities in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), STEM education, digitalisation, and efforts to reduce the number of out-of-school children.

The ICT resources are expected to strengthen both pre-service and in-service teacher training by providing access to digital learning materials, innovative teaching tools, and learner centred instructional methods.

Ahmad added that the equipment distributed includes 65 laptop computers, 71 tablets, four desktop computers, five interactive smart boards, 19 all-in-one desktop systems, 14 projectors, 15 printers, and 15 backup hard drives.

Also speaking, Quentin Wodon commended Nigeria’s participation in international education programmes, describing teachers as central to national development.

He also urged policymakers to consider increasing the participation of women in school leadership positions, noting that evidence shows female leadership often contributes positively to student learning outcomes.

Officials from UNESCO-IICBA, the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), and the Embassy of Japan commended Nigeria’s progress in education reform and reaffirmed continued support for teacher development, girls’ education, and safe learning environments.

The Ministry of Education urged beneficiary institutions to ensure proper utilisation of the facilities to strengthen teacher training, improve digital instruction, and enhance learning outcomes nationwide.

For education-focused MSMEs and edtech businesses, the intervention presents opportunities to support digital learning delivery, teacher capacity development, educational content creation, device maintenance services, and other technology-driven classroom solutions across the country’s teacher-training institutions.

The benefiting colleges are Federal Colleges of Education in Kontagora, Zaria, Gombe, Yola, Asaba, Umunze, Oyo (Special), Adamawa, Sokoto and others, alongside state institutions such as Sa’adatu Rimi College of Education, Kano; Enugu State College of Education (Technical).