By Mudi Mohammed
…Free 100MB daily data for approved learning sites to begin Oct 1, 2026 as govt, NCC and telcos partner to remove internet cost barriers
The Federal Government has officially launched a ₦180 billion annual digital education intervention — the Zero-Rated Access to Educational Platforms and Content initiative — to eliminate internet cost barriers for millions of learners nationwide.
Unveiled by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, alongside the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, and telecom operators, the programme is scheduled to kick off on October 1, 2026. It is designed to directly benefit five million students across the country, with priority focus on public secondary and tertiary institutions.
Under the scheme, eligible students will receive 100 megabytes of sponsored data daily to access approved educational websites and digital learning resources without deducting from their personal data. At roughly ₦100 per user daily, the intervention translates to about ₦15 billion monthly and ₦180 billion annually in zero-rated educational value.
This is not a general internet allowance. The zero-rated structure will apply strictly to approved learning platforms rather than social media or general browsing, according to officials.
The initiative is being driven jointly by the Federal Ministry of Education, the NCC, and major telecommunications companies operating under the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, ALTON.
To support deployment, the rollout is backed by the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative, NESRI, and the digitised Nigeria Education Management Information System, D-NEMIS. Over 240,000 schools nationwide have already been geomapped and geolocated to enable targeted digital delivery.
The government will also introduce the Learner Identification Number, LIN, to track a student’s academic progression from primary school through higher education. Alongside the data rollout, new regulatory frameworks will be introduced to protect children under 16 from online threats and to manage safe internet parameters.
Officials said the programme marks a major milestone for national digital inclusion and is expected to expand access to quality learning materials for students who previously struggled with data costs.
