UNESCO has commended the Nigerian Communications Commission’s Zero Rate Access for Educational Platforms and Contents initiative, calling it a well timed step toward closing Nigeria’s digital literacy gap, at a one day public consultation forum the commission organised in Abuja.
UNESCO Abuja Digital Transformation Specialist Yinka Oyerinde said the timing works in the initiative’s favour, coming after years of digital literacy programmes led by NITDA and the Federal Ministry of Education aimed at building a digitally literate critical mass among Nigerians. Some may say maybe it’s a bit late, overdue, she said, but I think it’s strategically positioned to be able to ensure that maximum yield is gained, because the precursor factors required for this to succeed, chiefly those earlier digital literacy programmes, are already in place, meaning the initiative is not jumping the gun but building on groundwork already laid.
NCC Executive Vice Chairman Aminu Maida, represented by Director of Policy Competition and Economic Analysis Ayuba Shuiabu, said the framework must be shaped by the people who will build and implement it, the educators who will provide content, the students and teachers who will use it daily, and the families and communities who will ultimately benefit, describing the initiative’s core objective as reducing the affordability barrier that locks millions of Nigerian students out of the digital classroom. Federal Ministry of Education ICT Director Zainab Suleiman said zero rated access matters enormously to the education sector, since learners, teachers and institutions across the country continue facing high cost, limited connectivity and unequal access to digital learning resources, barriers that affect learning continuity, skill development, research access and the broader push for inclusive educational delivery.
Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy ICT Director Folasade Loyede, represented by Chief Programme Analyst Emmanuel Udoidiok, said the ministry’s objective is clear: leveraging digital infrastructure to catalyse a digital centric nation, though digital learning cannot succeed while the cost of data remains a barrier to access, making zero rating educational content not just a policy target but a critical instrument for social and economic equity. Loyede said the day’s consultation would seek expert input on several critical areas, including eligibility criteria for determining what content and platforms genuinely qualify as educational, and market dynamics that ensure the framework supports fair competition and consumer protection while keeping the telecommunications sector robust and sustainable.
