The platform, known as the Digital National Education Management Information System (DNEMIS), will be formally launched on Wednesday alongside the unveiling of the Public DNEMIS Portal and the inauguration of State Implementation Teams responsible for driving its rollout across the country.
The development was disclosed during a media briefing held in Abuja on Monday by the National Project Coordinator of the Special Programmes Operations and Implementation Unit in the Office of the Minister of Education, Mr. Adebayo Onigbanjo.
According to Onigbanjo, the initiative is intended to resolve years of fragmented and unreliable education data that have hindered effective governance and decision-making within the sector.
He said, “For many years, education planning and administration relied on fragmented systems, inconsistent reporting structures and limited access to reliable and timely data. These challenges constrained effective planning, weakened accountability and limited the sector’s ability to respond to emerging realities.”
He explained that the Federal Ministry of Education established the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI) as a comprehensive framework to harmonise, standardise and strengthen education data management across all levels of the country’s education system.
“At the centre of this transformation is DNEMIS, a flagship component of NEDI and a major milestone in Nigeria’s journey toward a modern, integrated and digitally enabled education management system,” Onigbanjo said.
He noted that DNEMIS would provide accurate, timely and accessible information to support planning, budgeting, policy formulation, monitoring and improved service delivery. The platform will also ensure that every learner, teacher, school and public investment in education is captured within a single national database.
Onigbanjo stressed that the initiative demonstrates the Federal Government’s determination to base education reforms on credible data rather than estimates.
“The progress recorded through NEDI and the implementation of DNEMIS reflects the Ministry’s broader commitment to ensuring that reforms are not only announced, but effectively coordinated, implemented and measured,” he said.
He added, “Data is no longer a back-office function. It is becoming the engine of education reform in Nigeria.”
Also speaking at the briefing, the Special Assistant to the Minister of Education on Digital Communications and E-Learning, Miss Mojoyin Adebajo, said DNEMIS was developed using the internationally recognised District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS2) platform to modernise education administration and improve evidence-based decision-making.
She explained that one of the key features of the platform is the digitisation of the Annual School Census, replacing the largely manual process with a more integrated digital system.
“By digitising the Annual School Census process, the platform will provide government with timely, reliable and accessible education data to support planning, budgeting, policymaking and improved service delivery across Nigeria’s education system,” she said.
According to Adebajo, the system will enable authorities to generate real-time information on schools, learners, teachers and educational infrastructure, allowing for better allocation of resources and more effective monitoring of education programmes nationwide.
She further highlighted the significance of the Public DNEMIS Portal, noting that it will, for the first time, make selected official education data readily available to researchers, journalists, development partners, civil society organisations, policymakers and members of the public.
“This represents an important step toward expanding access to information and encouraging broader participation in conversations that shape the future of education in Nigeria,” she said.
The officials also acknowledged the technical support provided by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the University of Oslo in the development of the project.
Nigeria’s education sector has for years been challenged by weak and fragmented data systems, with information relating to schools, teachers, student enrolment and infrastructure often collected manually through disconnected reporting channels. These shortcomings have complicated planning, budgeting, teacher deployment, infrastructure development and monitoring of learning outcomes, while limiting the government’s ability to make timely, evidence-based decisions.
Education stakeholders have consistently advocated for a unified national education database to improve transparency, accountability and coordination between federal and state institutions.