By Chinonyelum Tabansi
Foundational learning depends on supported teachers, technology suited to local conditions, and schools that include learners with disabilities. Treat these three conditions as one connected agenda to improve learning.
Only 14 percent of Nigeria’s Junior Secondary 2 learners reached minimum proficiency in mathematics in the 2022 National Assessment of Learning Achievement in Basic Education.In Primary 3, about 50% reached that level in mathematics and 32% in English Language.Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and UNICEF published the nationally representative assessment in 2025; it measures learning in 2022. The results place pupils’ abilities at the center of education reform.
Access remains urgent critical. The Federal Government’s 2024 Situation Analysis,
drawing on UBEC data, estimated that 10.2 million primary-school-age and 8.1 million secondary-school-age children were out of school. For enrolled children, a school place must lead to reading, numeracy, and progress.
That requires one connected approach. Teachers need preparation, coaching, planning time and fair working conditions. Technology should support instruction and function where power or connectivity is limited. Learners with disabilities need accessible lessons, assistive resources and specialist support. These conditions depend on one another: tools need teacher guidance and teaching cannot include learners who lack accessible materials or support. Together, they set the conditions for foundational learning.
Strengthen teaching as the first pillar of better learning
Foundational literacy and numeracy grow through deliberate routines: teach skills in sequence, check what pupils understand, explain and practice, then respond when a child falls behind. Teachers need subject-specific development and repeated opportunities to practice new methods, receive feedback and adapt them. A one-off workshop rarely provides this cycle.
Headteachers can make support part of school life. Short, accessible assessments and pupils’ work can guide weekly planning. Lesson observation should help teachers identify what worked and what needs adjustment. Peer demonstrations, reading groups and targeted practice can help pupils who missed earlier skills.
The United Kingdom-funded PLANE programme provides a documented example of implementation. Its March 2026 midline evaluation reviewed work from January 2023 to August 2025. In supported schools in Kano, Kaduna and Jigawa, end-of-2025 assessments found basic literacy among 55.6% of assessed Primary 4 pupils and basic numeracy among 84 percent. Literacy varied across the three states. These figures describe supported schools, not national performance. Their spread calls for state-level review and support where pupils continue to struggle.
A separate PLANE finding shows the inclusion gap. By August 2025, 741learners with disabilities had been referred for or received specialist support against a target of 2,350; while 597 received support to enroll against a target of 1,187. Evaluators cited scarce local specialist capacity and concerns about continued financing. Inclusive policy needs funded referral routes, accessible materials, and staff able to help schools respond.
HOPE-EDU also shows why plans and results must be distinguished. The World Bank approved a US$500 million IDA credit on 31 March 2025,complemented by a US$52.18 million Global Partnership for Education grant.A May 2026 World Bank paper says the program became effective on 26February 2026 and was making early implementation progress. In September,UBEC set 15 November 2026 as the readiness deadline for participating states under Result Area One, ahead of first program disbursements. This is a delivery milestone; learning results depend on books reaching schools,teachers receiving support, and states checking pupil progress. That distinction shapes technology’s role in classroom delivery.
Choose technology that serves classroom needs and supports learning.
Nigeria’s National EdTech Strategy for 2025-2030 links electricity,connectivity, and devices to teacher capacity, curriculum content, data systems, sustainable financing, and safe artificial intelligence. Before buying a tool, school and state teams should ask whether it works offline or on low bandwidth, who pays for repairs and replacement, whether learners can use captions, audio, magnification, or screen readers, and what pupil data it collects. These questions belong in procurement and budgeting.
UNICEF reported that the Nigeria Learning Passport had one million subscribers and more than 15,000 curriculum-mapped resources in June 2024. These figures describe the platform’s reach and available content.Schools still need to assess whether learners useit in lessons and build skills,and whether accessible, offline options reach children facing connectivity or disability barriers.
Edo State’s basic education and skills transformation project, implemented from 2020 to 2024, trained 16,000 teachers. World Bank reporting says tablets with structured lesson plans reached most schools, while coaches used classroom observations to give teachers individual feedback. The example connects devices to instruction and teacher support. Replication requires training, power, maintenance, and data.
Artificial intelligence may help teachers prepare examples or offer extra practice. Teachers should review its outputs and remain responsible for assessment and placement. Rules should limit access to children’s data,explain how systems use it, and protect learners from automated decisions they cannot challenge. Low-bandwidth and non-digital options remain essential where access is limited. These safeguards are important because technology choices affect how inclusion works in practice.
Make inclusion part of ordinary teaching and learning.
Nigeria’s 2023 Nationa1 Policy on Inclusive Education calls for accessible, safe learning environments, assistive devices, and staff skills to adapt classrooms and lessons. A ramp, accessible toilet, large print, Braille,captions, or a hearing aid may determine whether a learner can participate.Teachers need practical guidance to vary explanations, paceand materials while maintaining expectations.
Schools should record attendance and learning for children with disabilities,protect their privacy and connect families with specialists. State authorities can use those records to plan accessible materials, training, and reasonable adjustments. If assessments exclude these learners, officials cannot judge whether enrolment has led to learning.
A school can join the three priorities in a termly routine. Teachers and school leaders can review accessible reading and mathematics checks, attendance,and participation; agree on the next skills and adaptations; observe lessons and provide coaching; then review progress monthly. When a barrier involves staffing, books, power, or specialist services, the school can take it to the local education authority. This links evidence from pupils’ work to support decisions.
The responsibilities extend beyond the school. Federal agencies can set learning expectations, support comparable assessment, and finance basic education. NERDC’s curriculum should guide teaching materials; TRCN’s standards and accredited continuing development can support teachers’professional growth. States and SUBEBs manage teacher deployment,coaching, maintenance, and assistive resources. Local education authorities can identify out-of-school children and help schools address attendance and learning gaps. School leaders, teachers, parents, and school-based management committees should regularly review progress.
Development partners can strengthen public delivery by coordinating technical support and financing around teaching, inclusion, and government capacity. Funding plans should include recurring costs for coaching, accessible materials, repairs, and reliable data. Measures should track foundational skills, teaching support, and1 the participation of learners with disabilities.State and grade-level results can guide changes to training, procurement, and support. Government needs the resources and authority to sustain these services beyond a project cycle. That shared responsibility points to the families who experience the results.
Families experience education reform through a child learning to read and count, a teacher able to help that child progress, and a school that includes learners with disabilities. Judge each part of the system by its contribution to those outcomes and keep the three priorities connected.
• Tabansi is the founder of Achieva Africa, an Africa-focused education systems development organisation.
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