Towards integrating the records of about 80 million learners into Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem, the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) are set to collaboration to establish a single national identity system.
This was disclosed on Thursday by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, in Abuja while receiving the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NIMC, Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote and her team on a courtesy visit.
Stressing that the partnership is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s vision of leveraging technology to improve governance, transparency and service delivery, the Minister assured that the education sector would provide full support to NIMC in strengthening Nigeria’s identity management system.
He said “I am delighted that NIMC, under the leadership of Engineer Bisoye Coker-Odusote, is setting standards that are comparable with the best anywhere in the world in identity management.
“Within a short period, the agency has been transformed in ways never seen before. This aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision and the mandate he has given you.
"You have worked tirelessly to make the President proud by implementing every aspect of that mandate,” he stated .
The recent signing of the new NIMC Act by President Tinubu, he said, has created a stronger legal framework for collaboration among ministries, departments and agencies to establish what he described as “a single source of truth” for identity management across the country.
“Let me assure you that we in the education sector are your strongest partners. We will support everything your agency is doing to strengthen trust and credibility in Nigeria’s identity management system,” the Minister said
According to him, the partnership is critical to the development of Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure.
He also pointed out that the education sector represents one of the country’s largest repositories of citizen data.
Dr. Alausa said that about 67 million learners are currently enrolled in Nigeria’s basic and post-basic education system, in the categories of Early Childhood Care Development and Education, primary, junior secondary and senior secondary schools.
The Minister said the figure will rise to about 80 million people when tertiary institution students and learners in technical and vocational education are added to the figure.
The figure, he said, represents almost one-third of Nigeria’s estimated population.
The Minister said “The education sector represents one of the largest pools of citizens in the country. Therefore, collaboration between NIMC and the education sector is essential,”
He disclosed further that his ministry has already developed the National Learners’ Identification Number, which is being aligned with the National Identification Number to ensure every learner’s record is harmonised with the National Education Management Information System.
Integrating the two systems, the Minister said, will enable government to verify learners’ identities, generate credible education statistics and improve planning, monitoring and policy implementation.
“This gives us access to credible biometric information linked to each learner’s NIN. We can now verify every learner’s identity and determine whether the individual is a Nigerian citizen or a legal resident with a valid identification number.
“This enables us to aggregate and disaggregate education data accurately, providing evidence-based information for policy formulation, interventions, planning, monitoring and evaluation.” the Minister said
He added “Today, DG, I could not be happier with the progress we have made together. You have our full commitment. Whatever support you require from us to make your work easier in establishing a single source of truth for Nigeria, we will provide it.”
On her part, the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NIMC, Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote commended the minister for the ongoing reforms in the education sector.
Describing the reforms as transformative, she said “On behalf of NIMC and indeed all Nigerians, we commend you for the remarkable work you have done. The transformation you have brought to the education sector is truly outstanding,
“As the custodian of Nigeria’s identity system, NIMC will continue to support your efforts to strengthen identity management within the education sector,” she said.