Digital inclusion, missing link in education agenda
Sir: Despite Nigeria’s commitment to integrating children with disabilities into mainstream classrooms, digital access remains a significant challenge. The World Bank launched the HOPE-EDU programme in 2025 with $1.08 billion
- By Precious Akintulubo
Sir: Despite Nigeria’s commitment to integrating children with disabilities into mainstream classrooms, digital access remains a significant challenge. The World Bank launched the HOPE-EDU programme in 2025 with $1.08 billion to address the digital gap in education. The program aims to improve access to quality basic education for 29 million pupils, 500,000 teachers, and 65,000 schools.
While the program is a major step, without incorporating digital accessibility, it could side-line learners with disabilities. Investing in Nigeria’s digital economy is essential, especially for children and youth, as exclusion from technology endangers their career opportunities. Physical presence alone cannot define inclusive education; true inclusion should enable learners with disabilities to engage meaningfully in both offline and online spaces.
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Although there are efforts to incorporate digital learning into Nigeria’s educational system, unequal access to learning opportunities has broader implications for Nigeria’s human capital development. The World Bank underscores the fact that digital skills are essential for economic participation in a digital world, enabling individuals and nations to compete and prosper. If digital learning continues to exclude children with disabilities, they will lose education and future employment opportunities. The government should integrate accessible digital learning tools and basic ICT training into the national curriculum to ensure the equal participation of all learners.
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There is a need for capacity-building and relevant skills acquisition for teachers. The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) confirms that most public school teachers lack basic information and communication technology skills, limiting their ability to handle inclusive classrooms. For learners with disabilities, there is a double burden, as teachers who are unprepared for inclusive learning cannot integrate assistive technologies. Mandatory digital literacy training, particularly for teachers in rural and special-needs schools, would address this challenge. UBEC can embed digital accessibility modules into teacher training colleges and in-service workshops, ensuring that they equip new and existing educators to use technology like screen readers and captioning software. With better-prepared teachers, children with disabilities can benefit from online platforms such as the Nigeria Learning Passport, which already provides digital curricula, but many schools do not use it.
To measure the effectiveness of inclusive education in Nigeria, it is important to monitor the participation of children with disabilities. Today, many children with disabilities sit in classrooms without access to digital tools. Integrating assistive technologies such as screen readers, captioning software and adaptive keyboards can help to close this gap. Nigeria’s inclusive education policy remains incomplete without prioritizing digital accessibility for learners with disabilities. The government and relevant stakeholders should take urgent action to prevent their continued exclusion.
•Precious Akintulubo,
Fellow, African Liberty.
