The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has announced plans for a comprehensive deployment of technology to transform basic education delivery across Nigeria.

The executive secretary of UBEC, Aisha Garba, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja, during a media briefing ahead of the 2025 International Conference on Smart Education and Digital Literacy (ICSE 2025).

The conference was jointly organised by the commission and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

The three-day conference, scheduled for May 6 to May 9 in Abuja, is with its theme: “Empowering African Smart Education Through Emerging Technologies”.

According to Ms Garba, the event is aimed at repositioning Nigeria to align with some other African countries in integrating technology into education.

She cited the example of Rwanda, which has been using technology in the basic education system for many years.

“They have reached a level of using AI in their classrooms.

“For us in Nigeria, we have already started by doing the smart schools, which many of you are already aware of, ” she said.

The executive secretary revealed that there were 36 plus one smart school in each of the states in Nigeria.

She said that the smart schools were equipped with high technology, content studios, and teachers that were already skilled in the technology of teaching and learning in classrooms.

Ms Garba emphasised the need to equip basic schools with the infrastructure necessary for a smart education system.

“From the data, it shows that less than 50 per cent of public primary schools in Nigeria have digital technology, ” she said.

She said that whether a child was in the rural area, semi-urban or urban area, there should be a technology appropriate to be applied.

Also speaking, the KOICA country director, Kim Eunsub, emphasised South Korea’s support for Nigeria’s smart education journey through the KOICA Smart School Initiative in collaboration with UBEC.

Ms Eunsub said that the initiative had already facilitated the construction of state-of-the-art smart schools, the training of teachers and administrators, and the sharing of learning resources.

He described the upcoming conference as a platform to deepen collaboration and build on the progress of the initiative.

Ms Eunsub further revealed plans for a second phase of the project to begin in 2026.

Earlier, deputy executive secretary (Technical) of UBEC, Rasaq Olajuwon, said that the conference sought to expand access to quality basic education through inclusive, technology-driven initiatives.

“We are delighted to have 26 distinguished dignitaries, 144 teachers from across Nigeria, and 30 delegates from various African countries joining us,” he said.

(NAN)