Nigeria: Gombe Targets 764 Schools, 100,000 for Digital Learning Expansion

What the report says

Gombe State has started expanding its EIDU-supported Digital Personalised Learning programme to 764 public schools, with officials saying the scale-up is expected to reach more than 100,000 learners. According to Daily Trust, the initiative is aimed at improving foundational literacy and numeracy across the state through technology-enabled instruction.

The expansion was launched last week at Mu'azu Bolari Primary School in Gombe, where training also began for teachers and head teachers who will run the programme in participating schools. The state education commissioner, Aisha Umar Maigari, said the government sees the partnership with EIDU as an important step in strengthening digital education and improving learning outcomes. She also said the state has made a legal commitment to the programme and is awaiting funding disbursement.

Maigari pointed to the pilot phase, which reportedly reached more than 1,000 learners and helped build digital skills among 285 teachers and 25 SUBEB staff members. Gombe SUBEB chairman Hassan Bello said the pilot’s results, including stronger learner engagement and progress in basic reading and math, supported the decision to widen the project. He stressed that the approach is intended to complement teachers, not replace them, and said monitoring will continue with support from EIDU, UBEC and other partners.

More broadly, the move reflects a wider push in Nigeria and elsewhere to use digital tools in public basic education, especially where governments are trying to improve early-grade learning outcomes.