By Felix Khanoba
Nigeria has strengthened its position as a leader in education data management in Africa after showcasing its Digital National Education Management Information System (DNEMIS) at the 2026 DHIS2 Annual Conference in Oslo, Norway.
At the global gathering, the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, brought to the fore Nigeria’s progress in leveraging digital technology to transform education planning, governance, monitoring and service delivery, presenting the country as a model for education data implementation across the continent.
Nigeria’s participation followed an invitation facilitated by UNICEF and the University of Oslo, underscoring growing international recognition of the country’s efforts in deploying technology-driven solutions to improve educational outcomes and strengthen sector management.
Speaking at the conference, Alausa said the Federal Government’s reforms under the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI) are anchored on digital innovation and evidence-based policymaking aimed at enhancing efficiency, accountability and measurable results across the education sector.
According to a statement issued on Tuesday by Ikharo Attah, Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Minister, a major highlight of the event was the global unveiling and co-launch of the Digital National Education Management Information System (DNEMIS).
The platform was developed to modernise education data collection, management and reporting while supporting more effective planning and decision-making across the sector.
The minister explained that DNEMIS operates on the District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS2) platform, a globally recognised open-source data system originally designed to strengthen health information management. The platform currently supports more than 31 million users worldwide and has increasingly been adapted for use in the education sector.
He noted that Nigeria currently leads the education deployment of DHIS2, recording the highest number of education users on the platform and placing the country at the forefront of evidence-driven digital transformation in education across Africa.
Alausa said Nigeria’s implementation of DNEMIS has drawn growing interest from other African countries seeking practical approaches to strengthening education data systems and accelerating digital transformation within their education sectors.
He added that the country has developed a scalable and replicable model for designing, deploying and institutionalising education data systems, creating a benchmark for the continent while demonstrating the value of reliable and near real-time data in improving resource allocation, interventions, access, equity and learning outcomes.
The system was developed through a partnership involving the Federal Ministry of Education, UNICEF, HISP, the National Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI) and the University of Oslo.
Powered by the DHIS2 framework, which supports applications in healthcare, education and climate health, the platform currently hosts about 45 million education records globally, with Nigeria accounting for 32 million of those records.
Designed to provide near real-time education data, DNEMIS is expected to enhance policy formulation, performance monitoring and service delivery throughout the education sector.
Officials said the platform marks a significant departure from fragmented and largely manual data management processes, creating an integrated digital ecosystem capable of generating timely, credible and actionable information for national development.
The DHIS2 Annual Conference brought together ministers, policymakers, development partners, researchers and technology experts from more than 100 countries to explore innovative approaches to digital transformation across education, health and other strategic sectors.
Nigeria also used the conference to deepen international partnerships and strengthen collaboration in education innovation, institutional capacity building, research and knowledge exchange, further projecting its growing influence in education sector reform across Africa.
The minister reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to sustaining ongoing reforms and ensuring that digital innovation delivers measurable benefits for learners nationwide.
He stressed that through DNEMIS and other sector renewal initiatives, Nigeria would continue to advance transparency, strengthen evidence-based decision-making and help shape a new continental standard for inclusive, responsive and future-ready education systems.
