Nigeria has presented its Digital National Education Management Information System (DNEMIS) at the 2026 DHIS2 Annual Conference in Oslo, with the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, highlighting the country’s education digital transformation efforts and positioning Nigeria as a leading example of education data implementation in Africa.
According to a statement by Ikharo Attah, Special Adviser Media and Communications to the Minister, Nigeria’s participation followed an invitation facilitated by UNICEF and the University of Oslo, reflecting growing international interest in the country’s use of technology and data driven approaches to strengthen education planning, governance, monitoring and service delivery.
Addressing participants at the conference, Alausa outlined ongoing reforms under the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), which seeks to improve efficiency, accountability and measurable outcomes across all levels of education through digital innovation and evidence based policymaking.
A key moment at the conference was the unveiling and co launch of DNEMIS, a national platform designed to modernise education data collection, management and reporting while supporting more effective planning and decision making across the sector.
The minister noted that DNEMIS is built on the District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS2) platform, an open source data management system originally developed for health information systems and currently used by more than 31 million users globally.
He said the platform’s expansion into education has gained momentum worldwide, with Nigeria currently recording the largest education user base on DHIS2.
According to Alausa, Nigeria’s implementation of DNEMIS has attracted attention from other African countries seeking to strengthen education data systems and accelerate digital transformation within their education sectors.
He said Nigeria has developed a practical and scalable model for designing and institutionalising education data systems, demonstrating the importance of reliable and near real-time data in improving resource allocation, strengthening interventions and expanding access, equity and learning outcomes.
DNEMIS was developed through collaboration among the Federal Ministry of Education, UNICEF, HISP, the National Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI) and the University of Oslo.
The platform currently contains 45 million education records globally, of which Nigeria accounts for 32 million records.
Officials said the system is designed to provide near real time education data to support policy formulation, performance monitoring and service delivery, marking a transition from fragmented and largely manual processes to an integrated digital ecosystem capable of generating timely and actionable education intelligence.
The DHIS2 Annual Conference brought together ministers, policymakers, development partners, researchers and technology leaders from more than 100 countries to discuss digital transformation across education, health and other sectors.
Beyond conference engagements, Nigeria’s participation also provided opportunities to strengthen international partnerships in education innovation, institutional capacity development, research and knowledge exchange.
Alausa reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to sustaining ongoing education reforms, stating that digital innovation must translate into measurable improvements for learners. He said Nigeria would continue to promote transparency, evidence based decision making and inclusive education systems through DNEMIS and related sector renewal initiatives.
