The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has declared that many Nigerian schools lack the infrastructure and digital literacy required to support the Federal Government’s planned transition of public examinations to full Computer-Based Testing (CBT) by 2027.

National President of the union, Audu Amba, said while the NUT supports digital reforms in education and recognises the need for Nigeria to align with global best practices, conditions in many rural communities showed that the country is not adequately prepared for a complete shift to CBT examinations within the proposed timeline.

Amba stated this at a sensitisation programme on digital literacy for educators organised by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), in collaboration with the 21st Century Teacher Initiative.

While describing the initiative as commendable, he warned that without deliberate investments in infrastructure, digital access, and teacher capacity development, the policy risks widening educational inequality between urban and rural students.

“NUT is supporting anything digital, because we need to move with what is trending globally. We cannot isolate ourselves from universal best practices, but there must be a deliberate move to equip our schools, teachers, and learners,” he said.

Amba said many students in rural communities reach senior secondary school without ever having access to computers, tablets, or smartphones.

“If you go to some villages, you will discover that many graduating students have never seen an iPhone, not to mention using a tablet or laptop, yet they are in SS3. Then, tomorrow, you ask them to go and write a CBT examination. Automatically, you know such a child is already disadvantaged,” he said.

The NUT boss said some rural schools continue to struggle with poor electricity supply, weak telecommunications networks, and a lack of Internet connectivity, which makes digital learning and computer-based assessments difficult to implement.

“There are places in this country where even phone calls cannot go through. If you cannot make a call in a school environment, how do you talk about online learning or CBT examinations?”

Earlier, in his presentation titled: ‘Digital transformation in education: Teachers’ readiness, welfare and professional growth’, delivered at a stakeholders’ roundtable on the future of education in Nigeria, Amba said teachers remain central to the success of any educational reform.

He described digital transformation in education as more than the introduction of computers into classrooms.

According to him, it involves changing how teaching, learning, assessment, and educational management are delivered.

He said effective digital transformation requires smart classrooms, e-learning platforms, artificial intelligence-assisted learning, digital assessments, learning management systems, digital libraries, and reliable internet infrastructure.

Amba identified digital literacy, pedagogical readiness, positive attitudes toward innovation, and institutional support as critical dimensions of teacher readiness for digital transformation.

He also highlighted the challenges facing teachers in the digital age, including poor internet connectivity, limited access to digital devices, inadequate school infrastructure, insufficient training programmes, weak policy implementation, and low remuneration.

Amba stressed that digital transformation cannot succeed where teachers face poor welfare conditions.

“Teachers need access to laptops, tablets, internet services, digital teaching resources, and a conducive work environment. Technology cannot transform education if teachers themselves are not supported,” he said.

To address the challenges, he called for increased investment in education, nationwide expansion of internet connectivity, institutionalised digital skills training, improved teacher welfare packages, and stronger partnerships among government, private-sector players, civil society organisations, and development partners.