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, Mrs Aisha Garba, who disclosed this to journalists ahead of the 2025 International Conference on Smart Education and Digital Literacy (ICSE 2025), said there were 36 plus one smart schools in each of the states.

The conference was jointly organised by the commission and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and themed: “Empowering African smart education through emerging technologies.”

Garba noted that 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.

Garba noted that the smart schools were equipped with high technology, content studios, and teachers already skilled in the technology of teaching and learning in classrooms. Garba emphasised the need to equip basic schools with the necessary infrastructure for a smart education system.

“From available data, less than 50 per cent of public primary schools in Nigeria have digital technology,” she said. She noted that whether a child was in a rural, semi-urban or urban area, there should be a technology appropriate to be applied.

On her part, the Country Director, Kim Eunsub, emphasised South Korea’s support for Nigeria’s smart education journey through its smart school initiative in collaboration with UBEC.

Already, she said the initiative had facilitated the construction of state-of-the-art smart schools, the training of teachers and administrators, and the sharing of learning resources.

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 the conference sought to expand access to quality basic education through inclusive and technology-driven initiatives.