Nigeria’s success in growing the Learning Passport
Accelerating towards making quality education universally accessible.

Nigeria’s challenge to educate 300 million children by 2050
Nigeria faces one of the greatest educational challenges of the 21st century, with a population expected to double to 400 million by 2050, making it the third most populous country in the world.
With already 110 million children needing access to quality education, investing in the new generations is key to transforming this rapid demographic growth into a powerful catalyst for development and innovation.
However, insufficient funding, inadequate infrastructure, and low learning outcomes have long undermined the educational system. The COVID-19 pandemic further intensified these problems, disrupting learning for more than 50 million students due to prolonged school closures.
Today, Nigeria’s education sector is facing a severe crisis, with 10.2 million children out-of-school at the primary level and another 8.1 million at the junior secondary level, making it home to one of the countries with the largest out-of-school populations globally.
This challenge is particularly acute in the northern regions, where prolonged conflict and escalating hostilities have disrupted the lives of approximately 12.8 million people, including 8 million children. In these areas, a combination of extreme poverty and concerns around school safety has led many families to keep their children at home, limiting their access to education and deepening the crisis.

Introducing the Nigeria Learning Passport
Launched in 2022 by the Government of Nigeria, in partnership with UNICEF and key stakeholders, the Nigeria Learning Passport (NLP) is a critical response to the country’s ongoing education crisis.
The platform offers free access to an extensive library of learning resources, fully aligned with the national curricula for pre-primary, primary, and secondary education for children, youth, and teachers, both online and offline. It ensures that quality education remains accessible to everyone, with or without access to the Internet, even during school closures caused by insecurity, conflicts, natural disasters, lack of infrastructure, or any other disruptions.
In less than 3 years, Nigeria has emerged as a global leader in the successful deployment and scaling of the Learning Passport. Since its public launch in March 2022, the NLP has rapidly expanded across 21 states, reaching 1.8 million users.

To build on this momentum, UNICEF, in collaboration with Airtel, is planning an initiative to incentivize users with data to encourage learners to keep up their engagement with the platform. Additionally, a major effort is underway to refine and streamline the platform’s content, making it easier to navigate and more user-friendly, to deepen engagement and amplify the platform’s impact.

What has fueled this impressive growth?
Strong government support and policy alignment
Nigeria’s government has played a strong role in the success of the NLP, particularly through the active engagement of the Federal Ministry of Education (FME):
- By embedding the platform within national education policies and aligning it with the country’s curricula, the government has ensured that the NLP complements existing initiatives.
- Through the sensitization of over 200 decision-makers on the importance of digital learning, the government deepened its commitment at both federal and state levels:
- At the federal level, UNICEF collaborates closely with the FME and its ICT department, ensuring that the platform aligns with national policies and curricula. The FME has established a dedicated technical team drawn from the ICT department, to oversee the NLP’s integration and ensure sustainability.
- At the state level, the success of the NLP has been driven by active engagement and dedicated support from state governments. The NLP currently operates across 21 states, each of which has established dedicated technical teams. These teams, typically comprising of members from State Ministries of Education and the State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs), serve as master trainers for educators and lead the cascade training and support for teachers. They also play a critical role in the continuous monitoring of the platform’s effectiveness at the local level.
- Key partnerships with agencies such as UBEC (Universal Basic Education Commission) and SUBEB (State Universal Basic Education Board) have been key in scaling the platform, integrating it into the national strategy for basic education.
Localized and contextualized content
The NLP’s success is also driven by its ability to provide learning resources that reflect Nigeria’s diverse cultural and linguistic landscape. By offering materials in languages such as Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba, the platform has become more accessible and relevant to teachers, learners, parents, and the wider community. This approach has been instrumental in closing the gap between urban and rural areas, ensuring that all students, regardless of location, have access to high-quality learning.

Building teachers’ digital skills
Teachers are the backbone of the Learning Passport, driving its success through their commitment to adopting digital tools and fostering blended learning. The journey begins with state-level technical teams providing foundational training and continues with periodic refresher sessions aimed at strengthening digital literacy and ensuring sustained competency in using the Learning Passport. In Nigeria alone, over 68,000 teachers have been trained, enabling them to incorporate the platform into their teaching practices. In addition, almost 150,000 teachers and school administrators are directly registered on the platform and 60% of them have engaged with learning content.
Within schools, teachers are supported by a designated focal point, often an ICT teacher, who serves as the first line of support for troubleshooting and guidance. This localized assistance ensures that teachers receive consistent and timely help, empowering them to navigate challenges with confidence and deliver impactful lessons.
The impact of empowering teachers goes beyond the classroom. UNICEF collaborates with community-based organizations, including Mother’s Associations and School-Based Management Committees (SBMCs), to encourage the use of the Learning Passport among out-of-school children. This collaborative effort, involving over 30,000 parents and 20,000 community members, fosters a sense of community ownership and amplifies the platform’s adoption and impact, particularly in conflict-affected regions.
"In this digital age, teachers, who are the transmitters of knowledge, must be proficient in computer skills and have a good understanding of new technologies. Thanks to the Nigeria Learning Passport, I now have the opportunity to stay up to date as a teacher. Thank you." - A 45-year-old teacher from Nigeria

Inclusion of marginalized groups
47% of NLP users are women and girls, highlighting the platform’s impact on gender inclusion. Focused efforts have been made to reach marginalized groups, particularly in northern Nigeria, where girls often face cultural and economic barriers to education.
One such initiative is the Girls Employability and Skills Partnership (GESP) programme, designed to equip adolescent girls and young people with essential skills to support their transition from school to work by 2025 in four states: Katsina, Sokoto, Bauchi and Lagos. Through this programme, UNICEF and the FME are promoting the integrated use of the Passport to Earning (P2E) program, a skills building programme led by Generation Unlimited, alongside the NLP, which offers accredited courses aligned with national curriculum standards. By the end of 2024, GESP successfully reached 50,000 young people from these communities, double the initial target of 25,000, providing critical educational resources and bridging gaps in these areas where traditional schooling is often disrupted by conflict or socio-economic challenges.
Additionally, the Offline Learning Passport will reach another 60,000 learners from these marginalized communities to meet the needs of unconnected schools. This offline model deploys a small hub in schools, enabling students and teachers to access learning materials and use the platform without any internet connectivity.
Scalability through zero-rated access and device distribution
In Nigeria, like in many other countries where the Learning Passport is being used, affordability is absolutely key to provide equitable access to digital learning and make sure no one is left behind. The partnerships with telecom providers like Airtel have played a key role in expanding the NLP reach, by offering access to the digital platform free of data charges. This initiative has enabled hundreds of thousands of learners, who might otherwise be excluded, to access digital education.
Moreover, with the support of donors, a total of 13,500 tablets and 1,000 projectors have been distributed, ensuring that under-resourced schools across the country have the tools needed to fully access the platform, significantly driving the NLP’s scalability.
Advocacy and outreach
Clearly defining an effective advocacy and outreach strategy for the NLP has been essential in raising awareness and increasing user adoption. Radio and TV campaigns, success stories, enrollment drives using a complementary UNICEF adolescent tool (U-Report) held three to four times annually, back to school campaigns held three times annually and bi-monthly school visits have significantly increased the platform’s visibility across the country.
UNICEF Launches Nigeria Learning Passport
One key lesson learned is the powerful impact of radio jingles in promoting the NLP. Feedback from teachers and local communities consistently highlighted that radio jingles were among the most effective tools for raising awareness about the platform. The simplicity and wide reach of radio made it invaluable, especially in rural areas where digital and internet access is limited.
The success of radio campaigns was not only due to their wide reach but also to the careful tailoring of jingles to reflect the linguistic and cultural contexts of each region. Broadcasting in local languages, made the messages more relatable and accessible to communities that might otherwise have been overlooked by national campaigns conducted in English.


Beyond traditional outreach, UNICEF has implemented community-driven approaches, including:
- School visits and events to showcase the NLP engage local communities.
- Distributing posters, pamphlets, and presentations in local languages to promote digital learning.
- Organizing competitions around course completions and quiz milestones to keep learners motivated. Video
- Building partnerships through conferences, roundtables, and local events.
- Harnessing the potential of the Nigeria Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in training teachers and facilitating teaching using the NLP.
- Collaborating with local learning centers during summer breaks and exam preparation periods. These centers, equipped with electricity, internet and infrastructure, provided free public access to the NLP.
Evidence driven and listening to users' needs monitoring and data-driven adjustments
The NLP continually evolves based on real-time data. The platform uses data on learner engagement, course completion, and platform usage to make adjustments and ensure it meets users' needs. The Learning Passport is built with users.
"Through the Learning Passport, I’ve been able to better understand subjects that were difficult for me before. It was hard for me to grasp them clearly earlier, but now, with the use of the Nigeria Learning Passport, I have found my way back to studying." - 18-year-old female student from Nigeria
NLP has gathered 6000+ pieces of feedback collected via surveys integrated on the platform. The survey aims to understand how different types of users engage with the LP and ways to improve the offering. In addition, NLP also collaborates with U-Report, a platform designed for youth engagement, to gather feedback from learners. This data has been helpful in refining advocacy campaigns and adapting content to better suit the needs of different audiences.
At the state level, technical teams, overseen by a dedicated focal person, are also responsible for monitoring the platform’s implementation and effectiveness. Each state has set specific (and ambitious!) user reach targets to ensure that the NLP’s impact grows steadily and aligns with national goals. These teams conduct monthly state meetings to discuss progress, address challenges, and maintain coordination between state and federal actors. These regular check-ins ensure that the NLP’s implementation stays on track, allowing for continuous feedback and data-driven improvements across all levels of the system.
An Ecosystem approach: Public and Private sector involvement
The success of the NLP has been strongly supported by partnerships with both the FME and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). These partnerships have been crucial in establishing the platform, helping to build state-level technical teams, train teachers, and supply devices, ensuring effective implementation across various regions.
UNICEF has also worked with the private sector to address challenges related to infrastructure, connectivity, and funding:
- Microsoft provides the technological infrastructure for the NLP, ensuring the platform operates smoothly across different regions.
- Airtel provides affordable access to the NLP by offering zero-rated data, allowing over 600,000 students to access the platform at no cost.
- IHS Towers supports school connectivity with provision of access devices and data in 870 schools.
- Botnar foundation supports capacity building of teachers by harnessing the potential of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members.
- Sony supports with infrastructure, ensuring reliable connectivity even in areas with little or no internet access using offline hub devices.
- Transsion (Tecno) supports capacity building of teachers, translation of learning materials into local languages and expansion of NLP in new states.

What’s next?
Looking ahead, Nigeria aims to continue transforming education by growing the access to quality learning through the NLP, with plans to double its current user base to 3.75m by 2027. Efforts will include adding six additional states, two per year, and expanding the program’s reach to unconnected schools using an innovative offline model.
Listening to feedback of teachers and learners, the focus is also now on connecting more schools and enhancing learning outcomes for 80% of users, ensuring not just access but meaningful educational progress. This will be achieved through ongoing content refinement and capacity-building for teachers. And advocacy efforts will remain a priority to achieve these goals, with continued collaboration among UNICEF, the government, private sector and other key stakeholders.
Join us! Be part of this journey!