The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is scaling up its digital education intervention in Lagos with the donation of 50 Airtel 5G Connect Routers to the Lagos State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, reinforcing the growing role of high-speed connectivity as the backbone of modern classroom learning.
The deployment, executed in partnership with Airtel Nigeria, builds on an earlier phase that delivered 150 routers to public schools across the state. The initiative targets schools with at least 15 functional computing devices but limited or no internet access, highlighting persistent connectivity gaps constraining digital learning adoption.
UNICEF is repositioning its intervention strategy from device-centric deployments to connectivity-first models, where reliable internet access enables the full utilisation of digital tools already present in schools.
The Airtel 5G routers are designed to support cloud-based learning platforms, virtual classrooms, and digital content delivery, all of which are increasingly central to 21st-century education systems.
Lagos expands infrastructure to close access gaps
At the official presentation in Alausa, Jamiu Alli-Balogun, Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, , says the state is leveraging partnerships to accelerate education modernisation.
The new batch of routers, Alli-Balogun says, will be distributed to schools that did not benefit from the first phase, ensuring broader inclusion across education districts.
“Guide and safeguard the routers as if they were yours. The government is committing significant resources to education, and we need to ensure those efforts deliver value,” he says.
Abisola Dokunmu-Adegbite, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, underscores the importance of sustained public-private collaboration in scaling education technology infrastructure, commending UNICEF and Airtel for their continued support.
The router deployment aligns with Lagos State’s broader digital education strategy, which has combined device distribution, digital skills development, and teacher capacity building.
The state has deployed digital learning tablets to over 600,000 students under its “Hope for Digital Education” initiative, while also training more than 120,000 students and educators in digital literacy, AI, and modern pedagogy.
By integrating 5G-enabled fixed wireless access, Lagos is addressing structural constraints associated with fibre rollout and inconsistent broadband coverage, particularly in underserved school environments.
National rollout targets 300,000 students
The Lagos deployment forms part of a wider multi-year partnership between UNICEF and Airtel to expand digital learning access across Nigeria and other African markets.
Under the programme, more than 620 schools nationwide have been earmarked for connectivity, with an estimated 300,000 students expected to benefit from improved internet access and digital learning platforms.
The initiative is anchored on UNICEF’s Reimagine Education framework, which positions internet connectivity as an essential service for learning.
It also supports platforms such as the Nigeria Learning Passport, developed in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education and Microsoft, to provide both online and offline access to educational content.
Connectivity emerges as critical education infrastructure
With additional rollouts planned, the UNICEF–Airtel collaboration is reinforcing a key shift in Nigeria’s education technology landscape: connectivity is no longer a supporting layer but a foundational requirement for digital learning.
As schools increasingly adopt cloud-based tools and virtual learning systems, stakeholders say sustained investment in broadband infrastructure will determine the pace and scale of education transformation across the country.
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