From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna
Over 2.2 million Nigerian children and learners have enrolled on the Nigerian Learning Passport (NLP), an online educational platform designed to bridge the country’s learning poverty gap, the Kaduna State team lead of the initiative, Philip Mamman, has disclosed.
Mamman announced this during this year’s National Children’s Day celebration at the Air Force Institute of Technology in Kaduna. He stated that enrollment and usage of the platform continue to grow as efforts intensify to expand access to quality education across Nigeria.
Supported by UNICEF, in partnership with the Global Partnership for Education, and hosted by the Federal Ministry of Education, the NLP provides children access to learning resources regardless of their location.
“The Nigerian Learning Passport is an online learning platform that aims to close the learning poverty gap, especially around literacy and numeracy,” Mamman explained. “It allows every Nigerian child, whether in rural or urban areas, to access quality education.”
He mentioned that learners can access the platform via Android phones, iOS devices, laptops, and desktops by downloading the NLP application from the Play Store and registering with an email address.
Mamman noted that the platform was officially launched in Abuja on March 24, 2022, by the late former President Muhammadu Buhari through the then Minister of State for Education. Since then, 24 states have adopted the initiative, with Gombe being the latest to join in April 2026.
Describing it as the largest online learning platform in Africa, he said the program’s reach has expanded rapidly. “At the moment, we have over two million users across Nigeria, and the enrollment is still ongoing,” he said.
On challenges, Mamman acknowledged that internet access remains a barrier for learners in hard-to-reach communities. To address this, he said offline hubs are being introduced to allow students to use the platform without connectivity.
“We know there are communities without internet access. The offline hub allows learners in such areas to use the platform without the internet,” he explained. He added that Kaduna State is expected to benefit from the offline hub initiative soon.
He also highlighted UNICEF’s role in providing technical support to states, especially in teacher training and digital learning innovation. According to him, about 70,000 teachers across Nigeria have been trained on using the platform since its launch.
Mamman said UNICEF is promoting blended learning by combining traditional classroom teaching with technology-enabled tools, including artificial intelligence and generative AI as teaching assistants.
Looking ahead, he said the program aims to expand to reach more states and out-of-school children. “We are looking at scaling the program to reach every Nigerian child. In the near future, we hope to expand to over 30 states plus the FCT so that every child can access quality education with just a click,” he said.
