The Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership has been appointed to the Governing Board of the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN) and the Tertiary Education Research Applications and Services (TERAS).
NgREN—Nigeria’s national research and education digital backbone—delivers high-speed connectivity, shared digital tools, and collaborative platforms to universities and research institutions. TERAS, on its part, provides the digital applications that drive research, data exchange, and e-learning across the country’s tertiary education system.
The newly reconstituted NgREN/TERAS Board was inaugurated by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, and the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, during the Nigeria National EdTech Strategy Mid-Term Co-Creation Workshop, supported by the Mastercard Foundation and the World Bank Group.
Members of the Board include the Executive Secretaries of the NUC, NBTE, NCCE and TETFund, alongside representatives of vice chancellors, rectors, and provosts. Major digital infrastructure agencies, the NCC, Galaxy Backbone and the USPF, are also represented. The Athena Centre joins the team as the civil society voice.
Dr. Alausa commended the Centre’s contributions to national transparency reforms, noting that the Ministry’s Federal Tertiary Institutions Governance Transparency Portal (FTIGTP) was inspired by Athena’s research and advocacy. He expressed optimism that the new Board will deliver measurable progress within two years to boost Nigeria’s research environment and digital preparedness.
Chief Osita Chidoka, OFR, Chancellor of the Athena Centre and the Centre’s representative on the Board, praised the Ministry’s dedication to transparency and evidence-based policymaking.
Reaffirming the government’s digital agenda, Dr. Alausa added, “For the first time, Nigeria is creating a unified data architecture for basic, secondary and tertiary institutions. You cannot reform what you cannot measure, and we are determined to measure what matters.”
Dr. Tijani underscored the need for interoperability within the education system, stating: “Digital transformation fails when systems operate in silos. Our priority is a national architecture where platforms communicate seamlessly and every school is connected.”
Chidoka welcomed the government’s digital advancements but emphasized the critical role of state governments, who own most of Nigeria’s schools, in achieving long-term success.
“For education to thrive, states must invest, lead, and commit,” he said. “The Federal Government should coordinate and support, but it cannot shoulder school management alone.”
The Athena Centre reiterated its commitment to helping both federal and state governments strengthen education data systems, improve digital governance, and entrench transparency and accountability across the sector.
