Technology
Digital Inclusion: What Does Equal Access to Education Mean in the Digital Age?
By Zohra Yermeche
The COVID-19 crisis and the impact, which it has had on learning across the world, has highlighted many of the digital disparities which exist in today’s world.
At a time when many of the world’s students shifted from physical to digital, we were also faced with the hard truth that today there are still 3.6 billion people in the world who are unconnected.
For students in the connected half of the world, the story is much different. While 1.2 billion children were affected by school closures across much of the world, our recent Consumer COVID-19 report found that students were able to substitute physical learning by spending 230 per cent more time on digital learning tools such as Google Class, Epic! and Seesaw Class.
This of course is a significant rise, but it is also an acceleration of a trend which we have steadily been tracking since our first Connect To Learn program exactly ten years ago.
The State of Broadband 2020 report estimates that there are twice as many people today who use the Internet compared to 2010. This rise in digital literacy, together with the imminent period of rapid digitalization of the economy, means that ensuring fair and equal access to both education and future job markets will rest on the extent of digital inclusion within our societies.
What is digital inclusion and why is it so important today?
Today, technology plays a much bigger role in the quality and scope of how we learn, such as new digital learning platforms which are estimated to reach $350 billion by 2025; what we learn, with a growing emphasis on programming, robotics, AI and automation; and how we can use it in the job market, with digital skillsets increasingly becoming a prerequisite of tomorrow’s workforce.
The changes which are happening today show the disparity between the developed and undeveloped world. If you are not connected, that shows you the leap which you have to make between the connectivity aspect, access to education and benefits which are derived from that.
Closing this digital divide, with those who are not connected or not considered to be digitally literate, is imperative to ensuring a fair distribution of digital opportunities across countries, locations, gender, socioeconomic status, and age.
Access to education in the digital age
In 2010, we co-founded the Connect To Learn initiative with the Earth Institute at Columbia University and Millennium Promise, with a focus on delivering connectivity and ICT tools to enhance teaching and learning in unconnected, underprivileged and largely unrepresented communities.
Since our first projects in the Millennium Villages, we’ve helped to connect and increase the digital inclusion of more than 200,000 students worldwide. As the program has evolved, we have increased our efforts to close the digital divide not just in terms of connectivity, but from a content, syllabus and platform side which is fundamental.
As a technology company, we quickly discovered that we can offer so much more than connectivity, but furthermore can help improve learning processes and methodologies so learning can become more impactful. For example, through partnerships with like-minded organizations, we have helped to digitalize and disseminate content through digital learning tools such as mobile apps.
One of the biggest differences from ten years ago is also that the nature of technology in an educational context, both as a medium and a means to enter the job market was still relatively immature as the landscape has evolved, we’ve come to understand the need to personalize and individualize learning so that we can improve learning outcomes in a meaningful way.
Giving people access to the right type of content is one aspect, another equally critical aspect is the human element. On top of the digital layer, students will still always need the engagement, inspiration and activation that comes from teachers and trainers who know about the topic. I believe that, even in the digital age, technology will never be able to replace this interaction, but rather can serve as an increasingly innovative medium for those critical learner-instructor interactions, such as through the Internet of Skills.
Digital inclusion through public-private partnerships
Today, there is a significant need for digital skills courses. Key technology areas such as AI, robotics and app development are advancing at such a rapid pace, which can make it difficult to ensure an effective transfer of competence to emerging workforces.
Such is the pace of change for topics such as these, public academic institutions will invariably struggle to take learning beyond a basic theoretical level. Public-private partnerships will therefore be key to addressing this, by developing advanced curriculums and delivering the necessary quality and scale of access.
As a sustainability pioneer in the private sector, we’ve understood the power of partnership, which is why we’re investing heavily in building out those partnerships with like-minded entities to create sustainable solutions in order to address the issues which the education sector faces today. A good example of this is the Ericsson Digital Lab program which is now live in several countries in partnership with local schools and community learning centres. The aim here is to share those competences that we have in-house on a much broader scale, addressing those critical skillset demands which are needed in tomorrow’s workforce.
This year, in response to the impact which COVID-19 has had on learning, we continuing these efforts by joining the UNESCO-led Global Education Coalition, launching Ericsson Educate and partnering with UNICEF to map school connectivity as part of the Giga project.
Through digital methodologies, and with a focus on improving digital skills for students across all communities, our commitment is to ensure that future generations continue to have the skills and knowledge to find opportunity in a changing digital world. This was what we set out to do when we launched Connect To Learn ten years ago, and this will continue to be our priority in this next critical decade of action.
Zohra Yermeche is the Program Director for Connect To Learn at Ericsson
Key players across Nigeria’s digital economy, telecommunications, and infrastructure ecosystem are set for the National Dig-Once Policy Forum to champion a new course towards increasing Nigeria’s digital backbone network to 125,000km of fibre-optic infrastructure.
The event, which marks the 8th edition of Policy Implementation Assisted Forum (PIAFo), is a high-level industry dialogue aimed at accelerating the formulation and adoption of a National Dig-Once Policy as a critical enabler of safe, coordinated and cost-effective fibre infrastructure deployment in the country.
The forum, themed Accelerating Nigeria’s Digital Backbone: Dig Once Policy, Project BRIDGE and Strategies for Effective Fibre Deployment, is slated for Thursday, April 16, 2026, at Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja GRA, Lagos.
According to the organisers, Business Metrics Limited (BML), the introduction of the $2 billion Project BRIDGE initiative by the Federal Government to expand fibre infrastructure by an additional 90,000km from 35,000km to 125,000km by 2030 requires some new measures to ensure the successful implementation of the ambitious target and avoid mistakes of the past.
Industry stakeholders have identified that the success of a national connectivity backbone rollout depends largely on institutionalising a Dig Once Policy framework, which encourages the installation of fibre ducts and conduits whenever roads, railways, and other major public infrastructure are being constructed or rehabilitated.
According to industry data shared by the Nigerian Communications Commission, lack of such a framework is taking a toll on the telecoms sector and broadband drive as operators recorded over 50,000 fibre cut incidents across the country in 2024, with more than 60 per cent occurring during road construction and rehabilitation activities. These disruptions have resulted in billions of naira in repair costs, network outages, and service degradation.
Telecom operators in Lagos State alone said they spent over N5 billion in 2024 to repair and replace damaged fibre infrastructure in the state, while lamenting that the development continues to slow down network upgrade and expansion drive.
Beyond infrastructure damage, telecom operators also face challenges such as high Right of Way (RoW) charges, uncoordinated civil works, and repeated excavation of roads for fibre deployment.
PIAFo 8.0 aims to address these challenges by fostering collaboration among stakeholders responsible for planning, financing, constructing, and maintaining Nigeria’s digital infrastructure.
Specifically, the forum seeks to align federal, state, and local infrastructure planning around a unified Dig-Once framework; strengthen collaboration between telecom operators, infrastructure companies, and public works authorities; translate policy intentions into actionable guidelines and implementation timelines; and build stakeholder support for Project BRIDGE and complementary national fibre initiatives.
Speaking about the event, Team Lead at Business Metrics Limited, Omobayo Azeez, said Nigeria is being denied access to the robust connectivity it should derive from up to eight high-capacity undersea cable networks landed on its shores because of difficulties around terrestrial fibre infrastructure expansion.
“The Project BRIDGE initiative should excite everyone because of its ambitious targets. But for those who understand the operating terrain and why it took the industry over 20 years to achieve around 35,000km of fibre network that the country currently operates for broadband connectivity, the project calls for a major shift in execution approach with the adoption of a National Dig-Once Policy as the starting point.
“PIAFo, now in its 8th edition, is again serving as the viable platform for representatives from government ministries and agencies, senior telecom executives, infrastructure companies, data centre operators, equipment manufacturers, state governments, and industry associations to chart the way forward.”
The forum will feature keynote addresses, expert panel discussions, and strategic networking sessions designed to drive pragmatic outcomes that will accelerate Nigeria’s journey toward a resilient and inclusive digital economy.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian government and the Republic of Finland have formalised a strategic partnership on digitalisation and innovation, signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at expanding economic activities and strengthening cooperation in the digital sector.
The agreement was signed in Abuja by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, and Mr Jarno Syrjälä, Under‑Secretary of State (International Trade) at Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
According to a statement from the Special Assistant on Media and Communications to the communications minister, Mr Isime Esene, the MoU will establish a framework for collaboration across key areas, including digital government, emerging technologies, digital public infrastructure, cybersecurity, innovation ecosystems, and capacity building.
Mr Tijani described the signing as “an important step in strengthening the partnership between both countries as we work to build a more inclusive, innovation-driven digital economy.”
“This agreement is a significant next step following our engagements in Helsinki in February, where we met with key stakeholders, including Finnvera and Finnfund, and held productive discussions on advancing collaboration around digital infrastructure, the Data Exchange Platform, and opportunities for Finnish participation in Project Bridge.”
The Minister emphasised that the partnership would “unlock meaningful opportunities for both countries, enabling us to leverage digital transformation as a catalyst for sustainable growth and shared prosperity.”
Echoing this optimism, Mr Syrjälä said: “Finland is very pleased to deepen its partnership with Nigeria in building resilient, secure, and human‑centric digital societies. Digitalisation is at its best when it empowers people, strengthens trust, and creates new opportunities for innovation.”
“Nigeria is a key partner for Finland in Africa, and this MoU provides a strong basis for concrete cooperation between our governments, institutions, and private sectors. Together, we can advance digital solutions that are interoperable, future‑fit, and beneficial to both our nations,” he added.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
New Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools designed to provide support for users of its applications have been launched by Meta.
The AI Support Assistant will work on the Facebook and Instagram apps, the company said in a statement.
The tools will help users to receive reliable and action-oriented assistance when needed.
In December, the Meta AI support assistant, a tool designed to provide reliable, 24/7 support for nearly any support issue at any time, was previewed.
Now, Meta is rolling it out globally on the Facebook and Instagram apps for iOS and Android, and within Help Centre on Facebook and Instagram on desktop, with even more capabilities and ways to help.
The new Meta AI support assistant is designed to help resolve account problems from start to finish. It offers answers for any question, like notification settings or new features, and can also take action for users on a growing set of requests directly within Facebook and, in the future, on Instagram.
The feature can report scams, impersonation accounts, or problematic content, make it easier to see why content was taken down, provide appeal options, track what happens next, manage privacy settings, reset passwords, and update profile settings.
The Meta AI support assistant can respond to requests typically in under five seconds, dramatically reducing wait times compared to traditional help centre searches or seeking answers on external websites.
“The Meta AI support assistant is a major step in our work to deliver stronger support on our apps. In fact, among people who have provided feedback, the majority report a positive experience with the Meta AI support assistant. It’s rolling out now in all languages supported by Facebook and Instagram for support topics.
“We’re continuing to invest in AI- powered tools to make support more accessible, reliable, and effective — and we’ll keep evolving the Meta AI support assistant as more people use it and as the technology advances, so it continues to improve over time,” the organisation disclosed.
Meta has also deployed AI to improve content enforcement to help users reduce the chance that scammers trick people into giving away their login details, ultimately finding and mitigating 5,000 scam attempts per day that no existing review team had caught before.
Meta said over the next few years, it would be deploying these more advanced AI systems across its apps once they consistently perform better than its current methods of content enforcement, transforming its approach.
“As we do this, we’ll reduce our reliance on third-party vendors for content enforcement and focus on strengthening our internal systems and workforce.
“While we’ll still have people who review content, these systems will be able to take on work that’s better-suited to technology, like repetitive reviews of graphic content or areas where adversarial actors are constantly changing their tactics, such as with illicit drug sales or scams,” it stated.
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