When schools buy blind: Why Nigeria must stop making high-stakes edtech decisions without evidence
By Precious Ebere-Chinonso Obi
A recent report by the UK’s Education Policy Institute (EPI), in partnership with edtech firm Sync, has issued a stark warning: schools are making high-stakes technology decisions without sufficient evidence, guidance or shared standards. While the findings focus on England, the implications land uncomfortably close to home for Nigeria and perhaps with even higher stakes.
In Nigeria, edtech adoption is accelerating rapidly. From learning management systems and AI-powered tutoring tools to digital attendance, testing platforms and hybrid classrooms, technology is increasingly positioned as the solution to long-standing education challenges. Yet, much like the situation described in the EPI report, these decisions are often made in the absence of rigorous evidence, national frameworks or clear definitions of what “good” actually looks like.
The result? A fragmented edtech landscape where some schools surge ahead while others are left behind not because of a lack of ambition, but because of weak governance around technology adoption.
Unlike England, Nigeria does not yet have a comprehensive national framework guiding schools on how to evaluate, procure and implement education technology. Decisions are frequently driven by vendor pitches, donor preferences, political cycles or the personal tech confidence of school leaders. In many cases, technology is procured before the problem it is meant to solve is clearly defined.
Public schools may receive digital tools through interventions that are poorly aligned with curriculum needs or teacher capacity. Private schools, particularly low and mid-fee institutions, often invest scarce resources in platforms that promise transformation but deliver little measurable learning impact. Meanwhile, state education boards and federal agencies operate largely in silos, leading to duplication, waste and inconsistent outcomes.
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This mirrors the EPI report’s warning: when schools are left to “figure it out alone,” disparities widen, not narrow. The most concerning aspect of blind edtech adoption is not financial inefficiency, but its impact on learners. Without evidence-based decision-making, technology risks reinforcing existing inequalities. Urban schools with better connectivity, stronger leadership and higher budgets are able to experiment, iterate and recover from failed tools. Rural and under-resourced schools cannot.
Nigeria already faces deep digital divides between urban and rural areas, public and private schools, and across gender and income lines. Introducing AI and advanced digital tools into this uneven system without guardrails risks creating a two-tier education future: one that is data-driven and adaptive, and another that remains analogue and excluded.
The EPI report also highlights teacher confidence as a key variable. This is particularly relevant in Nigeria, where continuous professional development (CPD) around digital pedagogy is limited. Technology introduced without adequate training becomes an added burden rather than a support, increasing burnout and resistance rather than improving outcomes.
One of the most important lessons Nigeria can draw from the UK experience is that edtech is not neutral. The impact of technology depends on governance: how it is selected, integrated, monitored and evaluated. When procurement, policy, leadership and teacher training are disconnected, even the best tools underperform.
Nigeria’s education reform efforts from digital literacy strategies to teacher upskilling and youth employment cannot treat edtech as a standalone intervention. Technology must be embedded within broader education policy, aligned with curriculum reforms, teacher workforce planning and inclusion goals.
This is where government leadership is critical. Just as Nigeria has developed national policies for broadband, fintech and data protection, it must now articulate a clear national edtech framework. Such a framework should define standards for evidence, data protection, interoperability, accessibility and learning impact not to stifle innovation, but to guide it.
The EPI–Sync report does not argue against technology in education; it argues for smarter adoption. The same must be Nigeria’s position. Nigeria has a growing edtech ecosystem, talented innovators and a young, digitally curious population. What is missing is a system that connects innovation to evidence, ambition to accountability, and technology to real learning outcomes.
Until then, we risk repeating the same mistake the UK is now cautioning against: making decisions that shape children’s futures based on urgency and optimism, rather than data and deliberate strategy. In education, as in governance, speed without evidence is not innovation, it is a gamble Nigeria can no longer afford.
- Precious Ebere-Chinonso Obi, CEO of Do Take Action, is an independent consultant on edtech, climate change, public policy, and women’s procurement empowerment
