Major tertiary education students’ unions in Nigeria have urged the Federal Government to extend the Electronic Education Initiative (E-DON) to universities and polytechnics, saying the digital classroom innovation should not be limited to Colleges of Education.
The students described E-DON as a timely and transformative intervention that is changing the traditional classroom experience, reducing reliance on paper-based learning and exposing students and lecturers to modern educational technologies.

The demand was made during a joint courtesy visit to the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, in Abuja by representatives of the National Association of Nigerian Colleges of Education Students (NANCES), National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) and National Association of University Students (NAUS).
The students’ bodies said their call for expansion was informed by their experience of the deployment of E-DON in Colleges of Education, where they observed the use of interactive digital boards and other technologies to enhance teaching and learning.

Speaking during the visit, NANCES National President, Comrade Kur Isaac Ushenba, commended Alausa for his efforts towards accelerating the digital transformation of Nigeria’s education sector.
Ushenba said E-DON was helping to replace conventional classroom methods with a more interactive and technology-driven approach.
“With the Electronic Education Initiative (E-DON) project, teaching and learning have been transformed significantly. As a teacher, you no longer need to come into the lecture room carrying chalk or worrying about the traditional board. Everything needed for the lesson can be programmed, prepared and displayed directly on the interactive board,” he said.

He explained that the interactive boards also enable students to scan QR codes displayed during lessons to access handouts, course materials and other learning resources directly on their phones, tablets and other multimedia devices.
“This has helped reduce paper wastage and enhance digital technology across our college classrooms,” he added.
According to him, the initiative is making teaching and learning more engaging, practical and technology-driven, while exposing students and lecturers to modern educational technology.
“We, as students in the Colleges of Education, are already experiencing and benefiting from this innovation. It is making teaching more engaging, practical and technology-driven,” Ushenba said.
The NANCES president also said the initiative had the potential to contribute to efforts to address the brain drain syndrome by creating more technologically advanced learning environments and connecting Nigerian institutions and students with global educational developments.

He expressed appreciation to the Minister on behalf of students of Colleges of Education nationwide for supporting initiatives aimed at bringing modern technology into Nigerian classrooms.
However, Ushenba urged the Minister to sustain and strengthen support for E-DON, particularly following the approval of the dual mandate programme for Colleges of Education.
He said the development would place greater responsibility on Colleges of Education as they begin graduating degree holders, making it necessary for the institutions to be adequately equipped to compete with their counterparts globally.
“With the approval of the dual mandate programme, Colleges of Education will now be graduating degree holders. We therefore need to ensure that our institutions are equipped with modern technologies that will enable our students and lecturers to compete favourably with their counterparts globally,” he said.

Ushenba specifically appealed to Alausa to extend E-DON to polytechnics and universities.
“E-DON has demonstrated that technology can significantly improve the teaching and learning experience. We therefore appeal to the Honourable Minister to consider expanding this initiative to polytechnics and universities so that more Nigerian students can benefit from modern digital learning,” he added.
The National President of the National Association of Polytechnic Students, Comrade Eshiofune Paul Oghayan, also backed the call, saying NAPS had witnessed the progress being made in Colleges of Education through its visitation and interaction programmes.
Oghayan said the association’s interest was not only in commending E-DON but also in ensuring that the initiative was incorporated into interventions targeting polytechnics.
He noted that many polytechnics were still relying on conventional teaching and learning systems despite the practical and technology-oriented nature of their programmes.

According to him, NAPS had observed how E-DON was being deployed and effectively utilised in Colleges of Education and was impressed by its impact on classroom teaching and learning.
He argued that polytechnic students should also have access to similar modern educational tools to enable them acquire skills and knowledge in an environment that reflects the technological demands of the modern workplace.
Oghayan stressed that the students’ visit was therefore partly an advocacy effort for the wider adoption of E-DON across the polytechnic system.
To this end, he appreciated the Chairman, Secretary-General, executives and members of the Council of Heads of Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology for their consideration and support.
The students’ unions’ demand comes amid growing recognition of the role of technology in improving the quality and relevance of Nigeria’s education system.

They maintained that expanding E-DON across universities and polytechnics would provide more students with access to interactive digital learning, reduce dependence on paper materials and strengthen the Federal Government’s digital education agenda.
For the students’ associations, the experience of E-DON in Colleges of Education demonstrates the potential of technology to move Nigerian classrooms away from traditional methods towards a more practical, interactive, modern and globally competitive model of education.
They therefore urged the Federal Government to sustain investment in educational technology, stressing that such investment would ultimately benefit students, teachers, professionals and future generations who will drive Nigeria’s development.