For a student who cannot afford a laptop, the digital divide is not an abstract policy problem. It can mean struggling to complete an assignment, missing an online course, being unable to access research materials or losing opportunities for digital work because there is no device, reliable internet or electricity.

TETFund is now attempting to tackle that problem on a scale that could change how students access technology across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.

The new ICT Digital Experience Centre at the University of Cross River State (UNICROSS), Calabar, commissioned by Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, is one of six pilot facilities under a programme the Fund plans to replicate across its beneficiary institutions nationwide.

That is the bigger story behind the N1 billion Calabar facility. Nigeria is not inventing the university ICT centre. Countries such as South Africa and Rwanda already operate sophisticated versions of such facilities. What distinguishes the TETFund model is its ambition to institutionalise the concept across the country’s tertiary education system.

Implemented under the Renewed Hope Initiative in partnership with TETFund, the UNICROSS centre provides students, particularly those unable to afford personal computers and internet subscriptions, with free access to digital devices, online resources and high-speed internet for academic activities.

TETFund Executive Secretary, Arc. Sonny Echono, told The Guardian at the commissioning that the intention was to take the model to every beneficiary institution.

“We intend to cascade it to every institution. Every institution that is a beneficiary must have a centre like this on campus,” he said.

If achieved, the plan would give students across hundreds of tertiary institutions greater access to coordinated digital infrastructure.

The significance of the centres, however, goes beyond providing computers.

Chairman of the TETFund Board of Trustees, Rt. Hon. Aminu Masari, said they were designed to help students and lecturers acquire skills in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, robotics and software development.

He also highlighted applications of emerging technologies in agriculture, healthcare, security, media and mining, linking the intervention to graduate employability, innovation and Nigeria’s ability to compete in an increasingly technology-driven global economy.

For students, access to such technology can complement formal education. An undergraduate studying agriculture, engineering, mass communication, business or the humanities can use the facilities to conduct research, collaborate online, develop projects and acquire digital skills that could improve employment prospects.

The international experience shows what is possible.

In South Africa, universities have invested for years in computer laboratories and digital access facilities. The University of KwaZulu-Natal provides student computer laboratories with round-the-clock access, while the Tshwane University of Technology operates iCentres across campuses and residences, providing computers and internet access. The University of Cape Town also provides extensive computing facilities, campus-wide Wi-Fi and access to software.

Rwanda offers a broader approach, combining digital access with innovation. The University of Rwanda’s UR Binary Hub provides students and innovators with workspace, internet connectivity, devices and other tools, while its UNIPOD innovation hub combines makerspaces, advanced technology laboratories and digital workshops where students can develop and prototype products.

The examples show that digital centres can evolve beyond basic computer access into spaces for research, innovation, entrepreneurship and practical skills development.

TETFund’s proposition is therefore not about creating an entirely new concept, but about institutionalising and scaling it nationally.

At UNICROSS, Echono stressed that students would not be charged for using the facilities.

“It’s Wi-Fi based. You just come in here, you can connect, and even the use of the facilities is at zero cost to them,” he told our correspondent.

He said students unable to afford laptops could use the centres around the clock for assignments and other academic activities.

“On every campus, you will have a facility like this, an ICT centre where not only will you have the computers and the other digital resources, but you will also have 24-hour electricity supply and 24-hour internet connectivity,” Echono said.

For students, the immediate benefit is obvious. A borrowed laptop, a cybercafé and expensive mobile data would no longer be the only options for someone without a personal computer.

But the bigger possibility lies beyond academic convenience.

Echono said the centres would help students develop digital skills, access remote work opportunities and pursue self-employment. That could allow undergraduates to acquire competencies in software development, graphic design, digital marketing, data analysis and cybersecurity, potentially creating pathways into remote work and the global digital economy.

Cross River State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu, described the UNICROSS centre as an investment in the digital empowerment of students and the advancement of education in the state. He said it would help narrow the digital divide while preparing young people to compete in a technology-driven global economy.

The programme began with six pilot centres approved as part of TETFund’s 2024 activities, with each of the six geopolitical zones allocated an ICT Experience Centre at a cost of N1 billion.

Ekiti State University has already commissioned its centre, while Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State, is expected to commission its facility shortly. The other pilot institutions are Kaduna State University, Kwara State University and Taraba State University.

The expansion is already under way. Echono said another 15 centres were expected to be completed before the end of January 2027, while work was ongoing on about 50 additional facilities involving either the upgrading of existing ICT centres or construction of new ones

“All in all, we are talking about at least 63, or even more, of these facilities in the next couple of months,” he said.

The scale of the ambition is significant. TETFund’s 2026 intervention covers 271 beneficiary institutions, meaning that a nationwide rollout would potentially place dedicated digital facilities within reach of students across universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

The success of the centres, however, will ultimately have to be measured differently. It should not be about how many buildings are commissioned or how many computers are installed, but how many students use them, what they learn and what they ultimately produce.

The real promise of the programme is that it could make digital access a routine part of campus life rather than a privilege available only to students who can afford personal devices, reliable internet and electricity. As the centres spread, students across disciplines and regions could have greater opportunities to research, collaborate, create, innovate and acquire practical skills alongside their formal education.

If sustained at the scale envisaged by the Fund, the initiative could ultimately become more than a network of ICT facilities. It could become a platform for developing a generation of digitally confident graduates equipped to pursue opportunities within Nigeria and beyond. For the student who walks into one of these centres with only an assignment, the bigger possibility is walking out with a new skill, an idea, a project or even the beginnings of a career.