Basic Education Reform in Oyo: Small Screens, Big Gains

As Oyo’s collaboration with EIDU, a global Education Technology  leader, to introduce an AI-backed pedagogy and platform aimed at improving literacy, numeracy, and digital skills for public primary school children in Basic 1–3, is already boosting literacy and numeracy, Uzoma Mba writes that other states can adopt the approach

“Everything changed on 17th of September 2024. That was the day the smartphones finally arrived at our school,” recalls Mr. Abiola Salau, Headmaster of Community Basic School, Iseyin, Oyo State.“While we were happy that ours was one of the pilot schools, honestly, the teachers and I weren’t sure how things would unfold in those first few weeks—even though we had received extensive training on the new classroom management techniques,” says Salau, who has been a teacher for 33 years.

But the worries diluted, once the programme started: “That morning, the children were visibly excited—I could see it in their smiles. It was the first time they were experiencing tech-aided learning. You need to understand things from their perspective. At home, smartphones are usually off-limits. But in school, they could now use customised versions to learn how to read and solve math problems,” Mr. Salau explains, describing Oyo State’s basic education reform programme.

In 2024, the Oyo State Government partnered EIDU, a global Education Technology  leader, to introduce an AI-backed pedagogy and platform aimed at improving literacy, numeracy, and digital skills for public primary school children in Basic 1–3.

Technology in Hard-to-Reach Areas

Oyo’s push for basic education reform was anchored on the urgent need to improve literacy, numeracy, and digital skills among public school children. The precarious state of foundational learning across Nigeria made it imperative for the government to act to save over 1,500,000 children in the state from what the World Bank describes as learning poverty—a situation in which a 10-year-old cannot read or understand a basic passage.

Various national and multilateral institutions have highlighted the depth of this crisis in sub-Saharan Africa. According to UNICEF, (2022), 73 percent of 10-year-olds in Nigeria struggle to read or comprehend simple text.

The challenge is particularly acute in hard-to-reach areas. For decades, government interventions largely focused on urban centres or at least prioritizing those areas that were more visible, thereby leaving rural schools behind. Learning from the mistakes of the past, the Oyo–EIDU partnership gave equal attention to both urban and underserved schools. A visit to Iseyin proves this.

Located about 100 kilometres from Ibadan, Oyo’s capital, Iseyin is surrounded by pristine greenery, rocky outcrops, fertile farmland, and communities known for traditional aso-oke weaving.

“Ours is a small school, and the very fact that the governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, thought it wise to include us in the pilot was very encouraging. We said to ourselves as teachers, this is an opportunity to do things better,” Mr. Salau says with a faint smile. “Each day in school, you could see our children solving problems on the small screens of the android phones that were issued to them, these small screens ironically were delivering great gains.”

EIDU’s methods democratise quality education, ensuring that schools in both urban and remote areas gain access to best-in-class teaching and learning materials suitable for children at different stages, real time. For instance, what is taught in a school in Ibadan is what is taught in any of the remote schools participating in the programme.  

The system is offline-first—teachers and pupils can use it without internet access, and data automatically syncs once the device reconnects. This makes it particularly effective in rural or low-connectivity environments.

Inside the New Pedagogy

EIDU’s technology is built around a child-friendly digital learning platform that runs on affordable Android smartphones. The devices are preloaded with the EIDU platform that offers interactive literacy and numeracy lesson plans for teachers as well as personalised learning experiences for pupils, designed with colourful visuals, sounds, and animations that make learning engaging for young children.

At its core, the platform uses artificial intelligence (AI) to adapt lessons to each child’s learning pace. A struggling pupil receives remedial tasks until mastery is achieved, while quicker learners are given more advanced challenges. This personalised approach ensures no child is left behind and keeps advanced learners motivated.

The platform also relieves teachers of the dreary routine of writing long lesson notes daily. Instead, they can adapt structured notes to their classroom environments, focusing on their prime responsibility—delivering impactful lessons.

“We are happy that our teachers were not replaced or displaced but rather empowered to do their jobs better,” says Mr. Salau. “The system provides them with digital lesson guides, structured teaching materials, and real-time feedback on pupil performance. Dashboards show which students are excelling, which are struggling, and which concepts need to be revisited for the children to fully understand.”

The data-driven insights provided by the technology underpinning the programme helps teachers adjust their methods immediately and support ongoing professional development by showing how their instruction is influencing outcomes week by week. Beyond the classroom, EIDU generates anonymised, large-scale data on how children learn; this data assists policymakers in Ibadan to determine the right policy changes that can further enhance learning outcomes. Therefore, decisions on training, resources, and reforms are grounded in evidence rather than assumptions.

Of Results and the Future 

One year after implementation, the results speak for themselves. “Certainly it has made an impact,” Mr. Salau says with a broad smile. “We didn’t only see improvements in literacy and numeracy—we also saw behavioural changes. Children now arrive at school as early as 7:30am, just to be the first to use the smartphones. They complete their sums quickly so they can go to the EIDU corner of the classroom. The changes have been immense.”

In August 2025, Dr. Nureni Adeniran, Chairman of the Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board, confirmed the programme’s success. “The first impact was increased enrollment. In schools where enrollment had been between 50 and 70 pupils, numbers rose to around 100 after the programme began. Children eagerly shared their new learning experiences at home, prompting parents to show greater interest and commitment.

“We also saw renewed enthusiasm from learners, demonstrated by improved participation. Teachers benefited immensely too—1,039 were trained in the first phase. This improved their skills, boosted their confidence, and enhanced classroom management. The programme is now scaling up, with 3,090 additional teachers and 76 quality assurance officers already trained. Learners now look forward to school, not wanting to miss opportunities to use the devices. This excitement translates into stronger literacy and numeracy outcomes in the pilot schools compared to control schools.”

Designed to strengthen the basic education system in Oyo, the intervention is cost-effective, non-intrusive, and aligned with Nigeria’s basic education curriculum while also advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on education.

Because of the success at the pilot stage, the programme has expanded to all 33 local government areas of the state. “We have expanded the programme to reach more children, teachers, and communities. The results we got from the pilot proved that Nigerian states can successfully partner with private-sector innovators to deliver transformative outcomes,” says Dr. Adeniran.

Mr. Salau agrees: “We were happy when the government announced that more teachers and schools were being added to the programme. It’s a huge benefit for our children. For us, it will be even better if the programme is extended to Basic 4–6. Because in the long run, digital literacy will favour our children when they have to take Computer Based Tests (CBTs) in the future.”

The Road Ahead

The impact of the reform is perhaps best seen in the daily experiences of schools like Community Basic School, Iseyin. Children who once struggled with reading and arithmetic now hurry into class, eager to interact with devices that make learning fun. Teachers, freed from the grind of handwritten lesson notes, can focus fully on guiding their pupils and celebrating each step of progress.

At the state level, the data streaming in from classrooms provides the clearest evidence yet of how children are learning. Policy choices on training, resources, and support are no longer guesswork—they are rooted in the lived experiences of thousands of classrooms across Oyo.

From a modest pilot in four schools to a programme now scaling across all 33 local government areas, Oyo’s collaboration with EIDU is reshaping the narrative of basic education in Nigeria. For headmasters like Mr. Salau, it is no longer an abstract policy—it is the smiles and progress of children holding small screens, making big gains.