A closer look at the Zero Rated Access Initiative, by Okoh Aihe

The NCC programme wasn’t part of my schedule last week but the insistence of a young employee drew me to the Hilton, venue of the programme, and I left very appreciative that I found my way there. Sometimes, you need to clear your schedule to do certain things. This was one of them. As I write now, I am still checking my body to see whether there are some tiny pieces of confetti that rained down at the launch of the Zero Rated Access Initiative by the Commission’s Board.

I was only too happy to see history unfold and, all the while, contemplating how this will affect the education sector and the future of the young ones who will inherit this nation. Yet, this is a project creatively minted by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the telecommunications operators that reached out to the Ministry of Education with life-transforming news of giving out free data to enable young Nigerians to access some education platforms free of charge. I have always written in this column that a good working relationship between top government functionaries, between ministries and their parastatals, between chief executives and their counterparts, and even between the National Assembly and agencies and industries, will generate something great for the nation. Last week, there was a demonstration of that, and what seems like a well-nurtured traction between NCC, under the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, and the Ministry of Education, has led to something great that will positively transform young lives well beyond our time.

The idea behind the Zero Rated Access Initiative, according to the NCC Board, is to promote digital inclusion and enhance access to educational resources for students; thus prompting a valuable collaboration of the Federal Ministry of Education and other stakeholders, including the telecom operators, whose role provides the real oxygen for the entire process. One of its members, Rimini H. Makama, Executive Commissioner Stakeholder Management (ECSM), said at the launch on September 10, that the initiative is built to give every Nigerian learner a fair chance at digital education, pointing out that learning has moved online, prompting students to rely on online courses and digital libraries, among others, which all depend on connectivity that may be a scarce resource to some learners.

In her words: “The Zero-Rated Access Initiative exists to erase that line. Its principle is simple: no learner should be shut out of educational content because of where they live or what their family earns. By providing data allowances for approved educational platforms, it turns potential into opportunity, so that more young Nigerians can learn, research, build and acquire the skills a digital economy demands.” Dr Tunji Alausa, the Education Minister, who could hardly contain himself, declared excitedly, “Today’s launch represents much more than a telecommunications initiative. It is an education intervention. And most importantly, it is an investment in the future of millions of young Nigerians.”

He appealed for us to build a Nigeria where geography does not determine educational opportunity, where poverty does not prevent a child from accessing knowledge, but a country with an education system where technology becomes a great equaliser—opening doors, expanding possibilities and empowering every learner to realise his or her full potential. In simple terms, the Zero-Rated Access Initiative (ZRAI) is designed to give a data allowance of 100MB to 5 million learners or students at N100 per day. This comes to N15bn a month and totals a whopping N180bn a year for 5 million students.

This amount can give a learning average of between 2 and 5 hours daily on education websites—Reading texts/PDFs and Google searches: 5–15 MB/hour (7–20 hours); online learning platforms (mostly text): 10–25 MB/hour (4–10 hours). For some of us who could only afford education because the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo offered free education through his party, UPN, and could hardly encounter a telephone until well into the university, the launch last Thursday meant so much. It was almost very emotional as it destroyed status, class, and privileges. I have seen so many young people condemn the initiative, saying 100MB is hardly a drop in the ocean. I think this needs an explanation. The Zero Rated Access Initiative is a major corporate social responsibility (CSR) package put together by the regulator and the telecom operators for Nigerian students because of a shared concern for those who suffer digital exclusion.

The NCC Board said the Initiative will go live on October 1, 2026, and reaffirmed its commitment to monitoring its sustainable implementation. Meanwhile, the Education Minister informed that the initiative will commence with learners at the senior secondary school level and tertiary institutions and subsequently expand to other categories of learners across the country. Some operators—Karl Toriola, CEO of MTN, Dinesh Balsingh of Airtel, and Obafemi Banigbe of T2 Mobile—addressed the launch virtually and promised continuing support and sustainability of the initiative. However, it was the industry representative at the event, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, who is the chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), who further articulated the position of his members to this writer, shortly after the launch. “For a student,” he explained, “100MB can provide meaningful daily access to learning materials, examination preparation, research and educational platforms without worrying about the cost of data. The programme currently provides 100 MB of daily access to approved platforms, including the Ministry of Education platforms and WAEC learning resources.”

Adebayo is excited about the tripartite initiative, which, he said, “is essentially a partnership around a common national objective. The Ministry identifies and provides the educational content and platforms; NCC provides the regulatory coordination and oversight; and the operators provide the network infrastructure and connectivity that allow students and educators to access the content. So, it is a good example of government and industry working together to achieve digital inclusion and improve education.” He canvassed the position of ALTON members not to allow the initiative to flag or fail, saying, “They have willingly supported the programme because we believe that investing in education is investing in Nigeria’s future. But zero-rating has a real cost to the operators—it consumes network resources and creates an open-ended financial and operational obligation if participation and usage are not properly managed.” Adebayo argued that “sustainability of the initiative should not necessarily mean that the operators want a commercial return from the students. What we need is a fair, predictable and sustainable framework—including proper beneficiary registration or opt-in, user controls, monitoring of usage and mechanisms to prevent abuse. This ensures that the benefits reach genuine students and learners while allowing operators to continue investing in the networks on which the programme depends.”

“In short, the operators are saying: we are willing to support the national education agenda, but the programme must be designed in a way that can survive and be sustained. The objective is not to withdraw the benefit; it is to make sure we can keep providing it for the long term,” as he painted a picture of hope. In the week following the furore generated by New York City’s new guidelines and restrictions, limiting student screen time and technology use in public schools, including the use of AI, starting from September 2026, a move being watched by the rest of the United States, it was interesting to see whether such fears would haunt the introduction of the Zero Rated Access Initiative.

The Education Minister seems to have addressed such fears when he declared that Zero-rating should not mean indiscriminate access to every platform that describes itself as educational. The content made available to our children must be appropriate, credible, safe, and aligned with our educational objectives and curriculum, Alausa said. However, beautiful as the initiative may look, I have my fears that it will exacerbate the digital divide immediately. Digital connectivity is poor in most rural parts of the country I have been to, and although the Board informed that infrastructure commitments by the operators are being met—8,526 out of 12,179 sites built recently to expand network coverage, capacity and quality of experience (QoE)—I am constrained to wonder whether vandalism of telecommunications infrastructure is not happening at a faster pace.

Apart from the pervasive insecurity, telecom service delivery is sabotaged, even by state agencies.

This will demand further rigorous planning by the regulator to build more alliances that can strengthen the industry and position operators to meet fresh demands from the state for its citizens. The Zero-Rated Access Initiative is a good one, but the guardrails need to be strong enough to lead to a future that looks very promising.

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