By Simpson Global Media News Desk
Two public secondary schools in Gbagada, Lagos, have received new Artificial Intelligence Technology Centres equipped with computers, AI-enabled interactive screens, renewable power and satellite internet, in a fresh private-sector intervention aimed at expanding access to digital education.
The centres at Gbagada Senior Grammar School and Lanre Awolokun High School were commissioned this week by the Leo Stan Ekeh Foundation in partnership with businesses within the Zinox Group, including Zinox Technologies, TD Africa, Task Systems and Konga Group.
Each centre has Zinox all-in-one desktop computers, large interactive AI-enabled screens, 24-hour renewable-energy infrastructure supplied by iPower and two years of Starlink satellite connectivity, according to reports on the September 24–25 commissioning.
The project comes as Nigeria expands efforts to place digital tools inside classrooms while confronting persistent gaps in electricity, broadband access, computer availability and teacher digital skills.
The Federal Government’s National EdTech Strategy 2025–2030 identifies reliable power, broadband connectivity and device access as core infrastructure requirements for Nigerian schools, alongside teacher capacity, digital content and education data systems.
The Gbagada centres therefore represent more than the installation of computers.
They combine four pieces of infrastructure that have frequently limited technology-based learning in Nigerian schools: computing equipment, electricity, internet access and digital teaching tools.
For students and teachers, the immediate question will be how those facilities are incorporated into ordinary classroom activities and how consistently the equipment can be used.
For the organisations behind the project, the broader objective is to introduce technology earlier in the education pipeline and connect school-level digital exposure with longer-term training and scholarship opportunities.
Two schools, one technology model
The new centres were established at Gbagada Senior Grammar School and Lanre Awolokun High School, both in Gbagada, Lagos State.
The Leo Stan Ekeh Foundation worked with businesses within the Zinox Group to deliver the project.
Reports from the commissioning said the participating organisations included Zinox Technologies Limited, TD Africa, Task Systems and Konga Group.
The centres are designed to give students access to modern computing and AI-enabled learning tools while providing the infrastructure needed to keep those tools operational.
Each facility includes all-in-one desktop computers and large interactive screens with AI capabilities.
The centres also have renewable-energy systems supplied by iPower and two years of Starlink satellite internet service.
That combination is important because a computer laboratory without dependable electricity cannot provide consistent digital learning.
Likewise, computers connected to an unreliable or unaffordable internet service cannot fully support online research, digital learning platforms, cloud applications and other internet-based educational resources.
The project has therefore taken an integrated approach.
Instead of treating computers, electricity and connectivity as separate interventions, the technology centres place them together in a school environment.
Zinox also said the centres are fully air-conditioned and that it plans to add Zinox Smartboards, extending the digital classroom concept beyond the initial computer installation.
Why electricity matters to digital education
Electricity remains a central part of the digital-learning challenge.
A school may have computers, projectors or smartboards, but those tools cannot be used consistently if there is no reliable power supply.
Nigeria’s National EdTech Strategy specifically places reliable power alongside broadband connectivity and device access as part of the infrastructure layer required for technology-supported education.
That is why the renewable-energy component of the Gbagada project is significant.
The centres are reported to have 24-hour renewable power supplied by iPower.
This is intended to provide a more dependable operating environment for the computers and digital screens rather than leaving their use entirely dependent on conventional grid supply.
The approach also reflects a wider lesson from digital education initiatives in Nigeria.
Technology infrastructure does not exist independently from other infrastructure.
A digital classroom needs electricity to run its equipment, connectivity to access online resources, devices for students and teachers to use, and people with the skills to integrate the tools into teaching.
When one of those elements is missing, the value of the others can be reduced.
The Gbagada centres attempt to address several of those requirements at once.
Starlink brings a different connectivity model
The centres will also receive two years of satellite internet connectivity through Starlink.
Satellite connectivity can provide an alternative where terrestrial broadband infrastructure is limited or where a school experiences difficulty obtaining reliable fixed connectivity.
The Gbagada project is consequently combining satellite internet with school-based computing infrastructure rather than depending entirely on conventional terrestrial broadband.
The significance goes beyond internet browsing.
Online education increasingly involves video lessons, cloud-based applications, digital libraries, interactive resources, teacher-development platforms and collaborative tools.
The Federal Ministry of Education already operates digital learning infrastructure, including eLearn, a centralised platform that provides curriculum-aligned teaching resources and professional-development materials.
Nigeria also operates the Learning Passport, a digital education platform developed to provide online and offline learning resources.
Recent UNICEF data show the scale of that digital-learning effort.
As of September 2026, the Nigeria Learning Passport had more than 2.45 million registered users after adding 471,189 new users during the previous year, while its reported course-completion rate increased to 81.6 per cent.
That platform is particularly relevant because it illustrates why infrastructure matters.
A digital learning service can provide educational content, but students need devices, teachers need training and schools need connectivity and power to use such resources effectively.
Nigeria's wider digital-learning push
The Gbagada initiative arrives within a broader national movement toward digital education.
Nigeria’s National EdTech Strategy 2025–2030 brings together digital infrastructure, education management information systems, teacher capacity, curriculum and content innovation, data governance and security.
The strategy’s infrastructure pillar calls for reliable power, broadband connectivity and device access for schools.
Its teacher-capacity component includes digital competency, professional development and digital assessment.
The strategy also addresses education data and management systems, including interoperable education information architecture and data governance.
This indicates that the government’s digital-education agenda is not limited to placing computers in schools.
It is increasingly concerned with how technology is incorporated into the education system.
The same principle is visible in the Federal Ministry of Education’s digital platforms.
Its eLearn system provides teachers with curriculum-aligned resources, professional-development materials and structured courses covering different levels of education.
The ministry also promotes the AWS Academy Project, through which participating tertiary institutions can provide students and educators with training in cloud computing, machine learning and other emerging technologies.
The emphasis therefore stretches from basic digital access to more specialised technical skills.
The Learning Passport experience
UNICEF’s Learning Passport programme provides another example of how Nigeria is attempting to use technology to widen educational access.
The platform combines online and offline approaches and provides curriculum-linked courses and skills resources.
In the second year of its partnership with TECNO, UNICEF reported that more than 2.45 million users had registered in Nigeria.
The organisation also reported that 2,300 teachers received specialised training during the year, while 10 schools in Osun and Kwara were equipped with tablets and smart projectors to support access to the platform.
The offline component is particularly important in Nigeria because internet access remains uneven.
UNICEF’s earlier analysis of digital education in Nigeria identified limited digital infrastructure, electricity and broadband coverage as major barriers.
Its 2025 assessment said only 36 per cent of the population used the internet and that 78 per cent of young people lacked digital literacy skills, although those figures come from earlier data and should not be treated as a current 2026 national measurement.
The organisation’s more recent work shows why infrastructure and skills continue to be treated together.
Connecting a school does not automatically mean that students will receive better learning outcomes.
Teachers must know how to use the technology, students need appropriate content, and schools need systems for maintaining equipment.
Teachers remain central
The technology centres are designed for students, but their effectiveness will also depend heavily on teachers.
A smart screen can display information.
An AI-enabled tool can generate or organise material.
A computer can provide access to thousands of online resources.
But teachers remain responsible for determining how those resources fit into a lesson and whether they support the intended learning objective.
That is why Nigeria’s national EdTech strategy includes teacher capacity as one of its central pillars.
Recent UNICEF work in Enugu provides another illustration.
In September 2026, UNICEF reported that 600 teachers across 30 SMART Schools were receiving practical training on the use of digital tools, including smartboards and the Nigeria Learning Passport.
The programme emphasised that providing technology alone was not sufficient and that teachers needed the skills and confidence to integrate the tools into everyday teaching.
That experience is relevant to the Gbagada centres.
The physical infrastructure creates the possibility for digital learning.
Teacher training and curriculum integration will determine how frequently and effectively that possibility is converted into classroom practice.
The AI question
Artificial intelligence adds another layer to the technology discussion.
AI systems can support lesson planning, research, translation, content generation, tutoring and personalised learning.
At the same time, their use in schools raises questions about accuracy, academic integrity, privacy, bias and students’ ability to think independently.
Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Education has previously identified these issues in its National Digital Learning Policy.
The policy discussion around AI notes that artificial intelligence can support personalised learning but also raises concerns about over-reliance, critical thinking, content bias, transparency and data protection.
Those issues become more relevant as AI-enabled equipment enters ordinary classrooms.
The purpose of the Gbagada centres is not simply to give students access to an AI interface.
The broader educational objective is to expose them to technology while they are still developing foundational knowledge, problem-solving abilities and digital habits.
How schools teach students to use AI may therefore matter as much as whether students can access it.
Students will need to understand that AI-generated information can require verification.
They will also need to learn how to distinguish between using AI as a learning aid and allowing it to replace their own reasoning.
Teachers will have a central role in establishing those boundaries.
From technology consumers to technology creators
The foundation has linked the Gbagada project to a longer-term talent-development programme.
According to the foundation, its scholarship initiative aims to support 1,000 academically talented but underserved Nigerian students in Computer Science and Computer Engineering.
The programme covers federal and state universities and polytechnics and is intended to provide full financial support together with technical and leadership development.
The foundation’s scholarship information says the programme targets Nigerian citizens aged 16 to 25 who have secured admission into eligible institutions and meet its academic and socioeconomic criteria.
It says beneficiaries are expected to maintain specified academic standards to retain the scholarship.
The scholarship programme therefore connects with the school technology initiative in a broader talent pipeline.
A student can encounter computers and AI tools at secondary-school level, develop an interest in technology, pursue a technology-related degree and potentially continue into professional training or entrepreneurship.
That pathway is one reason digital infrastructure is increasingly being discussed as part of workforce development rather than simply as an education-sector project.
A 1,000-student technology target
Dr George Emetuche, the foundation’s Director of Studies, said during the Gbagada initiative that the organisation was working toward training 1,000 young Nigerians with globally recognised technology qualifications.
Reports also said the first beneficiaries had already obtained admission to study Computer Science and Computer Engineering at Nigerian universities, although their names had not yet been publicly released at the time of reporting.
The foundation’s official programme describes a wider development model.
It says the scholarship is not limited to tuition assistance, but includes technical training, innovation and entrepreneurship programmes, mentoring and leadership development.
The stated goal is to create a pool of young Nigerians capable of participating in technology-driven industries.
That objective is consistent with a wider national concern.
Nigeria has a large and youthful population, and digital skills are increasingly required across sectors ranging from finance and healthcare to agriculture, manufacturing, education and government.
Training young people to use technology therefore has potential implications beyond the technology industry itself.
The digital divide remains
The new centres do not eliminate the wider digital divide.
Nigeria has substantial differences in access to computers, broadband, electricity and digital services between households, schools and regions.
UNICEF’s education data have previously shown a particularly large gap in access to computers and internet services between students from poorer and wealthier households.
The organisation has also highlighted the importance of offline digital-learning systems because many communities cannot rely on continuous internet connectivity.
That means projects such as the Gbagada centres address a specific part of the problem: school-based access.
They do not automatically solve what happens when students leave school.
A learner may have access to a computer laboratory during school hours but have no computer or broadband connection at home.
Similarly, a school may have a sophisticated technology centre while another school in the same state has limited access to basic digital equipment.
The national challenge is therefore one of scale as well as quality.
The importance of maintenance
Technology projects in schools also face a practical question that begins after commissioning ceremonies end.
Computers require maintenance.
Internet subscriptions must be renewed.
Software requires updates.
Hardware eventually becomes obsolete.
Teachers and administrators need continuing training.
Power systems need servicing.
Without a maintenance plan, a modern computer centre can gradually become less useful.
The Gbagada model attempts to reduce some of those risks through the inclusion of renewable power and a defined two-year satellite-connectivity period.
However, the long-term sustainability of the centres will depend on what happens after the initial support period and on the capacity of the schools to incorporate the facilities into their regular operations.
This is a recurring issue in school technology programmes.
The initial installation can attract significant attention because it produces visible equipment.
Long-term impact is less visible.
It depends on utilisation rates, teacher engagement, curriculum integration, maintenance, student participation and continued access to learning content.
What students can use the centres for
The equipment provides several possible uses within a school environment.
Students can use computers for digital research, word processing, coding exercises, presentations, educational simulations and access to online learning resources.
Interactive screens can support demonstrations and multimedia lessons.
AI-enabled tools can potentially assist with research, drafting, translation, explanation and other educational activities, provided teachers establish appropriate safeguards.
Internet access can connect students to educational resources beyond their physical textbooks and classrooms.
The combination also provides opportunities for teachers.
Educators can access digital lesson materials, professional-development content and educational platforms.
They can use multimedia resources to demonstrate concepts that are difficult to illustrate with conventional classroom materials.
They can also introduce students to online tools that are increasingly common in higher education and employment.
The value of these functions, however, depends on how they are used.
A computer laboratory that is rarely incorporated into lessons will have limited educational impact.
A laboratory integrated into regular teaching can become a much more significant part of the school environment.
A shift from computer labs to digital ecosystems
The Gbagada project illustrates a broader change in the way school technology is being designed.
Earlier computer-laboratory interventions often focused primarily on supplying desktop computers.
The newer model combines several layers.
There is hardware.
There is internet connectivity.
There is power.
There are interactive teaching devices.
There is digital content.
And increasingly there is a focus on teacher training and student skills.
Nigeria’s National EdTech Strategy reflects that broader approach by linking infrastructure with teacher capacity, curriculum and content innovation, education data and governance.
The result is a move toward viewing the school as a connected digital environment rather than simply a building containing computers.
The Gbagada centres fit into that direction.
Local technology companies and school infrastructure
The involvement of Nigerian technology businesses also reflects the growing role of private-sector organisations in education technology.
Zinox Technologies describes itself as a Nigerian ICT company involved in technology products and solutions, while its partnership with the Leo Stan Ekeh Foundation has extended into education-focused infrastructure.
The company’s latest announcement said it intends to add Smartboards to the two Gbagada centres.
It also said the project is part of a wider effort to put digital tools in the hands of young Nigerians earlier in their education.
The participating companies provide different components of the intervention.
Computing equipment comes through Zinox.
TD Africa, Task Systems and Konga Group are part of the wider Zinox Group collaboration.
iPower supplies the renewable-energy component.
Starlink provides the satellite internet connection.
That structure demonstrates how school technology projects can bring together multiple technology categories rather than relying on one supplier.
The role of government
Although the Gbagada centres are privately supported, the wider digital-learning agenda remains dependent on government policy and public education systems.
The Federal Ministry of Education’s national strategy provides a framework for EdTech development, while the ministry operates digital learning resources and partnerships.
The National EdTech Strategy calls for infrastructure, teacher capacity, content innovation and data systems to be developed as interconnected components.
The government also has a role in establishing standards for responsible AI use.
As AI becomes more common in schools, policies concerning data protection, academic integrity, age-appropriate use and cybersecurity become increasingly relevant.
The Federal Ministry of Education’s earlier digital-learning policy already identified privacy, cybersecurity and responsible AI use as areas requiring attention.
Private-sector projects can provide equipment and infrastructure.
Government systems are needed to determine how such tools fit into curricula, teacher standards and national education policy.
Beyond Lagos
The foundation says the Gbagada project is the latest in a much larger sequence of education and technology interventions.
According to reports from the commissioning, the organisation counts 123 education and technology projects across Nigeria over a 38-year period.
Previous interventions cited by the foundation and reports include digital ICT centres at Imo State University, St Augustine University in Epe, the Federal University Birnin Kebbi, Bakambara Day Secondary School in Kebbi State and Holy Ghost College in Owerri.
The foundation also points to a legacy of more than 6,709 beneficiaries trained over four decades and says its new scholarship programme is intended to add another 1,000 technology-focused students.
The geographic spread is important because Nigeria’s technology challenge is national.
Lagos has a comparatively dense technology ecosystem, but students elsewhere also require access to modern equipment and digital skills.
The foundation’s earlier projects in northern and southeastern institutions show an attempt to extend the intervention beyond Lagos.
Why secondary school matters
Introducing AI and digital tools at secondary-school level has a particular significance.
Students at that stage are making choices about university subjects, technical careers and future areas of specialisation.
Exposure to technology can give students practical experience before they have to choose a university course.
It can also make subjects such as computer science and engineering more tangible.
The foundation’s scholarship programme is explicitly focused on Computer Science and Computer Engineering, meaning that the school-level initiative can potentially feed into its higher-education talent programme.
The transition is not automatic.
Students still need strong mathematics, science, communication and analytical skills.
They also need teachers who can guide them.
But early access can remove one barrier: unfamiliarity with advanced technology.
AI literacy versus simple AI access
One of the more important issues emerging from projects like Gbagada is the difference between access and literacy.
A student can access an AI tool without understanding how it works or how to evaluate its output.
AI literacy requires students to ask questions about accuracy, evidence, bias, privacy and appropriate use.
Nigeria’s earlier National Digital Learning Policy recognised this distinction when it discussed the need to balance AI-supported learning with traditional methods and preserve critical thinking and problem-solving.
That consideration becomes particularly important in secondary schools.
Students need to learn how to use technology without becoming dependent on it.
They also need to understand that an AI system can produce an answer that sounds convincing but still requires verification.
Teachers can use the new centres to make that process part of ordinary classroom learning.
Students could, for example, compare AI-generated explanations with textbooks, scientific sources or teacher instruction.
That approach would make the technology an object of critical learning rather than simply a shortcut for completing assignments.
The next phase
The commissioning is only the starting point for the two Gbagada schools.
The technology centres now have to become working parts of the school timetable.
Teachers will need to determine which subjects can make productive use of the facilities.
School administrators will have to manage access.
Students will need opportunities to use the equipment regularly.
Technical teams will need to maintain the hardware and power systems.
The schools will also need to monitor whether students are actually developing measurable digital skills.
Those factors will determine whether the centres remain showcase facilities or become permanent components of the schools’ learning systems.
The foundation’s stated scholarship programme provides another potential next step.
Students who demonstrate strong academic performance may be eligible for further support and technology training, according to the foundation and reports from the commissioning.
That could create a progression from school exposure to university education and professional development.
A wider technology workforce question
Nigeria’s technology sector requires a continuous supply of people with different levels of skills.
Some will become software developers and engineers.
Others may work in data analysis, cybersecurity, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, digital finance, telecommunications or technology-enabled industries outside the traditional technology sector.
The Federal Ministry of Education’s AWS Academy partnership, for example, explicitly includes cloud computing and machine learning among the digital competencies being developed at tertiary level.
The national EdTech strategy similarly recognises the need to strengthen digital competencies and teacher capacity.
The school-level interventions therefore fit into a larger ecosystem.
The objective is not simply to create students who can operate computers.
It is to prepare learners for an economy in which digital tools are increasingly embedded in ordinary work.
What success would look like
For the two Gbagada schools, success can eventually be measured through practical indicators.
How many students regularly use the centres?
How many teachers incorporate the technology into lessons?
How often are the computers available and functioning?
How much digital content is being used?
Are students learning coding, research, data and AI-literacy skills?
Are teachers receiving continuing support?
Are students progressing into technology-related university courses?
Are some eventually entering technology careers or creating businesses?
Those questions will provide a clearer picture of impact than the number of computers installed.
The physical infrastructure is important, but the educational outcome is the ultimate measure of the project.
Nigeria's digital education challenge is larger than two schools
The Gbagada initiative provides a visible example of what an integrated digital classroom can look like, but Nigeria has thousands of schools facing different levels of infrastructure access.
UNICEF’s recent work has shown that digital education initiatives are expanding, with more than 2.45 million registered users on the Learning Passport and thousands of teachers receiving training.
At the same time, the organisation continues to emphasise the challenges of connectivity, equipment and teacher capacity.
Nigeria’s national EdTech strategy similarly treats infrastructure and human capacity as interconnected.
The policy direction therefore points toward a combination of public investment, private-sector partnerships, teacher training, digital content and improved connectivity.
The Gbagada centres are one example of that wider approach.
The technology story continues after the launch
The commissioning of AI centres at Gbagada Senior Grammar School and Lanre Awolokun High School has placed new technology directly in the hands of students and teachers.
The facilities combine computers, AI-enabled screens, renewable energy and satellite connectivity.
They also come with the prospect of additional Smartboards and links to a wider scholarship and technology-training programme.
But the project’s significance will ultimately be determined by what happens after the opening ceremony.
Students will need to use the technology consistently.
Teachers will need to integrate it into lessons.
The schools will need to maintain the infrastructure.
And AI will need to be introduced alongside lessons in critical thinking, responsible use, privacy and verification.
Nigeria has already established a national policy direction that recognises those requirements.
Its EdTech strategy places infrastructure, teacher capacity, curriculum innovation and data governance within one framework.
The Learning Passport and other digital-learning initiatives show that the country is also building platforms capable of reaching millions of learners.
The remaining challenge is to ensure that access to those platforms is matched by access to devices, electricity, connectivity and skilled teachers.
The two Gbagada schools now have an opportunity to demonstrate what that combination can achieve at classroom level.
For the students, the new centres provide an environment where AI, computing and online learning are no longer abstract ideas.
They are tools available inside their schools.
For Nigeria’s broader technology ecosystem, the project highlights a continuing issue: the future digital workforce will not be built only in technology companies and universities.
It will also be shaped in secondary-school classrooms, where young people first encounter the equipment, software and ideas that can influence what they choose to study and eventually build.
The Gbagada centres are therefore both a technology installation and an education experiment.
Their long-term importance will depend on whether the computers stay in use, whether teachers are supported, whether students develop meaningful digital skills and whether the infrastructure becomes part of everyday learning.
That next phase — rather than the commissioning itself — will determine how far the new AI classrooms contribute to Nigeria’s continuing effort to build a digitally capable generation.
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