As countries increasingly move to restrict the use of smartphones in schools and impose tighter controls on children’s access to digital platforms, education stakeholders in Nigeria are divided over whether the country should follow the trend or develop a model suited to its own realities.
The debate has become more complicated in Nigeria because the smartphone serves two very different purposes for students: it can be a major source of distraction, harmful content and social-media dependency, but it is also, for many learners, the most accessible gateway to educational materials, examination preparation platforms and the wider digital economy.
Recent global data show how quickly school-phone restrictions have spread. UNESCO’s latest monitoring says 114 education systems, representing 58 per cent of countries globally, now have national bans on mobile phones in schools. The proportion was less than one in four countries when UNESCO first monitored the issue in 2023. The organisation said the trend is being driven partly by concerns over classroom distraction, cyberbullying and student wellbeing.
But Nigeria’s circumstances present a more difficult policy calculation.
For Waris Abiodun, a researcher, restricting children’s access to social media and potentially regulating smartphone use could help protect learning time and reduce children’s exposure to harmful content.
He argued that excessive social-media consumption takes time away from learning and productive activities, with possible long-term consequences for the quality of the young population that will eventually drive the Nigerian economy.
At the same time, Abiodun acknowledged the educational possibilities of digital platforms, noting that students can use online videos and other content to understand concepts they may not have grasped in class.
He also pointed to educational entertainment, where children can learn through carefully selected videos and other age-appropriate digital content.
For him, the answer is therefore not to disconnect children from technology, but to use restrictions as a mechanism for reducing harmful consumption while deliberately encouraging educational use.
“Restriction is meant to promote positive behaviour,” he said, arguing that any policy should be accompanied by incentives and opportunities that encourage students to use technology for learning.
That position is broadly shared by Yakub, of the Department of Marketing, School of Business Education, Federal College of Education (Technical), Gusau, although he favours regulation rather than an outright ban.
He argued that Nigeria should regulate smartphone use among students instead of completely preventing them from accessing digital devices.
According to him, the rapid expansion of access to smartphones and digital platforms compared with previous decades presents an opportunity that the education system should not ignore.
But he warned that unrestricted access during school hours can undermine concentration.
Students who have constant access to their phones in classrooms, he said, can become distracted from lessons, while exposure to misleading information and inappropriate online content can create additional risks.
He also raised concerns about cyberbullying, sexual content, drug-related material and other forms of online exposure, particularly because younger students may not yet have the judgement needed to assess everything they encounter online.
Yet Yakub also identified smartphones as important educational tools.
They can provide students with access to online learning materials, research resources, digital libraries and platforms such as the Nigeria Learning Passport, allowing learning to continue after classroom hours.
That argument is supported by Nigeria’s own experience with digital education.
The Nigeria Learning Passport, launched by the Federal Government and UNICEF, was designed as an online, mobile and offline platform, allowing children to access curriculum-aligned learning materials beyond the physical classroom. UNICEF says the platform has been developed specifically to address challenges including limited connectivity and disruptions to schooling.
The platform’s mobile dimension is particularly significant in the Nigerian context. UNICEF’s current work on the Learning Passport includes online and offline approaches aimed at children in remote areas where internet connectivity remains weak. The organisation said the programme had reached more than 2.3 million children and young people in Nigeria by September 2026.
That makes a blanket smartphone restriction more complicated than a simple classroom-discipline policy.
Joshua Obimba, co-founder of the education technology platform Wekoya, argued that Nigeria should consider restrictions only if they are carefully calibrated to local circumstances.
He cautioned against copying policies from countries where students may have easier access to laptops, tablets and other alternatives.
“In Nigeria, even those people that have access to this technology make use of it through their mobile phones,” he said, arguing that smartphones are often the primary device through which students access educational technology.
Obimba recalled using mobile applications for WAEC and NECO preparation and said smartphones have also become substitutes for expensive textbooks, allowing students to use e-books and other digital resources.
He identified access to learning platforms, communication with teachers and classmates, collaboration and access to examination-preparation resources among the major benefits.
But he also acknowledged the risks, particularly distraction from social media, games and videos, cyberbullying and examination malpractice.
His biggest concern is what happens to students who have no alternative device if smartphones are removed from the education equation.
“Most parents do not want to spend a huge amount of money acquiring things like tablets or laptops,” he said, warning that an outright ban could increase the digital divide.
That concern is significant in a country where digital access remains uneven.
UNICEF has reported that Nigeria faces substantial gaps in internet access, digital literacy, electricity and school connectivity. Its digital-learning programmes have consequently combined connectivity, devices, teacher training and learning platforms rather than relying on a single technology.
Obimba therefore proposed strengthening school computer laboratories and making them genuinely accessible to students, rather than keeping them as facilities that are rarely used.
Schools, he suggested, could introduce supervised digital-learning periods, provide tablets or computers and establish clear rules about what students can access.
He favoured controlled use in schools, including restrictions on particular websites and activities, rather than an outright ban.
The argument for stricter restrictions is stronger among some educators.
Emmanuel, an IT instructor at 16plus School, said smartphone addiction was one of the biggest concerns for students, arguing that children often lack the self-control needed to manage constant access to notifications, social media and entertainment.
He said adults themselves can spend hours on their phones without intending to, making it unrealistic to assume that children will always be able to regulate their own usage.
He also raised concerns about inappropriate content and the quality of material that dominates social-media platforms.
For him, restricting personal smartphones does not necessarily mean restricting digital education.
Instead, he proposed giving students school-managed laptops or tablets containing approved textbooks, e-books and other learning materials, with tightly controlled internet access.
Such devices, he argued, could allow students to benefit from technology without giving them unrestricted access to social-media applications and other sources of distraction.
His preferred approach is therefore a controlled digital environment rather than unrestricted personal smartphone use.
Kelechi Uchenna, founder of Nigenius, takes a markedly different position.
He does not support restricting smartphones among children and students, arguing that government should focus on educating parents and young people about responsible use and the appropriate age for access.
Uchenna described smartphones as gateways to learning, information and communication and warned that restricting them could hurt young Africans who need technology to narrow the gap with their counterparts elsewhere.
He identified access to learning platforms and the wider internet as major benefits while acknowledging pornography, doom-scrolling and other social vices as significant risks.
For him, the answer lies in sensitisation, parental supervision and digital education rather than prohibition.
Mrs Aderonke Ambali, founder of Brint Online School, also urged policymakers to move away from treating the smartphone itself as the problem.
She said Nigeria should have the conversation about excessive smartphone use but cautioned against reducing it to a simple question of whether children should possess phones.
“For many Nigerian children, a phone is not just an entertainment device. It may be the most accessible piece of technology they have,” she said.
Ambali argued that policymakers should instead examine how, when and why children use smartphones.
She acknowledged that smartphones can provide access to learning materials, digital libraries, educational videos, assessments and learning platforms, while also exposing children to social media, gaming and entertainment.
Her concern is that a blanket restriction without alternative infrastructure could widen the digital divide.
If schools prevent students from using personal smartphones, she said, they should provide shared computers or tablets, supervised digital-learning periods, computer laboratories, projectors, offline digital content and school-managed learning devices.
She also stressed that devices alone would not solve the problem.
Connectivity, electricity, relevant educational content and teachers capable of integrating technology into lessons would all be required.
The Nigeria Learning Passport provides an example of how that alternative could work. UNICEF says the platform combines online and offline functionality and has been deployed to support learning in communities where internet access is limited. Its offline model can allow learners to access content through a local hub without a conventional internet connection.
Rt. Hon. Agbeyangi Olaoluwa Andrew, Council Leader of Itire-Ikate LCDA, also argued against a blanket ban, saying Nigeria should focus on controlled and responsible use.
He said smartphones provide students with access to educational materials, research resources, digital literacy and communication, but acknowledged risks including distraction, cyberbullying, examination malpractice, inappropriate content and excessive screen time.
He proposed a differentiated approach in which younger pupils face stronger restrictions, while secondary-school students are permitted controlled use under clearly defined rules.
That approach reflects an emerging consensus among the stakeholders interviewed: the disagreement is less about whether smartphones have risks and more about what Nigeria should do about those risks without undermining digital access.
Even those who favour stringent restrictions generally distinguish between personal smartphones and school-managed technology.
The IT instructor, for example, advocated removing personal smartphones while providing highly restricted laptops or tablets containing approved educational resources.
Obimba, meanwhile, favoured controlled smartphone use, with defined periods when students can use their devices and technical safeguards such as website restrictions on school networks.
Ambali similarly argued that schools should separate recreational use from educational use rather than treating all smartphone activity as inherently harmful.
The distinction matters because Nigeria’s education system is already investing in digital learning.
UNICEF and the Federal Ministry of Education launched the Nigeria Learning Passport in 2022, with the platform designed to provide curriculum-aligned resources through online, mobile and offline access. Earlier UNICEF reporting said the platform had passed one million subscribers in June 2024; more recent programme updates show substantial expansion since then.
The question for policymakers is therefore no longer simply whether Nigerian students should have smartphones.
It is whether the education system can build a framework in which students learn to use the devices responsibly while schools retain the authority to protect instructional time.
A blanket ban could reduce distraction in classrooms, but without alternative devices and digital infrastructure it could also remove an important learning channel for students who cannot afford laptops or tablets.
Unrestricted access, on the other hand, could leave students exposed to distraction, cyberbullying, inappropriate content, addiction and examination malpractice.
The emerging argument from the Nigerian voices is for a middle ground: age-appropriate rules, controlled use during school hours, stronger parental supervision, digital-literacy education and school-managed access to educational technology.
For younger children, that could mean stronger limits on personal devices. For older students, it could mean greater responsibility under clearly defined school rules.
Whatever model Nigeria eventually adopts, the policy will need to address more than the phone itself.
It will have to consider the country’s digital divide, electricity and connectivity gaps, teacher capacity, affordability of alternative devices and the growing role of EdTech in education.
The experience of the Nigeria Learning Passport illustrates the opportunity: digital technology can extend learning beyond the classroom and reach children in places where conventional education is disrupted.
The challenge, therefore, is to ensure that protecting children from the harmful side of digital technology does not inadvertently cut them off from its educational benefits.
For Nigeria, the smartphone debate may ultimately be less about taking technology away from children and more about teaching the education system—and the children themselves—how to use it with purpose.
