Kogi State launches digital school census for improved education planning

Education stakeholders in Kogi State have pledged support for the 2025/2026 Annual School Census, which the state Ministry of Education launched on the Federal Government's Digital Nigeria Education Management Information System portal. This commitment was made during a sensitization meeting in Lokoja ahead of the census's commencement on June 24. The meeting, attended by various education agencies, former commissioners, NGOs, media, religious leaders, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, focused on preparing for statewide data capture and transitioning from manual to digital reporting. Commissioner for Education Wemi Jones stated that the census provides statistical evidence for education policy formulation, planning, and resource allocation. Under the DNEMIS, every school will receive a 10-digit ID, and each learner will be assigned a Learner Identification Number, linked to WAEC and NECO records. Jones emphasized that every child needs a LIN to access government education incentives and thanked Governor Ahmed Ododo for prioritizing education with a 30 percent annual budget allocation. He stressed that this allocation should not be reduced and warned that failure to upload data would lead to under-reporting for the state. Former Commissioner for Education Rosemary Osikoya highlighted that some private schools withhold data to evade taxes and that many educational managers lack proper records. She urged all schools to update their records on the Kogi Education E