In a statement issued on September 9, 2026, NANS President Akinteye Babatunde Afeez said the students’ body supports efforts to establish accurate and reliable education records but does not believe another national identification number is necessary for that purpose.
NANS argued that the Federal Government should instead strengthen the existing NIN system and make better use of it across the education sector. The association said requiring students to operate with another identification number could create an additional administrative layer without adequately addressing the weaknesses already present in Nigeria’s identity-management system.
The students’ position comes after the Federal Government introduced the LIN as part of its broader effort to digitise education records. The Ministry of Education says the system is intended to give learners a permanent and traceable academic identity, allowing records to follow students when they change schools or move between states. The government also expects the system to help track learner progression, identify dropouts and strengthen education planning.
The LIN is not simply a proposal with no implementation activity behind it. The government began rolling out the system earlier in 2026, with more than 1.9 million students sitting WAEC and NECO examinations already issued learner identification numbers during the first phase. The Federal Government has said the next phase will extend the system to learners across public and private schools nationwide.
The government has also linked the identification system to wider efforts to improve the integrity of academic records. Education Minister Tunji Alausa has said the government wants to connect education records more effectively with the National Youth Service Corps and other relevant institutions to reduce problems caused by inconsistent names, fragmented records and fraudulent academic credentials.
That objective is one reason the dispute deserves more than a simple government-versus-students framing. A permanent learner identity could help maintain a student's academic history across different stages of education, while the existence of the NIN raises a legitimate policy question about whether a separate number is necessary or whether education-specific records could instead be securely linked to an individual's existing national identity.
NANS has also questioned the role of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in the initiative. The students’ body accused the agency of exceeding its statutory responsibilities and argued that students should have been consulted before a policy affecting their academic records, identity and future was introduced.
The association has therefore called on the Federal Government to suspend the introduction and implementation of the LIN and consult student representatives and other stakeholders before proceeding. It maintains that students are not merely beneficiaries of education policies but important stakeholders whose views should be considered when major systems affecting them are designed.
The disagreement now presents the government with a policy challenge. While the need for reliable education records is difficult to dispute, the authorities will have to demonstrate why a dedicated learner identity is necessary alongside the NIN, how the two systems will interact, and what safeguards will protect students' personal information.
For NANS, the priority is avoiding what it considers unnecessary duplication. For the government, the priority is creating a reliable education database capable of following learners from their entry into the education system through graduation and, eventually, employment and national service.
The strongest resolution may therefore depend less on whether Nigeria should have accurate learner records and more on whether the government can clearly demonstrate that the LIN provides benefits that cannot be achieved through effective integration with the existing national identity infrastructure.
No comments:
Post a Comment