Ebonyi Approves Smart Education Project for 43 Schools, Deploys AI Classrooms, Huawei Smart Boards

The Ebonyi State Executive Council has approved a Smart Education project targeting 43 secondary schools across the state, in a move designed to transform teaching and learning through digital technology and artificial intelligence (AI).

The Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Chief Ikeuwa Omebeh, disclosed this during a press briefing in Abakaliki, the state capital, where he outlined the outcomes of the week's Executive Council meeting. According to the commissioner, the project will see the deployment of 989 Huawei IdeaHub Smart Interactive Boards across classrooms and laboratories in the selected schools, alongside the establishment of 43 dedicated artificial intelligence education classrooms ,a scale of rollout that positions the initiative among the more ambitious state-level education technology programmes currently underway in Nigeria.

Beyond the interactive boards and AI classrooms, Omebeh said the initiative also includes the introduction of virtual laboratories for Physics and Chemistry, pre-loaded with more than 500 experiments that students can run digitally, effectively giving schools access to practical science experiences even where physical laboratory infrastructure may be limited or outdated. The programme further incorporates learning management systems, dedicated AI education platforms, and 5,000 wireless number pads intended to boost classroom interaction and real-time student engagement during lessons.

The commissioner explained that the project has been designed to equip students with digital literacy, artificial intelligence knowledge, and the broader technological skills needed to compete in a rapidly evolving global digital economy. He said the state government views the initiative as a strategic step toward positioning Ebonyi as a leader in technology-driven education within Nigeria, at a time when digital skills gaps remain a significant concern for policymakers across the country's education sector.

Tying the schools initiative to a wider technology vision for the state, Omebeh said Governor Francis Nwifuru had disclosed that a proposed Huawei factory at the state's ICT University in Oferekpe is expected to serve as a technology and innovation hub not just for Ebonyi State, but for the African continent more broadly once completed. If realised, such a facility would mark a significant escalation of the state's ambitions in the technology space, moving beyond classroom-level interventions toward manufacturing and continental-scale innovation infrastructure.

The Smart Education approval was one of several decisions to emerge from the Executive Council meeting. The commissioner also disclosed that the council approved the submission of the 2025 Ebonyi State Business Enabling Reforms Action Plan (BERAP) Progress Report, describing it as a critical requirement for the state to qualify for implementation of the World Bank-supported State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) Programme in 2026. He said the report reflects the state's ongoing commitment to improving the ease of doing business, attracting private investment, and strengthening overall economic development , priorities that have taken on added significance as Nigerian states compete for a shrinking pool of both domestic and foreign investment amid broader macroeconomic pressures.

Omebeh further disclosed that the week's council meeting opened with the swearing-in of Mrs Rita Polycarp Nwite as Special Assistant to the Governor on Women Mobilisation. During the session, Governor Nwifuru reportedly commended members of the Executive Council for their improved performance since a recent cabinet reshuffle, urging them to sustain that momentum in delivering quality governance under the administration's People's Charter of Needs — the policy framework the Nwifuru administration has used to guide its development priorities since taking office.

Taken together, the announcements suggest a state government pursuing a fairly wide-ranging governance agenda in the same sitting ,spanning education technology, business reform compliance, and cabinet appointments , even as the flagship Smart Education initiative is likely to draw the most public attention given its scale and its alignment with Nigeria's broader push to close digital and AI literacy gaps in secondary education. Implementation timelines for the rollout across the 43 targeted schools were not immediately disclosed.