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NERDC 2025
NERDC 2025 · Digital Technologies
Federal Ministry of Education · National Curriculum Mandate
Mandate Active

What the new curriculum
now requires.

Plain language. No interpretation. For school leaders who want to understand the requirement before deciding how to meet it.

Sep 2025
Active since
3
School levels covered
Grade 4
Mandate entry point
SS Year 3
Exit point
The Nigerian curriculum covers two subjects in this area: Basic Digital Literacy (Primary 4–6) and Digital Technologies (JSS 1–SS 3). Both are covered below.
Basic Digital Literacy · Primary 4–6

Primary school now mandates Scratch, Python, Arduino, and AI.

Content paraphrased from the Federal Ministry of Education NERDC 2025 Basic Digital Literacy Scheme of Work. All claims tied to the actual scheme — not to SMOG's offering.

Primary 4 · Ages 9–10
Terms 1 and 2: computer foundations.
Term 3: Scratch programming for the first time.
Terms 1 and 2 build computer foundations — hardware, file management, digital safety, and content creation. Term 3 introduces structured programming: Scratch for the first time.
Key mandate: By the end of Primary 4, students are writing their first Scratch programmes and debugging code. This is Year 4 of primary school.
Term 3 — Programming mandate
Week 4: Basics of Programming — what programming is, algorithms as step-by-step instructions, sequence
Week 7: Introduction to Scratch — interface, sprites, scripts area, basic navigation
Week 8: Coding with Scratch I — motion blocks, looks blocks, event blocks, building sequences
Week 9: Coding with Scratch II — control blocks (repeat, forever, wait), sound, animations, testing and debugging
Week 10: Sequence in Programming — order importance, multi-step programs
Primary 5 · Ages 10–11
Scratch advances to games. Term 3 introduces robotics, Pictoblox, and AI.
Term 2 advances Scratch to games and interactive stories. Term 3 introduces robotics concepts, Pictoblox, and AI.
Key mandate: By the end of Primary 5, students have worked with Scratch games, Pictoblox, robotics concepts, and an introduction to artificial intelligence.
Term 2 — Advanced Scratch
Week 7: Block Coding with Scratch I — advanced motion, animation, interactive stories
Week 8: Block Coding with Scratch II — variables, operators, game creation, user input, score keeping
Week 9: Programming a Game Environment — game design, sprites, movement controls, collision detection
Week 10: Debugging and Problem Solving — types of errors, debugging strategies, decomposition
Term 3 — Robotics, Pictoblox, AI
Weeks 1–3: Sequence, Loops, Conditionals — deep dive into programming logic
Weeks 4 and 7: Basics of Robotics and Applications — types of robots, components (sensors, actuators, processors), educational robots
Week 8: Game Development with Pictoblox — the scheme names Pictoblox specifically. Setting up the environment, creating sprites, game mechanics, scoring
Week 9: Introduction to AI — voice assistants, machine learning basics, recommendation systems, face recognition
Week 10: AI Applications and Ethics — self-driving cars, language translation, medical diagnosis, responsible AI
Primary 6 · Ages 11–12
Term 2: Python.
Term 3: Arduino and physical computing — the most demanding hardware mandate in the primary scheme.
Term 2 mandates Python — text-based programming, conditionals, and loops. Term 3 mandates Arduino and physical computing — the most demanding hardware requirement in the entire primary scheme.
Key mandate: By the end of Primary 6, students have written Python programs with conditionals and loops, built circuits on Arduino, programmed robots with sensors and actuators, and applied machine learning in Pictoblox. This is Year 6 of primary school.
Term 2 — Python
Week 7: Text-Based Programming Introduction — Python, syntax, print statements, comments, variables, data types
Week 8: Python Programming I — user input, arithmetic operations, string operations, simple calculator program
Week 9: Python Programming II — conditional statements (if, elif, else), comparison operators, interactive programs
Week 10: Python Programming III — for loops, while loops, range function, loop control, creating patterns and games
Term 3 — Arduino, Robotics, AI
Week 1: Advanced Robotics Concepts — robotic sensors (ultrasonic, infrared, touch, light, temperature), actuators, obstacle avoidance, line following
Week 2: Physical Computing — Arduino basics, input and output pins, LED control, button inputs, simple circuits, electronics safety
Week 3: Machine Learning Basics — supervised vs unsupervised learning, training models, image recognition, text classification, AI bias
Week 4: AI in Pictoblox — image recognition, speech recognition, text-to-speech, pose detection, AI-powered games, combining AI with robotics simulations
Weeks 7–8: Game Development Projects — complete game development cycle, Scratch or Pictoblox implementation, multiple levels, score systems
Content paraphrased from the Federal Ministry of Education Basic Digital Literacy Scheme of Work (Primary 4–6). Verify against the official scheme for examination purposes.
Digital Technologies · JSS 1–SS 3

Secondary school mandates structured programming,
Python, AI, and web development.

Content paraphrased from the Federal Ministry of Education NERDC 2025 Digital Technologies Scheme of Work. All claims tied to the actual scheme — not to SMOG's offering.

JSS 1 (Middle School Year 1)
Foundations: computer literacy, internet, digital safety, and digital ethics. No programming mandate.
Computer literacy, word processing, spreadsheets, internet basics, networks, digital safety, and digital ethics. An introductory awareness of AI, Robotics, and IoT in Term 3 Week 10. No programming mandate at JSS 1.
Robotics and AI appear in JSS 1 at awareness level only — not as practical delivery mandates. The first practical programming mandate comes in JSS 2.
Term 1
Introduction to digital technologies, history of computers, hardware components, operating system basics, file management, word processing practicals
Term 2
Digital literacy, presentation software, spreadsheets (formulas, charts), internet basics
Term 3
Networks, internet and web browsing, email, digital safety, digital ethics, careers in digital technologies
Week 10: Emerging Trends — Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Internet of Things (introductory awareness only)
JSS 2 · Core Mandate
Term 2 is the most significant mandate in the entire JSS scheme: a full 10-week practical programming term.
Term 2 is the most significant mandate in the entire JSS Digital Technologies scheme: a full 10-week practical programming term. Scratch is named in the scheme.
Key mandate: JSS 2 Term 2 is a full 10-week practical programming term. Scratch is named in the scheme. Students write and test actual programs. This is not a theory module. It is a practical term.
Term 1
Advanced word processing, presentation software, advanced spreadsheets, spreadsheet charts, project work
Term 2 — The programming mandate
Week 1: Algorithms — meaning, problem solving steps, simple examples
Week 2: Flowcharts — meaning, symbols, drawing simple flowcharts
Week 3: Introduction to Programming — block-based programming environment (Scratch named in scheme)
Week 4: Programming Basics — variables, input, output, simple operations in Scratch
Week 6: Programming Structures — sequence, selection (if/else), repetition (loops)
Week 8: Practical Programming I — simple calculator program or quiz game
Week 9: Practical Programming II — simple animations or storytelling with Scratch
Week 10: Programming Project — group projects: mini-games, interactive quizzes, or animations
Term 3
Digital media (image, audio, video editing)
Week 6: Emerging Technologies — AI, IoT, Robotics (awareness level)
JSS 3 (Middle School Year 3)
Advanced spreadsheets, databases, hardware, cybersecurity, and a final capstone project.
Term 1: Advanced spreadsheets and databases. Term 2: Hardware, maintenance, troubleshooting. Term 3: Cybersecurity, digital citizenship, and a final capstone project.
Key mandate: JSS 3 ends with a capstone project. Students choose their format: website, database, digital media, or a Scratch/Python programme. This is the first student-led practical assessment in the Digital Technologies scheme.
Term 1
Advanced spreadsheet functions (IF, COUNT, nested formulas), data analysis, database concepts, simple student database creation
Term 2
Computer hardware (CPU, RAM, storage), peripheral devices, computer maintenance and care, basic troubleshooting, trade-related digital skills
Term 3
Large project planning, digital citizenship, cybersecurity
Week 4: Emerging technologies contextual mention (Robotics, AI, Blockchain), ICT and future workplace
Week 9: Final Capstone Project — students design and present a project (website, database, digital media production, or Scratch/Python program)
SS 1 (Senior School Year 1)
Number systems, networks, cybersecurity, productivity applications. No programming mandate at SS 1.
Foundations for senior secondary. Number systems, data representation, hardware, networks, cybersecurity. Productivity applications. No programming mandate at SS 1. Emerging technologies appear at awareness level in Term 3.
SS 1 has no programming mandate. Number systems and data representation in Term 1 are foundational for understanding code — but students do not write programs in SS 1. Programming begins at SS 2.
Term 1
Introduction and scope of digital technologies, history and evolution
Number systems — binary, decimal, octal, hexadecimal, conversions
Computer hardware
Data representation — bits, bytes, ASCII, Unicode, images, sound
Term 2
Computer networks (LAN, WAN, MAN), internet technologies, email and online communication, digital storage and cloud computing
Cybersecurity I — threats: malware, phishing, hacking
Cybersecurity II — protection: antivirus, firewalls, passwords
Data privacy and digital ethics, social media
Term 3
Productivity applications (Word, spreadsheets, presentations), database introduction
Weeks 9–10: Emerging Technologies — AI, IoT, Robotics, VR, AR (awareness level)
SS 2 · Core Mandate
Two major mandates: Term 1 — web design (HTML, CSS).
Term 2 — Python, data science, AI, and machine learning.
Two major mandates. Term 1: Web design — HTML, CSS, web publishing. Term 2: Programming and data science — Python, data science basics, AI, and machine learning.
Key mandate: SS 2 mandates web design (HTML and CSS) in Term 1 and a full programming and AI term in Term 2. Python is named in the scheme. Machine learning appears as a Week 10 mandate. These are not optional or awareness-level topics. They are the Term 2 core curriculum.
Term 1 — Web design
Weeks 8–9: Web Design I and II — introduction to HTML, CSS, creating simple websites
Week 10: Web Publishing and Hosting — domains, hosting, publishing process
Term 2 — Programming and AI
Week 1: Computer Programming I — algorithms, flowcharts
Week 2: Computer Programming II — introduction to Python/JavaScript
Week 3: Programming Basics — variables, data types, operators
Week 4: Control Structures — if-else, loops, functions
Week 6: Data Science Basics — data collection, storage, cleaning
Week 8: Big Data and Analytics — meaning, applications, tools
Week 9: Artificial Intelligence — applications in education, health, business
Week 10: Machine Learning Basics — concept, simple applications
Term 3
Mobile app development, cloud computing, blockchain, cybersecurity III, digital entrepreneurship, project work
SS 3 (Senior School Year 3)
Advanced programming, web development, databases, and comprehensive WAEC/NECO examination preparation.
Advanced programming, web development, databases, and comprehensive WAEC/NECO examination preparation. The term ends with practical projects and final examinations.
Term 1
Advanced Programming I and II — functions, arrays/lists, Object-Oriented Programming basics
Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). Networking II — IP addressing, protocols. Cloud and virtualization. IoT applications.
Term 2
Advanced Web Design — JavaScript interactivity, responsive design
Advanced Database Management — SQL basics. Networking III. Emerging Tech III.
Revision of SSCE past questions I and II
Term 3
Comprehensive revision of SS 1–SS 3. Past question drills (WAEC/NECO).
Practical Project I — building website, app, or database
Practical Project II — cybersecurity simulation, IoT demo
SSCE preparation. WAEC/NECO examinations.
Content paraphrased from the Federal Ministry of Education NERDC 2025 Digital Technologies Scheme of Work. Verify against the official scheme for examination purposes.
The Implementation Gap

The mandate is clear.
The delivery gap is bigger.

What the scheme requires — and where most schools currently sit.

Exhibit · Requirement Against Reality
What the scheme requires
Where the gap currently sits
01Weekly practical coding sessions — teacher-led, independently sustainable
Technology teacher trained for the old ICT syllabus — not the new scheme.
02Practical programming from Primary 4 through Senior School — Scratch, Python, web design
Theory-only delivery — students read about programming rather than write it.
03Full practical programming term — Middle School Year 2
The one term most schools most frequently cannot deliver.
04Python, AI, and machine learning — Senior School Year 2
No teacher trained for this content — it did not exist in the previous scheme.
The gap is not in the curriculum.
It is in the system to deliver it — week after week, every term.
SMOG's Response

SMOG closes every gap in this table.
Here is how.

SMOG begins at Primary 3
SMOG starts where the evidence says children are ready — not where the mandate currently begins.

The NERDC mandate starts at Primary 4. SMOG starts one year earlier — because the world's most competitive education systems started years before Nigeria's curriculum did.

England has mandated coding from age 5 since 2014. The United States places programming in Grade 3. SMOG starts where the evidence says children are ready — not where the mandate currently begins.

Exhibit · Gap Against Resolution
The gap
What SMOG installs
01Teacher cannot deliver the content
Two Innovation Teachers trained per school before every term.Independent by Week 4. The system runs whether SMOG is in the building or not — by design.
02No consistent weekly delivery
Session packs for every week, every level, every term.Mapped to the scheme. Practical components covered by design — not by chance.
03Hardware without a system
SMOG brings physical robotics equipment on every school visit day.Between visits, structured session packs sustain the programme through the SMOG Virtual Lab.
04Practical content without trained teachers
SMOG sessions are the practicals.Mapped to every examinable component. A school running SMOG does not run separate practical sessions for Digital Technologies.
Senior School · WAEC Computer Studies

The exam already tests
what SMOG builds.

WAEC Computer Studies tests logic gates in every sitting. Boolean logic — AND, OR, NOT, NAND, NOR — is identical in structure to the boolean operations students use in Scratch and Python across the SMOG programme.

A student who has worked with Python conditionals and boolean operators for two years walks into the WAEC logic gate question and finds familiar territory.

This connection is not in the scheme as a mandate. It is SMOG's pedagogical bridge — built into the Senior School Year 3 programme.

From Code to Circuits — Built Into the System
SMOG includes one From Code to Circuits session every term at Senior School Year 3. It connects Python boolean logic directly to WAEC examination gate notation. Examination preparation built into the system. No extra sessions required.
NERDC 2025

A school that runs SMOG does not run separate practicals for Digital Technologies.

SMOG sessions are the practicals — mapped to the scheme, covering every examinable component. Innovation Teachers keep all other Digital Technologies periods for theory, revision, and exam preparation. Nothing duplicated. Nothing missed.

Next Step

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inside your school.

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