By Abdullahi Lukman
The Federal Government is set to train tertiary institutions across the country on how to boost their internally generated revenue through compliant data management and curation.
The programme is being organised by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, NDPC.
In a statement at the weekend, Executive Consultant to the NDPC on the programme, Bolu John Folayan, said the two-day training will be held in Abuja in phases.
According to him, Polytechnics are scheduled for November 24-25, Colleges of Education for December 1-2, while universities will have their workshop in the first quarter of 2027.
The statement said the workshop is in fulfilment of the mandate of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, which requires all data controllers and processors, including tertiary institutions, to build capacity and obtain certification in data protection.
Folayan said rather than increasing tuition fees and placing additional financial burden on students and parents amid current economic challenges, “tertiary institutions could generate substantial income and improve their global ratings by building capacity in managing the vast data already in their possession”.
“The training will focus on the obligations and liabilities of tertiary institutions as data controllers, framework for establishing data protection units in public and private institutions, and building a compliant data lifecycle and consent management system,” he said.
The workshop, which is endorsed by the National Universities Commission, NUC, the National Board for Technical Education, NBTE, and the National Commission for Colleges of Education, NCCE, will be declared open by the National Commissioner of the NDPC, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, who will also deliver the keynote address.
NatureNews notes that tue National Data Protection (NDP) Act, signed into law in June 2023, established the NDPC as the regulatory body for data protection in Nigeria.
The Act mandates all organisations that handle personal data to ensure compliance with data protection principles, appoint Data Protection Officers and file annual audits, a requirement that has opened a new compliance and revenue stream for trained and certified entities.
