In 2025, Nigeria finds itself in a paradox. On one hand, its young population popularly known as Gen Z is one of the most digitally savvy and connected cohorts in the country’s history. On the other hand, the classrooms designed to educate them remain largely stuck in an analogue, industrial-era model. This misalignment between a digital-native generation and a system built for obedience, rote learning, and passive consumption is more than a policy oversight, it is a national emergency. The result of this is a rising disinterest in classroom learning, a disconnect between school and real-world relevance, and a generation of students who are overexposed to technology yet underprepared for the future.
Who Are Gen Z Learners?
Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z is the first generation to grow up entirely in the digital age. They are not just users of technology; they are immersed in it. Their cognitive development, learning styles, and social interactions are influenced by Constant access to information; Multi-platform digital exposure (social media, YouTube, podcasts); Short attention spans but high processing speeds; A preference for visual and interactive content over static texts; and Collaborative learning environments (both virtual and physical). In essence, Gen Z learners are hyper-connected, self-directed, and deeply attuned to innovation. Yet, most Nigerian classrooms still treat them like 1980s learners who are passive recipients of knowledge with limited input and zero technological integration.
The Nigerian classroom still largely revolves around chalkboards, teacher-centred instruction, one-way communication, and high-stakes exams. The focus remains on memorisation rather than critical thinking, and standardisation is favoured over creativity. This structure was not designed for children born into a world of Google, AI chatbots, mobile learning apps, or TikTok explainers.
Here’s how the system breaks down when placed next to Gen Z expectations:
1. Outdated Curriculum and Delivery
The average public school syllabus still contains content that has not been updated in over a decade. Subjects are taught in silos, with little or no interdisciplinary relevance. Technology, where included, is often taught as theory rather than practice. Learners are forced to memorise definitions of computer parts instead of building digital products or writing code. Meanwhile, Gen Z thrives on real-time updates, current trends, and immersive content. They ask “why” more than “what,” and expect education to mirror the fast-changing world around them.
2. Zero or Minimal Technology Integration
While Gen Z uses devices to learn everything from programming to piano lessons on YouTube, many Nigerian schools still ban phones outright and lack basic digital infrastructure. Only a handful of schools have functioning projectors, smartboards, or high-speed internet. Teachers, already overburdened, often lack the training to integrate digital tools into their teaching. This results in learners perceiving school as a technological dead zone irrelevant, disconnected, and frustratingly slow.
3. Rigid Teaching Styles and Lack of Voice
Gen Z values agency. They want to question, participate, create, and collaborate. But the Nigerian classroom often silences dissent, discourages inquiry, and rewards conformity. Teachers are viewed as authority figures to be obeyed, not facilitators to engage with. Group work is rare, peer-to-peer learning is not encouraged, and most assessments are designed to reward recall, not reasoning. For Gen Z, this is cognitive suffocation.
4. Overemphasis on Paper Qualifications
The system still trains students primarily to pass WAEC, NECO, or JAMB, not to think, innovate, or solve problems. The race to collect certificates overshadows skill development. This paper-first, skills-last model completely ignores Gen Z’s entrepreneurial and self-learning inclinations. This generation is launching businesses from their phones, editing videos on CapCut, and designing graphics on Canva. Yet, school often limits them to textbooks written before some of them were born.
5. Lack of Mental Health and Emotional Support
Gen Z is more open about mental health challenges than any previous generation. But Nigerian schools are grossly underprepared to offer psychosocial support. In most schools, there are virtually no school counsellors, no safe spaces, and no emphasis on student wellness. In classrooms where punishments are still physical and failure is stigmatised, learners are taught to suppress emotions, not to express them.
The Cost of Ignoring the Gen Z Gap
The price Nigeria pays for maintaining an analogue system in a digital world is steep:
High dropout rates: Disengaged learners are more likely to abandon school early.
Youth unemployment: A system that doesn’t equip students with modern skills contributes directly to joblessness.
Skill mismatch: Employers are seeking digitally competent graduates; schools are producing theory-bound certificate holders.
Brain drain: The best and brightest seek out opportunities abroad or through informal digital platforms.
Rising apathy and distrust: Students no longer see school as a path to success, leading to disillusionment.
What a Gen Z-Ready Nigerian Classroom Should Look Like
To close this gap, education must be radically reimagined—not incrementally adjusted. Here’s what a system built for Gen Z must prioritise:
1. Curriculum Overhaul with Digital Relevance
Subjects must include practical digital skills across all disciplines—data literacy, coding, design thinking, financial literacy, and digital storytelling. History should include media analysis. Science should include simulation. English should include digital writing and blogging.
2. Technology as Infrastructure, Not Privilege
From urban to rural areas, schools must be equipped with stable electricity, internet access, projectors, and basic computing tools. Teachers must be trained—not just in device use, but in digital pedagogy.
3. Student-Centred Learning Environments
Pedagogy must shift from teacher-led lectures to inquiry-based learning. Students should be allowed to co-create learning goals, contribute to classroom discussions, and collaborate on real-world projects.
4. Hybrid and Personalised Learning
Gen Z doesn’t learn at the same pace. Technology allows for personalised learning paths. Schools should adopt hybrid models—combining face-to-face interaction with curated digital content that students can explore at their own pace.
5. Assessment That Rewards Thinking, Not Rote Learning
Move beyond multiple choice and essay regurgitation. Include presentations, peer reviews, digital portfolios, and project-based assessment. Make thinking visible, and reward innovation.
6. Mental Health as Core Infrastructure
Integrate wellness education into the timetable. Employ trained counsellors in schools. Replace punitive disciplinary models with restorative approaches. Gen Z needs emotional safety to thrive academically.
The mismatch between Nigerian classrooms and Gen Z learners is not merely a gap, it is a widening chasm. While the world prepares its young population to lead in AI, renewable energy, creative economies, and digital entrepreneurship, Nigeria is still preparing students to cram 40-year-old definitions and pass outdated exams. This is not just unfair, it is dangerous. To fix this, policymakers must stop treating education reform as a bureaucratic exercise. It must become a deliberate, strategic alignment with the world our children already live in. We must stop educating for the past and start designing for the future.
If Nigeria wants to harness the creativity, curiosity, and competence of its Gen Z population, the education system must evolve. Because the future is already in the classroom and it is rapidly losing interest.
