Barriers to AI Education Access Among Secondary School Students in Nigeria: A Preliminary Analysis

This paper examines four barriers that prevent secondary school students in Nigeria from accessing AI education: limited internet access, gaps in the school curriculum, low awareness of AI as a field, and the high cost of devices. The analysis draws on three real published datasets — the UNICEF/NBS Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2021, a 2024 World Bank report on digital skills in Nigeria, and the NBS National Personnel Audit of school infrastructure. Findings show that computer ownership ranges from 0.3% in the poorest wealth quintile to 31.8% in the richest, a ratio of over 100 to 1, and that these gaps map directly onto the divide between public and private schools. A companion Python and R analysis script is included.