Professional Design of a Cybersecurity Awareness Programme for Nigerian Secondary Schools in the North West Zone

Secondary school students in North West Nigeria are increasingly online but receive minimal formal cybersecurity education, and professionally designed awareness programmes are needed to develop a digitally safe and security-aware generation in the region. This study designed a cybersecurity awareness programme for secondary school students in Kano, Kaduna, and Jigawa States, North West Nigeria. A professional programme design methodology was applied, drawing on a needs assessment survey of 300 students across 15 schools in the three states, structured consultations with 10 cybersecurity educators and 8 State Ministry of Education officials, and review of ENISA cybersecurity awareness frameworks, UK Cyber Schools Hub curricula, and NCSC Youth programmes. The needs assessment confirmed that 78.3 percent of students had never received structured cybersecurity education, and 94.0 percent wanted security training delivered in interactive rather than lecture formats. The programme designed comprises six modules: understanding cyber threats, safe social media use, mobile banking security, recognising and reporting cyberbullying, creating strong authentication, and protecting personal data. Delivery approaches include gamified online quizzes, class debates, peer educator training, and parent engagement workshops. Materials are developed in English and Hausa. Expert review by eight security education and curriculum specialists confirmed the programme's age-appropriateness and contextual fit. The study recommends piloting across 30 schools in the three states and formal evaluation before submission to NERDC for potential national curriculum integration.

Keywords: cybersecurity awareness programme, secondary schools, North West Nigeria, digital safety education, youth security