Adoption of Digital Record-Keeping Systems in Primary Schools in Borno State, North East Nigeria

This study investigates the adoption of digital record-keeping systems in public primary schools in Borno State, North East Nigeria. School records management, encompassing student attendance, academic performance, and health records, remains largely paper-based in many Nigerian primary schools, creating inefficiencies and vulnerabilities to data loss. The study employs a descriptive survey design, sampling 80 school heads and 40 education officials from Maiduguri Metropolitan Council, Konduga, and Jere Local Government Areas. A validated questionnaire assessed system adoption rates, perceived utility, user training, and implementation barriers. Findings indicate minimal adoption of digital record-keeping tools, with most schools maintaining exclusively paper-based records. Lack of digital infrastructure, absence of training, and security concerns about data storage in conflict-affected environments are the primary barriers. The study concludes that Borno State primary schools require targeted digital record-keeping capacity building, and recommends that the State Universal Basic Education Board pilot a locally hosted digital records management system in urban schools before scaling to rural and conflict-recovery areas. Keywords: digital record-keeping, primary schools, Borno State, school administration, data management