Assessment of Digital Literacy Levels Among Secondary School Teachers in Niger State, North Central Nigeria

Digital literacy among secondary school teachers is a prerequisite for effective integration of ICT into classroom instruction, and its current state in North Central Nigerian states such as Niger warrants systematic evaluation. This study assesses the digital literacy levels and training needs of secondary school teachers in Niger State. A descriptive survey design was applied to 240 teachers from twenty public secondary schools in Minna, Suleja, and Bida local government areas, selected through cluster sampling. The European DigComp 2.1 framework adapted for the Nigerian secondary school context was used to measure five competence areas: information literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, safety, and problem-solving. Descriptive statistics and ANOVA were computed in SPSS. Literature from North Central Nigeria identifies limited computer access at home and infrequent ICT skill development opportunities as the principal factors constraining teacher digital competence, with female teachers showing lower digital confidence in problem-solving dimensions. Findings indicate that the majority of assessed teachers fall into DigComp Level 1 (Foundation) for digital content creation and problem-solving competences, while communication and collaboration competences are relatively stronger. The study recommends structured in-service digital literacy programmes accredited by Niger State's Ministry of Education, ICT resource centres accessible to teachers, and mentoring systems pairing digitally confident teachers with less experienced colleagues. Keywords: digital literacy, secondary school teachers, Niger State, DigComp, North Central Nigeria.