Developing a Comprehensive ICT Policy Framework for Public Secondary Schools in Plateau State

Public secondary schools in Plateau State, North Central Nigeria, receive ICT infrastructure through federal and state government programmes but lack coherent ICT policies governing acceptable use, maintenance responsibility, cybersecurity, data privacy, and teacher training obligations, resulting in equipment misuse and rapid infrastructure degradation. This study developed a comprehensive ICT policy framework for public secondary schools in Plateau State. A policy development methodology drawing on UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers, the UK JISC School ICT Policy Template, and structured consultations with 22 school principals, six state education ministry officials, and four ICT teacher trainers was applied. The consultations identified the absence of written acceptable use policies in 91 percent of schools, no formal ICT equipment maintenance schedule in 84 percent, and inadequate teacher ICT competency standards in 88 percent. The ICT policy framework developed encompasses seven policy domains: ICT acceptable use (students and staff), device and network security, internet access and content filtering, data protection and privacy, ICT equipment maintenance, teacher ICT professional development, and ICT committee governance structure. For each domain, model policy text, implementation checklists, and annual review procedures are provided. All policies are written in accessible language suitable for adoption without specialist legal drafting. Stakeholder validation by eight ICT education specialists confirmed the framework's practical implementability. The study recommends the Plateau State Ministry of Education mandate framework adoption across all 310 public secondary schools and link compliance to annual school quality assessment ratings.

Keywords: ICT policy, secondary schools, Plateau State, educational technology policy, North Central Nigeria