Technology Platforms as a Tool for Improving Literacy and Educational Access for Low-Income Communities: A Case Study of Mushin, Lagos State, Nigeria

Background: Low literacy and restricted educational access continue to disadvantage learners in Nigeria’s low-income urban settlements such as Mushin, Lagos State, even as digital connectivity expands. Purpose: This article investigates the extent to which technology platforms can enhance literacy outcomes and broaden learning opportunities for underserved groups, generating evidence to advance Sustainable Development Goal 4. Methods: A theory-driven secondary-data synthesis combined ministerial white papers, national household surveys, multilateral datasets and peer-reviewed research. Sequential pattern matching, NVivo-based thematic coding and cross-case statistical comparison produced a multi-level evidence base while deliberately eschewing primary fieldwork. Results: Stable electricity and broadband provision predict higher reading-fluency gains, fully mediated by users’ perceived usefulness of digital platforms; households enjoying reliable power in Mushin register a 0.41 standard-deviation advantage in language scores over peers. The effect intensifies when learners possess basic digital-literacy skills, yet falters where policy coordination and teacher capacity remain weak. Comparative cases—Uruguay’s Plan Ceibal and India’s PMGDISHA—demonstrate that coupling infrastructure with teacher professional development and community co-financing yields scalable equity gains. Conclusions: Technology platforms can narrow literacy gaps in low-income Nigerian communities only when embedded in an ecosystem that aligns infrastructure investment, culturally relevant content, sustained teacher development and participatory governance. Policymakers should earmark universal-service levies for community micro-grids, support open-access multilingual content and institutionalise capacity-building to transform mere platform availability into meaningful learning achievements.